DN1 Visa, Sponsored

@Chacronym

Hello Chacronym. Welcome to the expat.com Vietnam forum.

As I understand it, a DN1 business visa application is submitted by the employer/organisation the foreigner will be working with. The cost is borne by the employer/organisation. A foreigner cannot apply on their own behalf.

Once the application has been approved by immigration, a formal "invitation to enter" document/letter is issued to the foreigner. The foreigner then presents the document/letter at an approved border crossing, or at a Vietnam foreign embassy or consulate, at which point the visa is issued. I'm unsure as to whether the Moc Bai crossing is able to issue a DN1 visa.

Have you spoken to the local company you will work with about this?

If you'd like the contact details of a local visa agent who has proven both trustworthy and reliable (used by many of our members) let me know and I'll send you the details by PM. We try not to promote the services of commercial interests on the open forum.

I have spoken with them about this. They are happy to pay for it, however having never done it before, want me to lead the effort, so I'm doing research and will present them with the data and guide them thru the process. I am, after all a consultant.

I did see the other day Moc Bai is able to issue, it is on the official list.

However I'm seeing conflicting information on other topics, for example yes, what you said just now appears to be the official explanation, but in other searching, I have seen alternative means, and yet others facilitated via agency.

My previous agent is unable to support for such a visa though. So, sure, I'd love to have a chat with your agent, thanks.

I'd like to find the quickest point from A to B, without costing a bomb of course.

@Chacronym

Hello, the DN1 visa is for cases where a Vietnamese Company requires your (as a foreigner) services for a short term specific task (inspections, installations, training, etc).   If your goal is to go around to evaluate your potential market, you must nominate a sort of sales-representant in Vietnam and request a DN2 visa. In both cases the tramit is totally inside Vietnam and up to your Vietnamese sponsor, and you may be requested for some documentations nothing difficult to get (profession certificates/sworn, police clearance,  bla bla bla).    Then move yourself to a DT visa type whenever you get ready to start your venture.

The sponsorship letter is not complicated, just follow the NA2 form which basically is: Dear IMMIGRATION MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT (MINISTRY OF PUBLIC SECURITY) I request the entry permit (Simple or Multipass) of Mr .....    from dates ... with the purpose of ....  who will be accommodated in (homestay address) ...  bla bla bla 

DN visa types are regularly issued up to 3 months.  The 3-12 months visa  is when the sponsor justify a big project on going and surely you will need a special Work Permit (another separate tramit on the Labor Dptm.)

For @Aidan, yes, the DNx visa sticker can be pasted in the passport at Moc Bai crossing (in fact any kind of visas)

@Chacronym

No choice, the signatures in papers are only from the sponsor.  Eventhough this tramit is not difficult, surely is nice to have an Agent. My advise is to let your sponsor to deal locally with an Agent, easier to trace and communicate in their language.   

Another not asked advise:  bring your own Police Clearance from the country you are now; University Diploma (or Sworn of your expertise) and Work Certificate (current employer), all of them notarized and legalized by the Minister of Foreign affairs in the country you are (the Apostille is not recognized in Vietnam) and then Legalized in the Embassy of Vietnam.   Even you can do it in your Embassy inside Vietnam, the police clearance is from the countries you were in the latest 6 months

@Chacronym

PM sent.

Please let the forum know what you learn. We'd very much appreciate it.

Hi. I searched this topic and found a variety of posts here that are similar, but not quite the information I'm seeking, so I decided to make it a new topic.
I find that the DN1 visa program for Vietnam is not very well documented online, other than the official information. First off, I do have a company that wants to consult with me. Hence the reason for the application. We are also fundraising a few million USD for a startup, which will be helmed in Vietnam. This visa will enable us to do all necessary scouting and negotiations. However, no investment has been acquired yet.

We're presently incorporated in Singapore with a Pte. Ltd. for both the fundraising and the consulting services.

Additionally this is for myself and my business partner, so we will need two visas. They are Singaporean, I am a US Citizen. Both of us would prefer not to return to our respective countries. Currently, we are in Cambodia, where we have lived for some years now. We will probably enter via Moc Bai land border.

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Anyway, I was hoping to gather advice, as well as to hear some experiences you have had in applying for this particular visa, whether you succeeded or failed, and if there are any catches or helpful tricks.

I would love to hear from you, whether you were applicant, sponsor, or agent!

Especially of concern is the lack of cost information.In fact, one VN Aus embassy website says that it changes from consulate to consulate (!! ... but what did I expect?) and I want to be sure I'm not going to be made use of.

Examples of an excellent initial letter of from my sponsor? Don't want to miss something or fall into an issue.

Furthermore, will I be able to achieve the entire 10-12 months? Or will I be made to extend or do a border run before my consultancy is finished?

Thanks in advance. - @Chacronym

Read the following screenshot VERY CAREFULLY.

Then tell me what you don't understand.

Please pay special attention to the word WORK.

There's absolutely NO LEGAL SHORTCUT around the need for a legal, government approved work permit.

You almost certainly need to consult with a Vietnamese attorney who specializes in setting up these types of special visas (commonly referred to as "business visas").

If you have heard that these are easy to obtain at a price, you are unfortunately very late to the party. DN visas not connected to a valid work permit have been absolutely unobtainable since 2020 (I obtained my last one in August, 2019 and was denied renewal in August, 2020).

You probably either need to start a business here or invest around $115,000 USD each to obtain 3 year Temporary Resident Cards (renewable)

Or, look into much simpler retirement in a different Southeast Asia country