Extend visa for expat in Ho Chi Minh City

So now I have a question... I have a 3 month tourist visa. I will be going to Singapore at the end of the 3 months for like 8 days. What visa do I need to get for the if I want to stay a year? When I come back to VND after Singapore?

mikebrown wrote:

So now I have a question... I have a 3 month tourist visa. I will be going to Singapore at the end of the 3 months for like 8 days. What visa do I need to get for the if I want to stay a year? When I come back to VND after Singapore?

Unless you're married to a VN, or have a VN child, you can't get a 12 month Visa, ( TT ).

Thanks no rings on my hand nor little ones I have had in vn so I guess I will have to make it a 3 month bike trip from hcmc to Hanoi.

mikebrown wrote:

Thanks no rings on my hand nor little ones I have had in vn so I guess I will have to make it a 3 month bike trip from hcmc to Hanoi.

3 months is plenty of time, enjoy your trip.

hey where can I extend my friends visa I need a place asap because he only has 4 days left and evey1 says its like $200 usd for 3 month multi

I think you will find thats the going price for a multi. If you want to call someone, try this lady in Saigon, she seems to be very helpful...Miss Thuong , she owns a business in D1 that does visas.

Chris13thave wrote:

hey where can I extend my friends visa I need a place asap because he only has 4 days left and evey1 says its like $200 usd for 3 month multi

My agent recently got me a VN 3 month single entry for $135. His name is Khoa and he is in HCMC. **and  see what he can do for you.  By the by, why did your friend cut things so fine?

I lived in Vietnam for one year, 6 months in HCMC and 6 months in Nha Trang. I had to return home for a family emergency in June this year (2015). I got my first visa from the consulate in Vancouver for three months. I went into the official visa office in HCMC to renew it and was told I could only have 15 days. I didn't bother.  I then went to a travel agency and renewed it for another three months, no problem. I then moved to Nha Trang and renewed my visa three more times for three months each time with no problems at all except that I tried to renew in the middle of the Tet holiday once and it cost me double.
I am returning to Vietnam around Christmas and plan on staying there forever. It's a wonderful country.

How long ago was that, as the laws changed January this year.

If you are asking me I was in Vietnam from May 2014 until June 2015. I am returning December 2015.

pluttmer wrote:

If you are asking me I was in Vietnam from May 2014 until June 2015. I am returning December 2015.

The new laws came into effect Jan 2015 and visa costs went through the roof.

I think I paid about $180USD for the last one and then had to leave long before it was up. That reminds me, when I go back in December I am going to refuse to use US dollars. I am not an american, I am not in the US and most of the tourists are from Russia. The country is Vietnam and the currency is Vietnamese dong. The American dollar in comparison to other currencies goes up and down like a yo-yo. The exchange rate between Canadian dollars, Mexican pesos and Vietnamese dong stays pretty well the same.

pluttmer wrote:

I think I paid about $180USD for the last one and then had to leave long before it was up. That reminds me, when I go back in December I am going to refuse to use US dollars. I am not an american, I am not in the US and most of the tourists are from Russia. The country is Vietnam and the currency is Vietnamese dong. The American dollar in comparison to other currencies goes up and down like a yo-yo. The exchange rate between Canadian dollars, Mexican pesos and Vietnamese dong stays pretty well the same.

Good luck

Plutmer,, which year ?? the math dont add up!!  home for a family emergency in June this year (2015). I got my first visa from the consulate in Vancouver for three months. I went into the official visa office in HCMC to renew it and was told I could only have 15 days. I didn't bother  ----------------

Markinnam,
What is confusing about the math? You just have to keep adding three months.
1st visa - May to Aug, 2014 - you count this way:- May to June is 1 month; June to July is 2 months; July to August equals 3 months.
2nd visa - Aug to Nov, 2014 - 3 months
3rd visa - Nov to Feb, 2015 - 3 months
4th visa - Feb to May, 2015 - 3 months (Tet holiday problem)
5th visa - May to Aug, 2015 - 3 months and we start the second year with the same three months as the first year because there are 12 months in a year and 12 divided by 3 equals 4 so you have to get four visas a year. Its simple.
I had to come back to Mexico in June this year which meant I lost part of June, all of July and part of August.
I hope you understand now.

pluttmer wrote:

I think I paid about $180USD for the last one and then had to leave long before it was up. That reminds me, when I go back in December I am going to refuse to use US dollars. I am not an american, I am not in the US and most of the tourists are from Russia. The country is Vietnam and the currency is Vietnamese dong. The American dollar in comparison to other currencies goes up and down like a yo-yo. The exchange rate between Canadian dollars, Mexican pesos and Vietnamese dong stays pretty well the same.

It's actually illegal to be charged for anything in $US in VN. Soon they might be asking for Yuan? ( RMB ).
Govt departments, i.e, Immigration, still charge in $US, but convert it to VND, last month they were asking 21,500 VND for $US1.

http://www.expatexchange.com/expat/inde … 388#304278

How is anyone supposed to understand what you are all talking about when you insist on using cryptic visa acronyms. Can anyone define the meaning of these various visa types so we ordinary folks can understand what you are trying to share with us?

obrien49 wrote:

How is anyone supposed to understand what you are all talking about when you insist on using cryptic visa acronyms. Can anyone define the meaning of these various visa types so we ordinary folks can understand what you are trying to share with us?

I've posted the codes before, the problem is so many threads on Visa's. There are 20 new codes now. This doesn't copy very well, and I've lost the link.

    Categories of Visa    Description / category of applicant entitled to    Duration of Visa    Duration of Temporary Resident Card
1    NG1-NG4    Diplomatic    Up to 12 months    Up to 5 years
2    LV1-LV2    Working with Vietnamese authorities/parties    Up to 12 months    Up to 5 years
3    ĐT    Investors/foreign lawyers    Up to 5 years    Up to 5 years
4    DN    Working with Vietnamese enterprises    Up to 12 months    NA
5    NN1-NN2    Chief Representative Office, Head of Project Office of foreign NGO), Chief rep of rep offices in VN.    Up to 12 months    Up to 3 years
6    NN3    Staffs of NGO, Rep office in VN    Up to 12 months    NA
7    DH    Students/ interns    Up to 12 months    Up to 5 years
8    HN    Attending meeting    Up to 3 months    NA
9    PV1    Journalists with permanent residence in VN    Up to 12 months    Up to 2 years
10    PV2    Journalists with short term residence in VN    Up to 12 months    NA
11    LĐ    Foreign workers    Up to 2 years    Up to 2 years
12    DL    Tourists    Up to 3 months    NA
13    TT    Dependents of 2,3,5,7,9,11    Up to 12 months    Up to 3 years
14    VR    Visiting relatives, other purpose    Up to 6 months    NA
15    SQ    Related to MOF, Consulate with the purpose of market research, visiting relatives, tourist, medical treatment    Up to 30 days    NA
2/ According to article 7, point 1 of the new law, the purpose of Visa may not be converted from one purpose to another. Our interpretation is that, for instance, someone entering Vietnam with a tourist visa (DL) may not be able to convert it to a work visa in country (LD, and DN )

bluenz wrote:

obrien49 wrote:

How is anyone supposed to understand what you are all talking about when you insist on using cryptic visa acronyms. Can anyone define the meaning of these various visa types so we ordinary folks can understand what you are trying to share with us?

I've posted the codes before, the problem is so many threads on Visa's. There are 20 new codes now. This doesn't copy very well, and I've lost the link.

    Categories of Visa    Description / category of applicant entitled to    Duration of Visa    Duration of Temporary Resident Card
1    NG1-NG4    Diplomatic    Up to 12 months    Up to 5 years
2    LV1-LV2    Working with Vietnamese authorities/parties    Up to 12 months    Up to 5 years
3    ĐT    Investors/foreign lawyers    Up to 5 years    Up to 5 years
4    DN    Working with Vietnamese enterprises    Up to 12 months    NA
5    NN1-NN2    Chief Representative Office, Head of Project Office of foreign NGO), Chief rep of rep offices in VN.    Up to 12 months    Up to 3 years
6    NN3    Staffs of NGO, Rep office in VN    Up to 12 months    NA
7    DH    Students/ interns    Up to 12 months    Up to 5 years
8    HN    Attending meeting    Up to 3 months    NA
9    PV1    Journalists with permanent residence in VN    Up to 12 months    Up to 2 years
10    PV2    Journalists with short term residence in VN    Up to 12 months    NA
11    LĐ    Foreign workers    Up to 2 years    Up to 2 years
12    DL    Tourists    Up to 3 months    NA
13    TT    Dependents of 2,3,5,7,9,11    Up to 12 months    Up to 3 years
14    VR    Visiting relatives, other purpose    Up to 6 months    NA
15    SQ    Related to MOF, Consulate with the purpose of market research, visiting relatives, tourist, medical treatment    Up to 30 days    NA
2/ According to article 7, point 1 of the new law, the purpose of Visa may not be converted from one purpose to another. Our interpretation is that, for instance, someone entering Vietnam with a tourist visa (DL) may not be able to convert it to a work visa in country (LD, and DN )

The 4 th entry of each Visa class is the duration or availability of a Temporary Resident Card, ( TRC ).

After the 2013 implementations of a new Labor Code and a new decree on the management of foreign workers in Vietnam, the Vietnamese National Assembly has now approved a new immigration law that will come into effect on January 1, 2015. Most notably the new law introduces 20 different visa categories, appears to ban in-country conversion from one visa category to another, and provides new conditions under which a foreign national will be barred from entering or exiting the country.
What's Changed?
New Visa Categories
The 20 new visa and Temporary Resident Card categories that will be implemented in January include several different categories for various types of foreign employees.
• DN – applicable to foreign workers who will work as a local hire at a Vietnamese company, valid for up to 12 months.
• LĐ – applicable to Intra Company Transfers, as well as employees coming to work in Vietnam based on a contract between a foreign employer and a Vietnamese company, valid for up to 2 years;
• NN2 and NN3 – applicable for company heads and other staff, respectively, of representative offices in Vietnam, valid for up to 3 years.
The other work-related visa types include separate visas for managers of NGOs (NN1 – up to 12 months), journalists (PV1 and PV2, for longer term and short term assignments, both valid for up to 12 months) and for foreign investors and foreign lawyers practicing in Vietnam (ĐT, up to 5 years). Note that a work permit is still required in combination with all of these mentioned visas.
Foreign nationals who come to Vietnam to engage in general business activities and/or to attend conventions or conferences will be able to apply for an HN visa (valid up to 3 months).
It is important to note that the above reflects the current interpretation of the new law. However, since the official law does not go into much detail regarding which category of visa applies to which specific type of foreign worker, it is likely that the interpretations of these visa categories will change upon the authorities' release of more detailed instructions. For example, this ambiguity is especially evident in the visa types DN (“Issued to people who come to work with companies in Vietnam”) and LĐ (“Issued to people who come to work”).
In-Country Change of Status
While the in-country change of status from tourism or business to work was previously commonplace, the new law does not seem to allow such a conversion anymore. Therefore, it is expected from January 2015 onwards it will no longer be possible to enter Vietnam on non-work status with the purpose of filing a work permit, and remaining in-country once issued.
Rather, the employee should first apply for a work permit and, upon its issuance, obtain the appropriate visa to enter the country. This process can take 1 to 2 weeks from date of application at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Immigration Department by the sponsoring entity in Vietnam. Depending on the nationality and home country of the employee, the visa can then be collected either at a visa-issuing authorities (e.g. consulate) in the employee's home country or at a border checkpoint.
Exit and Entry Prohibitions
The new law also provides reasons why a foreign national may be banned from either entering or departing Vietnam.
Reasons for refusing someone to enter Vietnam:
• The person is a child under 14 years of age who is traveling without parents, guardians or authorized custodians;
• The person has forged papers or provided false information to obtain entry/exit/residence permit;
• The person is suffering from a mental disease or infectious disease that threatens the public health;
• The person was deported from Vietnam within the last 3 years, or was compelled to leave Vietnam within the last 6 months;
• For reasons of epidemic prevention, natural disasters, national defense, national security, social order, and social safety.
Reasons for refusing someone to exit Vietnam for up to 3 years:
• The person has been criminally charged or must serve a criminal sentence;
• The person is a defendant or a person with relevant obligations in a civil case pertaining to business, employment, administration, marriage and familial affairs;
• The person is obliged to comply with an administrative sanction;
• The person has not fulfilled their tax obligation;
• For reasons of national defense and security.
ACTION ITEMS FOR EMPLOYERS
Companies who plan to sponsor foreign employees, either coming on assignment or on local contract, should be aware that new visa categories will be implemented in January 2015 and that an in-country change of status may no longer be possible. As a result, the work permit will normally need to be obtained prior to the employee obtaining their visa and therefore a delay in the start date of employment from date of issuance of the work permit can be expected.
As instructions have yet to be provided to the Immigration Department on the implementation of the new law, the impact that the new visa categories will have on document requirements remains unknown at this time.

And a big thank you for your time and effort in supplying this information would be good

Yes, that helps a lot. Thank you very much.

Does anyone know anything about official plans/proposal for a One year Tourist Visa  specifically for US citizens?

doctorgroove wrote:

Does anyone know anything about official plans/proposal for a One year Tourist Visa  specifically for US citizens?

where did you hear this and does it apply to Australians?