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Changes to Immigration Laws for Foreign Individuals in Vietnam

来源：Acclime作者：Chú Tài3 次阅读
On October 19, 2019, the National Assembly of Vietnam approved amendments to the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam (“Law”). The amended Law was formally issued on 25 November 2019 (Law 51/2019/QH14 on amending and supplem

On October 19, 2019, the National Assembly of Vietnam approved amendments to the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam (“Law”). The amended Law was formally issued on 25 November 2019 (Law 51/2019/QH14 on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law 47/2014/QH13 on entry, exit, transit, residence of foreigners in Vietnam) and will come into effect on 1 July 2020. In this article, we highlight key changes and updates.

  • The law now permits the changing of a visa purpose for foreign individuals under specific conditions without needing to leave and re-enter Vietnam.
  • Vietnamese authorities will implement new visa types for foreign investors into Vietnam, based on the value of their contributed investment. The main impacts include:
  • Updating the definition and process for electronic visa applications and their legal implications, and
  • Amending the validity of Temporary Residence Cards for foreign individuals.

Significant impacts from the above include:

  1. Reducing the maximum term of visas and temporary residence for small investors (less than VND3 billion) to one year,
  2. Increasing the term of temporary residence for large investors to up to 10 years, and
  3. Permitting foreign corporate investors to nominate a representative, who will be entitled to temporary residence or visa based upon the capital of the foreign investor.

1. Changes to visa purposes

In order to facilitate situations where foreign individuals enter Vietnam for the purpose of sightseeing/tourism, and then seek a visa conversion for other purposes, the Government supplemented Article 7, allowing the change of a visa purpose under certain conditions, namely:

  1. Evidence of being an investor or a representative of a foreign organization investing in Vietnam according to the provisions of Vietnamese law;
  2. Foreign individual has a document proving a direct family relationship with a Vietnamese citizen – father, mother, spouse, child;
  3. Foreign individual is invited or guaranteed by agencies or organizations and has a work permit/certificate of work permit exemption in accordance with the Labour Code of Vietnam; oe
  4. Foreign individual enters by an electronic visa and has a work permit/certificate of work permit exemption in accordance with the Labour Code of Vietnam.
Current lawNew law
“Article 7. Uses and formats of visa

  1. A visa may be for single or multiple entries and its purpose must not be changed.
  2. Each person shall be issued with a separate visa, except for children under 14 who will be issued with visas in the same passports of their parents or guardians.
  3. Visa shall be issued in the passport or issued separately.”
To amend and supplement Article 7 as follows:

“Article 7.- Forms and uses of visas

  1. Visa shall be issued in the passport or issued separately or via electronic transactions. Visas issued through electronic transactions are electronic visas.
  2. Each visa is granted individually, except for the following cases:
    1. Granting visas to either parents or guardians for children under 14 years old sharing passports with their parents or guardians;
    2. Issuance of a visa according to the list of personnel approved by the immigration authority for foreigners visiting or travelling by sea or transiting by sea who wish to visit the inland with a program organised by an international travel business in Vietnam; members of foreign military ships accompanying an official program of activities where ships and boats are moored.
  3. The visa is valid for single or multiple entries; e-visas and visas issued for the cases specified at Point b, Clause 2 of this Article are valid for single entry.
  4. Visas may not be converted for another purpose, except for the following cases:
    1. Have proof of being an investor or a representative of a foreign organization investing in Vietnam in accordance with Vietnam’s laws;
    2. Having documents proving that a relationship of father, mother, wife, husband or child of an inviting or guaranteeing individual;
    3. Being invited or guaranteed by agencies or organizations and having a work permit/certificate of work permit exemption in accordance with the Labour Code of Vietnam;
    4. Entering by an electronic visa and having a work permit/certificate of work permit exemption in accordance with the Labour Code of Vietnam.
  5. Where there is a change of visa purpose according to the provisions of Clause 4 of this Article, a new visa shall be granted with a symbol and time limit suitable to the purpose of conversion. The process and procedures for granting new visas will comply with Article 19 of this Law”.
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