Visa logistics of living in VN with young children

Why not simply reclaim your citizenship and get your children citizenship? It won't affect your US status and it will be much easier for your logistics here.

The New York Consulate is fairly new and doesn't have the experience of those in California (the best) or Texas. Besides, the Immigration rules have been revised and few people actually know exactly what is what. Everyone is learning.

You should know as much as possible about your parents and relatives, how you left (boat or with a permit), etc. The Immigration police (part of internal security) most likely know a lot about you already. When the Americans vacated SaiGon they left an IBM computer filled with information along with all the paper documents.

I didn't know that was an option! The U.S. will allow dual citizenship? Do you know of anyone doing this?

Family left together on a boat to HK. From there we were sponsored to NY by distant relatives who had already been in NY for a few years.

Thank you so much for your input!!

One of the reasons I haven't claimed Vietnam citizenship is that you'll be subjected to Vietnam laws and treated as a Vietnamese citizen without Canada consulate help. Also rumour is you can also be forced into the military.

tinylichen wrote:

I didn't know that was an option! The U.S. will allow dual citizenship? Do you know of anyone doing this?

Family left together on a boat to HK. From there we were sponsored to NY by distant relatives who had already been in NY for a few years.

Thank you so much for your input!!

Might want to post your question about DC to this link:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … =7#2386099

Wild_1 will get back to you I'm sure.

After some thought, reclaiming VN citizenship seems like a very big endeavor for just 1-2 yrs in Vietnam, no? Maybe after 6+ months we may revisit the idea and try pursuing it for employment or home ownership.

Would a VEC be a less drastic or easier option?? Once our passports are renewed, I'll visit the NYC VN consulate to discuss our options. We're looking at a Jul/Aug move before the school year begins. Probably not enough time to jump through all the hoops needed for anything beyond a 3-month visa though.

Are there direct flights from Nha Trang to PP? We'd probably opt for that over train/bus with two young kids in tow.

http://www.vietnam.embassy.gov.au/hnoi/ … onali.html   duality!   http://www.smh.com.au/world/vietnam-to- … -67db.html  read the section , Vietnam house approves dual citizenship"

khanh44 wrote:

One of the reasons I haven't claimed Vietnam citizenship is that you'll be subjected to Vietnam laws and treated as a Vietnamese citizen without Canada consulate help. Also rumour is you can also be forced into the military.

They want healthy young fit people. Besides they don't conscript females.

As you are also a Canadian you might get excluded on security grounds. When anyone is in VN you are subject to VN law and getting the Canadian diplo's out from the bars and restaurants is hard. If you want Brit or Canuck diplomats they can often be found in Hy's on Hai Ba Trung.

One Canadian died a couple of years ago but the Cong An couldn't raise a diplo until the following week!

"You must be in possession of a professional or business visa to rent an apartment, a house or a villa in Nha Trang."

eesh is this true? that would be a big issue. not keen on hotel living with two kids!

Not true,
And u can get the 6 month visaexemption for vietkieu thing now.

Have you looked into the cost of a good international school? If you can afford that then the cost of a visa (bribes included) would be nothing. I don't know the cost in Nha Trang but in HCMC and cheap international school will run $10,000 USD a year per child.

HCMC international schools are outrageously expensive. Probably not a concern for parents whose companies will cover the tuition. That will not be our case. Fortunately, English-French International School in Nha Trang is much more affordable at $4000-4500 for primary students.

I am so clueless with bribes. My husband and I ran into a situation which in retrospect certainly called for bribes (riding on highway without a helmet). I blamed it on foreigner cluelessness and somehow got to laugh it off with the officer and he let us go. That wont go far with getting visas I'm sure but I probably wouldnt go in without my cousin to assist.

Adhome01 wrote:

I don't know the cost in Nha Trang but in HCMC and cheap international school will run $10,000 USD a year per child.

A junior Montessori school is north of USD$11,000/student/year in TP HCM then there are all the rackets like school uniforms, meals, transportation, etc.

Even companies are getting sensitive to these school rackets and making parents donate more. It's why the English boarding school system evolved - because of parents in overseas service.

Now, here in VN, it would be cheaper to use an English boarding school than pay some of these 'industrial' school prices. I call them 'industrial' as they are all about money rather than academia.

tinylichen wrote:

HCMC international schools are outrageously expensive. Probably not a concern for parents whose companies will cover the tuition. That will not be our case. Fortunately, English-French International School in Nha Trang is much more affordable at $4000-4500 for primary students.

I am so clueless with bribes. My husband and I ran into a situation which in retrospect certainly called for bribes (riding on highway without a helmet). I blamed it on foreigner cluelessness and somehow got to laugh it off with the officer and he let us go. That wont go far with getting visas I'm sure but I probably wouldnt go in without my cousin to assist.

That's  probably a good choice. There is another well known school here charging around $10k at least, with a lot of negative reports. Teachers bailing out, students leaving , admin issues etc etc  Also schools are having trouble with Russian kids being arrogant, and disruptive.  But most of them are leaving or will have to because of currency and a drop in business activity here for them.   

They want to get back to shitsville Moscow to get a good position on one of the "bread lines" that won't be too far off .  There economy this morning was graded down to Junk status.  Bye bye Igor.