🇻🇳 Vietnam · immigration guide
Family visas for moving to Vietnam
Vietnam does not offer the clean family-focused remote-worker route many online comparisons imply. Its 90-day e-visa is useful for scouting; a stable family move normally needs a credible employer, real investment or an eligible family relationship.
Last verified 26 August 2026
The short answer
Which route should a family examine first?
Use the e-visa to research, not to pretend a school year is settled. A qualifying employee typically needs employer-led work and residence documentation, with eligible spouse and children linked where the principal status supports it. Investment and Vietnamese-family routes require their own genuine facts.
Current route map
Four starting points—and their limits
This is an issue-spotting table, not an eligibility decision. Route codes, evidence and permissions must be checked against the issuing authority before payment.
Useful for
Electronic visa
Scouting trips and temporary stays
Official e-visas are available for up to 90 days, single or multiple entry; each traveller needs the correct permission.
It does not create permission to work or a durable school-year residence plan. Do not build a move around assumed extensions.
Useful for
Work permit + temporary residence card
A qualifying role with a Vietnamese sponsor
The employer normally drives work-permit and residence-card documentation; eligible relatives may use linked family status.
Qualifications, experience, health and police documents can require legalisation; a change of employer can affect status.
Useful for
Investor/business route
Genuine qualifying investment or business activity
Duration and dependant options depend on the approved category and investment facts.
It is not a paper-company shortcut. Corporate, tax, capital and immigration obligations continue after approval.
Useful for
Family sponsorship
Eligible relatives of Vietnamese citizens or qualifying foreign residents
Can support temporary residence where the relationship and sponsor status meet the rules.
A child at an international school does not, by itself, sponsor both parents.
The household status sheet
One family, four separate legal rows
Replace the examples with your names. Any blank cell is a risk, not an administrative detail.
A visual decision tool
Vietnam's sponsor chain
A durable family plan is only as strong as its anchor. Test what happens if the job, company or relationship basis changes.
Principal basis
Job / investment / familyThe underlying legal fact creates the route; an e-visa does not.
Residence
Visa or residence cardValidity and eligibility depend on the principal category and sponsor.
Family link
Spouse + childrenRelationship documents and the principal's status support eligible applications.
Separate activity
Work / studyResidence does not automatically authorise every spouse job or child arrangement.
Decision rule: The sponsor chain should survive the school year: employer or qualifying principal → residence document → eligible family applications → separate permission for any working spouse.
Where family plans break
Four risks to resolve before applying
The e-visa ends at 90 days
It can be single or multiple entry, but it is not a durable residence card or permission to work.
Employment documents travel
Qualifications, experience, police and health records may require certification, legalisation or translation.
Status can be job-linked
A change or loss of employer can affect work authorisation, residence and linked family status.
Accommodation must be registered
Confirm that a landlord or host completes the required local registration and retain evidence.
Document architecture
Prepare an evidence pack, not a pile of scans
Never legalise every document speculatively. Confirm what the exact route accepts, where it must be issued and how fresh it must be.
Identity
Passports with route-specific validity, photographs and any existing immigration records.
Relationships
Marriage, birth, adoption, custody or dependency evidence matching the legal family structure.
Principal eligibility
Employment, client, income, pension, investment, education or sponsor evidence for the exact category.
Admissibility
Police, health, insurance or clearance documents where the current route requests them.
Authentication
Apostille, consular legalisation, certified copy and translation requirements checked document by document.
Lower-risk sequence
From family plan to compliant arrival
- 01
Write the activity map
For every adult and child, state the actual work, business, study or non-working activity and intended length of stay.
- 02
Choose the principal anchor
Identify the route supported by a real job, overseas work, qualifying capital, school or family relationship.
- 03
Build the dependant layer
Confirm eligible relationships, age limits, separate applications and what happens if the principal status ends.
- 04
Prepare and authenticate
Work backwards from police, health, bank, employer and civil documents that may expire or need legalisation.
- 05
Apply before locking the move
Coordinate school and temporary housing, retain written terms, and avoid irreversible payments ahead of the status evidence.
- 06
Run the compliance calendar
Track entry, address reporting, renewals, re-entry, work or school changes, tax review and departure formalities.
Before paying an intermediary
Put these answers in writing
- The current official category code and issuing-authority link for every family member.
- The legal sponsor or guarantor and what happens if that person, employer or school changes.
- The exact work, business, volunteering and study activities each status permits or prohibits.
- Government fees separated from professional, translation, legalisation and third-party charges.
- Entry, reporting, extension, renewal, re-entry and departure obligations with dates and owners.
- The refund or remediation position if refused, delayed or moved to a different category.
Information, not individual immigration advice. Eligibility depends on current law and your evidence. Use the official sources below and a properly authorised professional where the route or activity needs one.
Continue the status plan
Test remote work and dependant rights separately
Straight answers
Questions about family relocation
Does one visa cover the whole family in Vietnam?
Not automatically. A principal route may allow dependant applications, but every person needs the correct application, relationship evidence and status. Map the principal, spouse and every child separately.
Does dependant status allow a spouse to work?
Never infer work permission from residence. Some routes prohibit it, some require a separate employment pass or permit, and some attach work rights only to particular principal categories. Obtain the answer for the exact code and activity in writing.
Can children attend international school on dependant status?
That depends on the route and country. Some children use dependant status; others need a student category or school sponsorship. Confirm the school's document process and the immigration authority's current requirement before accepting a place.
Is a long-validity visa the same as permanent residence?
No. A five-, ten- or twenty-year label may still be temporary, conditional, renewable or split into shorter grants. Read continuing criteria, cancellation triggers and whether the programme expressly leads to permanent residence.
Does visa approval settle our tax position?
No. Immigration, personal tax, employment law, social security and corporate presence use different tests. Days present, where work is performed, accommodation and remittances can matter independently of visa validity.
When should we pay school fees or sign a lease?
Only after the route, sponsor, dependant structure, permitted activities and refund exposure are understood. Keep early housing flexible and ask schools for written deferral or refund terms if status is not yet secured.
Can a British family move to Vietnam on e-visas?
E-visas can support a scouting or temporary stay of up to 90 days, single or multiple entry. They do not create a durable family residence plan or work authorisation, so repeated visitor permission should not anchor school and housing commitments.
How does employer sponsorship work for a family?
A qualifying employer normally coordinates the principal's work-permit and residence documentation. Eligible spouse and children may use linked family status where the principal route and remaining validity support it; the employer should explain the complete household sequence.
Can a dependant spouse work in Vietnam?
Do not assume linked family residence is work permission. The spouse's role, employer and any work-permit or exemption requirements must be resolved separately before employment begins.
Can a child's school sponsor both parents?
Do not rely on that assumption. A school place may support the child's education arrangements, but both parents need their own lawful bases under current Vietnamese rules.