Vietnam Digital Nomad Visa 2026: What Just Launched, and What Nomads Actually Use
Vietnam's visa system changed on 1 July 2026, and if you work in tech it changed in your favour. Here is what launched, who it is for, and the setup independent nomads still use.
Key takeaways
- Vietnam's visa system changed on 1 July 2026: two new categories, UĐ1 for high-quality digital technology personnel and UĐ2 for their spouse and children under 18, both valid up to five years.
- Alongside it, the Law on Digital Technology Industry gives five-year renewable temporary residence cards to high-quality foreign digital technology personnel, with matching cards for family and a five-year personal income tax exemption for digital technology experts.
- If you work in tech and have an employer or institution in Vietnam, this is now one of the strongest long-stay packages in Southeast Asia, and the family provision is rarer than the five years.
- If you are an unsponsored freelancer, the working setup is unchanged: the 90-day e-visa, open to every nationality and available with multiple entry, plus visa exemption of 14 to 45 days depending on your passport.
- Vietnam still has no unsponsored remote-work visa in the style of Thailand's DTV. The direction of travel is clearly toward tech, and the ten-year Golden Visa remains a proposal with no decree and no application channel.
Vietnam's visa system changed on 1 July 2026, and if you work in tech it changed in your favour. Two new categories now exist: UĐ1 for high-quality digital technology personnel, and UĐ2 for their spouse and children under 18. Both run for up to five years.
That is real, it is in force, and it is the first time Vietnam has built an immigration route around technology workers specifically. What it is not is an unsponsored nomad visa, and the distinction decides which half of this article applies to you.
What actually launched
The legal basis is Law 118/2025/QH15, which amends provisions across ten laws on security and order, including the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners. It took effect on 1 July 2026 (Thư viện pháp luật, Công an Nghệ An).
Running alongside it is the Law on Digital Technology Industry (71/2025/QH15), in force since 1 January 2026, which carries the incentives that make the visa worth holding: temporary residence cards of up to five years for high-quality foreign digital technology personnel, renewable, with matching cards for spouse and children under 18, a five-year personal income tax exemption for digital technology experts, and housing support (full text in the Government Gazette).
| What you get | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| UĐ1 visa | High-quality digital technology personnel, up to 5 years | Law 118/2025/QH15, from 1 July 2026 |
| UĐ2 visa | Spouse and children under 18, up to 5 years | Law 118/2025/QH15, from 1 July 2026 |
| Temporary residence card | Up to 5 years, renewable | Law 71/2025/QH15 |
| Family residence cards | Matching validity | Law 71/2025/QH15 |
| Income tax exemption | 5 years for digital technology experts | Law 71/2025/QH15 |
If you are a nomad, which half applies to you
You have a company behind you
Then this is genuinely the best news Vietnam has produced for tech workers, and the family clause is the part to notice. Five-year visas for skilled workers exist in plenty of countries. Five-year visas that bring a spouse and children on matching terms are rare, and they are the difference between a posting and a life. Combined with the tax exemption, Vietnam has just become a serious competitor to Singapore and Malaysia for anyone deciding where to base a technical team.
Practically: this route runs through your employer or sponsoring institution, so the conversation to have is with them, not with a visa agency.
You are independent, with clients abroad
Then nothing has changed yet, and the honest playbook is the one nomads have used in Vietnam for years.
- The 90-day e-visa is the workhorse. Available to citizens of every country, applied for online, and issuable with multiple entry, which is what makes short trips out of the country practical.
- Visa exemption gives 14 to 45 days depending on your passport, useful for a first look rather than a base.
- The cycle, meaning an e-visa, a border exit and a fresh application, is what most long-stayers actually do. It works. It is also a pattern immigration officers can see in your passport, so treat re-entry as a decision someone makes rather than a right you hold.
On legality, the position deserves one plain paragraph rather than a shrug. Vietnamese law does not treat a tourist entry as permission to carry out labour activities, and no carve-out exists for work performed online for an overseas employer. Enforcement against remote workers has historically been light. That is a risk profile, not a permission, and the two get confused constantly in nomad forums (Baker McKenzie's Vietnam immigration handbook is a sober English-language reference on the categories).
Vietnam against the rest of Southeast Asia
For an unsponsored nomad choosing a base in 2026, this is the comparison that matters. We have written each of these up separately, so the table links rather than repeats.
| Country | The route | Built for unsponsored remote workers? |
|---|---|---|
| Thailand | DTV, five years, multiple entry | Yes, explicitly |
| Malaysia | DE Rantau Nomad Pass | Yes |
| Indonesia | Remote worker visa, Bali in practice | Yes |
| Japan | Six-month nomad visa, high income bar | Yes, with conditions |
| Vietnam | 90-day e-visa, or UĐ1 with a sponsor | Not yet |
Check it yourself
Do not take this article's word for it, or an agency's. These are free to read and they are the sources everything else is quoting:
- evisa.gov.vn — the official Immigration Department portal, the only place to apply and the first place a change appears.
- Bộ Công an — the Ministry of Public Security's note on what changes for entry, exit and residence of foreigners.
- Thư viện pháp luật — plain-language summary of UĐ1 and UĐ2 and the five-year limit.
- Công báo Chính phủ — full text of Law 71/2025/QH15.
- Công an Nghệ An — provincial police summary of what took effect on 1 July 2026.
- Baker McKenzie — English-language overview of the visa categories.
The part that actually decides whether you stay
Every nomad who leaves Vietnam early leaves for one of two reasons, and neither is the visa.
The first is connectivity in the first hour. A Vietnamese SIM means paperwork and a queue at the airport, so install a travel eSIM before you fly instead. Fizen's eSIM covers 150+ countries from $4 and installs in one tap, which matters when your first hour involves a ride-hailing app and an address you cannot pronounce yet.
The second is money, and it is the real one. Vietnam runs on QR. Nearly every cafe, pharmacy, bun cha stall and landlord takes VietQR, and almost none of them take your foreign card without a fee. Normally paying by QR needs a Vietnamese bank account, which needs residence status, which an e-visa does not give you. That is the loop nomads get stuck in. Fizen's QR Pay is built for exactly that gap: scan the same code the locals scan and pay from a USDT balance in a self-custody wallet, with no local bank account involved. Foreigners spending in Vietnam is precisely who it is for.
Frequently asked questions
Does Vietnam have a digital nomad visa in 2026?
Not an unsponsored one. There is no visa a freelancer with overseas clients can apply for alone. What Vietnam does have, as of 1 July 2026, is the UĐ1 visa for high-quality digital technology personnel and UĐ2 for their spouse and children under 18, both up to five years, which require an employer, institution or preferential-treatment decision behind the application. Most independent nomads use the 90-day e-visa.
What changed for Vietnam visas on 1 July 2026?
Law 118/2025/QH15 amended the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners and added two visa symbols: UĐ1 for high-quality digital technology industry personnel and those entitled to preferential treatment under laws and National Assembly resolutions, and UĐ2 for the spouse and children under 18 of a UĐ1 holder. Both run up to five years.
How long can a digital nomad stay in Vietnam?
Up to 90 days on an e-visa, which is available to citizens of all countries and can be issued with multiple entry. Visa exemption gives 14 to 45 days depending on nationality. Many long-stayers cycle e-visas with a border exit in between, which works but is a pattern immigration officers recognise, so do not treat it as a guaranteed right of return.
Is it legal to work remotely in Vietnam on a tourist visa?
Vietnamese law does not treat a tourist entry as permission to carry out labour activities, and there is no carve-out for remote work performed for an overseas employer. Enforcement against remote workers has historically been light, which is a risk profile rather than a permission. If your stay, your family or a lease depends on it, take Vietnamese legal advice rather than relying on community consensus.
Vietnam or Thailand for digital nomads in 2026?
On paper Thailand is now clearly ahead for unsponsored remote workers, because the DTV was built for exactly that person. Vietnam wins on cost, on internet quality for the price, and increasingly on the tech route if you have a company behind you. Many people run both: a long Thai base and Vietnamese stints on the e-visa.
What is the Vietnam Golden Visa?
A proposal, not a programme. A ten-year Golden Visa, a ten-year investor visa and a five-year talent visa were all put forward as part of the wider reform conversation, and the talent strand is the part that has produced concrete results. As of August 2026 the Golden Visa itself has no decree number and no application channel.
Can I open a Vietnamese bank account as a digital nomad?
Generally not on a tourist entry. Banks want a longer-term visa and residence status, which is precisely what an e-visa does not give you. That is why most nomads in Vietnam run on cash, a foreign card and QR payments from an app rather than a local account.
Land connected. Pay like a local.
Travel eSIM in 150+ countries from $4, and QR payments in Vietnam straight from a self-custody USDT balance, no Vietnamese bank account needed. New accounts start with eSIM credit. Backed by a strategic investment from Tether.
Terms and conditions
- Not legal advice. This article summarises Vietnamese legislation as published and as of 26 August 2026. Immigration and tax law changes, is applied differently by different offices, and depends on your nationality, employer and circumstances. Nothing here is legal, immigration or tax advice. Verify on evisa.gov.vn and take qualified Vietnamese advice before acting.
- Sources. Primary references are Law 118/2025/QH15 (entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners, effective 1 July 2026) and Law 71/2025/QH15 (digital technology industry, in force 1 January 2026), with explanatory notes from the Ministry of Public Security and the Government Gazette linked above.
- Implementation. Several provisions depend on implementing decrees and circulars. Where this article describes benefits such as the tax exemption or residence card duration, confirm the current implementing position before relying on it.
- Availability. Fizen is not offered to US Persons. Product availability varies by country and can change without notice. QR Pay is built for foreigners and travellers spending in the supported markets.
- Self-custody. You hold your own keys. No one, Fizen included, can restore your wallet if you lose your recovery phrase.
- eSIM. Your phone must be eSIM capable and carrier unlocked. eSIM is data only, so keep your normal SIM for calls and bank one-time passcodes. Plan details, validity and hotspot support vary; check Package details before buying.
- Full terms. Master Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Disclaimer.
Related reading
- The UĐ1 and UĐ2 visas in detail: what the law actually says
- Thailand's DTV: five years, and suddenly necessary
- Malaysia's DE Rantau Nomad Pass
- Indonesia (Bali) remote worker visa
- Japan's digital nomad visa
- Asia's digital nomad visas compared
- The Vietnam visa run, explained
- VietQR for foreigners: paying by QR in Vietnam
- The digital nomad's payment stack for Da Nang
Position as of 26 August 2026. Official source: evisa.gov.vn. Legislation: Công báo Chính phủ and Thư viện pháp luật.
