RELOVA JOURNAL

Blog/Published April 10, 2026 · Updated September 19, 2026

How to Move to Vietnam in 2026: Visa Options, Costs, and Expat Life

By Anna Moore

How to move to Vietnam 2026: e-visa 90 days $25, DT3 investor ~$120K, HCMC vs Da Nang costs, banking, healthcare, coworking; verify official sources; verify…

Vietnam has become one of Southeast Asia's most talked-about relocation destinations for remote workers, largely on the strength of a simple pitch: strong fiber internet, a genuinely low cost of living, and a fast-growing expat infrastructure in three very different cities. What Vietnam doesn't have, unlike Thailand or Malaysia, is a dedicated digital nomad visa — so the legal pathway question matters more here than the cost-of-living question, and it's worth understanding at a national level before you pick a city.

Why there's no single "Vietnam visa" for remote workers

Vietnam has not launched a nomad-specific visa category, which means most remote workers piece together their legal status from tools designed for other purposes. The e-visa is the standard entry tool for scouting trips and shorter stays: public guidance commonly cites a 90-day validity window and roughly a $25 government fee, though you should confirm current eligible ports of entry and the exact fee on Vietnam's official immigration portal before paying any third-party agent, since e-visa terms have been adjusted before and third-party processing sites often charge well above the official rate. For people thinking longer-term, the DT3 investor visa category comes up frequently in relocation planning conversations, generally associated with an investment threshold around $120,000 — but treat that number as a capital-planning anchor rather than a DIY checklist item, since the corporate structuring, renewal obligations, and exact investment mechanics genuinely require licensed Vietnamese legal counsel rather than forum advice. Between these two poles sit employer-sponsored work permits, which are the most straightforward route for anyone with a Vietnam-based or Vietnam-registered employer. Because none of these routes was built specifically for remote income earners, most long-stay foreigners in Vietnam combine short visa cycles with careful planned exits, or invest the time in a longer-term route once they've decided the country is a genuine fit rather than just a good three-month experiment.

What Vietnam actually costs, nationally

Vietnam's cost advantage is real but city-dependent, and a national average obscures more than it reveals. A realistic solo monthly budget — rent, food, transport, insurance, coworking, and some allowance for visa-related travel — typically lands somewhere around $1,500–2,000 for a comfortable, non-austerity lifestyle, though it's entirely possible to spend less living more locally or more if you lean into Western-style dining and premium housing. Rent is the biggest swing factor and the biggest reason a single national number doesn't tell the full story: Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Hanoi each have distinct rental markets, seasonal patterns, and district-by-district variation that's large enough to change your budget by hundreds of dollars a month depending on where exactly you land. Rather than re-deriving those city-specific numbers here, the dedicated guides for Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Hanoi break down district-level rent bands, neighborhood character, and city-specific logistics in the depth that a single-city decision deserves. As a general rule across all three cities, add a 10–20% buffer to whatever budget you land on, to absorb currency swings and the deposit timing hit that comes with signing a new lease.

Renting, banking, and the practical baseline

Regardless of which city you land in, Vietnamese landlords generally want predictable tenants and will ask for one to two months' deposit plus some form of income or employment proof that matches your stated story. If you're arranging housing remotely before you arrive, the discipline covered in how to find an apartment abroad before you arrive is directly applicable and will help you avoid listings that are too good to be true. On connectivity, Vietnam's fiber internet footprint is a genuine selling point relative to much of Southeast Asia, but building-level and block-level quality still varies, so test actual upload speeds at peak evening hours before signing a lease if your work depends on video calls. Local banking remains inconsistent for foreigners — some banks onboard relatively smoothly with a valid visa and local address, others require a level of documentation that's hard to satisfy on a short-term visa — so it's worth keeping international banking rails, such as those covered in how to open a bank account abroad, active in parallel while you pursue local KYC processes.

Healthcare and building a community

Most expats in Vietnam pay cash for fast, reliable private clinics for routine care, since the cost is low enough relative to Western prices that insurance often isn't worth it for minor issues — but if your visa route or personal risk tolerance calls for insurance, read policy documents carefully for inpatient coverage limits and exclusions, since gaps are more common in budget policies than expats expect. Community in Vietnam tends to form through repetition rather than one-off events: recurring language exchanges, running clubs, and small dinner series build real friendships faster than sporadic bar nights. If you're still deciding whether Vietnam is the right base at all, it's worth comparing it against Thailand's long-stay options and the broader digital nomad visa landscape, since Thailand's more formalized visa options and Vietnam's lower costs represent genuinely different trade-offs rather than interchangeable choices.

Plan it on Relova: See Vietnam's visa options, tax rates, and cost of living → for a structured breakdown you can compare against other destinations.

See real salaries: What people actually earn in Vietnam →

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