Surely you already know that a temporary residence card for foreigners is a legal alternative to a visa when coming to Vietnam. According to the law, holders of this card have the right to stay in Vietnam for a certain period of time without having to spend time applying for a visa extension.
In addition, the temporary residence card also allows foreigners to enter and exit Vietnam multiple times during the validity period of the card without having to go through complicated and expensive procedures to apply for a visa. This helps create a more conducive environment for cultural exchange, business and international cooperation.
In summary, from a legal perspective, temporary residence cards are an important tool to enhance flexibility and convenience for foreigners who want to stay in Vietnam.
Temporary Residence Card Definition
Article 3 of Law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam in 2014 clearly defines a temporary residence card. Accordingly,
“Temporary residence card is a document issued by an immigration authority or a competent agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to a foreigner who is allowed to reside for a period of time in Vietnam and a temporary residence card is valid to replace a visa.”
Cases Of Temporary Residence Card Issuance
According to the provisions of Article 36 of the Law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam 2014, amended by the Law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam amended in 2019
– Case 1: Foreigners who are members of diplomatic missions, consular offices, representative offices of international organizations under the United Nations, intergovernmental organizations in Vietnam and their spouses, children under 18 years old, maids accompanying them for tenure. The temporary residence card in this case has the symbol NG3.
– Case 2: Foreigners entering with visas with symbols LV1, LV2, LS, DT1, DT2, DT3, NN1, NN2, DH, PV1, LD1, LD2, TT.
General Conditions For Being Granted A Temporary Residence Card
According to Clause 1, Article 37 of the Law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam 2014 and Circular 31/2015/TT-BCA guiding a number of contents on visa issuance, temporary residence card issuance, immigration permit issuance, permanent residence settlement for foreigners in Vietnam, in order to be granted a temporary residence card in Vietnam, Foreigners belonging to the above-mentioned groups must satisfy the following conditions:
- Have a valid passport
- Foreigners must carry out procedures for temporary residence registration at the police of communes, wards or online registration in accordance with regulations.
The following foreigners will not be eligible for a temporary residence card in Vietnam:
- Being examined for criminal liability or being a defendant in civil, economic or labor disputes;
- Being obliged to serve a criminal sentence;
- Being obliged to enforce civil and economic judgments;
- Being obliged to comply with decisions sanctioning administrative violations, tax payment obligations and other financial obligations.
Duration Of Temporary Residence Card
According to the provisions of Article 38 of the Law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam 2014, amended by Clause 16 Article 1 of the Law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam amended in 2019.
- The temporary residence card with the symbol DT1 is valid for no more than 10 years.
- Temporary residence cards with symbols NG3, LV1, LV2, LS, DT2 and DH are valid for not more than 05 years.
- Temporary residence cards with symbols NN1, NN2, DT3, TT are valid for not more than 03 years.
- Temporary residence cards with symbols LD1, LD2 and PV1 are valid for not more than 02 years.
- Expired temporary residence cards are considered for new cards.
Thus, depending on the type of temporary residence registration card, the expiry date will vary.
The temporary residence card has the longest expiry date of no more than 10 years and the temporary residence card has the shortest expiry date of no more than 02 years.
Dossier For Temporary Residence Card For Foreigners
According to Clause 1, Article 37 of the Law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam 2014 guided by Article 4 of Circular 31/2015/TT-BCA, a dossier of application for a temporary residence card includes:
About temporary residence cards for foreigners with work permits or work permit exemption certificates in Vietnam.
The dossier in this case includes the following documents:
- Notarized copy of Business Registration License, or Investment License, or Operation License of representative office, branches, … depending on the type of business;
- Seal sample registration certificate or Written notice of posting information about the enterprise’s seal sample on the national business registration portal.
- Notarized copy of work permit or work permit exemption certificate of foreign worker valid for at least 12 months.
- Registration of first seal and signature form at Immigration Department (Form NA16)
- Letter and application for temporary residence card for foreigners (Form NA6)
- Declaration of application for temporary residence card for foreigners (Form NA8)
- A referral letter for Vietnamese employees to apply for a temporary residence card at the Immigration Office.
- Original Passport (passport valid for at least 13 months)
- Certificate of temporary residence registration or temporary residence registration book of foreigners certified by the police of the ward or commune where the foreigner is temporarily residing in Vietnam (if any).
- 02 photos 2cmx3cm
Regarding temporary residence cards for foreigners who are spouses, parents or children of Vietnamese citizens:
Dossiers to be prepared include:
- Documents proving the kinship relationship are specified in Article 6 of Circular 62/2021/ND-CP, which can be identified through: Notarized copy of the Marriage Certificate (for spouses); Birth certificate (for children) or other documents proving that one parent is currently a Vietnamese citizen,…
- Application for sponsorship and issuance of temporary residence card for foreigners (Form NA7)
- Declaration of application for temporary residence card for foreigners (Form NA8)
- Original Passport (passport valid for at least 13 months)
- Notarized copy of ID of spouse or parent
- 02 photos 2cmx3cm
About temporary residence cards for foreign relatives working in Vietnam
The dossier includes:
- Certificate of operation of the enterprise or organization where the foreigner sponsors his/her relatives who are working
- Certificate of registration of seal samples of enterprises or organizations where foreigners sponsor their relatives who are working;
- Passport and temporary residence card of the sponsor (In case a temporary residence card has been issued)
- Registration of first seal and signature form at Immigration Department (Form NA16)
- Letter and application for temporary residence card for foreigners (Form NA6)
- Declaration of application for temporary residence card for foreigners (Form NA8)
- A referral letter for Vietnamese employees to apply for a temporary residence card at the Immigration Office.
- Original Passport of the applicant for a temporary residence card (passport valid for at least 13 months);
- The foreigner’s certificate of temporary residence registration or temporary residence register has been certified by the police of the ward or commune where the foreigner is temporarily residing in Vietnam.
- 02 photos 2cmx3cm
- Certificate of domestic relations or certificate of marriage registration or birth certificate (for children sponsored by parents)
Regarding the application for a temporary residence card for foreign investors in Vietnam:
The dossier to be prepared in this case includes:
- Notarized copy of Business Registration Certificate, Investment License, which shows in detail and clearly the capital contribution of the foreign investor.
- Seal sample registration certificate or Written notice of posting information about the enterprise’s seal sample on the national business registration portal.
- Registration of first seal and signature form at Immigration Department (Form NA16)
- Letter and application for temporary residence card for foreigners (Form NA6)
- Declaration of application for temporary residence card for foreigners (Form NA8)
- A referral letter for Vietnamese employees to apply for a temporary residence card at the Immigration Office.
- Original Passport (passport valid for at least 13 months);
- The foreigner’s certificate of temporary residence registration or temporary residence register has been certified by the police of the ward or commune where the foreigner is temporarily residing in Vietnam;
- 02 photos 2cmx3cm.
Note: Forms NA16, NA6, NA7, NA8 are issued together with Circular No. 04/2015/TT-BCA dated January 05, 01, 2015
Procedures For Issuance Of Temporary Residence Cards For Foreigners
Step 1: Prepare your application
First, you determine the dossier needs to prepare and meet the required deadline of the documents.
Note: Documents issued abroad need to be consular legalized and translated.
Step 2. Apply
After preparing the required dossier, you bring the application to submit it at the Office of the Immigration Department. In case of online application, the passport must be sent via the public postal service to the receiving agency; Other dossiers must be electronically authenticated according to regulations, in case they have not been electronically authenticated, the dossier shall be sent to the receiving agency through the public postal service. In case the temporary residence card has not been issued, it shall reply in writing or notify the National Public Service Portal or the Public Service of the Ministry of Public Security clearly stating the reason.
After checking the documents, the Immigration Department sends a receipt to the person who comes to submit the application (Form NB7).
Step 3. Get Result
Time to return results: Within 05 working days from the date of receipt of complete documents, the immigration authority or the competent agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall consider issuing temporary cards except on New Year’s Day, public holidays and Saturday and Sunday.
On the day of the appointment according to the appointment certificate, you bring a receipt, ID or passport to present to the officer returning the test results and comparison
If you have the result of issuing a temporary residence card, you will pay the fee, then sign and receive the result (whether or not you are issued a temporary residence card).
CONCLUSION
Through the above article, we see that temporary residence cards create favorable conditions for foreigners who want to stay and work, sponsor relatives to stay with them in Vietnam. Besides, the temporary residence card helps reduce complicated procedures and save time for visa application. However, the issuance of a temporary residence card is not only about submitting an application and receiving results, but also requires the full satisfaction of conditions and compliance with legal regulations.
HMLF is here to assist you from determining eligibility to preparing documents, making submissions and explaining to authorities.
