THE PROCESS OF APPLYING FOR A TEMPORARY RESIDENCE CARD FOR FOREIGNERS IN VIETNAM

According to statistics of the Immigration Department, at the moment due to the effects of the Covid 19 epidemic, there are more than 70,000 foreigners living and working at diplomatic missions, foreign-invested enterprises, Non-government projects, education, sports, and humanitarian projects. They are people who bring their knowledge and experience to the sustainable development of Vietnam. Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang are home to a large number of foreigners, mainly from countries such as South Korea, Japan, China, Singapore, Russia, and the US. As a politically stable country, the government's good disease control and development assistance policies are giving reassurance to attracting more foreigners to Vietnam to work. Therefore, the need to apply for a temporary residence card for foreigners in Vietnam is concerned by many people. However, when foreigners come to Vietnam, not everyone understands and understands the provisions of Vietnamese law on this procedure. With a team of experienced lawyers and legal consultants, Doanh Tri Law firm will send you the process of applying for a temporary residence card for foreigners in Vietnam.

I. Legal grounds

- Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam 2014 Amendments 2019;

- Circular No. 04/2016/TT-BNG dated 30/6/2016 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs guiding procedures for granting visas, extending temporary residence, granting temporary residence cards for foreigners in Vietnam under the jurisdiction of foreign Office;

- Circular No. 31/2015/TT-BCA dated July 6, 2015, of the Ministry of Public Security providing guidance on a number of contents regarding the issue of visas, temporary residence cards, immigration permits, permanent residence settlement for foreigners in Vietnam;

- Circular No. 219/2016/TT-BTC dated November 10, 2016, of the Ministry of Finance regulating the rates, the regime of collection, payment, management, and use of fees and charges in the field of exit and entry, transit, and residence in Vietnam.

II. What is Vietnam's Temporary Residence Card?

A temporary residence card is a document issued by an immigration authority or a competent authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to a foreigner who is permitted to reside in Vietnam for a certain period of time. This card has the same validity as a visa.

III. Who can apply for a temporary residence card in Vietnam?

According to the Law on entry, exit, transit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam 2014 Amendments  2019 temporary residence cards are issued to 14 following subjects:

NG3 - Issued to members of diplomatic missions, consular offices, representative offices of international organizations affiliated to the UN, representative offices of intergovernmental organizations and their spouses, children under 18 years of age, and housemaids during their term of office;

LV1 - Issued to people who come to work with units affiliated to Vietnam’s Communist Party; the National Assembly, the government, Central Committee of Vietnamese Fatherland Front, the People’s Supreme Court, the People’s Supreme Procuracy, State Audit Agency, Ministries, ministerial agencies, Governmental agencies, the People’s Councils, the People’s Committees of provinces;

LV2 - Issued to people who come to work with socio-political organizations, social organizations, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry;

DT1 - Issued to foreign investors in Vietnam and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam and contributing capital of VND 100 billion or more or investing in business lines benefitting from investment incentives, in administrative divisions benefitting from investment incentives decided by the Government;

DT2 - Issued to foreign investors in Vietnam and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam and contributing capital of VND 50 billion to less than VND 100 billion or investing in business lines benefitting from investment incentives treatment decided by the Government;

DT3 - Issued to foreign investors in Vietnam and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam and contributing capital of VND 3 billion to less than VND 50 billion;

NN1 - Issued to Managers of representative offices or projects of international organizations and foreign non-governmental organizations in Vietnam;

NN2 - Issued to heads of representative offices, branches of foreign traders, representative offices of other foreign economic, cultural, professional organizations in Vietnam;

DH - Issued to people who come to study or serve internship;

PV1 - Issued to journalists who have permanent residences in Vietnam;

PV2 - Issued to journalists who come to work for a short period of time in Vietnam;

LD1 – Issued to foreigners working in Vietnam and certified of eligibility for work permit exemption, unless otherwise specified by international agreements to which Vietnam is a signatory;

LD2 – Issued to foreigners working in Vietnam requiring work permit;

TT – Issued to foreigners that are spouses or children under 18 years of age of foreigners issued with LV1, LV2, LS, DT1, DT2, DT3, NN1, NN2, DH, PV1, LD1, or LD2 visas or foreigners that are parents, spouses or children of Vietnamese citizens.

IV. Validity of the temporary resident card

- Validity of DT1 temporary residence cards does not exceed 10 years;

- Validity of NG3, LV1, LV2, LS, DT2, and DH temporary residence cards do not exceed 5 years;

- Validity of NN1, NN2, DT3, and TT temporary residence cards do not exceed 3 years;

- Validity of LD1, LD2, and PV1 temporary residence cards do not exceed 2 years.

V. Application document for a temporary resident card

- Certificate of operation of the enterprise employing foreign workers (Business Registration License, Investment License, Operation License of Representative Office, Branch, ... Depending on the enterprise and type of business) businesses will have different types of documents);

- Seal registration certificate or a written notice on the publication of information about the enterprise's seal sample on the national business registration portal;

- An authenticated copy of work permit or work permit exemption of foreign workers;

- NA16 Form Register the seal and signature sample for the first time at the Immigration Department;

- NA6 form, Official Letter, and application for temporary residence card for foreigners;

- NA8 form, Application form for temporary residence card for foreigners;

- Letter of recommendation for Vietnamese staff to apply for a temporary residence card at the Immigration Office.

- Original passport (Note that the passport has a visa for the right working purpose, in case the foreign worker was previously issued a temporary residence card, the current temporary residence card is required);

- The certificate of the foreigner's temporary residence or temporary residence registration, which has been certified by the police of the ward or commune where the foreigner is temporarily residing in Vietnam. (If). In some cases immigration authorities will require workers to provide this document;

- Photo 2cmx3cm: Attached with 02 pcs.

VI. How to Get a Temporary Residence Card for Foreigners in Vietnam?

Step 1: Prepare documents as prescribed by law.

Step 2: Submit the documents

The agencies, organizations, and individuals submit the application documents at one of the three working offices of the Immigration Department – Ministry of Public Security:

44-46 Tran Phu, Ba Dinh, Hanoi;

254 Nguyen Trai, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City;

7 Tran Quy Cap, Da Nang City.

Time for submission: Mornings, Monday to Saturday (except public holidays).

Officials receiving dossiers will then examine the legality and content of the documents:

- If the documents are complete and valid, the official will print and give a receipt of an appointment to get the

- If the documents are not yet enough, the official will instruct the applicant to complete the application.

Step 3: Get the results.

The person who receives the results gives the receipt, identity card, or passport to the officials who return the results for examination and comparison. If there are results of the temporary residence card, the official requests the applicant to pay fees and hand over the temporary residence card.

Time to get results: From Monday to Friday (except for public holidays).

VII. Processing Time & Fees

The processing time of a request for a temporary residence card for foreigners in Vietnam is 05 working days from the date of receiving full documents.

According to Circular No. 219/2016/TT-BTC dated November 10, 2016, of the Ministry of Finance regulating the rates, the regime of collection, payment, management and use of fees and charges in the field of exit and entry, transit, and residence in Vietnam, the cost of a Vietnam temporary residence card at the Vietnam Immigration Department is:

• US $145/card valid for up to 2 years
• US $155/card valid for over 2 years to up to 5 years
• For foreigners who are granted a multi-time visa with the symbol of LD, tel, with a term of more than 1 year: 5 USD / card.

Please contact Doanh Tri Law Firm for further information!

Address: 146 Tran Vy Street, Mai Dich Ward, Cau Giay District, Hanoi.

Hotline: + 84 911233955

Email: [email protected]