5-Year Visa Exemption for People of Vietnamese Origin

If you are of Vietnamese origin living in the U.S., or have a relative who is a Vietnamese citizen, the 5-year visa exemption makes traveling home far simpler — no new visa for every trip. VietVisas handles it end to end in the U.S., from just $60 — a promotional rate through September 30 (regularly $65), finished in 2 business days.

What is the 5-year visa exemption?

It isn't a visa. It's a certificate confirming you're exempt from needing one — issued once, valid up to 5 years, unlimited entries, and a stay of up to 180 days each time.

The key difference: a visa is tied to a trip, the exemption is tied to you. Do it once and forget about it for years.

Not the same as visa-free entry by nationality

Two different things get called the same name:

• Visa exemption by nationality — Vietnam waives visas for citizens of certain countries for set periods, usually a few weeks per visit, and the list changes with policy. It follows the passport you hold.
• The 5-year visa exemption certificate — this page. It follows who you are: of Vietnamese origin, or the spouse or child of a Vietnamese citizen or of someone of Vietnamese origin. It doesn't depend on the nationality waiver list, and it lasts far longer: five years, up to 180 days per entry.

If you qualify through origin or family, this is almost always the better option — even if your passport currently enjoys a short-stay waiver.

Who can apply?

• People of Vietnamese origin (Vietnamese people residing overseas) holding a U.S. passport or a U.S.-issued residence document such as a Green Card, with papers proving Vietnamese roots.
• Foreign nationals who are the spouse or child of a Vietnamese citizen, or of a person of Vietnamese origin settled abroad — including an adopted child with an adoption decision.

This usually means the whole family qualifies: the person of Vietnamese origin through their roots, the spouse and children through the relationship.

Two conditions are easy to miss, and they determine whether an application can be accepted:

• Your passport (or residence document) must have at least 12 months' validity. Ten months isn't enough — renew it first.
• Anyone still holding a valid Vietnamese passport is not eligible for a visa exemption certificate. If yours still works, simply travel on it; what that case needs is a Vietnamese passport renewal, not this certificate.

Not sure whether you qualify? It's the single most common question we get, and answering it usually takes a few minutes. Message VietVisas with what documents you have — free advice, including when the answer is that you don't qualify yet.

Neither of those? You'll need a Vietnam E-visa for each trip instead.

Exemption or e-visa — which one?

	5-year exemption	E-visa
Who can use it	Vietnamese origin + spouse, children	Almost anyone
Valid for	5 years	That trip
Length of stay	Up to 180 days per visit	Within the visa's validity, up to 90 days
Entries	Unlimited	As applied for
Price via VietVisas	$60 once	$65 per trip

The arithmetic is simple: if you expect to visit Vietnam more than once in the next few years and you qualify, the exemption is cheaper from the second trip onward — and each visit can be twice as long.

What you'll need

• A valid U.S. passport (or Green Card).
• A portrait photo facing the camera, face clearly visible — any background; VietVisas fixes it to the required specification.
• Documents proving Vietnamese origin, or proving the family relationship.

Some cases need more — a specialist checks and gives you the exact list before anything starts, so you aren't sending documents piecemeal.

What actually proves Vietnamese origin?

This is where people tend to stall, so here it is plainly: you need one of the documents below, not the whole set.

Route	Accepted documents (any one)
Vietnamese origin	Birth certificate · Vietnamese passport, valid or expired · Vietnamese national ID, valid or expired · Household registration book · Certificate of Vietnamese citizenship · Decision restoring or renouncing Vietnamese citizenship · Certificate of loss of Vietnamese citizenship · Most recent voter's card · A travel document or ID card issued before 1975 · An excerpt from a pre-1975 birth register · A foreign-issued document that records Vietnamese origin
Spouse	Marriage certificate, plus the passport or ID of your spouse showing they are a Vietnamese citizen or of Vietnamese origin
Child	Birth certificate, plus the parent's passport or ID · A certificate of parent–child relationship · An adoption decision

One thing to note on the family route: you need two things — proof of the relationship, and proof that the relative is a Vietnamese citizen or of Vietnamese origin. Missing the second half is the usual reason a file comes back for more documents.

If your documents are lost

Very common for people who left Vietnam long ago: no birth certificate, no old passport, or names that stopped matching after marriage or naturalization. This is not a dead end.

The official procedure has a route for exactly this: a sponsorship letter from a Vietnamese community association abroad, or from a Vietnamese citizen (who must currently hold Vietnamese nationality and attach a copy of their valid Vietnamese passport or ID). The letters follow a set form and need no further notarization or certification.

How to handle names that don't match depends on your documents — it's usually workable, but nobody can promise that without seeing them.

Documents incomplete, or names that don't match? Don't give up at this step. Send photos of what you have — we'll look and tell you plainly what's missing, before you spend anything.

How the 5 years are counted, and how long each visit can be

These two numbers get merged into one, but they answer different questions:

• How long the certificate lasts — up to 5 years, but it always expires at least 6 months before your passport does. If your U.S. passport has three years left, the certificate will run about two and a half, not five. To get the full term, apply while your passport still has plenty of validity.
• How long each visit can be — up to 180 days per entry, with unlimited entries during the certificate's validity. To stay longer, you apply to extend your temporary residence in Vietnam.

One consequence people rarely expect: a new passport means a new certificate, because it is tied to the old passport number. If the earlier one came from the same mission, reapplying is simpler than the first time — usually without re-submitting the proof of Vietnamese origin.

The process, and how long it takes

1. You send photos of your documents — no originals needed for us to review.
2. A specialist checks them and tells you exactly what's missing.
3. VietVisas prepares and files the application.
4. You receive it at home — express delivery, free to all 50 states.

Processing takes 2 business days.

Common mistakes

• A portrait photo that can't be used — glasses, a tilted head, or shadows or glare on the face.
• Names that don't match across documents — diacritics on the birth certificate, none on the U.S. passport, and a different name again after marriage or naturalization.
• Preparing only your own documents, then discovering the family route also needs paperwork from the relative in Vietnam.
• A passport with less than 12 months left — the file can't be submitted until it's renewed.
• Leaving it until just before the flight. Two business days is processing time — it doesn't include gathering your documents.

Cost & why choose VietVisas

The service fee is $60 — promotional through September 30, regularly $65. That includes express delivery to your door, free to all 50 states.

You get:

• Your file checked before it's submitted, so you don't have to submit more paperwork because a document was missing.
• Done in 2 business days.
• Bilingual support — real people, in Vietnamese or English.

Want to know whether you qualify? Message VietVisas for free advice — or call +1 (415) 390-6525.