This content is provided by Linh Tran Duy, Managing Lawyer VNCY Consultants

How much do you charge to extend

• i) single entry tourist visas

• ii) multiple entry tourist visas,

• iii) single business visas

• iv) multiple single visas

• (all 3 month)

and what visa would you recommend for a newbie expat, coming to vietnam with a view to find work?

The question is simple but the answer for it is quite complex so I would say what I often tell my clients: “it depends”.

a. Visa to Vietnam comes into a wide variety:

Tourist is DL categorized, Business is DN categorized, Employment is LD categorized and there are additional 10 more types of visa to Vietnam which is less often seen, e.g. Student visa DH, Family visa TT, Investor visa ĐT, NGO visa etc.

There are visa exemptions for a few countries for example UK, France, Germany, Italia etc.

b. The general idea is that you cannot extend your tourist DL visa into a DN business visa at all, so no change of the category of the visa without reentering the country.

However, there are a few special exemptions for example people having LD employment visa, upon termination of their LD visa (and the work permit and labor contract with the employer) then the person has the right to “extend this LD visa into tourist visa DL or DN business visa”. Or if the person still has a labor contract and work permit with the same or different employer then the person can extend it for additional time for such LD visa.

In case your LD visa or Temporary Resident Card (TRC) is cancelled you need to ask your employer to submit your passport along with such TRC or LD visa to be submitted to the immigration in order for the immigration department to give you a free 15 days visa to stay in Vietnam.

In the last 10 year of serving clients I have seen quite a lot of inexperienced Human Resource departments taking back the TRC without handing out the visa. This often results in the expatriate caught surprised with a huge penalty when leaving the country without either the TRC or visa. This 15 days visa is free if you have a good and experienced Human Resources department.

c. Getting back to the pricing of a visa and in general these are the rules

i) Tourist visa DL is the most used visa in Vietnam. Its extension is without a doubt expensive. It used to be really cheap back in 2015 when it was possible to do an extension for $45 for an additional 3 month single entry visa. But after the perfect storm about fake visas and fake extensions back then everything changed. In 2016 the price of extension of tourist visa skyrocketed. However, the visa agent is not the person setting the price, it's the authorities that decide the price and sign on those extensions. A tourist visa duration cannot be over 3 months (except for American case because Vietnam has a bilateral treaty with the US on this) but in any case an extension of tourist visa cannot exceed additional consecutive 3 months.

ii) Tourist visas are generally 3 months if you have a 1 month tourist visa you can extend it for an additional 2 more months (to make it a complete 3 months) for a cheap price.

ii) Business visa DN type is the second most used visa in Vietnam. This type is generally very useful for people having a long term plan in Vietnam since it is much cheaper for extension than the tourist visa DL. The DN business type can be up to 3, 6 or 12 months, which means that you can extend the visa to have an additional 6 more months or even 1 year. Cost will be adjusted accordingly but is generally still much cheaper than doing an extension of a tourist visa. As a bonus, if you have a DN business visa you can convert this into a TRC (if you set up a business in Vietnam or have work permit) with a cheaper price than having the DL tourist visa.

iii) The price of extending the visa depends on where you entered Vietnam. You might be asked by your agent: “Where was your last entry?” “Is the visa sticker entry from the North or the South of Vietnam?” This question actually matters a lot in relation to price and in fact even the eligibility of the possibilities to extend your DN business visa for a longer visa than 3 months.

Generally speaking: If you enter Vietnam via Hanoi Airport (Nội Bài) or Lao Cai land border etc. you cannot extend your DN business visa for more than 3 months unless you pay a really hefty fee for this. My advice is don’t do it! It’s better to get a new visa letter from a visa agent and then reenter the country to get the new visa sticker and it’s actually cheaper this way. It’s quite easy to find cheap flights to Malaysia, Singapore or Thailand for like $60-$80.

It’s easier and cheaper for people entering Vietnam in South of Vietnam (Saigon airport – Tan Son Nhat) or Moc Bai land border. The extension price and process is much more relaxed and you can get an additional 3, 6 or 12 months with ease at a more affordable price.

iv. Entry from small land borders such as Ha Tien, Huu Nghi etc. will be applied to the same rules as entry in the North of Vietnam.

v. Each agent should have his own contact at immigration who would help signing and updating the visa status to the online system of immigration. It’s the immigration authority that sets the price and this should be communicated to the visa agent. The price could vary and be high or low it all depends on circumstances. Some agents may try to increase the margin by topping up a “service fee” on top of this price set by his immigration contact which results in the fact that some agents would be asking for a higher price, while some others will be asking for a lower price.

vi. A few nationalities can get a long term visa; those are also eligible for long term extension. Some nationalities have difficulty getting a visa (warring countries etc.) then it’s hard to even get 3 months visa to enter Vietnam let alone an extension. In short the price of extension depends on nationality.

vii. Visa price changes every couple of months and it depends on the immigration contact. In 2016 a 1 year multiple entry visa was $450 but nowadays the same would be less than $300.

vii. In early 2020, the virus Corona has greatly affected a lot of visa related matters, especially if you do a quick check online, you will see a lot of online offer for tourists visa extension from US$ 350- US$ 400, which has been gradually reduced to lesser price. Business visa extension still range around $150 onward.

d. Without further ado, please see a general pricing for visa extension without leaving the country on my side as of July 27th 2017:

O – If you have Tourist visa DL 3 months then:

1. Extension for additional 1 month single entry was from $60-$75 depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of current visa or not;

2. Extension for additional 3 month single entry was from $195-$265 depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of current visa or not AND whether your entry was in the north or the south of Vietnam (as mentioned above, the south entry is cheaper);

3. Extension for additional 3 month multiple entry was from $240-$285 depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of current visa or not AND whether your entry was in the north or the south of Vietnam (as mentioned above, the south entry is cheaper);

4. No extension of tourist visa for additional 6 or 12 months are available for this type of visa.

O – If you have Business visa DN 1-3-6-12 months then:

1. Extension for additional 1 month single entry now was from $60-$75 depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of current visa or not;

2. Extension for additional 3 month single entry now was from $75 - $195 depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of current visa and whether you have been in Vietnam without leaving the country for too long (over 3 months) AND whether your entry was in the north or the south of Vietnam (as mentioned above, the south entry is cheaper);

3. Extension for additional 3 month multiple entry was from $145-$285 (this include 50$ official stamping fee) depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of current visa and whether you have been in Vietnam without leaving the country for too long (over 3 months) AND whether your entry was in the north or the south of Vietnam (as mentioned above, the south entry is cheaper);

4. Extension for additional 6 month single entry was from $180 - $230 depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of current visa and whether you have been in Vietnam without leaving the country for too long (over 3 months). 6 month single entry extension is generally not applicable to visa with entry in the North of Vietnam;

5. Extension for additional 6 month multiple entry was from $275 - $315 (this include 95$ official stamping fee) depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of current visa and whether you have been in Vietnam without leaving the country for too long (over 3 months). 6 month multiple entry extension is generally not applicable to visa with entry in the North of Vietnam;

6. Extension for additional 12 month multiple entry are from $390-$505 (this includes the stamping fee of $135) depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of the current visa and whether you have been in Vietnam without leaving the country for too long (over 3 months) and whether your entry was in the north or the south of Vietnam (as mentioned above, the south entry is cheaper). Note that with a northern entry you cannot get a 12 more month extension, and there is no 12 months single entry extension.

e. From May 2020, current pricing and options are as follow:

O – If you have Tourist visa DL 3 months then:

1. Extension for additional 1 month single entry is from $140-$160 depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of current visa or not;

2. Extension for additional 3 month single entry is from $320-$350 depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of current visa or not AND whether your entry was in the north or the south of Vietnam (as mentioned above, the south entry is cheaper);

3. Extension for an additional 3 months multiple entry is NOT available.

4. No extension of tourist visa for additional 6 or 12 months are available for this type of visa.

O – If you have Business visa DN 1-3-6-12 months then:

1. Extension for additional 1 month single entry now was from $90-$120 depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of current visa or not;

2. Extension for additional 3 month single entry now was from $150 - $195 depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of current visa and whether you have been in Vietnam without leaving the country for too long (over 3 months) AND whether your entry was in the north or the south of Vietnam (as mentioned above, the south entry is cheaper);

3. Extension for additional 3 month multiple entry was from $265-$285 (this include 50$ official stamping fee) depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of current visa and whether you have been in Vietnam without leaving the country for too long (over 3 months) AND whether your entry was in the north or the south of Vietnam (as mentioned above, the south entry is cheaper);

4. Extension for additional 6 month single entry was from $310 - $350 depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of current visa and whether you have been in Vietnam without leaving the country for too long (over 3 months). 6 month single entry extension is generally not applicable to visa with entry in the North of Vietnam. 6 month extension also is available to special case of investor or having work permit or having Visa Exemption Certificate and few other selected case only;

5. Extension for additional 6 month multiple entry was from $350 - $375 (this include 95$ official stamping fee) depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of current visa and whether you have been in Vietnam without leaving the country for too long (over 3 months). 6 month multiple entry extension is generally not applicable to visa with entry in the North of Vietnam. 6 month extension also is available to special case of investor or having work permit or having Visa Exemption Certificate and few other selected case only;

6. Extension for additional 12 month multiple entry is from $650 - $850 (this includes the stamping fee of 135$) depending on whether you are close to the expiry date of current visa and whether you have been in Vietnam without leaving the country for too long (over 3 months) AND whether your entry was in the north or the south of Vietnam (as mentioned above, the south entry is cheaper). Note that only US citizen can gain this extension without leaving the country.

My advice for people coming to Vietnam looking for work is that: Vietnam is not a jungle, it will treat you well, it will welcome you with open arms and there are a lot of opportunities here, but just like anywhere else, please abide by the local rules and regulations.

If you want to check out the market, then try to talk to people having the experience and join a few expat groups based in Vietnam. In short try to do some homework before moving to Vietnam. Otherwise you can talk to competent consultants before making the final decision.

You may want to talk with potential employers also to see if they support a visa or work permit or temporary resident card. Those are vital to your long term stay in Vietnam.

If you have any question about the visa, legal matter or corporate matter in Vietnam, you are free to contact me via the below contact. I’m a licensed lawyer in Vietnam by the Vietnam Bar Association, ACCA certified accountant, director of VNCY Consultants firm, vice president of Law Practitioners Association and Director of Horizon Auditing firm.

Linh.Tran Duy, Esq. LLM. ACCA.

Managing Lawyer VNCY Consultants | Vice President Law Practitioners Association | Director Horizon Auditing

Floor 1-4, No. 2A/12, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, Dakao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/YKpcx17Ruf22

Phone: (+84) 0822531846

Cell: (+84) 906776919

Email: linhtran@vncy.vn

Website: vncy.vn

Current pricing for the visa letters before the Covid-19:

From 1st of July 2020, new laws on immigration comes into effect, effectively reducing the duration of stay for tourist visa to just 30 days for each entry. Therefore, if you have long term plan for staying in VN, people should consider doing business visa, or getting work permit, setting up their business in VN in order to get long term visa option.