Foreigners who come to Vietnam to live, study or work are required to register for temporary residence. This procedure is mandatory for all accommodation establishments.
According to Clause 6, Article 2 of the Law on Residence, “stay” refers to the time a citizen spends at a place other than their permanent or temporary residence for less than 30 days. However, the notification of stay only applies to Vietnamese citizens as per the legal documents.
To declare temporary residence in Vietnam, foreigners need to follow the registration process. Clause 1, Article 33 of the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam 2014 states that foreigners temporarily residing in Vietnam must declare their temporary residence to the police station of the commune, ward, township or the police station where the accommodation establishment is located. This declaration must be made through the person directly managing and administering the activities of the accommodation establishment.
“If a foreigner changes their temporary residence, they need to declare it according to the above provisions. Thus, foreigners who temporarily reside in Vietnam must register for temporary residence through the person directly managing the accommodation establishment” Sophie Dao, Senior Lawyer of Global Business Services LLC (GBS) said.
“The person directly managing and operating the accommodation establishment must declare temporary residence for foreigners to the police station of the commune, ward, township or the police station or station of the place of residence within 12 hours” Sophie added.
A hotel, which is a tourist accommodation establishment, must connect to the Internet or a computer network with the immigration management agency of the police department of the province or city directly under the central government to transmit information on the declaration of temporary residence of foreigners. Other accommodation establishments with an internet connection can directly send the foreigner’s declaration of temporary residence to the public email box of the immigration management agency of the police station of the province or centrally run city.
Based on the above regulations, hotels can register accommodation for foreigners online.