Extending your visa in Vietnam in 2026

Since 15 December 2025 Vietnam has raised its overstay fines (Decree 282/2025), and the cap has doubled. The maximum penalty is now 40,000,000 VND (~$1,540). From 16 days of overstay, deportation and an entry ban are possible; since 1 April 2026 the deportation procedure is set by Decree 59/2026. Even a single day of overstay is logged in the database and can affect future visas and work permits.

Which visas can (and can't) be extended

Not all visa types allow an in-country extension. That is the first thing to check.

Visas that can be extended

Each of these needs a sponsor — an organisation or person in Vietnam confirming the need for the extension. You cannot extend a work or business visa on your own, without a sponsor.

Visas that CANNOT be extended

Arrived on the 90-day e-visa or the 45-day visa-free entry? In practice, the e-visa isn't extended in-country. A visa-free stay can, but only through an inviting party and at the immigration service's discretion. Otherwise your options are a visa run or, if you have a sponsor, converting to another visa type (more on that below).

VietnamSpot on InstagramTips, lifehacks and news for living in VietnamFollow@vietnamspot

Cost of a visa extension

Government fees (official)

Through an agency

If you go through a visa agent (and for tourist visas that is the only route), the cost is higher:

• Tourist visa extension, 30 days — $150–185
• Via an agent in smaller towns (Vung Tau, Da Lat) — from $50
• Work / business visa via an agency — $100–300

Agencies quote around $185 for a 30-day tourist extension and will extend a visa no more than three times in a row, after which only a visa run is left — nashaplaneta.net (in Russian), 2025

Extension or visa run — which is cheaper?

For work and business visa holders, an extension is cheaper and easier. For tourists and freelancers, a visa run is often simpler and more reliable.

Documents you need

General list (all visa types)

• Passport — valid for at least 6 months
• Application form NA5 — available at the immigration office or online
• Temporary residence registration (giấy tạm trú) — confirmation from the local police where you live — who files it and how
• Photo, 4×6 cm — on a white background

Extra documents by visa type

Work visa (LĐ1, LĐ2):

• Valid work permit
• Employer company's incorporation documents
• A letter of support from the company
• Company seal imprint

Business visa (DN1, DN2):

• A letter of support from the sponsoring company
• Certified copies of the sponsor's incorporation documents
• Proof of the business relationship

Investor visa (ĐT1–ĐT4):

• Investment certificate
• Business registration certificate
• Proof of bank transfers
• Quarterly tax filings for the last 3 months

Family visa (TT):

• Documents proving the relationship (marriage or birth certificate)
• Copy of the sponsoring relative's visa / work permit

The extension process — step by step

There are three ways to extend: in person, through an agency, or online.

At the immigration office (in person)

Step 1. Gather the full document pack.

Step 2. Go to your nearest immigration office:

Office hours vary — check on the spot or with your sponsor.

Step 3. Submit the documents. Staff will check they are complete.

Step 4. Get a receipt and pay the government fee.

Step 5. Collect your passport with the extended visa after 5–7 working days.

Through an agency

The simplest route, but also the most expensive.

1. Find a visa agency and send scans of your passport and current visa
2. Hand over the physical passport and pay for the service
3. Get your passport back with the extension in 5–8 working days

Upside: the agent handles the paperwork. Downside: higher cost, and your passport is gone for a week (without it you can't check into a hotel or board a domestic flight).

Online (via the government portal)

Vietnam has launched extensions through the National Public Service Portal: register on the portal, fill in the forms, pay online, track the status. How to hand over your passport and how long it takes are shown on the portal when you apply.

This suits people living far from the big cities, but it requires Vietnamese or English.

Extend, run, or convert — which one fits you

Extending is not always the right move. If you are on an e-visa with no sponsor or your tourist extension was refused, you cannot extend at all. On the visa-free entry, an extension goes only through a sponsor and at the immigration service's discretion. Without one, it comes down to a visa run or converting to a sponsored visa.

Do a visa run when

• You are on an e-visa or the 45-day visa-free entry with no sponsor
• Your tourist visa extension was refused
• You want a fresh, longer stay (a 90-day e-visa instead of another 30)
• You have hit the extension limit (roughly three times in a row for a tourist visa)

A visa run means leaving Vietnam for a neighbour — Cambodia, Laos or Thailand — and coming back on a fresh visa. A land hop from Ho Chi Minh City to the Cambodian border and back is a same-day trip; flying out to Bangkok for a weekend does the same job. Routes, border-by-border costs and the step-by-step are all in the dedicated guide.

Convert instead of running

A visa run buys you another 90 days but no path to residence. If you have a sponsor lined up — an employer, a business partner, or a Vietnamese spouse — you may be able to switch to a work, investor or family visa without leaving. Whether your current visa qualifies is up to the immigration service — check with your sponsor before your visa expires.

How long can you keep running?

We found no cap in the law on the number of e-visas or visa-free entries. 45 days visa-free, exit, 90 days on an e-visa, exit, 45 again.

In practice, run every month and an immigration officer may start asking what you actually do here. Documented refusals are still rare, but the risk is real. Living here for years on back-to-back tourist stamps is a hassle you will eventually want to trade for a work or investor visa.

Overstay fines in 2026

Fine amounts

How much depends on how long you overstayed: from 500,000 to 40,000,000 VND. There are seven bands, each with its own range — all of them, with dollar equivalents, are in the guide to overstaying in Vietnam. To work out your own fine by date, use the overstay calculator.

Consequences beyond the fine

• Deportation — possible from 16 days of overstay (Decree 282/2025); since 1 April 2026 the procedure is set by Decree 59/2026
• Entry ban — three years after deportation, six months after a forced exit (Law 47/2014/QH13)
• Problems with future visas — even 1–2 days of overstay are logged

What to do if your visa has expired

Go to the immigration office yourself, and the sooner the better: coming forward before you are caught softens the outcome. Do not try to fly out on an expired visa without settling it — you will be stopped at the border and may be blacklisted. The step-by-step order — where to go, what to bring and how long it takes — is in the overstay guide.

Long-term residence — TRC and PRC

If you plan to live in Vietnam for more than a year, a visa run every 45–90 days is not the best answer.

TRC (Temporary Residence Card) — issued for up to 10 years, depending on the grounds. It lets you stay without a visa and enter and leave freely.

PRC (Permanent Residence Card) — the conditions, including how long you must have lived here, are set by Article 39 of Law 47/2014; confirm them with the immigration service.

For freelancers and remote workers, the most realistic path is opening a company in Vietnam or getting a work visa through a local employer. Vietnam still has no dedicated digital-nomad visa — see what remote workers actually use instead.

What matters: common mistakes

Mistake 1: "I'll apply on the last day." Processing takes 5–7 working days. Apply the day before expiry and you slide straight into overstay.

Mistake 2: "An e-visa can be extended." In practice, no: you can't extend it yourself, only an inviting party can file. For a tourist, that leaves a visa run.

Mistake 3: "A visa run needs a night abroad." We found no minimum time abroad in the law. At a land border you can turn around the same day.

Mistake 4: "A couple of days overstay is nothing." It isn't. Even 1 day is logged. Since December 2025 the fines have gone up, the cap has doubled, and from 16 days deportation is possible.

Mistake 5: "I'll get an e-visa while I'm in Vietnam." An e-visa only activates on entry. You can apply online, but you can only use it after leaving and re-entering.

Mistake 6: "Tết doesn't affect visa matters." It very much does. Public holidays don't count as working days, so processing times stretch by the length of the holiday. Plan your extension well ahead.

FAQ