Entry planning · Vietnam
Vietnam digital nomad visa: what can you actually apply for?
Looking for a Vietnam digital nomad visa? The official sources reviewed here describe an e-visa valid for up to 90 days, with single or multiple entry. They do not identify a dedicated digital nomad visa. Entry permission, permission for your intended work and a longer stay need to be checked separately.
By Relocate Asia · Reviewed
The official e-visa, at a glance
If your first step is a short visit to compare cities, start with the entry permission for those dates. If you intend to work or settle for longer, keep those questions separate.
| Question | Published guidance |
|---|---|
| Maximum validity | Up to 90 days. Check the actual permission granted. |
| Single entry | US$25 application fee. |
| Multiple entry | US$50 application fee. Entries must fit the visa's validity window. |
| Where to apply | evisa.gov.vn or thithucdientu.gov.vn. |
| If refused | Immigration says the application fee is not refunded. |
Sources: National Electronic Visa system and Vietnamese Immigration. These are application fees, not the total cost of a move. Recheck the official service before paying.
What to check when a site says “digital nomad visa”
Start with the name of the actual permission and the authority issuing it. Then check who qualifies, which activities it permits, its expiry date and what must happen at the end. An agency's description and a country's official visa category are different things.
For Vietnam, the Immigration guidance linked below describes an electronic entry visa. It does not establish a special remote-work programme, and a foreign employer or client does not by itself settle your position. Use the official sources to check your plans before you pay an intermediary or commit to accommodation.
Start with the official application
The Vietnamese Immigration portal notice directs applicants to evisa.gov.vn and thithucdientu.gov.vn. Use the current official form for document requirements, fees and application instructions.
Match your passport details and travel plans carefully. Keep your application reference and check the official result before relying on the visa. Leave time to correct mistakes; do not treat a published processing estimate as a guaranteed maximum or book an inflexible onward plan around it.
Check the dates and entry record
The Vietnamese Embassy's policy explanation describes a maximum of 90 days with single or multiple entry. That maximum is not a promise of a fresh 90 days every time you arrive.
Before travelling, check the validity window, entry conditions and approved entry points. At the border, check your entry record before leaving the immigration desk. If a date differs from what you expected, ask Immigration to resolve it rather than choosing the later date yourself.
A longer stay needs its own plan
If you are searching for a six-month or one-year Vietnam visa, the e-visa's maximum 90-day validity does not answer that request. Tell Vietnamese Immigration your passport, reason for staying, proposed dates and any relevant sponsor or family connection, and ask which route is available to you.
A trip outside Vietnam followed by a new application is often called a visa run. It is not a guarantee that another visa or entry will be granted. Avoid treating a sequence of short permissions as an assured long-term residence route.
Ask Vietnamese Immigration which option applies to your intended stay. Keep travel, accommodation outside the country and possible delays in your cash plan if a departure is required. A pending application should not be assumed to extend the permission you already have.
Check your intended activities
The UK government's guidance for British citizens directs people intending to work or study to check the visa and work-permit requirements with Vietnamese Immigration. Other passport holders should check the official guidance that applies to them.
Income from a foreign employer, a pension or savings does not by itself settle your immigration position. Resolve your route before making a long rental commitment. This page explains planning questions; it does not determine your eligibility or provide individual legal advice.
Retirement: settle the stay before the apartment
A retirement budget and a residence route answer different questions. You might be able to afford an apartment in your chosen city and still need a different permission to remain for the period you want. The sources here do not establish a dedicated retirement visa.
Start with the length of the stay you can confirm. Ask for accommodation terms that fit it, including the notice period and what happens to a deposit if your plans change. Compare a trial stay before making a long commitment; the monthly rent reference on a city page assumes a 12-month housing target and may not be available for your dates.
What to ask before planning a longer stay
A specific enquiry is more useful than asking whether you can “live in Vietnam.” Use this outline with the responsible Immigration office or Vietnamese embassy. Do not send your passport number unless the official process requires it.
I hold a [country] passport and would like to stay from [date] to [date]. My purpose is [describe your actual plans, including any work]. I am currently [inside/outside] Vietnam. I have [any relevant sponsor or family connection, or none].
Which formal visa or residence category can I apply for? What evidence is required? Does it cover my intended activities? Must I apply from outside Vietnam or leave to start the new permission? What happens when it expires?
Keep the answer, its date and the named category with your move documents. An agent offering a “six-month package” should be able to explain the actual permission and each required departure; the package name alone tells you very little.
Then plan the visit you can actually make
Choose any of our Vietnam city guides for local areas, a monthly reference budget and practical arrival questions.
- Da Lat city guide
- Da Nang city guide
- Hanoi city guide
- Ho Chi Minh City city guide
- Hoi An city guide
- Nha Trang city guide
Compare your shortlist, then prepare a free enquiry brief for your chosen city.
Common planning questions
Does Vietnam have a digital nomad visa?
The Vietnamese Immigration and embassy sources reviewed for this guide do not identify a dedicated digital nomad visa. Their published e-visa guidance describes entry permission with a maximum validity of 90 days. Do not treat a website calling it a digital nomad visa as confirmation of work rights or long-term residence. Check the current official route for your circumstances.
Does an e-visa always give me 90 days?
Ninety days is the maximum validity described by Vietnamese Immigration. Use the dates and conditions on the permission actually granted, and resolve any discrepancy in your entry record with Immigration.
Can I plan a year around repeated e-visas?
Do not treat repeated applications or re-entry as guaranteed residence permission. Confirm a suitable route with Vietnamese Immigration before making a long commitment. Four periods of 90 days total 360 days, not a calendar year.
Can I apply while already inside Vietnam?
Vietnamese Immigration's published guidance describes personal e-visa applications by foreigners outside Vietnam. UK guidance for British citizens also discusses an e-visa obtained while in Vietnam and says the traveller must exit and re-enter to start it. These sources have different scopes. Ask Vietnamese Immigration about your circumstances; do not assume a pending application extends your current stay.
Does an e-visa settle permission to work remotely?
No. Do not infer permission for your intended work from the visa's length or your employer's location. Check the visa and any work-permission requirements with Vietnamese Immigration and the responsible authority.
Where should I apply?
Vietnamese Immigration identifies evisa.gov.vn and thithucdientu.gov.vn as its current e-visa portals. Follow the official form's current instructions and check the result through the official service.
Is there a Vietnam retirement visa or freelance visa?
The official e-visa guidance cited here does not establish a dedicated retirement or freelance category. A pension, savings or overseas clients are not enough to infer eligibility for a longer stay. Ask Immigration for the formal category, required evidence and permitted activities for your circumstances.
Can I stay in Vietnam for six months or a year?
A single e-visa with a maximum 90-day validity does not cover that period. Immigration notes that a new visa may be considered where there is a qualifying invitation or guarantee under Vietnamese law. That is conditional, not an automatic extension. Resolve the route and any departure requirement before signing a long lease.
Sources and review scope
Reviewed against the following public guidance on September 8, 2026. The embassy policy page dates from 2023; the Immigration page includes a portal change notice from 2024. This is a planning guide, not an exhaustive list of visa categories or an eligibility assessment. Recheck the current application instructions and your own circumstances before acting.
- Vietnam National Electronic Visa system: current entry options and fees
- Vietnamese Immigration: portal notice and maximum validity
- Vietnamese Embassy in the US: e-visa policy
- UK government: entry requirements for British citizens
Relocate Asia does not process visas. Once you have a workable stay, use the free planning kit to organize your housing enquiries and arrival cash.
