Vietnam

Living, work, immigration, education & business — official links and practical guides

Key Facts

Basics

Currency

VND

Region

Southeast Asia

Local time

UTC+7

Asia/Ho Chi Minh

Economy

Population

100.99M

GDP (current US$)

$476.39B

GDP per capita

$4,717

Source: World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0) · 2024 · Last checked: 2026-07-06

Tax snapshot

Corporate tax

20%

VAT

temporary → 2026-12-31 (statutory 10%)

Top individual income tax

35%

Capital-gains tax

Varies

Corporate tax runs under Law 67/2025/QH15, in force from 2025-10-01: 20% standard, 15% and 17% for smaller turnover bands, and 25–50% for oil, gas and mineral extraction. ⚠️ Vietnam has applied the Pillar Two qualified domestic minimum top-up tax at 15% since 2024, so a large multinational holding an incentive rate of 10% or a tax holiday is topped up to 15% regardless. Personal tax runs under Law 109/2025/QH15, adopted 2025-12-10 and in force from 2026-07-01, which cuts the schedule from seven brackets to five and raises the personal and dependant deductions — the top rate stays 35%, so the reform lightens low and middle incomes rather than the top.

Source: National tax authority · Cross-check: OECD · PwC · KPMG · Last checked: 2026-07-16

Headline statutory rates. The income-tax figure includes national surtaxes; any regional or municipal layer is shown beside it. Social contributions and reliefs are excluded. Verify the current rate with the authority before relying on it.

At a glance

A fast-growing manufacturing and outsourcing base with low living costs, where nearly every long stay runs through an employer or a company you own — there is no general remote-work visa.

Best for

Employees of local or foreign-invested companies, founders setting up a Vietnamese entity, and manufacturers diversifying supply chains.

Who this may not suit

People who need a clear permanent-residence path, or fully paperless administration — most foreigners renew temporary status, and notarised hard copies are still routine.

Main routes in

Work permit → temporary residence card The employer files the work permit first; the residence card follows from it. Investor route via a Vietnamese company Owning a registered local entity supports an investor visa and a longer residence card. Study route A student visa is sponsored by the institution and converts on graduation with an employer.

Key trade-offs

There is no dedicated digital-nomad visa; long stays on tourist status are not a lawful substitute for a work permit.
Work-permit files need police clearance and a health check, both legalised and translated — start them months ahead.
Foreigners hold apartments on time-limited ownership and cannot hold land outright.

First steps

1 Line up the sponsoring employer or register the company before anything else — it is the gate for every route.
2 Get police clearance and medical certificates legalised and translated early.
3 Register your temporary residence with the local police wherever you stay, including rentals.
4 Confirm whether your role is exempt from the work permit before assuming you need one — or that you do.

What changes often

· Work-permit exemption categories and document rules
· Visa and temporary-residence-card durations
· Foreign-ownership limits in residential projects

Work-permit exemptions, document legalisation rules and residence-card durations change often — confirm with the Vietnam Immigration Department and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA). Vietnam Immigration Department ↗