At my wit's end, a visa conundrum

Ask the company to let your TRC run for another year. If you arent working for them then no tax will be paid. The govt will only know if the company informs them that you are no longer employed.

Colin's suggestion is the first and the easiest option since the extension doesn't cost the company anything. 

Second option:  use the next 3 weeks to get a copy of your birth certificate; DIY if you can handle the hassle, or pay a lawyer if you cannot.  Either way, it's less expensive than a one way flight back to the US for the whole family and there'll be no disruption to your son's education.

You can apply on line through the Washington DC embassy for you VEC just need an address to mail in the US then have the family members or friends forward to you here it is a pamphlet.  The problem you will have is Immigration will not activate it in country.  You must leave and re entry.   We received ours after the borders were closed last year and can’t use it.

colinoscapee wrote:

Ask the company to let your TRC run for another year. If you arent working for them then no tax will be paid. The govt will only know if the company informs them that you are no longer employed.

Fortunately, I have good relationship with my company. Within reasons, I can plead for a favor or two. One follow-up question please. To let my TRC run for one more year, is there any additional paperwork that my company will need to do on my behalf (eg. TRC extension for new TRC card, work permit extension, etc.)? I just want to gauge how much of an inconvenience will this be for my company. Thank you colinoscapee.

avhexpat wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

Ask the company to let your TRC run for another year. If you arent working for them then no tax will be paid. The govt will only know if the company informs them that you are no longer employed.

Fortunately, I have good relationship with my company. Within reasons, I can plead for a favor or two. One follow-up question please. To let my TRC run for one more year, is there any additional paperwork that my company will need to do on my behalf (eg. TRC extension for new TRC card, work permit extension, etc.)? I just want to gauge how much of an inconvenience will this be for my company. Thank you colinoscapee.

You said your TRC was issued a year ago, if its a work TRC it can be for numerous years, how many is yours? If its for just one year things may be more difficult as they will need to reapply.

Ciambella wrote:

Colin's suggestion is the first and the easiest option since the extension doesn't cost the company anything. 

Second option:  use the next 3 weeks to get a copy of your birth certificate; DIY if you can handle the hassle, or pay a lawyer if you cannot.  Either way, it's less expensive than a one way flight back to the US for the whole family and there'll be no disruption to your son's education.

I will definitely get a copy. I plan to retire here in the future, so this document will come in handy either now or down the road. I just hope that the Vietnamese registry system would still have my birth certificate given that I was born a long time ago in the 60s. Thank you Ciambella.

colinoscapee wrote:

You said your TRC was issued a year ago, if its a work TRC it can be for numerous years, how many is yours? If its for just one year things may be more difficult as they will need to reapply.

My TRC was issued last Jan for 2 years (expiring Jan 2022). Sounds like the most convenient without my company having to do any paperwork on my behalf would be asking them to let me hanging on to the TRC until Jan 2022, and them not informing the government. This will give me some time to sort out my VEC.

From your experience, is there any down side (eg. legal liability, financial, etc.) for the company to do this favor for an ex-employee?

Velocycling wrote:

You can apply on line through the Washington DC embassy for you VEC just need an address to mail in the US then have the family members or friends forward to you here it is a pamphlet.  The problem you will have is Immigration will not activate it in country.  You must leave and re entry.   We received ours after the borders were closed last year and can’t use it.

I didn't know that you could apply for the VEC without sending in your passport. This is great info, thank you Velocycling.

Sad to hear that it can't be activate in-country though. If you can't use your VEC as mentioned above, are you anticipating any trouble for when you leave VN in the near future (I assume your old VEC already expired) for the purpose of re-entering to activate you VEC?

avhexpat wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

You said your TRC was issued a year ago, if its a work TRC it can be for numerous years, how many is yours? If its for just one year things may be more difficult as they will need to reapply.

My TRC was issued last Jan for 2 years (expiring Jan 2022). Sounds like the most convenient without my company having to do any paperwork on my behalf would be asking them to let me hanging on to the TRC until Jan 2022, and them not informing the government. This will give me some time to sort out my VEC.

From your experience, is there any down side (eg. legal liability, financial, etc.) for the company to do this favor for an ex-employee?

I asked my lawyer years ago about this same situation and he said to just let it expire say nothing. The issue would be if your company contacts immigration and informs them. They could plead ignorance and say they forgot.

avhexpat wrote:

I will definitely get a copy. I plan to retire here in the future, so this document will come in handy either now or down the road. I just hope that the Vietnamese registry system would still have my birth certificate given that I was born a long time ago in the 60s. Thank you Ciambella.

You will need to return to the place where your birth was registered to apply for a reissuance of birth certificate.  If the record cannot be found or the record book was destroyed, you'll need to re-register your birth.  Article 26 of Decree No. 123/2015 / ND-CP indicated that any of the following documents can be used to re-register your birth:

a) Identity Card issued by either government (Chứng Minh Nhân Dân from the North or Thẻ Căn Cước from the South);

b) Family record book, temporary residence book, papers proving the place of residence (Sổ Hộ Khẩu from the North or Sổ Gia Đình from the South);

c) Diploma, Certificates, Certificates, Transcripts, Learning records issued or certified by a competent training or education administration agency (văn bằng, chứng chỉ, or học bạ);

d) Any papers (issuing before 1975 if you were born in the South) containing information about the individual's surname, middle name, first name, and date of birth;

e) Any documents showing a relationship between your parents and you as their child.

If none of the above mentioned documents is available, the last option will be to find someone who can attest to your birth or your status as a child of your parents -- someone who worked at the place where you were born, a government employee who registered your Sổ Gia Đình, a teacher who signed your học bạ, etc.

colinoscapee wrote:

avhexpat wrote:

...
From your experience, is there any down side (eg. legal liability, financial, etc.) for the company to do this favor for an ex-employee?

I asked my lawyer years ago about this same situation and he said to just let it expire say nothing. The issue would be if your company contacts immigration and informs them. They could plead ignorance and say they forgot.

Thank you colinoscapee. Yay, there's light at the end of the tunnel.

Ciambella wrote:

You will need to return to the place where your birth was registered to apply for a reissuance of birth certificate.  If the record cannot be found or the record book was destroyed, you'll need to re-register your birth.  Article 26 of Decree No. 123/2015 / ND-CP indicated that any of the following documents can be used to re-register your birth:

a) Identity Card issued by either government (Chứng Minh Nhân Dân from the North or Thẻ Căn Cước from the South);

b) Family record book, temporary residence book, papers proving the place of residence (Sổ Hộ Khẩu from the North or Sổ Gia Đình from the South);

c) Diploma, Certificates, Certificates, Transcripts, Learning records issued or certified by a competent training or education administration agency (văn bằng, chứng chỉ, or học bạ);

d) Any papers (issuing before 1975 if you were born in the South) containing information about the individual's surname, middle name, first name, and date of birth;

e) Any documents showing a relationship between your parents and you as their child.

If none of the above mentioned documents is available, the last option will be to find someone who can be the witness of your birth or of your status as a child of your parents -- someone who worked at the place where you were born, a government employee who registered your Sổ Gia Đình, a teacher who signed your học bạ, etc.

Thank you Ciambella. I appreciate your taking the time to provide a very detailed and informative response.

Ciambella's advice sounds right to me. Good luck. Re Veloexpat's suggestion...

"You can apply on line through the Washington DC embassy for you VEC just need an address to mail in the US then have the family members or friends forward to you here it is a pamphlet.  The problem you will have is Immigration will not activate it in country.  You must leave and re entry.   We received ours after the borders were closed last year and can’t use it."

... I would be wary of any official-looking documents through the mail to VN. I had three Australian police checks for work requirements that never arrived at my home or work addresses in Saigon. I eventually asked for one to be sent to a friend's address in Melbourne that I picked up on a quick visit, all sweet from then. My voting form for a Dutch election that I had organised online and had to mail back never arrived either. I suspect that any official-looking paperwork is too complicated for the censor and simply ends up in the circular file :-) Maybe use Fedex or something for anything like this? The only 'real' international mail I ever received in five years was three postcards from my sister. Thank god for email.