Free Retire in Vietnam Checklist | Vietnam Retirement Guide

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A printable PDF with the key steps for retiring in Vietnam: visas, money and banking, taxes, health and your first days. Each line names its official source and the date we last checked it.

What is in the checklist

Every line below is in the PDF, with the same source.

Before you move

Run your numbers in the calculator on this site, then spend a month in your top city before you sign a lease.
Check your passport. For the Việt Kiều 5-year visa exemption certificate you need a passport with at least 1 year left. ¹
Vietnam has no visa made for retirees: the immigration law lists residence cards by purpose (investment, work, study, family and so on), and none is for retirement. ²
E-visa: it lasts up to 90 days, single or multiple entry, and costs US$25 (single) or US$50 (multiple). ³
Việt Kiều and family: the visa exemption certificate is valid for up to 5 years and for many entries, and each entry lets you stay up to 6 months, or until the certificate expires if sooner. ⁴

Money and banking

Social Security can pay current benefits to U.S. citizens living in Vietnam. ⁵
Vietnam is on SSA's International Direct Deposit list, so benefits can be paid straight into an account at a bank in Vietnam. ⁶
Use one spelling of your name everywhere. From 1 March 2026, a Vietnamese bank must name a personal account exactly as the full name on your ID document. ⁷
If your accounts outside the U.S. are worth more than $10,000 in total at any time in the year, you generally must file an FBAR with FinCEN. ⁸

Taxes

The IRS says the rules for filing returns and paying estimated tax are generally the same whether you are in the U.S. or abroad, and you are taxed on worldwide income. ⁹
You are a Vietnamese tax resident if you are in Vietnam 183 days or more in a calendar year, or in 12 months in a row from your first arrival, or if you have a regular home there: a registered permanent address or a home rented under a fixed-term lease. ¹⁰
There is no U.S.–Vietnam income tax treaty in force. One was signed in 2015 but has not taken effect, ¹¹ and Vietnam is not on the IRS list of treaty countries. ¹²

Health

Medicare usually does not pay for care outside the U.S., so plan for local or international health insurance. ¹³
The State Department strongly recommends international health insurance, and OSAC says to strongly consider medical-evacuation insurance before you go. ¹⁴
Emergency: dial 115 for an ambulance. ¹⁵

Arrival

Your hotel or landlord must declare your stay to the local police — on paper within 12 hours of arrival (24 hours in remote areas), or online. ² The U.S. Embassy says all visitors must register their temporary residence where they sleep. ³

Sources (15)

Show the list

Vietnam government (4)

2. Consolidated Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners, 62/VBHN-VPQH (23… Official Gazette as of 2026-03-23 (consolidation date; the Gazette page shows the record, Team Scout read the article text in a legal database) · checked 2026-10-27
4. Decree 82/2015/ND-CP on visa exemption certificates for overseas Vietnamese and their… Official Gazette as of 2015-09-24 (issued 24 Sep 2015, in force 15 Nov 2015, Gazette No. 1025+1026; record shows no amending or replacing text; re-opened Oct 29, 2026. The Gazette PDF link has a bad TLS certificate, so the text was read from a copy (vplsdms.vn): Art. 4(1) up to 5 years, ending at least 6 months before the passport; Art. 8 apply in Vietnam at the Immigration Department, decision within 5 working days; Art. 10(1) 6 months per entry, or the certificate's remaining validity if under 6 months) · checked 2026-10-29
7. State Bank of Vietnam Circular 25/2025/TT-NHNN amending Circular 17/2024 (PDF, in… Official Gazette as of 2025-08-31 (in force 31 Aug 2025; Art. 4 (account name = name on ID) from 1 Mar 2026; Art. 5 (in-person biometric check, phone-number check) from 1 Dec 2025; Art. 8 (ATM card withdrawals exempt); re-opened Oct 29, 2026: Art. 3 lists "proof of visa exemption" without naming a certificate type, and "Vietnamese citizens" without mentioning dual nationals) · checked 2026-10-29
10. Law 109/2025/QH15 on Personal Income Tax (PDF, in Vietnamese) Official Gazette No. 37, 22 Jan 2026 (passed 10 Dec 2025) as of 2026-01-22 (Gazette No. 37, 22 Jan 2026; passed 10 Dec 2025; in force 1 Jul 2026; wage and business rules apply from tax year 2026 (Art. 29); read Art. 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 18; re-opened Oct 29, 2026: Art. 13(2) securities 0.1% of the sale price each time) · checked 2026-10-29

U.S. government (10)

3. Vietnamese Visas and Entry/Exit U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no update date; re-opened Oct 29, 2026: "E-visas are issued with a validity period of up to 90 days, one-entry for 25 USD or multiple entries for 50 USD"; 42 designated border gates; "all visitors (including Vietnamese) are required to register their temporary residence with the police station where they are staying overnight") · checked 2026-10-29
5. Payments to Beneficiaries in Vietnam SSA POMS RS 02650.021 as of 2024-01-08 (POMS section date; re-opened Oct 29, 2026: "We can pay current benefits to people in Vietnam who are: U.S. citizens or ..."; citizens of Vietnam: "benefits after July 1996 for the first 6 calendar months the beneficiary was outside the United States; and ... if the beneficiary meets another exception") · checked 2026-10-29
6. SSA International Direct Deposit country list as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no date; re-opened Oct 28, 2026: Vietnam is on the International Direct Deposit list) · checked 2026-10-28
8. Report Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) FinCEN as of 2026-10-27 (re-opened Oct 29, 2026: "must file an FBAR if the aggregate value of the foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year") · checked 2026-10-29
9. U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad IRS as of 2026-10-28 (quote: "the rules for filing income, estate, and gift tax returns and paying estimated tax are generally the same whether you are in the United States or abroad. You are subject to tax on worldwide income") · checked 2026-10-29
11. U.S.–Vietnam income tax agreement signed 7 July 2015 (signed text, PDF) U.S. Treasury as of 2015-07-07 (date signed; re-opened Oct 29, 2026; signed, not in force (Vietnam is not on the IRS treaty list)) · checked 2026-10-29
12. United States income tax treaties, A to Z IRS as of 2026-01-03 ("Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 03-Jan-2026"; re-opened Oct 29, 2026: Vietnam is not listed) · checked 2026-10-29
13. Travel outside the U.S. Medicare.gov as of 2026-10-27 (re-opened Oct 29, 2026: "Medicare usually doesn’t cover health care while you’re traveling outside the U.S.") · checked 2026-10-29
14. Vietnam Country Security Report OSAC as of 2026-06-24 (report date; re-opened Oct 28, 2026 (~6:35 PM PT); quotes: "Strongly consider purchasing medical evacuation insurance before visiting Vietnam"; "The U.S. Department of State strongly recommends purchasing international health insurance"; "pharmacies in most towns where one can purchase a wide variety of prescription and non-prescription medications") · checked 2026-10-28
15. Medical Assistance (list of hospitals and clinics) U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam as of 2026-10-28 (page shows no update date; re-opened Oct 29, 2026 (curl): "medical care in Vietnam generally falls below U.S. standards"; Emergency Phone Numbers: Police 113, Fire Brigade 114, Ambulance 115) · checked 2026-10-29

Other sources (1)

1. Visa Exemption / 5-year visa Embassy of Vietnam in the U.S. as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no update date; re-opened Oct 29, 2026: passport with at least 1 year left, in person or Registered Mail Restricted Delivery (notarised), "Fee: by MONEY ORDER, CASHIER'S CHECK to the Embassy" (no amount), valid up to 5 years and ends at least 6 months before the passport) · checked 2026-10-29

Every source on the site, by page and topic: All sources.

About this guide

Tam Lieu lives in Long Beach, California, and put this guide together to research retiring in Vietnam. Facts are checked against official sources, with last-checked dates.

How we check facts: every number and rule links to its source: an official or primary source wherever one exists (government sites, the U.S. Embassy, law texts), or the company's own page for company prices, which we label as company prices. Crowd-sourced figures are labelled too. Each source shows the date we last checked it; anything we cannot confirm is cut or marked “needs source”. Found a mistake? Tell us.

Photo and video credits

Photo: “Produce in Han Market - Da Nang, Vietnam - DSC02395” by Daderot, CC0, Wikimedia Commons (resized and converted to WebP)