Important Questions for Moving to Viet Nam...

khoalaco wrote:

Things to keep in mind: I am technically still married, so I can apply for a 5-year VISA (But does this mean I can live in VN for 5-years?); and I have stayed in VN for over 6 months before, but most formalities were handled for me.

First is your wife still in VN or is she in the US?  Second if she is in VN are you on speaking terms?  A 5 year VEC still involves a visit to the local police station and a trip downtown for her every 3 months (or maybe now 6 months.)  Hard to imagine her wanting to do that for long if you are not on very good terms.  Maybe if you paid a little more and settled for less time, the new 3 year residency card would be better, as you would only have to see each other once every three years.

Thank you so much for the quick response.

My wife is in VN, and we are sort of on talking terms. It's not like we are at each other's throats. But, I don't know how she's going to react that I'm moving to VN and renting a flat there.

I am interested in this 3-year residency card. How would I go about obtaining this?

Thank you again!

There's a whole sticky thread at the top of the site.   It's called "3 Year TRC (Temporary Residence Card) without work permit"   I love it when I can use this one.   

Happy reading. 

Not sure where everyone is getting the info they are giving you. One there is no more VEC'S. Two you can not get a TRC based on marriage any longer either. You can get a TRC based on a business though. You can take the test for a DL if you understand Vietnamese. You can also get a DL equivalent to your stateside DL, but must renew it every 90 days. Once you stateside DL expires you can no longer do that. If you already have a VEC you can use it until it expires. But you must renew it every 6 months. You can do that once at your local immigration office then you must exit the country and re-enter. As for registration with your local ward police you canned that on your own. But you must register, no matter where you stay. All the wards I have lived in have a form for you to fill out. Unless you have a house book you can not register a motorbike in your name. But you can buy one and register it in the dealers name where you bought it. As a footnote these rules change faster than I change underwear, and every jurisdiction seem to interpret the new rules how they wish. Good luck on your move.

I appreciate this information, thank you so much.

Diazo wrote:

Not sure where everyone is getting the info they are giving you. One there is no more VEC'S. Two you can not get a TRC based on marriage any longer either. You can get a TRC based on a business though.

Perhaps you should post your assertions on the VEC and TRC (Marriage based) threads.  Then people who have dealt with these two types of documents recently could add to or refute your comments.

@THIGV
Perhaps not. Those that want to read can. Those that want to go to an outdated thread can as well. The OP can glean what information he was seeking from what I posted. But thanks. Feel free to post the info on the thread you mentioned though.

@THIGV
   The thread I think you are referring to is the sticky thread on VEC/ As you can see it is quite dated (2014) and has gone through many iterations. As have the TRC which you once could get quite easily based on marriage. I have been told by my local immigration office that the TRC is no longer available based on marriage. I have not personally tried to get one as they said I could not, so I let it go. The VEC rules where pretty clear when the new rules came out in Jan 2015. If you held a VEC it would still be honored. But they are no issuing any any longer. Of course, as with everything here it changes with the wind. The next time I go to renew my VEC it maybe a completely different ballgame. Good luck.

Diazo wrote:

I have been told by my local immigration office that the TRC is no longer available based on marriage. I have not personally tried to get one as they said I could not, so I let it go. The VEC rules where pretty clear when the new rules came out in Jan 2015. ...... But they are no issuing any any longer.

@Diazo
That's not quite true.
Not sure which "local" immigration office gave you those information on TRC ... and VEC.
Yes, around 2015 there was a sort of rumour concerning elimination of VEC but being in Vietnam for long we all know that Laws here are whimsical and implemented differentially across the country.

I got my 5 yr VEC in June last year ... and subsequently collected my 3 yr TRC (spouse sponsored) in Dec 2016.  All these were done from their respective offices in D1, HCM without any hassle, any 'coffee money' and any mediating agent.

I think OP should at least give those VEC & TRC options a try before jumping to the conclusion (as you've suggested) that these are not available any more.

Yeah, no more VEC, no TRC upon marriage? sounded fishy to me too.    My TRC was issued Jan 2016. Those threads from 2014 - they have been updated many times since.

I went to my immigration office in Dalat in Dec 2016 and they said I could not get a TRC. VEC were to have been done away with when the new visa scheme came out in Jan, what was it 2015 or 2016. If you had a VEC it was still good, but new people had to get a 1 year Visa. Hey, good news, if true. Every office does it differently, no matter what the law is. When we first went under these new VEC rules I could renew my VEC every 6 months at my local office. Last year they said they can only do it once a year, then I must exit and reenter the country. Wait a day it will change. And I don't know where the OP is planning to get his done.

Diazo wrote:

I went to my immigration office in Dalat in Dec 2016 and they said I could not get a TRC.

Da Lat immigration seems to be a particularly uncooperative location.  One other poster told me with no uncertainty that he had been told that a work permit and a VEC were not a legal combination even though it surely seems to be the case in HCMC.  Another who posted about other problems with Da Lat  authorities  now seems to have disappeared.  I don't mean that he was jailed but he probably had to at least leave Da Lat if not the country.  As I said, the authorities seem to do things their own way in Da Lat..

This whole process is a pig and a poke. Just depends on which office you must report to. The education levels in this country are so low I just don't think they can read the same sentence or paragraph and any two people come to the same conclusion. And it is not like they are after coffee money here in DaLat. They are very kind and cooperative, far more than any place I have ever lived here. Wait until next week......!

I thank everyone for their input, all this information is very useful. Thank you!