Vietnam ties settlement transfers to assets formed in Vietnam

A Vietnamese citizen who is a resident for foreign-exchange purposes can send money abroad under a purpose that Vietnamese law names expressly: settlement abroad. The State Bank’s Circular 20/2022/TT-NHNN bases that transfer on the value of the emigrant’s assets formed in Vietnam before they took foreign citizenship or were permitted to settle abroad, without stating a fixed dollar ceiling. The bank handling the transfer sets the documents it requires.

What the settlement purpose covers

Decree 70/2014/ND-CP lists seven purposes for which resident Vietnamese citizens may buy, transfer or carry foreign currency abroad, among them settlement abroad and one-way transfers for other lawful needs. Under article 13(6) of Circular 20/2022, in force since 15 February 2023, the amount for settlement is based on the value of the emigrant’s assets formed in Vietnam before they acquired foreign citizenship or before they were permitted to reside abroad for settlement under the host country’s rules. Transfers to pay the costs of a settlement application are based on the costs notified by the foreign side, a basis that excludes the value of any investment required to obtain citizenship or settlement. For the seventh purpose, one-way transfers for other lawful needs, the circular sets no amount basis.

Investment transfers by resident Vietnamese citizens to obtain citizenship or settlement abroad are outside Circular 20/2022. Outward investment for business purposes is governed by the framework rebuilt in 2026, which The Legation Times examined in August. Under Decree 103/2026/ND-CP, an individual of Vietnamese nationality may be an outward investor, save for persons excluded by article 17(2) of the Enterprise Law. For projects within the decree’s scope, an outward investment registration certificate is required for outward investment capital of at least VND 7 billion or investment in a conditional sector, subject to the exceptions in article 18. Under article 18(1), projects below VND 7 billion and outside conditional sectors are exempt from the certificate procedure but remain subject to foreign-exchange registration. The sources reviewed for this article do not establish how a particular foreign investor-residence programme should be funded from Vietnam.

Circular 20/2022 does not contain a document checklist for settlement transfers. Each authorised bank sets the required documents in its internal procedures, together with the principles it uses to set amounts, subject to the law, and must check that the amounts bought, transferred or carried do not exceed those shown in the supporting documents. The bank must also ask the customer for a written commitment that the amounts comply with the circular.

Carrying cash and gold

A person leaving Vietnam through an international border gate on a passport must declare to border customs foreign cash above USD 5,000 or its equivalent in other currencies, or Vietnamese cash above VND 15 million, under Circular 15/2011/TT-NHNN. To carry more on exit, the person must show customs a confirmation from an authorised credit institution or a written approval from the State Bank. There is one exception: cash that does not exceed the amount declared on the person’s most recent entry can be taken out on the next exit within 12 months of the date on the customs-confirmed entry declaration, using that declaration.

Since Circular 20/2022 amended that rule, banks issue the confirmation for the purposes in article 7(1) to (3) of Decree 70/2014, which include settlement abroad; outside that coverage, the State Bank considers each case according to its circumstances and necessity. Each bank specifies the documents that must prove the purpose and the amount of cash to be carried.

Failing to declare, or declaring wrongly, is fined under Decree 169/2026/ND-CP, in force since 1 July 2026, on a scale based on the value of the undeclared excess: VND 1 million to 3 million where it is worth VND 5 million to under VND 30 million, VND 5 million to 15 million from VND 30 million to under VND 70 million, VND 15 million to 25 million from VND 70 million to under VND 100 million, and VND 30 million to 50 million from VND 100 million, where the case is not prosecuted as a crime.

Gold follows its own rules. Under Circular 11/2014/TT-NHNN, a person travelling on a passport may not carry gold bars or raw gold, and must declare gold jewellery and art objects with a combined weight of at least 300 grams. A Vietnamese citizen permitted to settle abroad may take gold in any of those forms when leaving. A total weight of at least 300 grams but under 1 kilogram must be declared to customs; at 1 kilogram or more, the person needs both a declaration and a permit from the State Bank.

What must be reported

Transaction-reporting duties under the anti-money-laundering rules fall on reporting entities, including banks. Under Decision 11/2023/QD-TTg, a transaction of VND 400 million or more is a large-value transaction that must be reported. Under Circular 27/2025/TT-NHNN, a reporting entity must report to the State Bank’s anti-money-laundering department an international electronic funds transfer of USD 1,000 or more, or its equivalent, and a domestic electronic transfer of VND 500 million or more, or its equivalent. An intermediary financial institution is exempt from this electronic-transfer reporting duty. Article 9 also exempts transfers arising from debit, credit or prepaid card payments for goods and services, and transfers and payments whose originator and beneficiary are both financial institutions acting on their own behalf. These provisions require reporting by transaction value.

Limits of this reading

Circular 20/2022 leaves the documents proving the value or origin of assets for a settlement transfer to each bank’s procedures, and no settlement-specific checklist was found in the official texts read for this article.