Vietnam Temporary Residence Card: Requirements & Documents

Updated 2026-07-04

A temporary residence card (TRC) lets a foreigner live in Vietnam for several years without renewing a visa. But a TRC is never issued on its own — it is always granted on a basis, such as employment, investment or family ties, and each basis carries its own symbol, documents and validity. This guide walks through what you actually need in 2026, and InTimeVisa prepares, lodges and tracks the whole file for you.

A TRC Is Always Issued on a Basis

You cannot apply for a temporary residence card in the abstract. The card is tied to a reason for staying — employment, investment, or a family relationship — and that reason is recorded as a visa/card symbol. The symbol you qualify for decides both the documents you must submit and how long the card can last.

The common symbols are:

• LĐ — labour: for a foreigner working in Vietnam who holds a work permit (or a work-permit-exemption confirmation)
• ĐT1–ĐT4 — investor: graded by the size of the capital contribution, from ĐT4 (smallest) up to ĐT1 (largest)
• TT — family: for the spouse or child of a Vietnamese citizen, or of a foreigner who already holds a work-based or investment-based card
• Other symbols (e.g. for representatives of foreign organisations) apply in specific cases as provided by law

The Document Checklist

The exact papers depend on your basis, but a typical file includes:

• A passport valid for at least 13 months, plus the current valid visa or entry stamp
• The completed application form and declaration, with photos to specification
• A sponsoring party in Vietnam — the employer, the company, or the Vietnamese family member — with its own legal papers
• For LĐ: the work permit or the work-permit-exemption confirmation
• For ĐT1–ĐT4: proof of the investment and capital contribution (enterprise registration, investment registration)
• For TT: proof of the relationship (marriage or birth certificate), legalised and translated into Vietnamese

How Long the Card Lasts

Validity is set by category, not by choice, and it can never run longer than the underlying basis:

• Employment (LĐ): usually up to 2 years, and never beyond the validity of the work permit
• Family (TT): up to 3 years
• Investor ĐT2: up to 5 years
• Investor ĐT1: up to 10 years

Where It Is Filed and How Long It Takes

The application is filed with the Immigration Department (Cục Quản lý xuất nhập cảnh), under the Ministry of Public Security. This authority did not change in the mid-2025 administrative merger — unlike the work permit, which moved to the Department of Home Affairs (Sở Nội vụ), and business/investment registration, which moved to the Department of Finance (Sở Tài chính).

The most common reason a file is delayed or returned is a missing or inconsistent basis document — for example, a TRC applied for before the work permit is in hand, or a family document that has not been legalised and translated. Getting the basis right before you lodge is the whole game.

TRC vs Visa — the Short Version

A visa authorises entry and a short stay; an eVisa lasts up to 90 days, and some other visas run up to a year. A temporary residence card is a multi-year residence permit that replaces the visa for its entire validity and lets you exit and re-enter Vietnam freely, without reapplying each time.

If you plan to stay well beyond a year, a TRC usually costs less and involves far less repeat paperwork than renewing a visa again and again — provided you have a solid basis to hang it on.