Vietnam Marriage Visa (TT Visa for Spouses of Vietnamese)

The TT visa is the long-stay visa for foreigners married to Vietnamese citizens. It grants up to three years of residency, can be converted to a TRC, and after three continuous years of holding a TT-class TRC opens the way to permanent residency.

Rules current as of 2026-05-17. Confirm via the Provincial Immigration Department and the relevant Vietnamese consulate before applying.

Eligibility

You need a marriage certificate showing marriage to a Vietnamese citizen. The marriage can have been registered:

• In Vietnam — through the Provincial People's Committee (Department of Justice). The standard route for foreigners marrying Vietnamese.
• Abroad — recognised by Vietnam, but the certificate must be legalised/apostilled and registered with Vietnamese authorities ("note ghi chú kết hôn") before it has effect for visa purposes.

Registering the marriage in Vietnam (first-time route)

If you're not already married, this is the longer prerequisite step. Documents for marriage registration:

Process takes 15–25 working days. Both spouses must appear at registration. Marriage certificate is issued in Vietnamese.

Documents for the TT visa (after marriage)

Validity

• TT visa: typically issued for 6–12 months single or multiple entry initially
• TT-class TRC: up to 3 years, renewable
• After 3 consecutive years on a TT TRC, you become eligible to apply for permanent residency (a much harder, separately-assessed application — see below)

Process

1. Have a valid Vietnamese-recognised marriage (either Vietnamese-registered or foreign-registered with Vietnam note).
2. Apply for the TT visa:
   • From outside Vietnam: through a Vietnamese embassy or consulate.
   • From inside Vietnam: through the Provincial Immigration Department (PA61 HCMC, PA72 Hanoi).
3. Once in Vietnam on the TT visa, apply for the TT-class TRC (Temporary Residence Card). The TRC is what unlocks 3-year stays without re-applying.

Cost

• TT visa application: ~$25–155 government fee depending on duration
• TT-class TRC: $145–165 government fee for 1–3 years
• Marriage registration health check: 1.5–4 million VND
• Apostille / legalisation in your home country: $20–200
• Translation and notarisation in Vietnam: ~$30–80 per document
• Specialist immigration agent (optional): $500–1,500 if you use one

What the TT visa lets you do

• Reside in Vietnam for the validity period
• Multiple entry / exit during validity
• Sponsor children for dependent visas (dependent visas)
• Apply for a permanent residence card after 3 continuous years on a TT TRC (subject to a separate, discretionary review)

What it does not do

• Authorise paid employment at a Vietnamese company by itself. To work locally on a TT visa, the usual path is still to apply for a work permit — though some recent guidance has eased this for spouses of Vietnamese citizens. Confirm with current Immigration Department guidance and DOLISA.
• Confer Vietnamese citizenship — Vietnamese naturalisation through marriage is technically possible but seldom occurs and requires renouncing your existing citizenship in most cases.
• Cover paid remote work for foreign employers in tax terms — Vietnamese tax residency is governed separately by the 183-day rule.

Permanent residence

After 3 continuous years on a TT TRC (without significant gaps outside Vietnam), foreign spouses may apply for a permanent residence card (PRC). The PRC is issued at the Ministry of Public Security's discretion, with limited published criteria. Successful applicants generally have:

• A long, stable marriage and joint Vietnamese assets (property, business, family home)
• Continuous residency without long absences
• Clean immigration and police record
• Strong Vietnamese-language competence (sometimes assessed)

Most spouses typically renew the TT TRC indefinitely rather than pursue the PRC.

Common pitfalls

• Marriage registered abroad but not noted in Vietnam. Foreign marriage certificates have no effect for Vietnamese visa purposes until registered ("note ghi chú kết hôn") at the Vietnamese Department of Justice.
• Apostille age-out. Certificates of legal capacity for marriage are typically valid only 6 months from issue.
• Vietnamese spouse's hộ khẩu lapse. The Vietnamese spouse's household registration must be current; old or unupdated household books cause rejection.
• Working on the TT visa without authorisation. If you intend to take Vietnamese employment, get a work permit cycled in parallel.

Combining with dependent visas

If you have children together, the children's visas are handled separately under dependent visas — usually granted on the same family-unit basis as the primary TT holder.

What this does NOT let you do

• Take paid employment with a Vietnamese employer — the TT visa alone does not authorise local employment. You will still need a work permit and an appropriate work visa class (typically LD); you may wish to verify the current DOLISA and Immigration Department position with a qualified agent before assuming the TT visa is sufficient.
• Claim automatic Vietnamese citizenship — naturalisation through marriage is technically possible under Vietnamese law but is seldom seen in practice, requires Ministry of Justice approval, and in most cases requires renouncing your existing nationality; nothing about holding a TT visa accelerates or is expected to yield that outcome.
• Operate a Vietnamese-registered business as a legally authorised representative — working as a company legal representative or signing on behalf of a Vietnamese entity generally requires a separate work permit category; you may need to verify with the relevant licensing authority.
• Avoid Vietnamese tax residency obligations — spending 183 days or more in Vietnam in a calendar year triggers tax residency regardless of your visa type; the TT visa confers no tax exemption.
• Expected permanent residency — even after three continuous years on a TT-class TRC, the Permanent Residence Card application is assessed at the Ministry of Public Security's discretion; approval is not automatic and published criteria remain limited.
• Cover a spouse who divorces or whose Vietnamese spouse dies — the TT visa is tied to the marriage relationship; a change in marital status requires prompt contact with the Provincial Immigration Department to determine next steps.

Refer to the digital nomad reality check or the retirement reality check where remote work or retirement comes up — Vietnam has no confirmed general route for either.

Verify before acting. Visa rules change. Confirm with the Vietnamese embassy in your country or evisa.gov.vn before relying on any specific limitation here.