Vietnam Permanent Residence Card
An indefinite residence card (thẻ thường trú) open to four narrow categories, none of which is employment and none of which is investment.
This is the most misunderstood status in Vietnam. A 10 year DT1 card is not permanent residence and does not lead to it. Investment is not one of the four categories at any capital level. Neither is a career. The card is a family and merit status, and the quota is administrative.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | People awarded a Vietnamese order, medal or honorary title; scientists and experts holding a temporary residence card; people sponsored by a Vietnamese citizen parent, spouse or child; stateless persons resident since before 2000 |
| Route family | Family |
| Validity | Indefinite. Card reissued every 10 years or when the passport changes |
| Stay per entry | Unlimited |
| Threshold | No investment figure. The sponsored category requires 3 years of continuous temporary residence, lawful residence and stable income |
| Renewal | Card reissued every 10 years. No reapplication on the same basis |
| Settlement | Direct |
| PR clock | 3 years of continuous temporary residence for the sponsored category. No clock for investors |
| Citizenship clock | 5 years of permanent residence, Vietnamese language, and usually renunciation of the other nationality. Dual nationality only by presidential exception |
| Family | Yes. The card covers spouse and children in the sponsored category |
| Local employment | Yes. Card holders may work without a work permit |
| Tax headline | Resident, worldwide income |
| Processing | No published service standard. Practitioners report 6 to 12 months |
Application flow
- Confirm you fall into one of the four Article 39 categories. Most applicants do not.
- For the sponsored category, hold continuous temporary residence cards for 3 years without gaps or overstays.
- Obtain the sponsor’s papers: the Vietnamese citizen parent, spouse or child must be permanently resident in Vietnam.
- File with the provincial immigration office. There is no online service standard.
- Wait. Practitioners report 6 to 12 months, and the outcome is discretionary even when the conditions are met.
Good fit
The foreign spouse or parent of a Vietnamese citizen who has held continuous temporary residence cards for three years, has a stable income and lawful residence, and intends to stay permanently. This is the only route on the site that ends in an indefinite status without an employer.
Poor fit
Investors, at every capital level. Employees on work permits, who can hold cards for a decade and still not qualify. Retirees, because there is no retirement category to sponsor them. And anyone who has been living on tourist visas, since those years count for nothing.
Watchpoints
- The 10 year DT1 card is not permanent residence. It is a temporary residence card with a long validity. It does not convert, and investment is not an Article 39 category. People confuse the two and plan a decade around a card that expires with the company.
- The three year clock means continuous temporary residence. Not three years of living here, and not three years of e-visas. Gaps and overstays reset it.
- The sponsor must be a Vietnamese citizen, not a Vietnamese company. An employer cannot sponsor permanent residence at all.
- Meeting the conditions does not guarantee a card. The quota is administrative and discretionary. No published number, no appeal.
- The scientist and expert category needs a ministerial recommendation. In practice that is a political decision, not a paperwork exercise.
Sources
- Vietnam Immigration Department, permanent residence procedures, checked 2026-10-22
- Law 47/2014/QH13 Articles 39, 40 and 41, and Decree 19/2020/ND-CP, checked 2026-10-22
- LuatVietnam, permanent residence pathway analysis, secondary source, checked 2026-10-22