1. OVERVIEW OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 

1.1. System of governing legal normative documents 

In the context of 2026, the management of entry and residence of foreign investors in Vietnam is governed by a synchronous legal system. The foundational legal document is the Law on Entry, exit, transit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam 2014, as amended and supplemented by Law No. 51/2019/QH14 and Law No. 23/2023/QH15. In addition, the regulations on the rights and obligations of investors are also strictly governed by the Law on Investment 2020, the Law on Enterprises 2020 regarding capital contribution obligations, Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP on the management of foreign workers, and especially the Law on Social Insurance 2024 regarding mandatory social security obligations. The interaction among these laws creates a strict legal corridor, requiring the investor to simultaneously comply with multiple obligations to maintain their legal residence status. 

1.2. Principle of classified management by capital contribution scale 

Unlike the period before 2020, the current law applies a classification mechanism for investor visas. The core management principle is that residence rights and administrative incentives are proportional to the actual capital contribution scale. Accordingly, the investor status is differentiated into four distinct levels: DT1, DT2, DT3, and DT4. This mechanism aims to create an incentive to attract large capital flows through superior residence rights and to strictly control small-scale investments. 

2. DT1 GROUP – STRATEGIC INVESTORS 

2.1. Rights and Legal basis 

Pursuant to the Law on Entry, exit, transit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam (amended), the visa with symbol DT1 is designated for foreign investors or representatives of foreign organizations with a capital contribution value of 100 billion VND or more, or investing in investment-incentive industries and trades, or geographical areas with difficult socio-economic conditions stipulated by the Government. In terms of rights, this is the only group of subjects granted a visa with a validity of up to 05 years and legally eligible to be granted a Temporary Residence Card with a maximum validity of 10 years as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 38 of this Law. This regulation allows the investor to stably manage the project over a long period without needing to perform periodic extension procedures. In addition, relatives of the DT1 investor, including spouses and children under 18 years old, are also granted a family visit Temporary Residence Card with a corresponding validity period. 

2.2. Issuance conditions 

• Financial conditions: The investor must prove an actual contributed capital flow of a minimum of 100 billion VND through audit documents or confirmation from a commercial bank. 

• Labor conditions: Investors in this group are naturally exempt from work permits and exempt from procedures for explaining the need to employ foreign workers. 

2.3. List of legal documents 

• Legal entity documents: Certified true copies of the Investment Registration Certificate, Enterprise Registration Certificate, Document registering the seal sample and signature (Form NA16). 

• Financial documents (Mandatory): The most recent independently audited financial report showing owner’s equity over 100 billion VND, or a Confirmation document from a commercial bank regarding the full transfer of the committed capital amount into the direct investment capital account. 

• Personal documents: Original passport valid for over 13 months (recommended longer than 5-10 years to be granted a long-term card). 

• Administrative documents: Application form for visa issuance, temporary residence extension (Form NA5); Document confirming the foreign worker is not subject to a work permit; Confirmation of temporary residence declaration. 

3. DT2 GROUP – LARGE-SCALE INVESTORS 

3.1. Rights and Legal basis 

The visa with symbol DT2 applies to investors with a capital contribution from 50 billion VND to under 100 billion VND, or investing in encouraged development sectors. Holders of the DT2 visa enjoy a long-term residence regime with a maximum visa and Temporary Residence Card validity of 05 years. Similar to the DT1 group, DT2 investors belong to the category exempt from work permits under the provisions of Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP and have the right to sponsor relatives for long-term residence. 

3.2. Detailed issuance conditions 

• Financial conditions: Must prove the actual contributed capital portion falls within the range from 50 billion VND to under 100 billion VND. 

• Compliance conditions: The sponsoring enterprise must be operating normally and have fulfilled its tax obligations. 

3.3. List of legal documents 

• Legal entity documents: Certified true copies of the Enterprise Registration Certificate, Investment Registration Certificate, Form NA16. 

• Financial documents: Confirmation document from a bank or an audited financial report proving the contributed capital portion from 50 billion VND to under 100 billion VND. Note that internal revenue and expenditure documents are not accepted. 

• Personal documents: Original passport with an appropriate validity period (over 5 years to optimize the card’s validity). 

• Administrative documents: Form NA5; Document confirming the foreign worker is not subject to a work permit; Confirmation of temporary residence declaration. 

4. DT3 GROUP – STANDARD INVESTORS 

4.1. Rights and Legal basis 

The visa with symbol DT3 is for investors with a capital contribution value from 03 billion VND to under 50 billion VND. The residence rights of this group are limited to 03 years for both the visa and Temporary Residence Card. An important legal point is that the 3 billion VND capital threshold is also the minimum level for investors to be determined as not requiring a work permit. This helps save costs and administrative procedures for the enterprise. 

4.2. Issuance conditions 

• Financial conditions: Mandatory to maintain charter capital and actual contributed capital of 3 billion VND or more. If capital is reduced below this level, it will be downgraded to category DT4. 

• Labor conditions: Must perform the procedure to request confirmation of not being subject to a work permit at the local labor management agency before submitting the application for a temporary residence card. 

4.3. List of legal documents 

• Legal entity documents: Certified true copy of the Enterprise Registration Certificate, Form NA16. 

• Financial documents: Confirmation certificate from a bank that the money has entered the direct investment capital account or an audited financial report. 

• Personal documents: Original passport valid for over 03 years. 

• Administrative documents: Form NA5; Document confirming the foreign worker is not subject to a work permit (original copy); Confirmation of temporary residence declaration. 

5. DT4 GROUP – SMALL-SCALE INVESTORS 

5.1. Characteristics and Legal restrictions 

The visa with symbol DT4 applies to investments with a value of under 03 billion VND. The most important legal characteristic is that the holder is not granted a Temporary Residence Card as stipulated in Article 36 of the Law on Entry, exit, transit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam (amended). The investor is only granted a visa with a maximum validity of 12 months and is required to perform periodic annual extension procedures. Furthermore, relatives of DT4 investors are not granted long-term temporary residence cards but can only apply for short-term family visit visas. 

5.2. Issuance conditions and compliance risks 

• Operating conditions: Must prove the enterprise is actually operating at its headquarters to avoid being identified as an enterprise not operating at its registered address. 

• Labor and social insurance risks: In the context of 2026, if DT4 investors directly participate in technical management, they face the risk of having to apply for a work permit. Specifically, according to the Law on Social Insurance 2024, if they have an employment contract of 12 months or more, they are subject to mandatory social insurance participation. 

5.3. List of legal documents 

• Legal entity documents: Certified true copy of the Enterprise Registration Certificate, Form NA16. 

• Financial documents: Documents proving membership status (Certificate of capital contribution, Company charter). Auditing is not mandatory but must prove full contribution of committed capital. 

• Documents proving operation (Mandatory): Most recent value-added tax or licensing tax declaration, office pictures, office lease contract to serve post-inspection tasks. 

• Personal documents: Original passport valid for over 12 months. 

• Administrative documents: Form NA5; Work permit (if subject to issuance); Confirmation of temporary residence declaration. 

6. PRECEDENT CONDITIONS 

6.1. Conditions on actual contributed capital 

This is the most important technical requirement in the application review process in 2026. The immigration management agency requires evidence of actual cash flow and does not accept the registered charter capital on paper. The investor must prove they have completed the transfer of money into the direct investment capital account of the enterprise in Vietnam within the exact 90-day time limit specified in the Law on Enterprises 2020. If failing to prove full capital contribution, the investor will be refused a long-term visa or downgraded to the DT4 classification. 

6.2. Technical conditions regarding passport and residence 

The investor’s passport must have a validity period longer than the validity of the requested visa or Temporary Residence Card by at least 30 days. At the same time, the foreigner must be legally temporarily residing in Vietnam and have completed the obligation of declaring temporary residence with the local police agency through the national electronic declaration system. 

7. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND RISK MANAGEMENT 

Based on the practice of application review at the Immigration Department and the fundamental changes in the legal corridor in 2026, the following are strategic recommendations to ensure absolute legal safety for investors and enterprises as follows: 

7.1. Planning investment strategies tied to residence goals 

Enterprises and investors need to shift their mindset from “coping with procedures” to “strategic planning” right from the project initiation phase. 

• Assessing actual financial capacity: Before registering the charter capital amount, investors need to accurately evaluate their own capital mobilization capability. Registering a high capital amount (over 3 billion VND or over 50 billion VND) to reach the DT3 or DT2 visa threshold to enjoy the benefits of a temporary residence card and work permit exemption, while financial capacity does not meet it, is a serious strategic mistake. 

• Risks of dishonest capital declaration: In the context where data between business registration authorities and tax authorities is interconnected, cases of registering large capital but not actually contributing will be flagged by the risk warning system. When the immigration agency conducts post-inspection and requests bank statements, if virtual capital is detected, the investor will not only be refused a visa but also face administrative penalties for fraudulent declaration and be forced to carry out procedures to reduce charter capital. 

7.2. Absolute compliance with the process of circulating investment capital flows 

Proving “clean cash flow” and “correct process” is a precedent condition for the application to be approved. 

• Using the correct specialized account: All money transfer transactions from abroad into Vietnam must go through the Direct Investment Capital Account (for foreign-invested enterprises) opened at a commercial bank allowed to operate in Vietnam. Transferring money into the company’s regular payment account will not be recognized by the State Bank and the immigration agency as valid contributed capital. 

• Accurate transaction content: The money transfer order must clearly state the content as “Investment capital contribution”, “Payment for share purchase”, or “Charter capital contribution”. Absolutely avoid general content such as “Money transfer”, “Lending”, or “Payment for goods”, as this will cause insurmountable difficulties when requesting bank confirmation to submit a visa application. 

• Complying with the 90-day time limit: The investor must complete contributing the fully committed capital amount within 90 days from the date of issuance of the Enterprise Registration Certificate according to the provisions of the Law on Enterprises 2020. Past this deadline without fully contributing, the investor will lose their legal status to apply for a long-term visa corresponding to the registered capital amount. 

7.3. Delineating the boundary between the status of “Investor” and “Employee” 

This is the largest legal risk area for the DT4 investor group (capital under 3 billion VND) in the 2026 fiscal year. 

• Determining the nature of the working relationship: Enterprises need to clearly determine the role of the investor in the company. If the investor only contributes capital and enjoys profits (dividends) without participating in daily management, they do not need to apply for a work permit. However, if the investor holds management titles (Director, Head of Department) and receives income in the nature of salary or wages, this relationship has shifted to a labor nature. 

• Complying with social security obligations: Pursuant to the Law on Social Insurance 2024, in cases where a DT4 investor works under a labor contract with a term of 12 months or more, they are subject to mandatory social insurance participation. Enterprises must not use the excuse of “being the owner” to evade this obligation. Paying full social insurance is not only law compliance but also an important evidence to prove the investor’s connection and legal operation when extending the visa in subsequent times. 

7.4. Maintaining the operating status and tax obligations of the sponsoring legal entity 

The investor’s visa is tied to the existence of the sponsoring enterprise. 

• Tax obligations and business location: The enterprise must always maintain a normal operating status, declare and pay taxes on time. The police agency will regularly conduct physical inspections at the registered business address. If it is discovered that the enterprise is not operating at its headquarters (absent, no signage), the enterprise will have its tax code locked and immediately, the validity of the investor’s visa/temporary residence card will be canceled. 

• Reporting regime: Enterprises need to strictly implement the regime of reporting the situation of using foreign workers and periodically reporting the investment activity situation to functional agencies to avoid being listed as high-risk enterprises. 

8. CONCLUSION 

Vietnam’s legal system on residence and entry as of 2026 has reached a high level of perfection. The transition from a mere administrative management mechanism to a management model based on economic contribution value has established a new order, where investors’ residence rights are proportional to the actual capital contribution scale. The clear delineation of four investor visa subclasses from DT1 to DT4 sets strict compliance requirements. Enterprises need to clearly recognize that the Investment Registration Certificate is only a necessary condition; the sufficient condition to maintain legal residence status lies in proving the actual contributed cash flow and fully complying with arising obligations regarding labor and social security. 

HARLEY MILLER LAW FIRM

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