Vietnam 5 year Visa Exemption – Requirements & How to get

Vietnam 5-year visa (or also known as Vietnam 5-year visa exemption certificate) is issued for Vietnamese residing overseas or foreigners having family relationships with Vietnamese citizens and Vietnamese residing overseas. It is valid for up to 5 years, and allows its holders to travel back and forth to Vietnam during its validity.

This is one of the longest visa certificates and saves a lot of time and energy in applying for and renewing a visa to Vietnam.

In this post, we will guide you through steps to get a 5-year visa for Vietnam.

Important notes:

• If you are eligible for a 5-year visa but you don’t have plan to visit Vietnam regularly, or you need an urgent visa for Vietnam, apply for Vietnam evisa.
• A 5-year visa for Vietnam can be obtained overseas or in Vietnam.
• A 5-year visa cannot be extended, but your stay duration under this visa can be extended with support from your Vietnamese family member.
• Holders of 5-year visa for Vietnam prefer airport fast track service to save their time at the airport.

Now, let’s look at details about this type of long-term visa for Vietnam.

Who is Eligible for the Vietnam 5-year Visa Exemption?

5-year visa exemption for Vietnam is granted to Vietnamese overseas, foreigners who are spouses, children of Vietnamese overseas, or Vietnamese citizens.

The visa exemption certificate acts as a long-term visa for its holders to visit Vietnam at any time within 5 years.

Important notes:

• No visa is required for travel to Vietnam within 05 years. Those people having a 5-year Vietnam visa exemption certificate are allowed to stay in Vietnam for 180 days at maximum for each visit.
• If they want to stay longer than 180 days without leaving the country, they can extend visa in Vietnam with support from a relative in Vietnam. The extended duration is up to 6 months.
• The Visa exemption certificate shall be valid for up to 05 years and expires at least 6 months before the expiration of the holder’s passport or equivalent paper.

How to Get a 5-Year Visa for Vietnam

You need to follow the two (02) steps below for Vietnam 5 year visa application:

Step 1: Prepare the required documents

The documents required for applying for a Vietnam 5 year visa exemption depend on the subjects of applications, namely:

• Vietnamese overseas; and
• Spouses, children of Vietnamese overseas, or Vietnamese citizens

For Vietnamese overseas:

To apply for 5 years visa exemption for overseas Vietnamese, the applicant needs to prepare:

1. 01 5-year Vietnam visa exemption application form (Fill out the form here and print it with a barcode on Letter-sized paper
2. Passport or equivalent paper or a residence permit granted by a competent agency in the country of residence valid for at least 6 months following the date of arrival in Vietnam;
3. Two photos taken recently (white background, straight face, bare head, no colored glasses);
4. One certified copy or copy attached to the originals of one of the following papers:
   • birth certificate;
   • certificate of Vietnamese citizenship;
   • the decision for renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship;
   • certificate of loss of Vietnamese citizenship;
   • Vietnamese passport (valid or invalid)
   • Identity Card (valid or invalid);
   • latest voter’s card;
   • Family Register Book;
   • Documents issued by competent foreign authorities if they can prove that the person in question has original Vietnamese citizenship or of Vietnamese origin.
5. In case of not having documents listed at (4), the following materials could be submitted:
   • A guarantee issued by an overseas Vietnamese association from the country of residence.

For foreign spouses & children of overseas Vietnamese or Vietnamese citizens:

To apply for Vietnam 5 year visa exemption for foreign spouses and children of overseas Vietnamese or Vietnamese citizens, the applicant will need to prepare:

1. A 5 year Vietnam visa exemption application form (prepared as above if you are in any country other than Vietnam, or download and fill out this Applicant Form NA09 if you are in Vietnam);
2. Foreign passport valid for at least 6 months following entry date in Vietnam;
3. Two photos taken recently (white background, straight face, bare head, no colored glasses;
4. One copy attached to originals of one of the following papers which prove the relationship between wives/husbands/children and the Vietnamese overseas/Vietnamese citizens:
   • Certificate of Marriage
   • Certificate of Birth
   • Certificate of relationship with father, mother, children;
   • Other valid documents as regulated by the Vietnamese Law.
   • Decision of Adoption

Step 2: Submit the documents prepared above to the granting authority:

Agencies competent to grant visa exemption certificates include:

• Overseas Vietnamese diplomatic missions and consulates (see here for their contact details);
• The Vietnam Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security (if you are in Vietnam).

Step 3: Receive your original passport and the 5 years visa exemption certificate.

In case you do not know where to start, let us help you. No matter where you are, we can process a Vietnam 5-years visa exemption certificate for you. Spend 1 minute to complete the form below, and we will get back to you shortly.

5 year Vietnam Visa Exemption Fee

The cost of getting a 5-year visa exemption for Vietnam depends on the authority with which you apply for it, and the physical address to receive your certificate.

Processing Time of 5-Year Visa Exemption for Vietnam

Usually, it takes up to 7 days to get your Vietnam 5-year visa exemption certificate issued and granted.

How to speed up my arrival procedure with Vietnam 5-year visa?

No matter you are entering with Vietnam 5-year visa exemption certificate or any valid entry paper for Vietnam, completing the arrival procedure is required.

► In case you want to speed up this procedure, check out our Vietnam Airport Fast-track service.

Disclaimers: While we put an effort to ensure that the provided information about the Vietnam visa 5 year plan is correct and up-to-date, there are probably changes that we are unaware of.