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Good news for travelers looking to spend an extended time in Vietnam soaking up the energy of Ho Chi Minh City’s frenetic streets, reveling in Hanoi’s astounding cafés and food stalls, and sailing amid Ha Long Bay’s green-tinged islets: the nation has launched the first phase of its new “golden visa program.”
The three-part visa initiative was first announced in spring 2025 as part of a larger directive from Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The administration hopes that easing visa policies will help grow tourism in Vietnam to 23 million visits per year (from 17.5 million international tourist arrivals in 2024).
So-called golden visas typically allow travelers to live and work in a country for an extended period of time in exchange for investing in the nation’s economy. Countries like New Zealand, Botswana, and Malaysia have recently announced programs like these with investment requirements ranging from $75,000 to over $500,000.
However, Vietnam’s program looks a little different. The multi-part “golden visa” package contains three distinct visa categories: a general golden visa valid for 5-10 years, an investor visa valid for up to 10 years, and a special visa exemption card for skilled professionals, colloquially referred to as a “talent visa,” which is valid for 5 years.
The first and only one of these categories to have launched so far is the five-year talent visa exemption, which officially debuted in August 2025.
The talent visa is essentially a multiple-entry visa aimed toward attracting top professionals in specific fields. And although Vietnam’s government has lumped its new talent visa into the government’s broader “golden visa” program, it’s actually closer to a digital nomad visa in design. Whereas golden visas typically operate under residence-by-investment schemes, digital nomad visas seek to draw already skilled workers to help strengthen a nation’s economy for a set period of time.
However, experts say that the second visa to launch under Vietnam’s plan will likely be the 10-year investor visa, which is currently under government review. That golden visa will allow recipients to apply for permanent residency in Vietnam after five years. According to global residence and citizenship advisory firm Henley & Partners, the second visa option will likely launch sometime after 2026.
Here’s what travelers should know about Vietnam’s new golden visa categories before applying.
This story has been updated with new information since its original publish date.
Who can apply for Vietnam’s new talent visa?
Vietnam’s new multiple-entry visa for skilled professionals was approved in summer 2025. Its aim is to attract highly skilled and creative workers at the top of their fields, according to the government of Vietnam. The policy is officially called Decree No. 221/2025/NĐ-CP, and it went into effect on August 15, 2025.
There is no stated minimum income or remote work requirements to be eligible for the talent visa—instead, the guidelines focus on applicants’ levels of expertise and fields of work. However, it’s unclear if recipients are permitted to apply for jobs in Vietnam, or if selected professionals are limited to remote work.
Travelers who are eligible for the new talent visa include:
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Academics, experts, scientists, and professors from universities and research institutes; chief architects; and highly skilled professionals in the digital technology industry
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Investors, corporate leaders, and executives of major global enterprises
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Figures in culture, arts, sports, and tourism with a positive public influence
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Invited guests of recognized research institutes, universities, and large enterprises, as approved by competent ministries and government agencies
Travelers can technically apply for the visa online through the Ministry of Public Security using Vietnam’s national public portal. However, “applicants will usually apply through a law office which helps them to fill-in all the forms and communicate with the government officials,” according to Henley & Partners.
Once their applications are approved, travelers will be issued a special visa exemption card, which allows multiple entries into Vietnam within the card’s five-year period of validity. Visa holders can stay in Vietnam for up to 90 days per entry. The visa exemption card’s five-year validity window must also be at least 30 days shorter than travelers’ passport expiration dates.
What is the status of Vietnam’s 10-year golden visa for investors?
The 10-year visa option for investors is still a work in progress, and it might not even be passed in 2026, according to experts at Henley & Partners. However, Vietnam currently has a separate visa option that offers investors up to a five-year visa, depending on how much they invest in certain government-approved categories.
That visa, called the Investor Visa DT category, has four investment tiers, per Henley & Partners, with each tier corresponding with a different visa length. Travelers in the bottom tier who invest less than $114,733 are eligible for a one-year visa, while those in the top tier who invest $3.8 million or more can receive a visa for five years.
What else should I know about Vietnam’s golden visa program?
Golden visa programs are typically launched to bring more investors and professional expertise to a nation’s borders in order to stimulate its economy. Currently, Vietnam has a strong and fast-growing economy, one it is looking to expand even further. The nation has transformed “from one of the world’s poorest countries to a middle-income economy in a single generation,” according to the World Bank. This means it’s an attractive place for high-net-worth investors. The country also “aspires to become a high-income country by 2045,” the World Bank says.
The new visas are also part of a larger push to drive more tourism to Vietnam. The country has an ambitious goal of attracting 23 million tourists by the end of 2025. Vietnam saw a total of 17.6 million international visitors in 2024.
Golden visas and other long-term resident programs are growing in Southeast Asia. Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia offer similar long-term visa programs for visitors who want to stay for a decade or longer.
The schemes are becoming more popular in these areas while in other regions, like Europe, officials are winding down long-term visas. Malta’s golden passport program, which offered EU citizenship in exchange for various investments that added up to more than 525,000 euros, was just ended by EU courts. Spain also just terminated its program—which required a real estate investment of 500,000 euros in exchange for three years of residency—in early April, because it had become too popular.
In Europe, the programs are especially appealing as they offer access to the entire Schengen region. Greece and Portugal still offer residency for certain investments, though those programs have also gotten more strict in recent years with higher required investments and more rules on the types of real estate applicants can purchase.
Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler
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