Can you work in Vietnam on a tourist visa?

According to regulations, Tourist Visa is issued to foreigners for the purpose of tourism in Vietnam. So, can foreigners with tourist visas work? To answer this question, please read the following article in detail: Can you work in Vietnam on a tourist visa?

Can you work in Vietnam on a tourist visa?

1. What is a Tourist Visa (DL)? What to do?

Legal basis:

- Law No. 47/QH13/2014 on entry and exit
- Law No. 51/QH14/2019 has been amended and supplemented with the immigration law.
Tourist visa, symbol DL is a type of visa issued to foreigners entering Vietnam for the purpose of sightseeing, tourism and has a stay period of 30 days.

Thus, the DL visa to Vietnam is only for visiting and traveling in Vietnam. So what if they want to work in Vietnam? Please stay tuned.

2. Types of visas allowed to work in Vietnam

Before answering the question: Can tourist visa work? Then you need to understand the problem: In Vietnam, what types of visas are allowed to work legally?.

According to the immigration law, if foreigners want to come to Vietnam to work, they need one of the following types of visa: DN visa, LD visa, DT visa.

So who are the above visas granted and for how long?

DN Visa, also known as Business visa – is granted to people to work in businesses in Vietnam. The DN visa is valid for no more than 1 year.

Labor visa, also known as Labor visa - is granted to foreigners working in Vietnam, valid for no more than 02 years.

DT visa is also known as Investment visa – issued to foreign investors in Vietnam or foreign lawyers practicing in Vietnam.

3. Can you work in Vietnam on a tourist visa?

Pursuant to the law issued by the Government, Vietnam DL visa is a type of visa granted to foreigners entering Vietnam for tourism purposes and does not apply to foreigners who intend to work during their stay. in Viet Nam.

According to the provisions of the Law on exit, entry, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam 2014, visas are not allowed to change purposes. This means that, in case a foreigner is holding a tourist visa and wants to convert it into a suitable visa for the purpose of working in Vietnam, the foreigner must exit Vietnam to convert the visa type. but not allowed to convert the same type of visa while in Vietnam.

Is it possible to be fined and deported from Vietnam if working in Vietnam with a tourist visa?

The fact that foreigners only have a tourist visa but work in Vietnam can be administratively sanctioned with a fine of up to VND 25,000,000 and may be expelled from Vietnam due to the act of "entering the country". practice, practice or engage in other activities in Vietnam without the permission of a competent Vietnamese authority” (Article 17, Decree 167/2013/ND-CP).

4. Dossier of visa application, visa extension for foreigners working and working in Vietnam

- Operation license of the enterprise or organization (Business registration, investment license, operation license of branch, representative office... submit the application at the Immigration Office)

- Certificate of use of seal sample or Notice of use of seal of the enterprise or organization with the business registration agency.

- Document introducing the seal, signature of the authorized person of the organization (NA16).(Submit this declaration in case the company first submits the application at the Immigration Office)

- Declaration of visa application, temporary residence extension (NA5).

- The original passport is still valid as prescribed.

- Certified copy of work permit (for LD2 visa) or Work permit exemption certificate for cases of work permit exemption (for LD1 visa)

- Temporary residence book or Certificate of temporary residence of foreigners (In some cases, the Immigration Office will require it)

Note: For foreigners who are Chinese and Taiwanese, they are required to provide an additional 3cmx4cm photo to be granted a separate visa.

5. Apply for a work visa for foreigners

In Vietnam, companies and organizations apply for a long-term visa for foreigners to complete procedures at the Immigration Department or the Immigration Department of the police in the province or city where the business or organization is located. headquarters office.

6. Processing time to apply for a work visa

Time to carry out procedures according to current regulations is 05 working days from the date of submission of valid dossiers. The time to receive the visa result will be specified in the receipt when the business or organization submits the application at the one-stop department at the Immigration Department.

7. The most popular ways to apply for a Vietnam visa for foreigners today

Option 1: Submit documents at the Vietnamese embassy or consulate in your country

For this visa application, you can apply for many types of visas and are affixed directly to your passport. But to successfully apply for a visa, you need to prepare a lot of documents, for busy people, this application will be very difficult because it takes time to prepare documents. Having to wait for the embassy/consulate to review the application for a long time, it is not easy to get a visa, the risk of not being granted a visa is also quite high. (The common reason is often lack of documents, not proving or meeting the necessary conditions.)

In case your country does not have an embassy/consulate of Vietnam. You can prepare all documents and submit them at the Vietnamese embassy/Vietnamese consulate in the neighboring country near your country.

Option 2: Apply for a visa directly at the international border gate in Vietnam

This visa application is usually applied to tourists entering Vietnam to travel organized by an international travel company in Vietnam, or visit a seriously ill relative, attend a funeral, etc. To get approval from the competent authority. For visa issuance, you need to prepare all documents and have to go through 4 steps at the border gate, waiting for the approval of the application and receiving the results. There are almost very few foreign nationals who choose this method to apply for a visa, because the chances of getting a visa are not too high, the control officer may refuse to let you enter if you feel suspicious. It will cost you time and airfare if your visa is denied.

Option 3: Apply for an entry letter

First of all, to know how to apply for an entry letter, you should refer to the article below to know what an entry letter is? How to get an entry visa to Vietnam?

After reading the above article, you will know the entry letter, which is a certificate of acceptance of Vietnam visa. You just need to print it out, when you arrive at the Vietnam international border gate and present it, you will be stamped by the visa officer in your passport and enter Vietnam with the time limit in the entry letter. Many foreign nationals who want to apply for a Vietnam visa have chosen this solution through our service. The cost is not too expensive compared to the cost of visa application in other ways, our service is reputable, quality, fast processing for you. 100% guarantee will get an official letter for you to enter Vietnam

Option 4: Apply for an e-visa online

For this way of applying, not all citizens of any country can apply. From February 1, 2017, this policy began to apply to 40 countries to pilot electronic visa issuance. If you want to apply for this e-visa, you should refer to the article below.

If your country is on the list of countries allowed to apply under this form, prepare all the documents and documents to fill out the online form. But you should note that this application also has its limitations. It is very easy to be refused a visa if the information is incorrect or incorrect, the fee will not be refunded, and you will have to wait longer for approval than other ways of applying.

In addition to the above popular ways to apply for a Vietnam visa, you should refer to the article below to know more about which countries are exempt from Vietnam visa with a term.

Above are our answers about Can you work in Vietnam on a tourist visa? In the process of researching, if you need ACC Law Firm's guidance on legal issues, please contact us for answers.