Before you start

A valid work permit (or exemption certificate) with at least 12 months remaining
Passport valid 13+ months (the TRC can't exceed passport validity)
Temporary residence declared to your ward (phường) police by whoever provides your accommodation

Step-by-step

1
Get your work permit first — and check whether you even need one
The TRC is downstream of the work permit: you can't apply until you hold one valid for 12+ months. Since 7 August 2025, Decree 219/2025 merged the old two-step labour-demand approval and permit application into a single online filing through the National Public Service Portal with a ten-day statutory lead time, and expanded the exemption list from nine categories to fifteen. Ask which category applies before your employer starts a six-week process.
Via employerWho: Employer + you10-day statutory lead time; 4–8 weeks in practiceWork-permit fees separate
2
Get the temporary residence declaration filed at your ward
Circular 53/2016 puts the duty on whoever provides the accommodation — hotel, serviced apartment or private landlord — to declare you to the ward police within 12 hours of your stay beginning, 24 hours in remote areas. Most now file it through the provincial portal. You need the confirmation for the TRC dossier, for the bank, and for every later renewal.
In personWho: Your landlord, with you chasingWithin 12 hours of moving inUsually free
3
Employer files the TRC dossier
Forms NA6 (company) + NA8, your work permit, labour contract, company licence + seal/signature sample, photos (2×3 cm), and the police residence confirmation go to the Immigration Department.
In personWho: Your employer——
4
Collect your TRC
Filed at the Immigration Department's southern office, 333–335–337 Nguyễn Trãi, Cầu Ông Lãnh ward (the address most guides still write as District 1). About 5 working days once the dossier is complete.
In personWho: You / employer~5 working daysUS$145 (≤2 yr)

Documents you’ll need

Passport (valid 13+ months)
Valid work permit / exemption certificate (12+ months remaining)
Labour contract
Forms NA6 + NA8
2 photos (2×3 cm)
Company business licence + seal/signature sample
Police temporary-residence confirmation

Things most newcomers don’t know

Decree 219/2025 quietly expanded work-permit exemptions from nine categories to fifteen.

Since August 2025 the exempt list includes owners or members contributing VND 3 billion or more of capital, people working under ninety days a year, and specialists in priority fields such as finance, science and technology and digital transformation; the expert qualification also dropped from three years of experience to two. Plenty of people are put through a full permit application their employer's HR team never checked they needed. The TRC still gates on the permit, so this is the first question, not the last.

Source: Decree 219/2025/NĐ-CP

The ward police 'temporary residence' declaration is a duty on your landlord, and it has a 12-hour clock.

Under Circular 53/2016 the accommodation provider, not you, must declare a foreigner to the ward police within 12 hours in an urban area. Hotels file automatically; private landlords frequently do not, because they are not declaring the rental income either. Failure is fined VND 4–6 million for an individual and 8–12 million for a company under Decree 144/2021. You need the confirmation for the TRC, for the bank, and for every renewal.

Source: Circular 53/2016/TT-BCA / Decree 144/2021/NĐ-CP

A TRC ends the visa-run treadmill.

With a TRC you re-enter Vietnam freely without a new visa for its whole validity — a big cost and quality-of-life difference vs repeated business visas.

Source: provider consensus

Your TRC can't outlive your passport.

If your passport has under 2 years left, your TRC is capped to match. Renew the passport first if you want the full term.

Source: official

Common mistakes to avoid

Trying to apply before the work permit is issued and valid 12+ months
Doing a full work permit application without checking Decree 219's fifteen exemption categories
Skipping (or assuming the landlord did) the ward police residence declaration
Letting your passport run short and capping your TRC term

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

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