Vietnam Entry

Approval letter on arrival is a condition for foreigners to be granted a visa to enter Vietnam. To understand the procedures to apply for an Approval letter on arrival is extremely necessary to be approved for entry.

In the current context of administrative procedures, foreign individuals or legal entities may face many difficulties when contacting the Vietnam Immigration Agency. This leads to the need for advice and support from the third parties who are companies and service agents specializing in Vietnam entry procedures to avoid spending a lot of time and traveling expenses without getting the expected results.

WHAT IS AN APPROVAL LETTER ON ARRIVAL?
Approval letter on arrival (Vietnam Entry Approval Letter, Vietnam Entry Permit) can be understood as a letter of approval from the Immigration Department of Vietnam permitting for an individual or a group of foreigners to enter and exit Vietnam with single or multiple entries for the right purpose.

Classification of approval letter on arrival:
•    Tourist Approval Letter ;
•    Business Approval Letter;
•    Work, Investment Approval Letter;
•    Family Visiting Approval Letter;
•    Conference and Seminar Approval Letter;
•    Approval Letter for Press reporter resident in Vietnam.

Classification by number of entries:
•    Approval Letter for all purposes: 1 month, 3-month single entry; 1 month, 3-month multiple entries.
•    Approval Letter for 6-month multiple entries or 1-year multiple entries is for the following purposes: LD (with Work Permit or Work Permit exemption), DT (Investment), TT, VR (Family visiting).

APPLICATION FOR AN APPROVAL LETTER ON ARRIVAL
For Tourist Approval Letter:
•    Passport scanned copy of visa applicant;
•    Provide expected date of entry to Vietnam;
•    Provide a place to receive visa (Vietnam Embassy/Consulate in the host country or at the land border gates/international airports of Vietnam).
Duration on the approval letter can be selected: 1-month, 3-month  or 3-months multiple entries.

For Approval letter with purposes of Commerce, Business, Investment:
•    Legal entity records of the guarantee company: Business registration certificate/Investment certificate/Representative office establishment license, Seal specimen registration certificate and Tax registration certificate;
•    A document introducing the seal and signature of the authorized person of the organization (Form NA16)
•    Written request for immigration approval (Form NA2);
•    Passport of visa applicant (photocopy);
•    Work permit (photocopy), Work schedule in Vietnam;

Online Approval Letter Application Guide
Before filling out the NA2 form to apply for an online approval letter, the inviting organization or business or guarantors for foreigners to enter Vietnam needs to send a written notice to the Immigration Department with the following documents:
•    Business registration certificate, Investment certificate (certified copy);
•    Passports of foreigners printed with a red stamp;
•    Certificate of the representative of the company/enterprise according to form NA16 (with red seal and signature of the legal representative);
•    NA2 official letter applying for approval letter can be submitted online.
After applying for an online approval letter, the sponsoring company needs to sign and stamp on the documents, then bring these documents to submit at Immigration Department. Processing time: 5-7 working days.
Address of the immigration authorities:
- Hanoi Immigration Department: No. 44-46 Tran Phu, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
- Ho Chi Minh City Immigration Department: No. 333-335-337 Nguyen Trai, District 1,  Ho Chi Minh City.

CASE OF PRIORITY ISSUANCE OF APPROVAL LETTER
Cases in which the procedures to apply for an approval letter and issue a Vietnam visa can be made directly at the international airport/border gate in Vietnam:
•    Persons who have to return home to attend funerals of relatives or whose relatives are seriously ill;
•    Entering Vietnam to participate in emergency incident handling, rescue, disaster prevention or special reasons at the request of Vietnamese competent authorities;
•    Foreign crews who are on board ships docked at Vietnamese seaports and wish to exit through another country's border gates;
•    Foreigners come from a country that do not have the competent authorities to issue Vietnam visas;
•    Tourists come to Vietnam to visit and travel organized by international travel agencies in Vietnam.

      
Mokrica always updates the regulations on procedures related to Approval Letter on Arrival, monitors the results and solves problems arising in your application with the reasonable costs and the best commitment!

From June 30, 2020, when EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) were officially signed, the demand for foreign workers has become popular thanks to the increase of foreign investment projects in Vietnam.

This is a condition for organizations and businesses to attract foreign workers and it is necessary to find out the conditions and procedures to apply for a Work Permit for foreigners in Vietnam related to such demand for using foreign worker.

 
WHAT IS WORK PERMIT IN VIETNAM?
A work permit is a written approval for a foreigner to legally work in Vietnam. On the Work Permit, information about the employee will be stated, including personal information, the address of the organization where the foreign worker works and his position.
Subjects who are granted a work permit in Vietnam:
•    Performance of employment contract;
•    Investors contribute capital to Vietnamese companies, establish Vietnamese companies but contribute capital less than 3 billion Vietnam dong;
•    Foreigners perform various types of contracts or agreements in terms of economics, commercel, finance, banking, insurance, science and technology, culture, sports, education, vocational training and health.
•    Foreigners working for foreign non-governmental organizations,  international organizations in Vietnam operating in accordance with Vietnamese law;
•    Relatives of members of foreign representative offices in Vietnam are allowed to work in Vietnam according to the provisions of international treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party.
•    Service provider under the contract; Service offers;
•    Participating in the implementation of bidding packages and projects in Vietnam;
•    Managers, executives, experts, technical workers;
•    People who are responsible for establishing a commercial presence;

APPLICATION FOR WORK PERMIT
For individual foreign workers:
•    The employer's Application form for Vietnam work permit (Form No. 11/PLI Appendix I);
•    Certified copy of valid passport; 
•    02 4*6cm photos (white background, front view with a solid, a hat or headgear must be kept out, not wearing tinted lenses, taken within the past 06 months);
•    The health certificate or health examination certificate issued by a competent foreign or Vietnamese medical agency or organization is valid for a period of 12 months;
•    Criminal Record Certificate or written confirmation providing that the applicant is not serving a sentence or has not yet been expunged or is being examined for penal liability by a foreign country;
•    Contracts or agreements signed between Vietnamese partners and foreign partners;
•    Service supply contract signed between Vietnamese and foreign partners and documents proving that foreign workers have worked for foreign enterprises without commercial presence in Vietnam for at least 02 years;
•    Documents proving that the foreign worker has been recruited by that foreign enterprise before working in Vietnam for at least 12 consecutive months;

For agencies and organizations sending foreign workers to work:
•    Document of the foreign enterprise sending to work at the commercial presence of such foreign enterprise in the Vietnamese territory;
•    Documents proving that the foreign worker has been recruited by that foreign enterprise before working in Vietnam for at least 12 consecutive months;
•    Documents and papers proving that they are managers, executives, experts, technical workers and materials as prescribed for some jobs, industries and occupations with special requirements (football players, pilots, aircraft maintenance, crew embers, etc.)

Notes: 
-    The employer needs to apply for a work permit for the foreign worker of the company at the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs in the province where the foreign worker will work.
-    All the above-mentioned documents of foreigners issued in foreign countries must be consular legalized, translated into Vietnamese and notarized before submission.

CASE OF RE-ISSUE OF WORK PERMIT 
Foreign workers who have been issued a work permit and want to be re-issued must meet one of the following conditions:
•    Work permit with the valid term is lost;
•    Work permit with the valid term is damaged;
•    Change of first and last name, nationality, passport number, working location stated in the valid work permit.

Application for re-issuance of a work permit:
•    An application form for re-issuance of a work permit, form No. 11/PLI, Appendix I
•    02 4*6cm photos (white background, front view with a solid, a hat or headgear must be kept out, not wearing tinted lenses, taken within the past 06 months);
•    The issued valid work permit, in case the work permit is lost, it must be certified by the local police agency;
•    An approval letter of demand for using foreign workers;

Mokrica always updates the regulations on procedures related to Work Permit for foreigners, monitors the results and solves problems arising in your application with the reasonable costs and the best commitment!

The APEC card is considered as the most optimal solution to bring many benefits to Entrepreneurs who have the need to engage in regular business travel throughout the APEC region.

APEC is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. When Entrepreneurs are granted the APEC Card, they are free to travel within APEC countries without having to apply for Visa. 

WHAT IS AN APEC BUSINESS TRAVEL CARD?
APEC Card (ABTC Business Travel Card) is a kind of document issued by the competent authorities of the States in the APEC region to Entrepreneurs of their own nationality to use instead of visas to enter APEC Member economies. APEC cards are issued to Entrepreneurs of their own country to engage in activities of business cooperation, trade, investment, services, attending conferences, seminars and other economic purposes in countries and territories of APEC.

Conditions to be issued an APEC card:
•    Vietnamese Entrepreneurs holding passports valid for more than 12 months;
•    Entrepreneurs working at enterprises that have activities of business cooperation, trade, investment and service with partners in ABTC participating economies;
•    Entrepreneurs working in enterprises are represented by labor contracts, decisions on appointment of positions and full participation in social insurance contributions;
•    Entrepreneurs being 18 years of age or older and without being limited capacity for civil conduct;
•    Entrepreneurs working at businesses that have been operating for 6 months or more and well complying with the laws on trade, tax, customs, labor and social insurance.

THE PROCEDURES FOR APPLYING FOR APEC CARD
Pursuant to the regulations in the Regulation on issuance and management of APEC business travel cards of entrepreneurs promulgated together with Decision No. 45/2006/QD-TTg, the issuance of ABTCs is carried out as follows:

Step 1: Entrepreneurs need to apply for approval from the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City on allowing the use of APEC cards
The required documents:
•    An approval letter for using APEC card;
•    Certificate of business registration;
•    Service contract for no more than 12 months with payment documents, L/C, bill of lading, customs declaration, commercial invoice, etc.
•    Entrepreneur's passport;
•    Decision on appointing the position of Entrepreneur;
•    Labor contract of Entrepreneur;
•    Written confirmation on participation in social insurance of Entrepreneur;

Step 2: Enterprises apply for an APEC card (ABTC) at the Immigration Department, Ministry of Public Security. Within 03 working days, the Immigration Department will exchange Entrepreneur’s personnel data with the competent authority of the Country under the APEC region.

Documents to be prepared:
•    Application for ABTC;
•    Entrepreneur's passport;
•    Decision on appointing the position of Entrepreneur;
•    An approval letter for using APEC card from the People’s Committee of HCMC;
•    Legal profile of the company.

Entrepreneurs with APEC Cards are allowed to enter and exit the member economies according to the specific maximum length of stay as follows:
1.    USA - USA: may be required to have a valid Visa if applicable US law. 
2.    Russia - RUS: duration of stay with APEC card: from 14 to 90 days
3.    Japan - JPN: duration of stay with APEC card: 90 days
4.    Hong Kong - HKG: duration of stay with APEC card: 60 days
5.    China - CHN: duration of stay with APEC card: 60 days
6.    Korea - KOR: duration of stay with APEC card: 90 days
7.    Chinese Taipei - TWN: duration of stay with APEC card: 90 days
8.    Thailand - THA: duration of stay with APEC card: 90 days
9.    Malaysia - MYS: duration of stay with APEC card: 60 days
10.    Indonesia - IDN: duration of stay with APEC card: 60 days
11.    VietNam – VNM: duration of stay with APEC card: 60 days
12.    Singapore - SGP: duration of stay with APEC card: 60 days
13.    Philippines - PHL: duration of stay with APEC card: 59 days
14.    Chile - CHL: duration of stay with APEC card: 90 days
15.    Australia - AUS: duration of stay with APEC card: 90 days
16.    Canada: may be required to have a valid Visa if required under applicable Canadian law
17.    New Zealand (NZL): duration of stay with APEC card: 90 days
18.    Brunei (BRN): duration of stay with APEC card: 90 days
19.    Papua New Guinea - PNG: duration of stay with APEC card: 60 days
20.    Peru - PER: duration of stay with APEC card: 90 days
21.    Mexico - MEX: duration of stay with APEC card: 90 days

Mokrica always updates the regulations on procedures related to APEC Card (ABTC), we will support to advise and solve problems arising in the application with reasonable cost and best commitment!

In concept, Vietnamese visa is a document stating the certification on the passport granted by Vietnamese competent authorities to foreigners who are allowed to enter Vietnam. Temporary resident card is a document granted by the Immigration Department or a competent authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to a foreigner who is permmited to reside in Vietnam for a certain period of time and will be valid in lieu of a visa.

However, there are also differences between Vietnamese Visa and Temporary Residence Card that need to be construed as follows:

With our criterion of putting prestige and dedication as the working standard, Mokrica ensures that our support in visa services will bring successful and useful results to you!

In concept, Vietnamese visa is a document stating the certification on the passport granted by Vietnamese competent authorities to foreigners who are allowed to enter Vietnam. A work permit is a document that allows a foreigner to work legally in Vietnam with information about a worker, including personal information, and the address of the organization where he works.

However, there are also differences between Vietnamese Visa and Work Permit that need to be construed as follows:
 

With our criterion of putting prestige and dedication as the working standard, Mokrica ensures that our support in visa services will bring successful and useful results to you!