Legal & Visa advice for new business

From my limited thinking, you can check below options:

+ You can ask Saigon Coop to help to invite you to come.

Saigon Coop should register an account and follow the steps here:
https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/en_US … v-bao-lanh

(I don't have actual experience on this, just think it's an option)

+ You should contact visa service companies to help you to process business visa.

Who to trust?

I used https://www.vietnam-visa.com/ to process tourist visa for my Canadian and Filipino friends.

I used http://myvisa.com.vn/ to process business visa (1 year multiple entry) for my Filipino friend.
He had difficulties to claim it at Vietnam Embassy in the Philippines, it's better to claim it at the airport.

Best,
Khuyen

Thank you Khuyen,
I will look into these too companies.
I will also run this past our client at Sigon Coop.

Technically, if you will be working in Vietnam, you should obtain a work permit. This is the legitimate means of obtaining a longer term visa. For this, you should prepare the relevant documents from Australia before flying over.

In sum, ideally, the procedures would be to (i) obtain a work permit and (ii) with this, obtain a temporary residence card (TRC) or work (LĐ) visa of up to two years. With this, your wife and your children can obtain a linked TRC or visa under the law. No need to then do visa runs.

Work Permit

You're should have your company and Saigon Coop to assist in this. Under law, to obtain a work permit on the basis of performing work under a service contract, you'll need to submit at least the following:

(1)  a written application for the work permit (in the prescribed form)
(2)  consularised copy of a recent health certificate issued by a Vietnamese or foreign health establishment
(3)  consularised copy of a recent police check
(4)  consularised copy of a written certification that you are a manager, CEO, expert or technician, as well as proof of qualifications (e.g., diplomas and degrees)
(5)  2 recent passport photos
(6)  consularised copy of your passport
(7)  consularised copy of the service contract signed between your company and Saigon Coop, ideally indicating that you will be sent to Vietnam to implement the contract
(8)  consularised copy of papers to prove that you have worked for the company for at least 2 years (e.g., a confirmation letter from your company)

The docs will need to be certified translated into Vietnamese. Application for work permit should be submitted before you go to Vietnam.

Once you obtain the work permit, you can then apply for the TRC/visa. Your family can also do so as well.

Due to the procedures involved, it would be preferable to engage an agent or lawyer to assist. Agents are generally a lot cheaper, but quality can be hit and miss. Lawyers will cost $. In either case, it's not necessarily a cheap procedure.

Agents may not necessarily go through the above procedures/documents -- they usually have internal connections or techniques they can employ to bypass certain documentary requirements.

Some reputable agents who may worth reaching out to:
http://24hvisa.vn/http://vietnamvisainfo.net/http://lelaninternational.com/

The method of using business visas for the purpose of working in Vietnam is not ideal - not only because of the short length, but also as it's not legal. You'll then also need to consider the visa your family should obtain. In the long run, the multiple extensions are going to cost similar $ anyway.

Thank you so much for this detailed information,  this is very helpful I will follow up with the agents you have listed to see if they can help

Your company should apply for a work permit, not Saigon Coop as you don't actually work for them. You could get your company to apply for a representatives office in Viet Nam, this would make life a lot easier. Seeing as you haven't lived here before be prepared for the goal posts to be moved around regularly. As stated before, get your company to seek out a lawyer, it costs, but it will save you a lot of heartache. VN officials are difficult at the best of times.