Yet another post about long term Visas

At present the 1 year DN visa has been put on hold. That could change any time soon.

Relax Selensis...   It's (not) all good, but...

As you will (surely) have found by now, Western values do not apply in Viet Nam

(I have been here 4+ years now and I'm still guessing)  But never been happier.   

A business Visa is best arranged by an agent if you have no employer or sponsor, and there are (actually) pages full of them if you type in "Vietnam Visa", so read the Tripadvisor reviews.   No one is game to recommend one here for obvious reasons, but your own research will bring up a few good ones.    Use yer intuition...

But remember Caveat Emptor: let the buyer beware, & if you trust; you will be betrayed.

Common sense works for me...    Seems an alien concept for some...     

Options are subject to your skillset; get married (to an orphan) might be best     

  The rest, as they say, is blowing in the wind...   

   As always, it is not chance, only choice will decide your destiny       

   * As Col infers, certainty is the last thing you will find here.    It's not all bad either...

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Same question asked on Tripadvisor

1 year/6 month business visa suspended
Sep 10, 2018, 12:55 AM

"Hi there,

I searched the forum and could not find an answer to my question.

I am planning to come to Vietnam in November and would like to obtain a 1 year business visa for non-USA citizens (I am Canadian). I have spoken to 2 different online visa agents (I have successfully used them in the past for 3-month visitor visas, they are legit) and they told me that Vietnam Immigration has temporarily suspended the issuance of these visas.

I asked why this is the case and when would they resume issuing the visas. They had no idea."

While the visa issue has been sufficiently discussed I'd like to revisit your long term goals.

The axiom about being willing to lose your investment on any business venture definitely holds water for foreigner owned businesses in VN. The percentage of successful foreign owned small business is less than what you will find in your native country, especially if you carry any debt and don't live above your shop.

The dream of land ownership is simply that, for foreigners here, a dream.  You can own property such as an apartment or a house, but you can't own the land it's built on. And the actual ownership of the property is based on a 50 year renewable lease with full rights to do whatever you legally want to do with it.

Sorry if I pissed in your Cheerios, but a little knowledge goes a long way.

Good luck, I hope you find what you're looking for here. It's a beautiful country filled with wonderful food, people and natural wonders waiting to be discovered.

I am the person who recently on TripAdvisor (and here) posted about the 1 year DN business visa (for non US-citizens) being temporarily suspended.

The agent I have been speaking to told me a couple of weeks ago that as of 18 October 2018, VN Immigration will start issuing these visas again.  So, early next week, I will check back with the agent to see if it is true - if not, I will have to resort to getting a 3 month visa for the time being as my next trip to Vietnam is coming up soon.

As to online agents, there are several of them, as a previous poster stated, just do a Google search on "Vietnam visa agents" and you will find many of them.  You can also use Google to find feedback on each agent to see if they are legit or not.  I have dealt with 2 agents in the past (for visitor visas) and they were great - quick turnaround time, no hassles.

Hope everything works out for you.

Thanks Bazza, I will look at Tripadvisor reviews when investigating visa agencies. That looks to be my next step.

I found that article on Tripadvisor colin. So not even 6 month is available? Looks like 3 month tourist visa is as good as it gets for the moment.

Thanks for the advice Good_Man. My plans for land ownership and business are further away. From my investigation so far I have seen that it's not really viable unless you are a citizen. Though at some point in the future, through one way or another, I expect to obtain citizenship. For now I am just keen to find a place to call home.

Thanks zeubie, that is some good info on the longer business visas. Good news is I am in Cambodia at the moment, and heading to Thailand soon for a month - so I have plenty of time to investigate agents and try to get a 12 month visa. If you don't mind can you make a post when you find out if they are being issued again? or even just a PM to me would be appreciated.

Salensis wrote:

My plans for land ownership and business are further away. From my investigation so far I have seen that it's not really viable unless you are a citizen. Though at some point in the future, through one way or another, I expect to obtain citizenship. For now I am just keen to find a place to call home.

I am constantly amazed that people are surprised to find that there are restrictions on foreign ownership of land in Vietnam.  Last time I checked, Vietnam is run by the Communist Party.  A central tenet of Marxism-Leninism is government ownership of land.  This would especially apply with respect to non-citizens.  In fact in several US Midwestern states, cradles of capitalism, foreign ownership of agricultural land is forbidden.  The Vietnamese prohibition should not be considered unexpected or unjustified.

With respect to obtaining citizenship yourself,  first of all why would you seek a citizenship that would deprive you of most of the freedoms that you take for granted with your present citizenship?  Also unless you are Viet Kieu, citizenship is theoretically available if you satisfy certain requirements but it is granted only on very rare occasions.

THIGV wrote:

I am constantly amazed that people are surprised to find that there are restrictions on foreign ownership of land in Vietnam.

You are assuming I was surprised! I was not surprised, but was certainly disappointed. My plans to own land and run a business are more long term and what I would like to do, but don't need to do. If I decide to really commit to that and cannot progress in Vietnam, I may try Cambodia instead. I already own some land there.

As for citizenship, that is also more long term and the most likely path would be through marriage. That is not what I would prefer but it is always an option. Also, I would prefer dual citizenship, but rescinding my Australian citizenship is not a problem for me.

You really have to just google "Vietnam visa" and start emailing all the agents out there. Describe what you want, send a photo of your passport, and wait for the responses and prices.

Everyone comes back with a different response and price.

I just came back into VN today (oct 16) and received my 1 year multiple entry business visa. I got the offer letter about a week or so ago.

First agent said they were cancelled. So did the one I received it from, but they I guess took it a step further and checked and once again came back saying it is fine.

You might want to go down to immigration and have them check if your visa is real or not.  If it isn't, explain who sold it to you and beg for mercy.  If it is fake, they can catch you if you try to renew or on exit at the airport.  Posts have been written on this forum by people who are indefinitely blacklisted from reentry because they held fake visas.  I know third party visas are common but personally I would never purchase one from anywhere other than the immigration department or an overseas embassy/consulate.

Is this directed to me? I received my visa on arrival at the airport. It is legit

SaigonExpat2324 wrote:

Is this directed to me? I received my visa on arrival at the airport. It is legit

Did you pay the government or a third party?  Just asking.

I did the same. There were about 100 people in a room at the airport. We were all there to get visas. I paid $25 or so to someone in a Viet uniform for my visa. I applied online.

The government. Us foreigners have to sit around and wait for our visas before we get to lineup for immigration.