Vietnam ties investor residence to capital and qualifying activities

The official texts reviewed for this article do not establish a programme called Golden Visa.

A foreign investor’s visa category depends on the capital contributed or on investment in qualifying sectors and areas. ĐT1 allows a temporary residence card of up to ten years; ĐT4, for capital below 3 billion dong, allows a visa of up to one year and no residence card on that basis. The general permanent-residence rules contain no investor category.

Four investor categories

The law on foreigners’ entry, exit, transit and residence, Law 47/2014, amended most recently by Law 118/2025 with effect from 1 July 2026, gives foreign investors and representatives of foreign investing organisations four visa symbols.

ĐT1 covers capital of 100 billion dong or more, or investment in a sector or area the Government lists as preferential. ĐT2 covers 50 billion to under 100 billion dong, or investment in an encouraged sector. ĐT3 covers 3 billion to under 50 billion dong, and ĐT4 less than 3 billion.

Visas run up to five years for ĐT1 and ĐT2, three years for ĐT3 and one year for ĐT4. Temporary residence cards, which exempt the holder from visas, run up to ten years for ĐT1, five for ĐT2 and three for ĐT3.

ĐT4 does not qualify its holder for a temporary residence card under that category, or provide a basis for family visas for the holder’s spouse and children under 18. A card must expire at least 30 days before the holder’s passport, and a new card can be issued when it runs out.

The investor has to prove the investment under the Investment Law. The new Investment Law, 143/2025, in force since 1 March 2026, contains no express provision on visas or residence.

The general permanent-residence rules contain no investor category

Under Article 39 of the law, four groups may be considered for permanent residence. The first comprises people honoured by the state for merit. The second comprises scientists and experts living in Vietnam on temporary residence, who also need a proposal from the minister or head of a ministerial-level or government agency responsible for their professional field.

The third comprises people sponsored by a parent, spouse or child who is a Vietnamese citizen with permanent residence. The fourth comprises stateless people who have resided temporarily and continuously since 2000 or earlier. The family route requires at least three years of continuous temporary residence.

Applicants must also have lawful accommodation and stable income, and the card is replaced every ten years.

A separate provision covers the International Financial Centre. National Assembly Resolution 222/2025, in force since 1 September 2025, allows an “important investor” among others to be considered for permanent residence.

Decree 327/2025, in force since 17 January 2026, requires documentary evidence of long-term work at an entity headquartered in the centre and at least three years of continuous work there, and a proposal from the minister or agency head responsible for the relevant professional field, or the chair of the Ho Chi Minh City or Da Nang People’s Committee.

The criteria for an important investor are to follow rules of the centre’s executive body; their publication has not been established.

The Tourism Advisory Board’s Golden Visa proposal

VnExpress reported on 2 April 2025 that the Tourism Advisory Board had, in a letter to the Prime Minister dated 25 March 2025, proposed a Golden Visa of five to ten years and a ten-year investment visa with a path to permanent residence after five years if the investment was kept.

None of the official texts read for this article uses the term Golden Visa, and no official draft of such a scheme was found in the sources reviewed.

The long-stay provisions in force

Decree 221/2025, in force since 15 August 2025, created a special visa-exemption card of up to five years with multiple entries and a 90-day stay on each entry. For the category of investors and corporate leaders, it specifies companies on annual lists of the world’s 100 largest by market capitalisation published by reputable international organisations, and a written proposal from an authorised body is also required.

Under Resolution 222 and Decree 327, qualifying important investors, experts, managers and highly qualified workers at entities headquartered in the International Financial Centre may receive a UĐ1 visa or temporary residence card of up to ten years on the proposal of the centre’s executive body. UĐ2 covers their spouses and children under 18, with corresponding validity.

Law 118/2025 brought UĐ1 and UĐ2 into the general law from 1 July 2026, with visas of up to five years and residence cards of up to ten. UĐ1 covers high-quality digital-industry personnel and other beneficiaries designated by a law or a resolution of the National Assembly or its Standing Committee; UĐ2 covers their spouses and children under 18. Neither is an investor category open to investors generally.

The digital technology industry law, 71/2025, gives high-quality foreign digital workers a renewable five-year residence card.

What it costs

Under Finance Ministry Circular 28/2026, in force since 1 April 2026, the standard fee for a multiple-entry visa of more than 180 days and up to one year is USD 135; more than one and up to two years, USD 145; more than two and up to five years, USD 155; and more than five and up to ten years, USD 165.

Visas for children under 14 cost USD 25. A temporary residence card costs USD 145 for up to two years, USD 155 for more than two and up to five, and USD 165 for more than five and up to ten. A permanent residence card costs USD 100.

For Vietnamese families and businesses

For a Vietnamese business bringing in a foreign co-investor, the investor category sets the ceiling on the visa and on any residence card. A co-investor qualifying only under ĐT4 is eligible for a visa valid for at most one year and does not qualify for a temporary residence card under that category.

A foreign spouse of a Vietnamese citizen has a separate path: sponsorship for permanent residence after three years of continuous temporary residence. The official sources read publish no count of investor visas or residence cards issued.