Permanent Residency in Vietnam
The routes to a long-term, renewable status
Permanent residence exists in the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners but is granted narrowly. The main civilian route requires a close Vietnamese family sponsor or recognised contribution to the country, together with long continuous temporary residence and a stable means of support, and the number of foreigners holding it is very small relative to the number working in the country.
| Governing law | Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners source |
| Residence condition | Commonly around 3 years of continuous temporary residence before applying |
| Sponsor | A Vietnamese citizen parent, spouse or child, or state recognition of contribution |
| Document issued | Permanent residence card, commonly renewed on a multi-year cycle |
| Practical reality | Granted to a small number of foreigners each year |
Who the law contemplates
- Foreigners recognised as having made a contribution to the construction and defence of Vietnam and decorated accordingly.
- Scientists and specialists whose residence is proposed by a Vietnamese ministry or equivalent body.
- People sponsored by a Vietnamese citizen parent, spouse or child with whom they will live.
- Stateless people who have resided continuously in Vietnam for a long period, under separate conditions.
The conditions attached
Applicants outside the decorated and specialist categories are expected to show continuous temporary residence in Vietnam for a period before applying, commonly around three years counted back from the application, together with a stable lawful income or assets sufficient to support themselves and a place of lawful accommodation.
The application goes to the immigration authority, with the sponsoring relative filing a guarantee. Decisions are discretionary and there is no published points threshold or service standard, so the honest planning assumption is that a decision may take a long time and may not come at all.
What the card does and does not give
A permanent residence card removes the dependence on an employer, allows residence without a visa, and is renewed periodically rather than annually. It does not confer nationality, voting rights, or the right to own land, and it does not remove the reporting obligations that attach to foreign residents.
For the overwhelming majority of foreign workers the realistic long-term status is not this card but a sequence of renewed work permits and temporary residence cards, which can continue for many years but never converts into settlement by the passage of time alone.
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Official sources
Checked against these pages in September 2026. Fees and processing times change without notice — confirm before you act.