Compare 5-year Vietnam Visa Exemption with Temporary Residence Card (TRC)

Compare 5-year Vietnam Visa Exemption with Temporary Residence Card (TRC) 

5-year visa exemption and temporary residence card for foreigners are two terms of documents used by foreigners when staying in Vietnam for a long term. However, it is difficult to distinguish clearly them because both types of documents are often referred to when foreigners wish to reside in Vietnam.

1. What are 5-year visa exemption and temporary residence card?

Firstly, 5-year visa exemption for foreigners to Vietnam is applicable to people who are the husbands, the wives, the children of people with Vietnamese nationality and passports, ID cards in Vietnam.
 
A temporary residence card can be considered as a long-term visa issued by a competent immigration authority to foreigners who are permitted to reside in Vietnam for a period of one to three years and a maximum of five years. It is also worth replacing the visa. Persons carrying temporary residence card shall be exempt from any types of Vietnam visa when leaving or entering Vietnam for the duration of their temporary residence card.
 
2. Which requirements for 5 - year visa exemption and a temporary resident card in Vietnam?
 
5 year visa exemption is granted for people who are:

• - Overseas Vietnamese who include both the one having foreign passport and the one only having Permanent Residence Card;
• - Foreigners who are spouses, children of Vietnamese people, living in Vietnam or residing abroad.

 
Temporary residence card is granted for people who are:

• - Foreigner is a member of a limited liability company with two or more members;
• - Foreigner is the owner of  one member limited liability company (except for an authorized representative);
• - A foreigner is a member of the Administrative Council of a Joint Stock Company;
• - Foreign lawyers have been licensed by Ministry of Justice to practice law in Vietnam under provisions of law;
• - Foreigners holding Vietnam work permits working in different types of enterprises or representative offices of foreign companies;
• - Experts, students are working or studying under national programs and projects signed by the ministries and branches approved by the Government;
• - Vietnamese residing overseas and foreigners being spouses of Vietnamese citizens and children of Vietnamese citizens under 18 years of age;
• - Foreigners having foreign spouses who have been granted temporary residence cards of Vietnam, children of foreigners who have been granted temporary residence cards of Vietnam under 18 years.

3. Validity of 5-year visa exemption and temporary residence card
 
A five-year visa exemption is a five-year period, multiple entry visa. However, each stay must not exceed 180 days.

And maximum validity of temporary residence card is three-year period. Foreigners with temporary residence card can entry and exit many times according to their work requirements. It also help save time and costs for temporary card holders. Each entry is not limited to the number of days of stay and the holders can stay until the expiration of the temporary residence card.