Extending a Tourist Visa from 3 Months to 1 Year

You can't change the type of visa, a single cant be updated to a multi, unless the laws have recently changed. As a SA you will need to exit and re-enter with a new visa in hand.

You can only extend a 3 month tourist visa once, for another 3 months. There are many hotels that offer visa agent services to do this.

Only US passport holders can get 1 year Tourist and Business visas. For everyone else, the longest is 3 month visas. Some visa agencies have a way of obtaining 6 and 12 month visas for non-US passports but they are expensive, more expensive per day then 3 month visas.

If you want to live in Vietnam my advice would be to apply for a 3 month Business visa. You need a sponsor for business visas. Visa agencies can provide a sponsor for you but it is safer to find a sponsor yourself. You can extend business visas a few times, but it is expensive. If you are based in HCMC the cheapest way to renew your visa is to take a bus to the Moc Bai border gate with Cambodia with an approval letter for another 3 month Business Visa. Total cost can be as little as 130USD.

DiandraL wrote:

I arrived here a month ago to check out whether I wanted to stay here or not. I do want to live here. However, I'm not entirely sure how to go about extending my Visa from a three month single-entry to a multi-entry year long Visa. I definitely know it's possible as I have a few friends who have done this. But I am South African and they are Australian and American and I'm not sure if the process is different depending on nationality.

Should I go through an agency or try do it on my own?
If on my own, how?
Is it possible to get a year long Visa without enrolling in a school?

Any and all information you can spare will be appreciated!

Basically, I want to live here. That is all.

Very good advice from Colin and Sal.

Going through immigration yourself is always the number one recommendation, however for various reasons you may find that difficult or undesirable.

Unless you've decided to deal with immigration yourself, at this point I recommend you be talking to a trusted Visa agent who can explore all of your opportunities for you.

If you would like the name and contact information for my trusted agent, please send me a private message and I will provide it for you..