Temporary residence registration for foreigners in Vietnam, and other rules while you stay

Article 33 of Law No. 47/2014/QH13 requires every foreigner staying in Vietnam to be declared for temporary residence through the person who manages the place where they stay. An accommodation establishment includes hotels, guesthouses and also private homes (Article 32).

• The host declares you to the commune or ward police, or the police station, where the accommodation is located.
• Deadline: within 12 hours of your arrival, or 24 hours in remote areas.
• Each time you change where you stay, a new declaration is made at the new place.
• Online declaration through the provincial immigration offices' declaration pages is free and open 24/7 (official procedure 1.001437). A paper form NA17 can also be filed at the commune police.

• Carry your passport (or international travel document) and your residence papers when you travel, and show them when the authorities ask (Article 44).
• Your activities must match the purpose of your entry — for example, a tourist visa does not allow you to work.
• You may travel freely within Vietnam for tourism, family visits or medical treatment without asking permission, except in prohibited or restricted areas, which need a separate permit from the provincial police.
• You may not stay overnight in prohibited areas or in areas where activities are suspended along land and sea borders (Article 34).

The date stamped in your passport (or on your visa or card) is the last day you may stay. Under the Immigration Law:

• a foreigner whose permitted stay has expired without leaving can be required to leave Vietnam (Article 30);
• a person required to leave cannot re-enter for 6 months from the decision; a person deported cannot re-enter for 3 years (Article 21);
• the permitted stay can be cancelled or shortened if the foreigner breaks Vietnamese law (Article 31).

The safe course is to act early: your sponsor can apply for a visa extension before the date, or you leave and come back with a new e-visa.

Vietnamese official sources do not publish a single procedure for foreigners who lose their passport. Passports are issued by your own country, and your Vietnamese visa, card or permitted stay must then be moved to the new document before you can leave. The steps below are what usually works.

For some nationalities, our sister Visa Hub sites have detailed guides on passports and lost passports for citizens in Vietnam (embassy steps, documents, fees):

Immigration Department offices: 69 Mac Thai To Street, Yen Hoa Ward, Hanoi · 333–335–337 Nguyen Trai Street, Cau Ong Lanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City (per official procedure 1.003358; address checked in person by the Tu Do Team).