Business visa acquired. No more visa runs for me
My time in Vietnam has been a strange ride. I had initially intended to use this country as a one or two year stopping off point before moving to Japan but then Covid happened and that put a spanner in the works that lead to me being here for a VERY LONG TIME as well as overstaying my visa by a long amount of time and briefly being deported. I didn't plan on any of these things happening but now that my dog is 11 years old I determined, right around the time after her 11th birthday, that I am not going to subject her to relocation for the rest of her life. We are going to stay right here until she goes to doggy heaven.
The problem was having a guaranteed visa and while visas are easier here than in most other places, they aren't guaranteed for anyone so I had to take some drastic steps to ensure that I would always get the green-light for my visas. While some people just take it on the chin when they get denied a visa and just wait it out, this is not an option for me because I am the sole caretaker for a doggy friend. Therefore, I got involved in getting a business visa starting several months ago.
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This is where I call home now and will continue to do so for a long time. Don't get too excited by that picture. The beach is rather average and the entire city is covered in plastic garbage just like the rest of Vietnam. This place actually kind of sucks as far as waste management is concerned but I am a guest here so I will not make too much noise about that.
The process of getting a long-term visa was a very long process, but as of yesterday, I have a full page visa in my passport and it is the best kind of visa. It is multiple entry meaning that I can come and go as I please and not have to get new visas every time I go somewhere. This was a problem in the past because I wanted to go and visit family but was afraid that the answer might be "no" when I want to come back. With this new visa the answer will always be "yes."
So I am stoked about this and so is my floor bunny even though she has no concept of anything other than walks, treaty pies, and yumyums.
For anyone out there that tires of the rigors of getting visas over and over again I can tell you the process as far as getting a business investment visa and it isn't going to be within reach of just everyone. It may sound like I am bragging a bit but I am not extremely wealthy... I did play my cards a bit right in life so that I have some expendable income in my mid 40's but I am not the kind of person that just throws money around and thinks that I have a never-ending supply of it. That is definitely not the case.
In order to get an investment visa you really should employ an agent to do the legwork for you. Just like anything that involves the government there is a ton of paperwork involved. Paperwork that unless you are Vietnamese or even if you are, it is going to be very difficult for you to understand let alone get correct.
Then you have to go through the process of obtaining a Vietnamese bank account. This process isn't as difficult as you might think but the main problem is going to be finding someone that is willing and able to speak English in a meaningful capacity. Setting the account up is a straight-forward process and you don't have to have a special visa in order to do it.
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Like any country there are a ton of options as far as banks are concerned but from what I have been hearing and witnessed with my own eyes, Sacombank and BIDV are the "easiest" to get involved with for foreigners. I have heard stories of some banks insisting that you cannot have an account with a tourist visa (which is what I had at the time) but this isn't at all true... the banks just don't want to do it and well, they are a private business and they can deny you for any reason at all.
Once you have the account set up the hardest part for most people comes next: you have to transfer in a minimum of $20,000 USD. This money then must be invested into a company. The company doesn't necessarily need to spend that money, it is just the minimum amount that is required in order to consider you a real investor. While this sounds like a lot of money and I am not going to pretend as though it isn't a lot of money to me, you would need to have substantially more than this to get an investment visas in other countries, especially the USA or Europe.
When you are transferring the money to the company you are investing in I highly advise that you get a separate lawyer involved with glancing over the paperwork. My lawyer charged $100 to investigate the finances of the company I invested in in order to confirm that they are a real company and that they do have assets well above and beyond my part of the investment. When I discovered via independent inquiry that the company I am investing in has nearly $600,000 in capital, I felt reassured. If this entire this was a ruse to play the long game and con me out of $20k, then it is a very risky game on their part since I have my part of the paperwork confirmed by my own lawyer and I could sue them if they attempted to steal from me.
Check the paperwork terms though as far as your investment is concerned. There are a number of minimum requirements that are enforced by the government to protect foreign investors and honestly, there needs to be or no one would invest in Vietnam from the outside. While conditions vary, the company I am involved in has 180 days to give me back my investment in full should I decide to leave the company. Doing this would also spell the end of my visa, but it is good to know that if and when I decide to put Vietnam permanently in my rearview mirror, I can get that money back. The only time that you could be screwed out of your investment is if the company becomes insolvent / bankrupt. Then there is a legal process where your percentage ownership of the company would result in you getting paid according to how much the liquidation of all company assets brought in.
It's complicated, I know. But do your homework and make sure that you actually believe in the company you are investing in.
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This is not my visa, but it is what it looks like. There is something a great deal more official about something that takes up an entire page of your passport and isn't just some sort of stamp with handwriting next to it. With a visa like this you are treated differently at immigration and just blaze on through.
Your initial visa is a probationary one for a duration of 3 months. This is NOT cheap. It is around $220. The one-year renewal that comes next is even more expensive at around $600. However, I think they have these fees be so high in the first year to weed out people who aren't serious because every year after that costs less than $200 to renew.
So for many people this kind of visa will be cost prohibitive. While I don't want to sound like I am on my high horse talking down to people I will say this: If you don't have $20,000 saved up you probably shouldn't consider yourself to be in a position where you are seeking permanent residency anywhere other than where you can make money. So do that first :)
I'm happy to have achieved this so I can finally feel confident about my future here. I now have a "homebase" in Asia. This doesn't meant that I am in love with Vietnam and plan to stay here forever. That isn't the case at all as there are many things about this country that I really don't like. It does take a load off my mind to know that I have a place where I am guaranteed a visa in my favorite part of the world though.