Who Can Apply Vietnam 5-Year Visa Exemption? How To Get A Five-Year Visa Exemption Certificate In Vietnam?

Visitors coming to Vietnam and wishing for a long-term residence in the country may find difficulty with short term visas which only allow the holder to stay maximum 3 months in Vietnam. When the visa expires, they must leave Vietnam or apply for a visa extension with high cost. However, a lot of people now are interested in 5-year visa exemption. So, who are eligible for Vietnam 5-year exemption and how to apply it?

1/ Who are eligible for Vietnam 5-year visa exemption?

Vietnam 5-year visa exemption is granted to Vietnamese overseas or foreigners who are spouses, children of Vietnamese overseas. Depending on the cases, the applicants must provide required documents to prove the case they belong to. The 5-year visa exemption certificate is only granted for those who adapt the full requirements.

The visa exemption certificate acts as a long-term visa for its holders to visit Vietnam at any time within 5 years. No visa is required if the visitors have 5-year exemption certificate. People having 5-year Vietnam visa exemption certificate is allowed to stay in Vietnam for 180 days at maximum for each visit. If they want to stay longer than 180 days without leaving Vietnam, visa extension is available and the duration for extension is up to 6 months.

2/ How to get a 5-year visa exemption in Vietnam

You need to follow three (03) steps below to process a Vietnam 5-year visa exemption application:

Step 1: Prepare the required documents

The required materials for applying Vietnam 5-year visa exemption depend on the case of application.

For Vietnamese overseas:

To apply for 5-years visa exemption for Vietnamese overseas, the applicants need to prepare:

• 5-year Vietnam visa exemption application form
• Passport or equivalent paper or a residence permit granted by a competent agency in the country of residence valid for at least 6 months following the date of arrival in Vietnam;
• Two photos taken recently (white background, straight face, bare head, no colored glasses);

One certified copy or copy attached to originals of one of the following papers (1):

• birth certificate;
• certificate of Vietnamese citizenship;
• decision for renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship;
• certificate of loss of Vietnamese citizenship;
• Vietnamese passport (valid or invalid)
• Identity Card (valid or invalid);
• latest voter’s card;
• Family Register Book;
• Documents issued by competent foreign authorities if they can prove that the person in question has original Vietnamese citizenship or of Vietnamese origin.

In case of not having documents listed at (1), the following materials could be submitted:

• A guarantee issued by an overseas Vietnamese association from the country of residence
• A guarantee from a Vietnamese citizen

For foreign spouses & children of overseas Vietnamese or Vietnamese citizens:

To apply for Vietnam 5-year visa exemption for foreign spouses and children of overseas Vietnamese or Vietnamese citizens, the applicants need to prepare:

• 5-year Vietnam visa exemption application form;
• Foreign passport valid for at least 6 months following entry date in Vietnam;
• Two photos taken recently (white background, straight face, bare head, no colored glasses;

One copy attached to originals of one of the following papers which prove the relationship between wives/husbands/children and the Vietnamese overseas/Vietnamese citizens:

• Certificate of Marriage
• Certificate of Birth
• Certificate of relationship with father, mother, children;
• Other valid documents as regulated by the Vietnamese Law.
• Decision of Adoption

Step 2: Submit the documents prepared above to the granting authority:

Agencies competent to grant visa exemption certificates include:

• Overseas Vietnamese diplomatic missions and consulates in current living country;
• The Vietnam Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security (if you are in Vietnam);
• Vietnam travel agency or visa agent authorized by Vietnam Immigration Department;

In case you are in Vietnam and find difficulty in procedure of 5-year visa exemption, you can send us an email to info@vietnam-evisa.com . Our staff will contact and give you advice about your case.

Step 3: Receive your original passport and the 5 years visa exemption certificate.

Normally it takes 7 working days to get result of Vietnam 5-year visa exemption certificate. When you get it, please check again your personal information, valid date of the certificate. Wrong information will lead to troubles when you use the card.