Vietnam Proposes a Pilot Visa for Remote Workers

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Vietnam Proposes a Pilot Visa for Remote Workers
Vietnam Proposes a Pilot Visa for Remote Workers
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Vietnam’s government has asked the National Assembly to approve a controlled pilot visa for foreigners who work remotely from the country.

If you run an online store from a laptop, this matters more than another beach guide. Vietnam has never had a legal lane for people like us, and store owners there have been working on tourist e-visas that were never written for work. At Ecommerce Paradise I cover the money, legal and lifestyle side of running a store from anywhere. For a high-ticket dropshipping business, a new remote worker route in Southeast Asia changes where you can base it, how long you can stay, and what tax risk you carry while you are there.

Below is what Vietnam actually proposed on November 7, what it left out, how it stacks up against Malaysia’s tighter DE Rantau rules that start December 1, and the moves I’d make this week if Vietnam is on your 2027 shortlist. Nothing is law yet, and that caveat runs through every section.

New nomad visas almost always ask for health insurance that covers your whole stay, so sort it before you need to prove it. SafetyWing is built for remote workers who move between countries, which is exactly how a store owner chasing Southeast Asian visas lives. Get nomad health insurance with SafetyWing →

Vietnam’s Draft Tourism Resolution Adds a Remote Worker Visa Pilot

On Saturday, November 7, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lam Thi Phuong Thanh presented a draft National Assembly resolution on special mechanisms and policies for tourism development, acting on behalf of the Prime Minister, according to VietnamNet’s report from the session. The draft runs 14 articles across seven policy groups.

The remote work piece is one line, but it is new. The draft “provides for controlled pilot arrangements for foreign nationals working remotely from Vietnam,” per VietnamNet. Viet Nam News described it the same way: a controlled pilot scheme for foreign remote workers, sitting inside a broader push to attract longer-staying, higher-spending visitors.

What else is in the visa section

The remote worker pilot sits next to several other entry changes, per Viet Nam News and VietnamNet:

  1. Expanded bilateral visa exemptions for priority markets.
  2. Market-specific visa policies that favor high-spending tourists, long-stay visitors, repeat travelers and conference attendees.
  3. A pilot visa and temporary residence policy for foreigners coming for medical examination, treatment, rehabilitation or long-term healthcare, plus family members who travel with them.
  4. Easier work permits, visas and temporary residence for foreign experts and artists working on tourism projects.

The rest of the resolution is about money for tourism projects. Projects would be sorted into three tiers, high-quality, key and strategic key, with tax and infrastructure incentives graded by tier. The minister said none of the tiers would cover casinos, betting, prize-winning electronic games or real estate, according to VietnamNet. A separate pilot would cut land rental fees on green space and shared facilities at four- and five-star resorts.

What the draft does not say

This is the part store owners need to read twice. Neither report gives the pilot’s length of stay, income requirement, application fee, eligible nationalities or launch date. Travel And Tour World notes that duration, fees and income thresholds “have not been announced,” and that January 2027 is not a confirmed start date for the remote worker or medical visas specifically.

What is confirmed is the resolution’s window. If the National Assembly adopts it, it would apply for 10 years, from 2027 until the end of 2036, per Viet Nam News. The minister said it would not need extra staff or changes to the administrative structure, with funding from central and local budgets.

Why Hanoi wants this now

Vietnam is already pulling record numbers. The country welcomed 19.5 million international visitors from January to October 2026, up 13.8% from the same period of 2025, according to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism figures reported by Viet Nam News on November 4. The full-year target is 25 million, so the country sits at roughly 78% with two months left.

The mix explains the policy. China sent nearly 4.4 million visitors and South Korea 3.4 million in those 10 months, while the United States sent 808,700, per the same report. Remote workers and medical travelers stay longer and spend more per trip than a two-week tourist, which is exactly the visitor the draft says it wants.

From 90-Day E-Visas to a Nomad Pilot: How Vietnam Got Here

The current baseline is the e-visa. Since August 15, 2023, Vietnam has issued e-visas to citizens of every country, with a standard stay of up to 90 days, under Government Resolution No. 127/NQ-CP, according to Vietnam Briefing. The same change stretched visa-free stays for citizens of several Western European countries, Japan and South Korea from 15 days to 45.

The catch is in the fine print. Vietnam Briefing notes the e-visa is for tourism and does not replace a business visa or work permit. That is the gray zone remote workers have lived in since 2023. Running a Shopify store from a cafe in Da Nang on a tourist e-visa was never clearly allowed. A pilot built for remote work would be the first time Vietnam writes rules for that group.

The pushback inside the National Assembly

The draft did not sail through untouched. Nguyen Dac Vinh, chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee on Culture and Social Affairs, backed passing the resolution through expedited procedures, per VietnamNet. His committee still asked the government to explain what is actually new about the “special visa policy,” along with its distinctive features and scope.

Vinh also said the resolution “should not prescribe specific visa policies for groups such as experts, technical workers, artists and performers,” according to Viet Nam News. His view is that the government should set those rules based on practical needs, national security, public order and social safety. The committee did not single out remote workers in its comments, per Viet Nam News, but the same logic could push the pilot’s details out of the resolution and into later government decrees. That would mean a longer wait before anyone can apply.

The regional race, and the counter-trend

Vietnam is not moving in a vacuum. Malaysia is reworking its DE Rantau Nomad Pass on the same timeline. The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation announced on October 29 an enhanced framework that takes effect December 1, 2026, with new applications paused from November 1 to 30, according to Vestara’s November 5 immigration roundup. The maximum stay doubles to four years, but the minimum income for tech talent rises from US$24,000 to US$36,000 a year. Non-tech applicants stay at US$60,000. I covered the first part of that change in Malaysia’s two-year nomad pass extension back in October.

Not every country is opening the door wider. Greece ended the option to switch from a tourist entry into a digital nomad residence permit under Law 5275/2026, published February 6, according to Greek City Times. Applicants now need the national visa from a consulate first. The pattern is clear: more countries want remote workers, but they want them documented, insured and paying their way.

What a Vietnam Nomad Visa Means for a Location-Independent Store

My read is that this is a real signal but not a reason to book a flight yet. A pilot with no income figure, no duration and no start date is a press release, not a visa. Still, the direction matters, because Vietnam is one of the few places in the region where a store owner can run US customer hours without wrecking their sleep.

The time zone math

Vietnam sits on UTC+7. Your US East Coast customers’ 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. lands roughly between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. local time, depending on daylight saving. For a high-ticket store, that matters more than rent. A $4,000 sauna or a $9,000 golf simulator sells on the phone, and those calls come in during US business hours.

The fix most operators use is a VA in the Philippines covering live hours, plus a US business number that forwards wherever you are. A tool like Quo gives you a business line and texting that works from any country, so your customers see a US number no matter where your laptop is. If you are hiring that support person, OnlineJobs.ph is where I’d start.

The tax trap is the real story

This is where a legal remote work visa cuts both ways. Under Vietnamese rules, you become a tax resident if you spend 183 days or more there in a calendar year or in 12 consecutive months from arrival, or if you hold a permanent residence, which includes a rented house with a fixed lease term, according to PwC’s Vietnam tax summary. Residents are taxed on worldwide income at progressive rates from 5% up to 35%, per PwC. Non-residents pay a flat 20% on Vietnam-sourced employment income.

A tourist bouncing in and out on e-visas rarely draws attention to that line. A registered remote worker with a long-term lease and a pilot visa is a much easier person for a tax office to find. We do not know yet whether the pilot will come with a tax carve-out like some nomad programs offer elsewhere. Until the government publishes the terms, assume it does not.

Here is a hypothetical to show the stakes. Say your store nets $120,000 a year in profit and you spend nine months in Ho Chi Minh City on a 12-month lease. If Vietnam treated you as a resident and your income as taxable there, that profit could fall into brackets topping out at 35% before any treaty relief or US credits. That is an illustration, not a forecast, and I’m not a tax advisor. It is exactly why your entity, your bank and your address structure should be set up before you move, not after.

Three scenarios for store owners

If you already live in Vietnam on e-visas, nothing changes today. Keep your stays clean, keep your documents, and watch for the decree that sets the pilot’s terms.

If you are choosing a 2027 base between Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Da Nang, Malaysia is the only one of the three with published remote work rules taking effect next month. My DE Rantau requirements guide covers the current setup, and the new US$36,000 tech floor applies from December 1. Thailand’s long-stay option is in my Thailand DTV guide.

If you are still building the store, location is a later problem. The order that works is a profitable store first, then a US entity, US banking and a US address, then the country. A store that cannot pay for itself will not survive a move anyway.

Where the setup work actually goes

The boring infrastructure decides whether you can live anywhere. You need a business address that is not your old apartment, which I broke down in my guide to getting a business address without an office. You need banking that does not freeze when you log in from Hanoi. My roundup of business bank accounts for digital nomads compares the options.

You also need a backup way to get paid, which is why I keep pushing operators to read why your payment processor is a single point of failure.

That stack is a lot to assemble while also finding suppliers and running ads. If you would rather have a team build the store, the supplier relationships and the back-office setup so it runs from any country, that is what my turnkey done-for-you store build covers.

Planning a move to Vietnam or Malaysia in 2027 and not sure your store is ready to run without you? Book 1-on-1 coaching with me →

Vietnam Remote Work Plan: 5 Moves Before the National Assembly Votes

Here are the five things I’d do this week if Vietnam is on your list.

  1. Treat the pilot as unconfirmed. Do not sign a 12-month lease or give up a current visa based on this draft. Wait for the adopted resolution and the implementing decree with an income figure, a stay length and a fee.
  2. Check your health cover now. Malaysia’s DE Rantau already requires insurance covering the whole pass period, and Vietnam’s medical visa pilot shows how much weight Hanoi puts on healthcare. A nomad plan like SafetyWing is the simplest way to show continuous cover across several countries.
  3. Separate your store’s money from your location. Use a multi-currency account like Wise to pay overseas suppliers and VAs, and keep the store’s US business account untouched by your day-to-day spending abroad.
  4. Lock down your US address and mail. Your LLC filings, bank and payment processors all want a stable address. AnytimeMailbox gives you a real street address with mail scanning, so nothing important sits at a relative’s house while you are in Asia.
  5. Harden your connection before you land. Logging into Shopify, your bank and ad accounts from cafe Wi-Fi in a new country is how accounts get flagged. Run a VPN like Surfshark on public networks. Set up a travel data plan like Amigo eSIM before you fly so you are online from the airport.

My guide to using a VPN to manage your Shopify store on public Wi-Fi walks through that last step in detail.

If you have not picked a product category yet, do that before you pick a country. My free high-ticket niches list is the fastest place to start.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Vietnam have a digital nomad visa now?
No. On November 7, 2026 the government proposed a controlled pilot for foreign remote workers inside a draft tourism resolution. The National Assembly still has to adopt it, and no application process exists yet.

When could the Vietnam remote worker pilot start?
If adopted, the resolution would apply from 2027 through the end of 2036. Reports do not confirm a start date for the remote worker pilot itself, so expect the details to come in a later government decree.

What are the income requirements?
None have been published. Neither Viet Nam News nor VietnamNet reported an income threshold, fee or length of stay for the pilot.

Can I run my store from Vietnam on an e-visa today?
The e-visa allows stays of up to 90 days and is meant for tourism, not work, according to Vietnam Briefing. Many remote workers use it anyway, but it does not give you a clear legal basis to work. I compare legal options in my list of every digital nomad visa available in 2026.

Would I owe tax in Vietnam?
Possibly. Spending 183 days or more in Vietnam, or holding a fixed-term lease, can make you a tax resident taxed on worldwide income, per PwC. I’m not a tax advisor, so get advice from a cross-border accountant before you stay long.

How does this compare with Malaysia’s DE Rantau pass?
Malaysia has published rules. From December 1, 2026, tech applicants need US$36,000 a year and others US$60,000, with stays of up to four years. Vietnam has published none of that yet. My ranking of the cheapest digital nomad visas has the wider comparison.

Does a nomad visa matter for a high-ticket store?
Yes, because high-ticket buyers call before they spend thousands. Your base decides whether you or a VA answers those calls. My high-ticket niches list shows which categories lean hardest on phone sales.

Already selling and want the store to keep growing while you move between countries? See the scaling service →

I have run my business from Southeast Asia for years, and the visa question always comes down to the same thing: build the store so it does not care where you sleep. I’ll keep watching for the National Assembly vote and the decree that fills in the pilot’s terms.

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