How small business owner get TRC in Vietnam

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How Small Business Owners Obtain TRC – What You Need To Know

TRC – Temporary Resident Card in Vietnam

A temporary residence card (TRC) is similar to a long-term visa, it allows a foreigner to live in Vietnam for longer than a year (up to 5 years). This is a perfect option for those who want to relocate and reside in Vietnam.

Unlike Visa, the temporary residence card has a longer validity period, typically ranging from 02 to 05 years. Temporary residence card (TRC) holders will be exempted from visa requirements and will help save a significant amount of time and money on visa application and extension for entry, exit, and residence in Vietnam.

In addition, TRC holders’ family members can apply for a TRC card to stay in Vietnam under the same terms and conditions (as dependants).

Types of TRC

A TRC, like Visa, is granted to a person for the purpose of staying. There are currently 04 purposes of staying eligible for long term stay permit issuance in Vietnam:

Investment: Be a business owner or co-owners (code DT)
Work: Have a job in Vietnam, be hired by a company or an organization in Vietnam (code LD, LV, or NN)
Study: To attend university or schools in Vietnam (Code DH)
Family: Spouse or kids of a Vietnamese or a TRC holder (code TT)

TRC for business owners

One way to obtain a TRC in Vietnam is to start an investment. As soon as a person whose name appears on a business license of an entity established in Vietnam, he can apply for a long-term stay permit fitting such purpose. This stay permit can be either a Visa or a TRC with the code DT indicated. There are 4 subcategories within this DT group.

DT1 – to be granted to foreign investors and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam with a capital contribution of at least VND100 billion, or investing in business fields and areas of investment incentives determined by the Vietnam Government. The stay permit for this group will be valid for a period of up to 5 years. (a TRC can be granted).
DT2 – to be granted to foreign investors and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam with a capital contribution of VND 50 billion – under VND 100 billion, or investing in the business fields of investment encouragement determined by the Vietnam Government. The stay permit for this group will be valid for a period of up to 3 years. (a TRC can be granted).
DT3 – to be granted to foreign investors and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam with a capital contribution of VND 3 billion – less than VND 50 billion. The stay permit for this group will be valid for a period of up to 2 years (a TRC can be granted).
DT4 – to be granted to foreign investors in Vietnam and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam with less than VND3 billion in the capital. The stay permit for this group will be valid for a period of up to 12 months (a VISA can be granted).

As such, only the groups DT1, DT2, DT3 are eligible to investor TRC. Those who belong to group DT4, whose capital investment is below VND 3 billion (roughly USD 130,000), cannot apply for a DT TRC. Instead, they can apply for a DT Visa which has a shorter validity and cannot sponsor their family members.

The question: what if these small business owners have a need to go for a TRC (for family sponsorship reasons for example), is there any way they can obtain a TRC?

The answer: It is possible. Below will explain How.

How small business owners obtain TRC in Vietnam

Small business means the capital is below 3billion VND. By this fact, the investor is naturally not eligible for a DT TRC. However, he can apply for a Work Permit by assigning himself a position in his own company.

The owner of the company can be at the same time the Director and Legel Representative of the company. With this appointment, the investor can be considered an employee of the company, therefore can apply for a Work Permit. Upon receiving the Work Permit, the investor, who now has become an employee, can apply for a Work (LD) TRC which is valid for 2 years and renewable.

For Legal Representative, the Work Permit does not require a degree or proof of experience anymore (new regulation applied from 2021 – the Decree 152). Therefore it is much easier to obtain a WP for a Legal Rep compared to that for a regular job position.

The work permit process takes 30-45 days to be completed, and the TRC application takes roughly 2-3 weeks. Let this task be handled by good hands in VNBG legal team.

Contact VNBG to get a free consultation on these specific matters.