Vietnam Immigration Department instruct Temporary Residence Extension in Vietnam due to Covid-19

Due to the rapid and complicated development of Covid-19 pandemic, to prevent the pandemic, many countries and territories have to change the regulations related to immigration and transit. Airlines stop and cancel flights, leading to the fact that many foreigners have expired their visas but cannot exit to return their home countries.

Facing this situation, in order to remove “difficulties” for foreigners who are “stuck” in Vietnam, the Immigration Department (Ministry of Public Security) has just guided the support of procedures of applying visa and extending the temporary residence for foreign nationals in Vietnam who cannot return home countries due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

CIS Law Firm would like to discuss this matter with Lawyer Hoang Trung Kien – Executive Lawyer of CIS Law Firm

MC: For foreigners who are in Vietnam and cannot return to their home countries due to the regulations of many countries stopping entry or the cancellation of flights from airlines, what should they do dear Lawyer?

Lawyer:

The Immigration Department divides foreigners in Vietnam into 2 groups as follows:

  • The first group is foreigners who enter Vietnam by visa exemption or tourist visas
  • The second group is foreigners who enter Vietnam for work, business, labor, family visits or other purposes.

Corresponding to these two groups, the procedures for staying in Vietnam will be different

MC: Can Lawyer advise on the cases of foreigners who enter Vietnam by visa exemption or tourist visas but have expired their residence time as prescribed?

Lawyer:

Foreigners who enter Vietnam by visa exemption such as entry by APEC cards (cards issued for entrepreneurs who are visa-exempted to 19 APEC countries) or enter by tourist visas (including e-visas), and have expired temporary residence and are not guaranteed by any agencies, organizations and cannot exit due to objective reasons can through the Embassy or Consulate General to carry out procedures for guarantee for temporary residence extension to wait for exit.

Note: the maximum duration of extension of temporary residence is 30 days

  • Place of submission: Immigration Department, Ministry of Public Security
  • Documents to be submitted:
    • Declaration (form NA5 with the seal of the Embassy or Consulate General)
    • Papers proving temporary residence declaration and medical declaration
    • Passport or papers can replace passport
  • Implementation time is from March 30th, 2020 to April 30th, 2020.

Accordingly, many Embassies and Consulates have notified their citizens of support of visa extension to submit documents to the Immigration Department of Vietnam. Such as, U.S. Embassy and Consulate General have informed their citizens that if the U.S. Citizens wishes to apply to the U.S. Embassy and Consulate General for documents supporting visa extension in order to submit to the Immigration Department of Vietnam, they must fill out the application form listed on the website: https://vn.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/acs-inquiry-form/ and provide details of their cases to the Embassy and Consulate General.

MC: As such, foreigners who enter Vietnam by visa exemption or tourist visas and cannot exit due to objective reasons should contact the Embassy or the Consulate General to carry out the procedures of guarantee of temporary residence extension to wait for exit.

Can Lawyer advise on the case of foreigners who enter Vietnam for work, business, labor, relatives visit or other purposes and have expired residence time as prescribed?

Lawyer:

In cases of entry for the purpose of work, business, labor, relatives visit or other purposes and expiring the temporary residence time, the Embassy or General Consulates instruct their citizens to contact agencies, organizations and individuals for guarantee according to the provisions of Vietnamese laws.

Through the fact that CIS Law Firm have made the application for temporary residence extension for foreigners, when extending visas, foreigners must meet the following conditions: if they are employees, they must have work permit or exemption of work permit; if they visit relatives, they must have documents proving the relationship of relatives such as marriage registration, birth certificate… if they are the investors, they must have investment license or certificate of capital contribution…

The Immigration Department also guides that if foreigners expire temporary residence over 10 days due to objective force majeure reasons (proved by papers and documents), they may be considered for exemption from administrative penalties.

MC:

As Lawyer has advised,

For foreigners who enter Vietnam by visa exemption or tourist visas, they must contact the Embassy or Consulate to carry out the procedures of guarantee for visa extension. For foreigners who enter Vietnam for work, business, labor, relatives visits or other purposes, they must contact the agency, organization or individual for guarantee and carry out the extension procedures according to regulations.

Because the implementation time is from March 30th, 2020 to the end of April 30th, 2020, foreigners who expire the residence time in Vietnam should quickly implement the procedures for extending the temporary residence to reside legally in Vietnam.

In next videos, CIS Law Firm will continue to answer questions about legal issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic. If you have any questions, you can comment below this video or contact the Law Firm by phone 028.39118581, email: info@cis.vn so the Law Firm can answer.

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