3 Year TRC (Temporary Residence Card) without work permit

Are you really talking about TRC for foreigners?
My Vietnamese wife is now completing the process for my wife and son - Why she doing it for herself if she is Vietnamese?
Yeah formalities may vary depends on locations. Most of the officials never follow the rules, just their own. As long as we are in necessity, just do what they ask for. Even citizens has no voice to question the ignorant officials

Kooler42 wrote:

All,
My Vietnamese wife is now completing the process for my wife and son. My son has a Consular Report of Birth Abroad certificate issued by the US embassy in Singapore. We also have the birth certificate from Singapore. The police say we need to have the CRBA translated and indicte it must be chopped approved by yet he HCM US embassy. I do not speak the local language as yo may understand the issues on understanding from my side.
Does anyone have any advise as it seems fishy from all I have read on this thread.
Many Thanks
Jerry

charmavietnam wrote:

Are you really talking about TRC for foreigners?
My Vietnamese wife is now completing the process for my wife and son - Why she doing it for herself if she is Vietnamese?
Yeah formalities may vary depends on locations. Most of the officials never follow the rules, just their own. As long as we are in necessity, just do what they ask for. Even citizens has no voice to question the ignorant officials

Kooler42 wrote:

All,
My Vietnamese wife is now completing the process for my wife and son. My son has a Consular Report of Birth Abroad certificate issued by the US embassy in Singapore. We also have the birth certificate from Singapore. The police say we need to have the CRBA translated and indicte it must be chopped approved by yet he HCM US embassy. I do not speak the local language as yo may understand the issues on understanding from my side.
Does anyone have any advise as it seems fishy from all I have read on this thread.
Many Thanks
Jerry

I have an in-law who recently retired as a Senior Colonel in VN Security. Anytime, he went into the local government offices, they followed the law to the letter. When his wife went, she got the same crappy service as anyone else. Yes, they knew whose wife they were messing with.

Thanks...that was my guess. She is doing this in Bac Lieu..her home town

I am legally tied to the business such as shareholder, director in the business file,
am i eligible to apply for the TRC ? Please advise

That was a typo..."for me and my son"...still playing the game

toa huat man wrote:

I am legally tied to the business such as shareholder, director in the business file,
am i eligible to apply for the TRC ? Please advise

There are two ways through which you may obtain the TRC:

(1)  As shareholder of the company (foreign investor). However, this depends on your extent of ownership in the company and the type of company. Generally, if you're the sole owner of the one-member limited liability company of a major shareholder of a multi-member limited liability company, this would be fine. In such case, no work permit is required and you may submit an application for the TRC.

(2)  As director of the company (employee), in which case you will need to obtain the work permit first. You can then apply for the TRC once you have the work permit.

Just a few people meet with these conditions.

I would like to advise one more case that you can get visa of 5 years in Vietnam:

You need to get an investment certificate for any business lines under Vietnamese law.

It is very easy for you to get the investment certificate (it takes about 15 business days). After getting investment certificate, you can submit the the application for visa of 5 years easily . This takes 5 business days.

Thanks for the information. My wife met with officials in her hometown yesterday. They say is has to be reconciled in HCM now because that is where our legal address is. Both my 5 year son and I have the 5 year visa. It has the 180 day limit which is no problem for me as I have extensive global travel. I am now guessing at worst case we will have to visit the local police department with in the 180 limit to register my son.

Regards

Friends,

I was just recently married to a wonderful Vietnamese lady.
The occasion took place here in the Philippines.
Can I apply for a TRC in Vietnam and possibly for how long?

Your swift response will be highly appreciated.
Thank you so much.

Do you have a marriage certificate, if you do, you will need to have that translated when you get back here as its not a VN certificate. You will then need to get the VEC, then apply for a TRC. I think this is the process, it may have changed, who knows.

Thank you so much  for the swift response "colinoscapee".
We were just married last June 2 and our marriage certificate will be ready within this week.

I will surely check as per your recommendations.
Please excuse my ignorance but VEC translates to?

Thank you so much.
You are major help.

Visa Exemption Certificate. There is a thread at the top of this forum about VEC's, check it out,it may be helpful.

Thank you so much dear Friend.

I hope there are more people as helpful as you are in this group.
Please keep it up.

Ruel D. Cambarijan wrote:

Thank you so much dear Friend.

I hope there are more people as helpful as you are in this group.
Please keep it up.

My understand is that you must:

(i) Have your marriage certificate legalised in the Philippines;

(ii) apply for a TT Visa to enter Vietnam (the type of visa that is issued for foreigners who are parents, spouse or children of Vietnamese citizen);

(iii) after entering Vietnam, ask your landlord in Vietnam to register you with the local police and obtain the confirmation on such registration for you; and

(iv) apply for a TRC, in which you must submit an application include, among others, a notarised and translated document in (i), a copy of document in (iii), your original passport, application letter etc.

Feel free to correct me if the procedure changed.

Thank you so much for the information.

I really appreciate your help.

Ruel D. Cambarijan wrote:

Thank you so much  for the swift response "colinoscapee".
We were just married last June 2 and our marriage certificate will be ready within this week.

I will surely check as per your recommendations.
Please excuse my ignorance but VEC translates to?

Thank you so much.
You are major help.

Visa agency is 120$  for TRC

To the OP:  VanKhanh Ho wrote out a sequence of steps apparently without noticing that you are already in Vietnam.   You might consider opening up a private message function in your profile and contacting her for details if needed.  One substantial change will be in legalizing the marriage certificate but that may actually be easier in HCMC that in Manila.   The other may be that if you have already arrived on a ASEAN short term visa, you may have to leave and reenter with the TT (that is conjecture on my part so check first.)

jimmytravel wrote:

Visa agency is 120$  for TRC

Jimmytravel:  My guess is that you are assuming that a lot of the legwork is done, or is this a fee for your services above and beyond the out of pocket expenses at immigration and other agencies?

THIGV wrote:

To the OP:  VanKhanh Ho wrote out a sequence of steps apparently without noticing that you are already in Vietnam.   You might consider opening up a private message function in your profile and contacting her for details if needed.  One substantial change will be in legalizing the marriage certificate but that may actually be easier in HCMC that in Manila.   The other may be that if you have already arrived on a ASEAN short term visa, you may have to leave and reenter with the TT (that is conjecture on my part so check first.)

jimmytravel wrote:

Visa agency is 120$  for TRC

Jimmytravel:  My guess is that you are assuming that a lot of the legwork is done, or is this a fee for your services above and beyond the out of pocket expenses at immigration and other agencies?

Yes , I see all agency charge normal is 260$ for TRC mean ( 120$ + immigration  fee ) ***

THIGV wrote:

To the OP:  VanKhanh Ho wrote out a sequence of steps apparently without noticing that you are already in Vietnam.   You might consider opening up a private message function in your profile and contacting her for details if needed.  One substantial change will be in legalizing the marriage certificate but that may actually be easier in HCMC that in Manila.   The other may be that if you have already arrived on a ASEAN short term visa, you may have to leave and reenter with the TT (that is conjecture on my part so check first.)

To OP: Oh then check your current type of visa. If it is anything but a TT Visa then you must, like THIGV said, exit Vietnam then apply for a TT Visa overseas then comeback again.

For the step (i) of legalisation, call your Embassy/Consulate in Vietnam to ask if they provide the service of notarising paper here in Vietnam. If they do, have your paper notarised there, then bring the notarised paper to the External Relation Department to have it certified. Then bring it to a local District People's Committee for translation and notarisation of the translated version.

Sounds like a lot of thing to do :v Just hire a tourist agent they will do it all for you

If it is anything but a TT Visa then you must, like THIGV said, exit Vietnam then apply for a TT Visa overseas then comeback again.

Not sure about TT visa, but just wondering if it's really necessary for him to exit VN. ...
I was on Tourist Visa when I applied for my VEC in HCMC. Got it after a week or so ... then exited VN to get VEC activated with a fresh entry stamp at Moc Bai.

senwl wrote:

If it is anything but a TT Visa then you must, like THIGV said, exit Vietnam then apply for a TT Visa overseas then comeback again.

Not sure about TT visa, but just wondering if it's really necessary for him to exit VN. ...
I was on Tourist Visa when I applied for my VEC in HCMC. Got it after a week or so ... then exited VN to get VEC activated with a fresh entry stamp at Moc Bai.

Hi

VEC is an exemption from visa, which means you have no visa at all. You are exempted.

The OP asked about TRC.

TRC is only issued for people who (i) have a visa; and (ii) such visa must be one of the types LV1, LV2, ĐT, NN1, NN2, DH, PV1, LĐ or TT.

Maybe the OP should change his question to "how many type of resident a Vietnamese's spouse like him may have?" then we can list down Visa and VEC and TRC for him.

VanKhanh Ho wrote:

The OP asked about TRC.

TRC is only issued for people who (i) have a visa; and (ii) such visa must be one of the types LV1, LV2, ĐT, NN1, NN2, DH, PV1, LĐ or TT.

Hi,

I'm afraid you missed VEC there.....

Yes, VEC is an exemption.
To get TRC (spousal) , one needs to be either on VEC or on TT.

After getting my VEC, I applied for my TRC just before the 1st renewal (re-stamping ) of my VEC ... and received my TRC (3 years) in just 10 days without any hassle, coffee money or mediating agency etc. All done over the counter at their office in D1, HCM.

I was on VEC (not any type of Visa) when I got my TRC.

senwl wrote:

VanKhanh Ho wrote:

The OP asked about TRC.

TRC is only issued for people who (i) have a visa; and (ii) such visa must be one of the types LV1, LV2, ĐT, NN1, NN2, DH, PV1, LĐ or TT.

Hi,

I'm afraid you missed VEC there.....

Yes, VEC is an exemption.
To get TRC (spousal) , one needs to be either on VEC or on TT.

After getting my VEC, I applied for my TRC just before the 1st renewal (re-stamping ) of my VEC ... and received my TRC (3 years) in just 10 days without any hassle, coffee money or mediating agency etc. All done over the counter at their office in D1, HCM.

I was on VEC (not any type of Visa) when I got my TRC.

Oh so that is may be a flexible practice in Ho Chi Minh City. I have seen them agree to issue working-TRC for foreigners having business visa instead of working visa (as long as the sponsor company for business visa and the employer are the same company).

I copied the above in the law cause there is no way I can remember them all So that is what the law say on its own.

VanKhanh Ho wrote:

Oh so that is may be a flexible practice in Ho Chi Minh City. I have seen them agree to issue working-TRC for foreigners having business visa instead of working visa (as long as the sponsor company for business visa and the employer are the same company).

I copied the above in the law cause there is no way I can remember them all So that is what the law say on its own.

You are right about TRC (work) which is employer-sponsored. That is a completely different story.
In most industries an employer usually invites a prospective foreign employee on a Business Visa (3 months). Then, within those 3 months the same employer is supposed to apply for and obtain a WP for their foreign worker.
Once the WP is issued, the foreigner can now either 1) exit VN to get a fresh Working visa... or, 2) directly apply for TRC (work) for the duration of their labour contract.
(usually, long-term. i.e, >= 2 years)

As you correctly pointed out, changing the employer at any stage of this entire process (mentioned above) can mess up everything and obtaining a TRC (work) can be a real hassle for the applicant.

In the end, as we all know, in VN everything comes down to the whims of the official handling the case.

The rules are there in the rule book but their implementations are whimsical and inconsistent. Also, as you rightly pointed out, rules are applied differentially in different cities and provinces across VN. That is a real challenge for us, the local expats.

Yes, It's near impossible to remember all these ever-changing laws in VN. I totally agree with you.
As always, you remain our most trusted, dependable and helpful old friend here on expat blog,... especially in matters that need legal expertise. ^^
All the best!! 

Hi, can you advice me during the 1 week approving period, must I stay in Vietnam?
Thank you in advance.

Markie Nugent wrote:

Hi, can you advice me during the 1 week approving period, must I stay in Vietnam?
Thank you in advance.

Must. Cause the authority will hold your original passport.

Edit: oh, unless you have more than 1 passport.

senwl wrote:

VanKhanh Ho wrote:

The OP asked about TRC.

TRC is only issued for people who (i) have a visa; and (ii) such visa must be one of the types LV1, LV2, ĐT, NN1, NN2, DH, PV1, LĐ or TT.

Hi,

I'm afraid you missed VEC there.....

Yes, VEC is an exemption.
To get TRC (spousal) , one needs to be either on VEC or on TT.

After getting my VEC, I applied for my TRC just before the 1st renewal (re-stamping ) of my VEC ... and received my TRC (3 years) in just 10 days without any hassle, coffee money or mediating agency etc. All done over the counter at their office in D1, HCM.

I was on VEC (not any type of Visa) when I got my TRC.

Can you please tell me when that was?

I flew out of Tan Son Nhat airport last week en route to Dubai. When I went through immigration the female immigration officer was deeeeelighted to accuse me of overstaying my visa. "Look, Look, see, see overstay" as she held up my passport for the other immigration officer to see. She was of course looking at an old visa stamp and not the 3 year sticker in my passport. So I quickly pulled the 3 year ID card out of my wallet, which clearly states on it that o visa stamp is required in my passport.

One very disappointed immigration officer waved me away.

cabraman wrote:

senwl wrote:

VanKhanh Ho wrote:

The OP asked about TRC.

TRC is only issued for people who (i) have a visa; and (ii) such visa must be one of the types LV1, LV2, ĐT, NN1, NN2, DH, PV1, LĐ or TT.

Hi,

I'm afraid you missed VEC there.....

Yes, VEC is an exemption.
To get TRC (spousal) , one needs to be either on VEC or on TT.

After getting my VEC, I applied for my TRC just before the 1st renewal (re-stamping ) of my VEC ... and received my TRC (3 years) in just 10 days without any hassle, coffee money or mediating agency etc. All done over the counter at their office in D1, HCM.

I was on VEC (not any type of Visa) when I got my TRC.

Can you please tell me when that was?

Nov 2016, HCMC.
I think that system has been in place (in HCMC) since Nov 2015 when the OP started this thread.
I remember, I read on another thread ,.... another regular contributor on this forum, a US guy, got his TRC (spousal) in HCM at the beginning of 2016.

senwl wrote:

cabraman wrote:

senwl wrote:

Hi,

I'm afraid you missed VEC there.....

Yes, VEC is an exemption.
To get TRC (spousal) , one needs to be either on VEC or on TT.

After getting my VEC, I applied for my TRC just before the 1st renewal (re-stamping ) of my VEC ... and received my TRC (3 years) in just 10 days without any hassle, coffee money or mediating agency etc. All done over the counter at their office in D1, HCM.

I was on VEC (not any type of Visa) when I got my TRC.

Can you please tell me when that was?

Nov 2016, HCMC.
I think that system has been in place (in HCMC) since Nov 2015 when the OP started this thread.
I remember, I read on another thread ,.... another regular contributor on this forum, a US guy, got his TRC (spousal) in HCM at the beginning of 2016.

Yes, Nov 2015 sounds right,There were several others who also got the TRC at that time but when I applied in HCMC as a TT holder in May 2016 with all paperwork correct I ( my wife) was told that the TRC was no longer available and to try again next year (2017) In the meantime I could have a VEC no problem. I took that option as second best choice, but would really prefer to have a TRC. Which is why your post caught my attention, and I thank you for your reply.  However it is nearly 1 year ago and who knows what the policy is now.  Of course there are those, who for a fee, can facilitate an outcome but I baulked at the $650 that I was quoted by one "agent".

As stated above, if you qualify for a TRC, it isn't an arduous process as long as your paperwork sin order - and there is absolutely no need to use an agent to do it for you.

eodmatt wrote:

As stated above, if you qualify for a TRC, it isn't an arduous process as long as your paperwork sin order - and there is absolutely no need to use an agent to do it for you.

Are you saying the TRC is available as of today October 3?   As I stated above, I qualified for a TRC and my paperwork was in order, but was told it wasn,t available any more. That was 16 months ago, but I,m more interested in how things stand today, or very recently, if anybody knows.

cabraman wrote:

eodmatt wrote:

As stated above, if you qualify for a TRC, it isn't an arduous process as long as your paperwork sin order - and there is absolutely no need to use an agent to do it for you.

Are you saying the TRC is available as of today October 3?   As I stated above, I qualified for a TRC and my paperwork was in order, but was told it wasn,t available any more. That was 16 months ago, but I,m more interested in how things stand today, or very recently, if anybody knows.

The TRC (The Tam Tru) I am looking at by the side of my lap top and which bears my picture was granted on 31 March 2017 and expires on 31 March 2020

eodmatt wrote:

cabraman wrote:

eodmatt wrote:

As stated above, if you qualify for a TRC, it isn't an arduous process as long as your paperwork sin order - and there is absolutely no need to use an agent to do it for you.

Are you saying the TRC is available as of today October 3?   As I stated above, I qualified for a TRC and my paperwork was in order, but was told it wasn,t available any more. That was 16 months ago, but I,m more interested in how things stand today, or very recently, if anybody knows.

The TRC (The Tam Tru) I am looking at by the side of my lap top and which bears my picture was granted on 31 March 2017 and expires on 31 March 2020

Thank you so much for that It's as current as I could hope to see .I'll be down in HCMC in 2 weeks so I will check with immigration then and hopefully nothing has changed.  A story about "agents"......A friend of mine had his wife act for him to get a VEC about 2 months ago and had a problem of some sort at the desk at immigration in HCMC, the place where the touts have their tables to conduct their business with foreigners. Anyway the person at the desk directed her to one of the tables telling her that one of these guys would fix things for her. ( for a fee of course, part of which would find its way back to the person behind the desk)  They have no shame. Oh, and she told them no thanks, came back the next day, presented the same paperwork and had it processed without a hitch.

Yes unfortunately, these things happen. I am lucky in that my wife is a very well educated and hard headed businesswoman who is also well connected. She detests corruption and simply baulks at playing games with them. But the way she works is quietly, using persistence, logic and a knowledge of the law (such as it is) in Vietnam.

I related a story somewhere on here a few days ago about my last trip out of the country recently. I presented my passport at the immigration desk at Tan Son Nhat airport and the lady immigration officer started yelling about me "overstaying my visa" and showing me - and other immigration officers  an old visa stamp. She totally ignored the big whole page Visa Exemption sticker in my passport that shows that I have temporary residence. She was obviously delighted that she had caught a "fish". I pulled my residents ID card out of my wallet and showed her the words on the back of the card: "The card holder is permitted  to stay in Vietnam within the card validity and exempted from a Vietnamese visa"

She waved me away with a bad tempered expression.

The visa exemption is actually one of the most valuable documents in my possession as it means that I don't have the nausea of  renewing my visa every three months or whatever. I don't need to do "visa runs" and i don't have to go to the police station every few weeks. Its a massive improvement.

HI guys

Hope everyone is  doing well ,
I am really confused about this TRC

i am working in Dubai  and now currently living in Vietnam ,2 months back i came to Vietnam ,and having a VEC (visa exemption ) as i  married to a Vietnamese ,
at that time my passport didn't have enough validity to apply for the TRC ,so I went to my embassy and renewed the Passport ,and today I received the new passport ,
my visa exemption expires on June 2018 , so today i went to a office to ask information about the TRC , they said I could apply for the TRC , but according to them   they will give a TRC for 2 years , BUT they do not stamp anything on the new passport , like a visa exemption to give the TRC
But i am traveling to Dubai after 2 months ,so when i come back after 4 months to Vietnam , in the airport they normally check for the visa ,if its stamped ,
So when you apply for TRC ,do you need to have a visa exemption sticker on the passport for 5 Years ..?
Or when you apply for the TRC you don't need any visa exemption or any sticker on the passport ...?
When you fly back from any country to Vietnam ,if you show the TRC card will it be enough ,do they recognize it

Please kindly help me out !!!

Thanks in advance

You will not have a stamp in your passport.
You show the TRC (Temporary Resident Card) as well as your passport when you are at Vietnam immigration and this is sufficient as long as you are within the dates shown on the TRC.

It actually states this on the TRC itself.

As per jps above. My TRC says words to the effect that the holder of the card, whose passport number is XXXXXXXXX does not need a visa to enter Vietnam.

Not fully correct. You still get the entry / exit stamp, each time, you enter/leave the country with the TRC or the Visa exemption. You just not get the full page paper with it