3 Year TRC (Temporary Residence Card) without work permit

Thank you very much

@-JohnD-

Just about anything you want to know a visas and VN are right here. If you think your head was swimming before wait till you wade through this:

https://www.expat.com/forum/219-3-visas-vietnam.html

@eodmatt
  Living together is no longer against the law in VN for a man and women. Although there are many a police that will try to get their coffee money by telling you it is against the law. Check out the new Vietnamese Family Law.

hi
could you plz provide me the address as i need to do mine ... the place you did it before

thanks

Go to the main immigration office at 196 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Q.1  for TRC

. Application form ( NA8)
2. Sponsoring document(NA7)
3. 2x3cm photo which you can take inside immigration office studio for 30.000 VND when you go to purchase the forms set. (Yes, you should buy it from 196 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Q.1, HCMC, Vietnam which includes the full forms and application file)
4. Residence document from your registered police station house officer.
5. ID card and copies of your Vietnamese spouse/parent/children who is the sponsor
6. Original and copies of your Passport

hi

thanks for the quick reply i am married to Vietnamese  and what is the process for this work mate
thanks

If you have a VEC or TT visa, you can apply for this TRC.
Steps:
1. Collect forms from the above office and get documents 2 & 4
2. Take other originals and copies along with the filled up application form to the given address. You can go yourself or send your spouse. Processing time is 1 week.

dickeyjaspal wrote:

hi

thanks for the quick reply i am married to Vietnamese  and what is the process for this work mate
thanks

254 Nguyen Trai immigration office, Q.1 = VEC
196 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Q.1 = TRC

Charmavietnam,

I would like to ask for your advice.

I presently have a TRC based on working in Vietnam. The company has closed in Vietnam and I am now working in Cambodia. My TRC is valid until July this year and is a two year TRC which followed a previous three year TRC. I asked in HCMC this last week about getting a TRC based on my marriage to a Vietnamese lady. I was told that I could not change the purpose of my TRC and was required to exit Vietnam and obtain a TT Visa or a VEC Visa and then apply for a new TRC based on my marriage. I have no problem leaving the country as I do frequently going to Cambodia.

My question is which visa is best for me TT or VEC?
What documents do I need to provide for each type?
How do I get hold of application forms for each?

I no longer have access to Police Report from UK. etc.
I am unsure how to get a police reprt from Cambodia.

For the TRC application
I already have a Vietnamese Marriage Certificate,
A House Book from the police in HCMC.
My wife would be the sponsor and her ID.
Application Form for TRC and passport etc.

Thanks for your continued help on this subject as it is really a big help to others.

Yes, you cannot extend the current work related TRC.
As your spouse is a Vietnamese citizen, you are eligible to obtain a VEC for 5 year which you should renew each 6 months. Spousal TRC need a VEC or TT visa.
To get a VEC is very easy. After the first stamp you can apply for the TRC for 3 years.
Or you can get a TT visa then TRC. I don't have more details about TT visa but VEC and TRC details are here in this forum if you use the key word search function on the top right.
You can send your spouse to collect the applications from the immigration office.
If you have registered your stay in Cambodia, you can get the residence document from them. Otherwise, get the approval letter(your spouse can collect from immigration office or appoint some agents to do so) for TT visa with the help of your spouse and apply in the Vietnamese Embassy/consulate in Cambodia. After you come to Vietnam, it is easy to apply for the TRC which take just a week for processing.

charmavietnam wrote:

Yes, you cannot extend the current work related TRC.
As your spouse is a Vietnamese citizen, you are eligible to obtain a VEC for 5 year which you should renew each 6 months. Spousal TRC need a VEC or TT visa.
To get a VEC is very easy. After the first stamp you can apply for the TRC for 3 years.
Or you can get a TT visa then TRC. I don't have more details about TT visa but VEC and TRC details are here in this forum if you use the key word search function on the top right.
You can send your spouse to collect the applications from the immigration office.
If you have registered your stay in Cambodia, you can get the residence document from them. Otherwise, get the approval letter(your spouse can collect from immigration office or appoint some agents to do so) for TT visa with the help of your spouse and apply in the Vietnamese Embassy/consulate in Cambodia. After you come to Vietnam, it is easy to apply for the TRC which take just a week for processing.

charmavietnam, are you sure that he needs this:

"If you have registered your stay in Cambodia, you can get the residence document from them.

Don't think one from Cambodia would do any good would it? That house book he already has is like gold and what their looking for to show he has a established residence in Vietnam, as long as his name is in it..  Regardless, if he applies for a VEC its for sure not needed, TT visa,? cant say.  Work in VN on a VEC, I would say no, a spouse TRC or aTT, maybe.

Rick

"If you have registered your stay in Cambodia, you can get the residence document from them."
Yes, I was mistaken.
We can consider it as police record for WP not the residence document for VEC/TRC. Thanks Rick for pointed that 

jpbsimpson wrote:

Charmavietnam,

I would like to ask for your advice.

I presently have a TRC based on working in Vietnam. The company has closed in Vietnam and I am now working in Cambodia. My TRC is valid until July this year and is a two year TRC which followed a previous three year TRC. I asked in HCMC this last week about getting a TRC based on my marriage to a Vietnamese lady. I was told that I could not change the purpose of my TRC and was required to exit Vietnam and obtain a TT Visa or a VEC Visa and then apply for a new TRC based on my marriage. I have no problem leaving the country as I do frequently going to Cambodia.

My question is which visa is best for me TT or VEC?
What documents do I need to provide for each type?
How do I get hold of application forms for each?

I no longer have access to Police Report from UK. etc.
I am unsure how to get a police reprt from Cambodia.

For the TRC application
I already have a Vietnamese Marriage Certificate,
A House Book from the police in HCMC.
My wife would be the sponsor and her ID.
Application Form for TRC and passport etc.

Thanks for your continued help on this subject as it is really a big help to others.

The items you have listed for the TRC application are the same ones I needed to get my TT visa  last February, with the addition of my local police registration paper.  I was not required to supply a police report. The sponsor (spouse) form is NA3 and it can be obtained at the main immigration office at 254 Nguyen Trai  Ho Chi Minh the same place where you will lodge your application, but in my case my wife had to do that as  they would not accept it from me.Best to take your wife to be on the safe side.The office to get that form ( or any others) is just inside the main entrance on the right, and from memory is open from 7am until 10.30am  and then from 1pm until 4pm.  If you have questions you need answering, there is a police woman in a little office on the right when you enter the room where applications are lodged.

Many thanks for all of the useful responses to my question.

I only have one remaining question.

As it appears I will have no problem in obtaining a VEC or a TT Visa prior to requesting a TRC based on marriage - which one should I choose? My idea is that whichever one I choose I would as soon as possible after obtaining it  I would request a TRC. Maybe the answer is based on cost or time?

cabraman wrote:

jpbsimpson wrote:

Charmavietnam,

I would like to ask for your advice.

I presently have a TRC based on working in Vietnam. The company has closed in Vietnam and I am now working in Cambodia. My TRC is valid until July this year and is a two year TRC which followed a previous three year TRC. I asked in HCMC this last week about getting a TRC based on my marriage to a Vietnamese lady. I was told that I could not change the purpose of my TRC and was required to exit Vietnam and obtain a TT Visa or a VEC Visa and then apply for a new TRC based on my marriage. I have no problem leaving the country as I do frequently going to Cambodia.

My question is which visa is best for me TT or VEC?
What documents do I need to provide for each type?
How do I get hold of application forms for each?

I no longer have access to Police Report from UK. etc.
I am unsure how to get a police reprt from Cambodia.

For the TRC application
I already have a Vietnamese Marriage Certificate,
A House Book from the police in HCMC.
My wife would be the sponsor and her ID.
Application Form for TRC and passport etc.

Thanks for your continued help on this subject as it is really a big help to others.

The items you have listed for the TRC application are the same ones I needed to get my TT visa  last February, with the addition of my local police registration paper.  I was not required to supply a police report. The sponsor (spouse) form is NA3 and it can be obtained at the main immigration office at 254 Nguyen Trai  Ho Chi Minh the same place where you will lodge your application, but in my case my wife had to do that as  they would not accept it from me.Best to take your wife to be on the safe side.The office to get that form ( or any others) is just inside the main entrance on the right, and from memory is open from 7am until 10.30am  and then from 1pm until 4pm.  If you have questions you need answering, there is a police woman in a little office on the right when you enter the room where applications are lodged.

There is another option to get VN Immigration forms. Do a Google search for the ones you need and a site like this comes up, if you were looking for a NA5 as an example:

http://www.xuatnhapcanh.com.vn/c31t600- … -ngoai.htm

Download them to your HD. Then you can type the information into the form and print,  change it or save it as needed. Immigration I'm sure would like too see a neatly typed form over one that's hand written. Then if you want to get real fancy download this free software and you can type it in Vietnamese.

http://www.unikey.org/

There are many sites you can chose from to download the form. The above is just an example, you might want too make sure its fillable before you save it the first time.

Rick

Hi,
Everyone keeps telling me I need a work permit ,and a Company formed to get a TRC. 
I'm just one of these guys that came here to retire and spend money.   

I'm stuffed if I can see the relevance of why you would need a Company and a work permit when you have NO intention of working here.   

Have these silly little buggers ever thought that people who work here are actually being supported by Vietnam's economy . They are really paying them to live here........

Yogi knows teachers that arrived here with barely a thousand dollars, a few clothes and a Tesol certificate.  Now they are drawing a living wage from a Vietnamese English school.  Where's the injection of foreign funds invested here???

Yogi brings his own money to spend from abroad.   I always thought that would be favourable to the economy here.

Who knows, maybe one day they'll get a retirement Visa.  Malaysia , Thailand ,Philippines etc have them in place.

Anyone hear of an option for a TRC without the other red tape nonsense.  I've found that once your name appears on govt paper here it just gives them another option to "play" you.
I don't want to be farting around with Company involvement or work permits.

Get married Yogi and you'll get one easy.  But I somehow think that's not your preferred option.

Ha ha 😜😜
Your a funny guy......no chance of that mate.    I've seen too many train wrecks here to go down that road.

Some of these women are more trouble than a second hand lawn mower.

You still there Cabraman.

About the Visa renewals/extensions in Nha Trang.   Be careful.    Tonight I was told about another forged extension from an Agent here in Nha Trang.   The same place again was implicated.@ Pastuer St Nha trang.   

Until some official action has been taken, I'd be careful getting an extension or ANY business done with that crew.  I know those people and wouldn't recommend them.

I'm happy just to clear out every 3 months and pick up the VOA at the airport for $45 for 3 months. That's only $15 a month.......

The TRC I was quoted worked out at $700 per year.   Given I'd actually only be hear for 10 months it's not that attractive for the convenience.

Some?        Did you change agents?   The one you mentioned once before was down in one of those streets behind the Novotel wasn,t it?  It was about a year ago when all the prices went ballistic.

That agent I mentioned before is OK , she's in the tourist area and has a good reputation , so far.

An American guy today heard about the Forged Visa extensions and knew he'd used the same agent. He checked with immigration and POW, it's a dud.   

There will be more to come on this.  I'd guess  anyone who used that agent got screwed.

Pathetic isn't it.   These dumb assed idiots think there selling tour coupons. As I said, I know the staff implicated, and they don't even know mans been to the moon.  Serious, I'm not kidding.

@Yogi007
Seen some facebook ads from agencies offering 1 year visa. Why don't you try that?
I paid $600 for my first TRC and enjoyed 3 years 
Yeah, I was too lazy of visa extensions then and immigration guys were crazy about extensions that period. So I just found that agent and obtained a 3 year TRC. All I provide then was my PP and some photos plus go with them to open a bank account 
I don't have a job then but still they arranged a work related TRC which was legally obtained through some company showing me as their employee or business partner, whatever!
After I got that, I recommended  that agent for some acquaintances but they only can get a 2 year TRC. After sometime, immigration tighten that kind of TRC 'deals'.

Further to Charmavietnam's post regarding the agent only getting a TRC for 2 years I can confirm that my first work related TRC was for three years but the second work related TRC was only for two years due to a change in the rules. I guess that was the reason for the 2 years TRC that the agent was able to get.

To avoid confusion, could I suggest that we use "work-related TRC" and "marriage based TRC" or some appropriate  abbreviations like W-TRC or M-TRC.  Very often I notice that people here are talking apples and oranges.  Both TRC are very different in the basis of their awarding, and apparently in their length.  I believe the work related TRC was cut to two years about two years ago.  Perhaps some who got a 3 year W-TRC in 2013 are just finding out about the reduction now.

I do not think a work related TRC issued with just PP and some picture can be legal. Work related TRC's application requires a work permit, work permit's application requires Criminal record, experience confirmation, degree, health check...etc

But it happens everywhere out there that I just have to smile and accept. There was a time I went to immigration department to extend a TRC, and the official was totally amazed that how this TRC can be issued. He was so surprise and cannot explain I finally returned the TRC to my friend and he came back to the service company that helped him make the TRC at first. And then he got the extended one!   

That's why I usually advice that at laws it is like this like that, but you should contact a service company for further check if they can do magic for you

VanKhanh, what you call "Magic" is called corruption.

As I stated in many posts, loopholes are always in laws especially in Vietnamese Laws. Even though no loophole there, 'officials' will penetrate some for 'magic'.

Cam3r0n wrote:

VanKhanh, what you call "Magic" is called corruption.

Ok. Am I being blamed calling it "magic"?

Loopholes are still legal that I have to admit that I used it sometimes. But what those service companies do is like making impossible become possible, totally blow me away.

Anyway now you have family related TRC right? It's even issued with longer term than work related TRC. If you have the chance to do the right thing then hope you will take it.

Cam3r0n wrote:

VanKhanh, what you call "Magic" is called corruption.

I have had several discussions with my Vietnamese wife about this and she just looks at me straight faced,shrugs and says "It's a service charge.Don't worry about it"   Whatever you choose to call it, the fact is that it's a part of Vietnamese life that won't be changing anytime soon.

charmavietnam wrote:

Temporary Residence Card (TRC) is available now for foreigners who are parents, spouses and children of Vietnamese citizens.
Actually I intend to apply for this when my work related TRC ends in this December but should go out of country and stay 2-3 weeks until they forward the TRC when ready to my embassy outside Viet Nam. So I applied and just got a 5 years VEC which also need an exit and re entry.
It is good if you can get a TRC  for 3 years which avoid the hassle of  90 days extension.
Here is the documents needed for a TRC:
1. Application form ( NA8)
2. Sponsoring document(NA7)
3. 2x3cm photo which you can take inside immigration office studio for 30.000 VND when you go to purchase the forms set. (Yes, you should buy it from 196 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Q.1, HCMC, Vietnam which includes the full forms and application file)
4. Residence document from your registered police station house officer.
5. ID card and copies of your Vietnamese spouse/parent/children who is the sponsor
6. Original and copies of your Passport

Well that window of opportunity wasn't open for very long was it? My wife presented our application paperwork last week, May 18 and was told the 3 year no work permit TRC (as above) is no longer available.  No problem getting a 5 year VEC though, so we got that as next best option and I'll stick with that even if TRC becomes available again. Fuck 'em.

Hey guys,

My TRC is going to expired this 15 July 2016. I like to ask if I need to go through any formalities to cancel/exit.  How many days should I exit before the expiry date?

brienlim wrote:

Hey guys,

My TRC is going to expired this 15 July 2016. I like to ask if I need to go through any formalities to cancel/exit.  How many days should I exit before the expiry date?

You can exit using that TRC until it's last day (15 July 2016).

Do you plan to comeback with your TRC? If yes you should renew it soon, at least 5 working days before its expiration.

brienlim wrote:

Hey guys,

My TRC is going to expired this 15 July 2016. I like to ask if I need to go through any formalities to cancel/exit.  How many days should I exit before the expiry date?

If your TRC is expiring now, we must assume that it is based on a work permit and not the new TRC based on marriage to a VN citizen as indicated somewhat ambiguously in the subject of this thread.   (See my post #105)  That aside, if you want to renew the TRC, the essential question is has your work permit been renewed.  That is the egg that must come before the chicken.

If you do not intend or hope to remain in Vietnam, I would guess that you could exit right up to the final day.

For your info, mine is not a working TRC. I was granted by my spouse in Vietnam and the formalities was done by an agent in Saigon and I am based in Can Tho. There are many stories here and there saying different things. As my agent cannot help replace my Tam Tru aka. TRC as I was told to exit Vietnam and come back after the expiry to reapply for a new TRC or a VEC. i changed my passport two years back, and together applied for my current TRC. But now was told to get out of the country and return for a new TRC OR VISA.

brienlim wrote:

For your info, mine is not a working TRC. I was granted by my spouse in Vietnam and the formalities was done by an agent in Saigon and I am based in Can Tho.

This is simply an observation and I am not doubting you for a minute, but everything in this thread up until now has indicated that the spousal TRC is a new thing.  Hence my assumption that you had a work permit TRC.  I am sorry about that.   If yours is expiring then it would seem that it was available 3 years ago.  I would comment that this certainly provides another example of the way the laws, and how they are interpreted, are in a constant state of flux.

To my knowledge the spouse TRC thingy is not just recent. It had been almost 4 years now and to date this is my second TRC granted by my spouse and we are actually running a hospitality business just that my name is not in the business license. For now I just wish to know how can I get out of Vietnam before my expiry and then return and apply for a VEC to continue my stay in VN.

For your info again, my current passport does not even have a VISA as I was granted the 1st TRC and when my last passport expired, I have to replace a new TRC and paid $800 for the second TRC which is what I am holding now.

In Vietnam to my knowledge there is slno such thing as renewal of visa/TRC as you will have to go through the whole process again getting your dosseir done things like that

Why couldn't your wife go to your local immigration office and ask them what needs to be done and how to do it?

@Cabraman I don't mean to be blunt but seriously  if I or myself could just go down to ask I probably wouldn't be here asking the forums. And there won't be any need to provide any information here. Its too difficult to approach these officers at the immigration. This is a third world country where corruptions are at large.