Remote Work on a Tourist Visa in Vietnam: What the Law Says

Your activities in Vietnam must match your purpose of entry, and a tourist visa (DL) is issued for tourism. A foreign worker needs a work permit or an exemption confirmation. Remote work for an employer abroad is not a listed form of foreign work, so keep it short and keep every client and payment outside Vietnam.

By Vincent Nguyen

Hoạt động tại Việt Nam phải phù hợp với mục đích nhập cảnh

A foreigner who enters, exits or resides in Vietnam must carry out activities in Vietnam that match the purpose of their entry. Law 47/2014/QH13, Điều 44 khoản 2 điểm b

A tourist visa is issued for tourism. A foreign worker in Vietnam must hold a work permit or an exemption confirmation. Remote work for an employer abroad is not one of the listed forms of foreign work.

Short answer

• Risk: practising a trade without permission is fined VND 15,000,000 to 20,000,000. Activity outside your declared purpose is fined VND 20,000,000 to 25,000,000. Working without a permit or exemption confirmation is fined VND 15,000,000 to 25,000,000.
• Do now: a foreign worker in Vietnam holds a work permit unless an exemption applies. A tourist visa is issued for tourism.
• Working rule: keep your employer, clients and pay outside Vietnam, and stay tourist-length. Any Vietnamese client or employer needs a work permit.

Which case are you?

• You only travel and do no work: a DL visa is issued for tourism.
• You work in Vietnam as a foreign worker: you must hold a work permit unless an exemption applies. See work permit in Ho Chi Minh City.
• An organisation sponsors you to work, and you hold a work permit or exemption confirmation: your visa’s purpose can be changed.
• You entered on an e-visa and hold a work permit or exemption confirmation: your visa’s purpose can be changed.
• You work for an employer or clients abroad: this is not a listed form of foreign work. Follow the working rule above.
• You want a dedicated digital nomad visa: the law texts found do not provide one. UĐ1 is for high-quality digital technology industry personnel.

Worked scenarios

Each row gives what the cited text says.

DL, LĐ1 and LĐ2: what each visa is for

Each visa symbol is issued for a stated purpose.

• DL is issued to a person entering Vietnam for tourism.
• LĐ1 is issued to a foreigner working in Vietnam who has confirmation of exemption from the work-permit requirement, unless a treaty Vietnam is party to provides otherwise.
• LĐ2 is issued to a foreigner working in Vietnam who is required to hold a work permit.

Nothing in these definitions describes remote work for an employer or clients outside Vietnam. A visa’s purpose cannot be changed, except in listed cases. Both work-related cases need a work permit or an exemption confirmation.

The wider list of symbols is in Vietnam visa types.

Stay periods by entry route

The table gives the stay for each entry route. The activity must still match the purpose of entry.

A 90-day DL visa starts with 30 days at the border. To use the rest, a sponsor files an extension. The 30-day cut names DL only, not EV, so read the stay on your entry stamp. See visa extension: agent or sponsor.

The two exemption lists differ on purpose, so check yours in Vietnam visa exemption. The e-visa route is in the e-visa guide. Extension steps are in extending your visa in Ho Chi Minh City. A border trip to reset the stay is compared in visa run from Ho Chi Minh City.

Who counts as a foreign worker in Vietnam

The Labor Code applies to “a foreign worker working in Vietnam”. It requires that person to hold a work permit from the competent Vietnamese state agency, except in the cases of Article 154.

Decree 219/2025/NĐ-CP defines the foreign worker as a foreign citizen who enters to work in a position set out in Article 3, in one of the listed forms. The forms include performing a labour contract, an intra-company transfer, performing contracts or agreements on economic or social matters, and offering services for sale.

None of the listed forms names remote work for an employer outside Vietnam. A new permit dossier is filed 60 to 10 days before the start date. The permit process is in the work permit guide.

Fines and deportation

Three fines can come into play, all for an individual.

• Entering and practising a profession, trade or other activity without permission from a competent authority: VND 15,000,000 to 20,000,000.
• Engaging in activity inconsistent with the purpose or programme declared when applying for a visa, residence card or stay extension: VND 20,000,000 to 25,000,000.
• A foreign worker working without a permit or exemption confirmation, or with an expired one: VND 15,000,000 to 25,000,000.

An organisation found responsible for the same violation is fined at double the rate. Deportation can be added to the first two fines, decided on the nature, extent and consequences of the violation, the offender and mitigating or aggravating circumstances. Decree 283/2026/NĐ-CP also provides for deporting a foreign worker without a permit.

The specific fine is the midpoint of the band. Mitigating circumstances can lower it but not below the band minimum, and aggravating ones can raise it but not above the maximum. A fined person must pay within 10 days of receiving the decision, unless the decision states a longer deadline.

If your stay runs out while you work

Overstaying is an administrative violation from the first day past the permitted period. Fines for an individual under Decree 282/2025/NĐ-CP rise with the days overstayed.

Deportation can be applied as an additional penalty for an overstay of 16 days or more, as a discretionary decision. A deported foreigner is refused entry for 3 years from the date the decision took effect. A forced exit carries a refusal of 6 months.

A foreigner who has overstayed should go promptly to the Immigration Management Office of the city police where they stay, to report and pay the fine. Full detail is in overstay fines in Ho Chi Minh City.

Papers to carry and where you live

A foreigner moving around Vietnam carries a passport or international travel document and the papers related to residence, and presents them when a competent authority asks. A foreigner staying in Vietnam declares the residence through the person who runs the accommodation.

If you work from a rented flat or a coworking space, the stay is still registered at the accommodation. See temporary residence registration in Ho Chi Minh City.

Is there a digital nomad visa?

The law texts found do not provide a visa named for remote workers. The UĐ1 symbol is issued to high-quality digital technology industry personnel. It also covers cases given preferential treatment under a law or a resolution of the National Assembly or its Standing Committee.

UĐ1 and four other symbols are valid for no more than 5 years. The UĐ1 definition does not mention remote work for a foreign employer.

A separate 2025 Government decree sets a time-limited visa exemption for priority groups. They include scholars, scientists, professors and high-quality digital technology industry personnel. The exemption needs a written request from a ministry, a Government agency or a Party or National Assembly body. A freelancer is not among the listed requesters.

The tax question is separate

Your visa category and your tax status are separate tests. The personal income tax law takes effect on 1 July 2026, and its rules on wages of a resident individual apply from the 2026 tax period.

Tax paid abroad is credited against Vietnamese tax where a double-taxation agreement exists. A foreigner who has not completed their tax obligations must complete them before leaving Vietnam. A foreign individual with tax debt past the deadline can have their exit suspended.

The filing steps are in Vietnam income tax for remote workers. The residency test has its own guide, Vietnam tax residency.

Where to ask in Ho Chi Minh City

A city press-centre report of 5 July 2025 places the Immigration Management Office of the city police at 196 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, Xuan Hoa Ward. Xuan Hoa Ward was created from the whole of Vo Thi Sau Ward and the remainder of Ward 4 (District 3).

The city police said they will keep working on Saturday mornings each week to receive procedures, including immigration management.

Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

For stay length and sponsor-filed extensions, see Vietnam immigration fees and the extension guide.

Photos and clips uploaded to Google Maps (HCMC immigration office on Google Maps (opens in a new tab)) by Brian Loh.

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Not confirmed: Whether an officer treats laptop work for an employer abroad as activity outside a tourist purpose: carry your return ticket and accommodation booking, and take no Vietnamese client.

General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.

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