Vietnam’s immigration system now has a new preferential visa category, and headlines across nomad forums are already calling it a “digital nomad visa.” It isn’t one. The Vietnam UĐ1 visa, which took effect on July 1, 2026 under Law No. 118/2025/QH15, is written for a specific group: foreign nationals classified as high-quality workforce in the digital technology industry. Freelancers, remote employees of foreign companies, and general remote workers are not named anywhere in the law’s text. If you’ve seen the UĐ1 described online as Vietnam’s answer to Thailand’s Destination Thailand Visa, treat that framing with caution until you’ve read what the law actually says.
What the Vietnam UĐ1 Visa Actually Is
Law No. 118/2025/QH15, titled “Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of 10 Laws Related to Security and Public Order,” was passed by the 15th National Assembly at its 10th session and signed on December 10, 2025 by National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man. It amends Vietnam’s Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners to add two new visa symbols: UĐ1 and UĐ2. The letters stand for “Ưu đãi,” meaning preferential — a more favorable tier than Vietnam’s standard labor (LĐ) or business visas.
The Vietnam UĐ1 visa is issued to foreign nationals classified as high-quality digital technology industry workforce, plus anyone else the National Assembly or its Standing Committee separately designates for preferential treatment by resolution. The UĐ2 visa covers only the spouse and children under 18 of a UĐ1 holder. Both carry a maximum validity of 5 years under this general framework — the longest standard ceiling in Vietnam’s current visa law — though the law’s “not exceeding 5 years” wording means the actual grant on a first application may be shorter. One notable exception: a separate implementing decree, Decree 327/2025/NĐ-CP (dated December 18, 2025), sets out a parallel UĐ1/UĐ2 track specifically for foreigners working at Vietnam’s International Financial Centre (in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang), where UĐ1 can be granted for up to 10 years, with UĐ2 matching that term — double the 5-year ceiling that applies to the general digital-technology-workforce track this article otherwise covers.
Who Actually Qualifies for the UĐ1 Visa
This is where the online hype and the legal text diverge. Law 118/2025/QH15 deliberately does not spell out detailed eligibility criteria no minimum salary, no specific job titles, no required academic credentials are written into the law itself. The government’s stated reason is flexibility: leaving room for the National Assembly to expand eligibility later through resolutions rather than a full legislative rewrite.
In practice, there are two eligibility tracks:
- High-quality digital technology workforce. This covers foreign nationals working in roles recognized under Vietnam’s digital technology industry framework think software engineering, AI, cybersecurity, and semiconductor-related fields at companies formally classified in that sector. The specific criteria are set by Decree 353/2025/NĐ-CP. Secondary summaries of that decree list categories such as senior enterprise leaders, industry workers whose average income meets an income multiple (for foreigners, reported as at least three times GDP per capita of their country of work), graduates of top-ranked universities, senior academics and researchers, and certain government officials. We have not re-read the decree text itself, so check it directly before relying on these details.
- National Assembly or Standing Committee designation. This is a catch-all mechanism for groups added later by resolution, not a general remote-work category today.
For a freelance developer or a remote marketer working for a company with no Vietnamese entity, there is currently no published pathway into the UĐ1 track. The visa is built around recognized employment or sponsorship within Vietnam’s formally classified digital technology sector, not around remote work status or income thresholds the way Thailand’s DTV or Indonesia’s remote-worker visa are structured. Anyone presenting the UĐ1 as a general-purpose digital nomad visa is getting ahead of what the law text supports.
The UĐ2 Dependent Visa
The UĐ2 visa is narrower still: it only covers a UĐ1 holder’s spouse and children under 18. Parents, adult children, and other relatives are not covered under the current law. UĐ2 status is entirely dependent on the principal UĐ1 holder’s visa remaining active — if the UĐ1 is cancelled or lapses, the attached UĐ2 status is affected too.
How UĐ1 Compares to Other Long-Stay Options in the Region
For context, here is how the UĐ1 sits next to Vietnam’s existing categories and Thailand’s more general remote-work visa:
| Visa | Who It’s For | Max Validity | Remote Freelancers Eligible? |
|---|---|---|---|
| UĐ1 (Vietnam, general track) | High-quality digital tech workforce, sector-classified employers | 5 years (cap, not guaranteed) | No published pathway |
| UĐ1 (Vietnam, IFC track under Decree 327/2025/NĐ-CP) | Investors, experts, managers, and highly qualified workers at Vietnam’s International Financial Centre | Up to 10 years | No — employer/sponsor-based |
| UĐ2 (Vietnam) | Spouse/children under 18 of a UĐ1 holder | Matches the paired UĐ1 term (5 or 10 years) | N/A — dependent only |
| E-visa (Vietnam, current) | General tourists and short business visitors | 90 days | Not a work-authorized visa |
| LĐ labor visa (Vietnam, current) | Foreign employees with a Vietnam-based work permit | Tied to work permit | No — requires local employer |
| Destination Thailand Visa (Thailand) | Remote workers/freelancers with about 500,000 THB balance | 5 years, 180 days per entry | Yes, explicitly designed for this |
It’s also worth noting that Vietnam is not alone in this race: the same period saw Malaysia’s DE Rantau pass (per MDEC’s official programme page, a roughly USD 24,000 annual income minimum for tech-talent applicants and USD 60,000 for non-tech applicants, with an initial pass of 3–12 months renewable once for up to 24 months total) and Indonesia’s remote-worker permit continue operating alongside these changes, underscoring that ASEAN governments are competing directly for the same pool of mobile professionals even as their eligibility rules diverge sharply.
What’s Still Unpublished
Update (September 2026): The implementing rules this section originally described as unpublished have since been issued. Decree No. 353/2025/NĐ-CP (dated December 31, 2025, effective January 1, 2026) sets out the specific criteria for who counts as “high-quality digital technology industry workforce,” the category the general-track UĐ1 is built around. Separately, the Ministry of Public Security’s Circular 70/2026/TT-BCA (issued May 25, 2026, effective July 1, 2026 — the same day the UĐ1/UĐ2 symbols took effect) amended the existing foreigner entry/residence circulars to add the application forms and paperwork for UĐ1 and UĐ2, including the visa application form (NA1) and related temporary-residence documents. The fee gap has also closed: the Ministry of Finance’s Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC (issued March 27, 2026, effective April 1, 2026) sets the fee schedule for Vietnam’s exit, entry, transit, and residence services generally, which covers visa and residence-document fees including the UĐ1/UĐ2 symbols. What still isn’t fully confirmed from public sources is whether general-track UĐ1 holders are exempt from Vietnam’s separate foreign work permit requirement — as of mid-September 2026, third-party trackers still list this as “reported” rather than officially confirmed, so don’t assume exemption without your employer’s legal team checking directly. Separately, worth flagging for anyone assembling a UĐ1 application dossier: Vietnam acceded to the Hague Apostille Convention effective September 11, 2026, replacing multi-step consular legalization with a single apostille certificate for documents from most of the roughly 129 member countries (a handful, including Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic, still require the old consular-legalization process with Vietnam). If you’re pursuing this route, ask your employer’s legal team to check Circular 70/2026/TT-BCA, Decree 353/2025/NĐ-CP, and Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC directly rather than relying on secondary write-ups.
This isn’t unusual for Vietnamese legislation. Umbrella laws routinely set out categories, ceilings, and general principles, while ministerial circulars and government decrees handle the operational layer: processing agencies, document checklists, and fee schedules that applicants actually need to act on. We re-checked the July 1, 2026 start date, the 5-year ceiling, Decree 353/2025/NĐ-CP’s criteria and the Apostille accession against secondary reports on October 6, 2026, but could not open the official Vietnamese portals, so confirm specific application steps, fees and processing times against the official texts or with Vietnam’s immigration authorities.
What This Means If You’re Working Remotely From Vietnam
If you’re a remote employee or freelancer currently in Vietnam on a tourist e-visa or visa runs, the Vietnam UĐ1 visa does not currently change your situation. It is not a substitute for Vietnam’s existing labor visa and work permit system for most foreign workers, and it does not appear to open a route for freelancers without a Vietnam-classified tech employer. If you work for or are sponsored by a company that is formally classified within Vietnam’s digital technology industry, it’s worth having your employer’s legal or HR team review Decree 353/2025/NĐ-CP and the UĐ1 application rules, since those documents, not the base law, determine actual eligibility criteria and application steps. For broader context on how Southeast Asia’s various long-stay permits stack up against each other, see our breakdown of Thailand’s LTR visa requirements, cost, and timeline.
FAQ
Is Vietnam’s UĐ1 visa a digital nomad visa?
Not in the way Thailand’s DTV or Indonesia’s remote-worker visa are. The UĐ1 is written for high-quality digital technology industry workforce with sector-classified employers, and the law text does not establish a general freelancer or remote-employee pathway.
When did the UĐ1 visa take effect?
July 1, 2026, under Law No. 118/2025/QH15, which was signed on December 10, 2025. Applications under the category could not be submitted before that effective date.
Can I bring my family on a UĐ1 visa?
Yes, through the paired UĐ2 visa, but only for a spouse and children under 18. Parents, adult children, and other relatives are not covered under the current law.
Related Reads
- South Korea Digital Nomad Visa 2026 — another 2026 visa update aimed at a narrower professional category than the headlines suggest
- Thailand’s 2026 Visa Exemption Changes — a shorter-stay option if the UĐ1 doesn’t apply to you (it has no published pathway for freelancers or general remote workers)
- UAE Remote Work Visa 2026 — a general remote-work visa that actually is built for freelancers
- Vietnam E-Visa Border Gates Expand to 83 Entry Points (2026) — the practical entry option for freelancers staying on tourist e-visas instead
Sources
- Law No. 118/2025/QH15, official text published on vanban.chinhphu.vn (Government of Vietnam official legal document portal) — primary/government source
- thuvienphapluat.vn, “Tu 1/7/2026 Visa UĐ1 cap cho ai? Visa UĐ1 co thoi han may nam?” — Vietnamese legal database summary of the law text
- Vietnam Teaching Jobs Blog, “What Are Vietnam’s New UĐ1 and UĐ2 Visas Starting July 2026?” — independent secondary analysis
- Decree No. 327/2025/NĐ-CP (18 December 2025), official text on the Government of Vietnam’s legal document portal — primary/government source for the International Financial Centre UĐ1/UĐ2 track (up to 10-year validity)
- MDEC (Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation), official DE Rantau programme page — mdec.my/derantau, official Malaysian government source (pass duration and income figures)
