Banking in Hue

@oanhb03

I am not an expert on these matters. Almost all visa agreements between countries are *bi-lateral.* This means that what the US and Vietnam have as to citizens getting visas is not the same as what, say, Mexicans, or Indians, or Nigerians have (Point 1).

2. Assuming that you are both United States citizens, you and your family members need to know that there are restrictions on who can open a bank account in Vietnam.

I, for one, worked in VN for two years starting 8 years ago (2015) and the only bank that my employer would use for us expats was HSBC. Their customer service was atrocious. Still, I wired almost my entire salary back to a credit union in the USA on a monthly basis, an indication of how low the cost of living is in VN.

Right now, US citizens can only get a 30-day tourist e-visa unless you have a company that is sponsoring a work permit for you and an eventual temporary residence card -- which is what I had.

Back in the day (2015 - 2017), a foreigner couldn't even get a SIM card for a phone without showing a passport. Things have changed on that score. And apparently, a 90-day tourist visa is in the works starting August 15, 2023. I doubt (but there may be a work-around) that you can open a VN bank account with only a tourist visa, even a 90-day version.

I was in VN from December 15, 2022 until January 24, 2023 and a lot has changed, much of it in reaction to Covid, so those laws and norms are gradually receding, like my hairline.

The folks on this forum are often very well-informed, so keep asking the questions.

Good luck!

I am in Vietnam from 2011 but only 18 months in HCMC (Saigon). When I moved here I asked to transfer my bank account I had at Techcombank.

Impossible because meanwhile I had another employer.

So I opened a bank account only three months later when I got my TRC (Temporary Residence Card)  and WP (work permit). I opened with UOB and Vietinbank. But without the WP is impossible to have a bank account, even if you are from US.

Hello fellow ex-pats! I’m moving from US to Hue, VN with my elderly mother. What bank do you recommend to use while living there? We do not have long term Visas. I will work on those while we’re in VN.
-@oanhb03

Are you "overseas Vietnamese/ Việt Kiều"?

If so AND you will be traveling here using a six month permission to remain on a 5 year Visa Exemption Certificate (VEC) and you have a Vietnamese family sponsor in Huế, you'll first need to get your Temporary Resident Cards (possible within 30 days if your dossier is completed quickly).

Once you have those, you shouldn't have a problem opening a DOMESTIC bank account, which is what you'll want.

I recommend Agribank but my Vietnamese wife likes BIDV, probably because that's what our extended family uses.

Good luck!

I opened with UOB and Vietinbank.
-@Joss15

@oanhb03 - We are planning to close our account with UOB (formerly Citibank) when my wife gets to HCMC in another ten days.   This is because our online .pdf statements by email stopped abruptly last January after Citi sold it retail banking to UOB.  It is unclear whether free online transfers from US to VN are still available but it matters little now.   It may work for Joss15 but it's not working for us.

If you do want to make such transfers and live in a part of the US that has branches of HSBC handy (California?), you should look into opening an account there and open a corresponding account once settled into Vietnam with a VEC or TRC.  The problem with that plan for you might be that the closest branch to Hue seems to be in Da Nang.

From now on, for travel to Vietnam we plan to rely on Schwab.   The last time she was there, my wife did not use our Schwab card because she had no need of cash and failed to understand that I just wanted to be confident of how it works.   Again, she will be somewhat flush with cash (for living in rural VN) after she closes out at UOB but will hopefully remember to at least test out Schwab with a small withdrawal.