Vietnam

Investor visa and temporary residence card (DT1–DT4). Vietnam has no retirement visa; the only lasting residence door for a family without a Vietnamese employer is capital invested in an actual Vietnamese company, tiered DT1 through DT4 by amount.

Free · The law behind every answer · Checked Sep 24, 2026

Investor visa and temporary residence card (DT1–DT4)

A multi-year investor visa and, for DT1–DT3, a temporary residence card of matching length, tied to keeping the investment and the underlying company active.

Who qualifies

DT4 (under VND 3 billion, about $120,000): a 1-year investor visa, renewable, but not eligible for a longer-term temporary residence card. DT3 (VND 3–49.99 billion, about $120,000–2 million): a visa of up to 3 years and a temporary residence card of up to 3 years. DT2 (VND 50–99.99 billion, about $2–4 million): a visa of up to 5 years and a card of up to 5 years. DT1 (VND 100 billion or more, about $4 million or more): a visa of up to 5 years and a card of up to 10 years.
Temporary residence card for foreign investors, DT1–DT3
The applicant must be a documented investor or shareholder of record in an operating Vietnamese company at the qualifying capital level.
Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam (Law 47/2014/QH13, as amended by Law 23/2023/QH15)

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

Does it fit your family?

One question, from the program’s own rules.

Savings you could move or invest?

Not legal advice.

What it takes.

Investment: About $120,000.
Time: 2–4 months at minimum to form or buy into a Vietnamese company, inject the capital, and process the visa and card; DT1-level deals often take longer to structure.
Cost: Beyond the investment capital itself, legal and company-formation costs typically run $3,000–15,000 depending on the tier and complexity.
The hard part: The DT1 and DT2 thresholds require millions of dollars in a real operating Vietnamese business with genuine substance, not a shell; DT3 and DT4 are more attainable but come with shorter, renewable terms.

Dollar figures are converted from the local currency at the rate the program’s research used; the official figure is in the local currency.

This door stops short of a passport.

2027
First residence permit
3 years, renewable for 3 years at a time.

Language: Enough Vietnamese to integrate: listening, speaking, reading and writing suited to daily life and work.
Time away: Five years of residence counted from the day a permanent residence card is issued, and living in Vietnam when applying. Spouses and parents of Vietnamese citizens are exempt from the years and language.
Two passports: It depends on the rules at the time and on your home country.

Time on this program does not count toward permanent residence or citizenship; the family would need to switch to one that does.
Investors get temporary residence cards (up to 3 years for DT3, 5 for DT2, 10 for DT1) but are not among those who can get permanent residence, and the citizenship clock only starts with a permanent card.
Permanent residence is open only to foreigners sponsored by a Vietnamese parent, spouse or child (after 3 years of temporary residence), to scientists and experts, and to people with state honours; investors are not on the list, so `permanent` is null for these programs.
Since 1 July 2025 applicants with Vietnamese family ties, special contributions, or who benefit the state may keep their old citizenship if the President allows; everyone else must give it up. Read from law-firm summaries, not the law text.
The amended law shortened the Justice Department's steps to a few working days, but the President's decision has no published time.

The law behind these dates

Vietnam Briefing — Investor visa guide (DT1–DT4) · checked 2026-09-24

Living there.

Time you must spend there: The program sets no minimum number of days. Renewal still expects it to be your home.
Tax: 183 or more days a year, or a permanent residence in Vietnam, triggers Vietnamese tax residency on worldwide income; the invested company itself also owes ordinary Vietnamese corporate tax.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

Start today.

Read Vietnam’s investor visa framework and start company formation with a licensed advisor.Open vietnam-briefing.com ↗
Round up the papers.
- Proof of the funds to invest: about $120,000, and where they came from
- Request your FBI Identity History Summary
- Health cover for the move

Or let us run it.

$900for your first year as a founding member. Then $399 a year, automatically.Standard first year: $1,200. Everyone renews at $399.One membership, the whole family. Accounts and activation included.

16 steps, from the first paper to every renewal. You do 4 of them: send what we ask for, sign, and show up. We run the rest, and keep every permit renewed on time. Accounts and activation are included, whether you move now or keep the plan ready. Accounts depend on provider availability. Government, record and approved third-party charges are extra.

Run it for my family →

ISSUED TO

YOUR FAMILY

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