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Registering Your Address in Vietnam: Temporary Residence Declaration

Every foreigner staying overnight in Vietnam must be declared to the local police, and the legal duty sits with whoever runs the accommodation — the landlord, the building, the hotel — not with you. Hotels do it automatically. Private landlords frequently do not, and the gap only surfaces later, when a visa, card or licence application needs a clean residence record.

Who needs this

  • Any foreigner renting an apartment or house rather than staying in a hotel — the duty exists from the first night
  • Landlords and building managers who take foreign tenants; the declaration is legally theirs to make
  • Foreigners who have just moved between addresses, including a move within the same building or ward
  • Anyone about to apply for a temporary residence card, a stay extension or a driving licence, where a clean residence record is assumed
  • Companies housing foreign staff in company apartments or guest houses, where the employer is effectively the accommodation manager

What to bring

  • The foreigner's passport, with the entry stamp and the current visa or temporary residence certification visible
  • The temporary residence card or permanent residence card, if one has been issued
  • The exact address of the accommodation as the authorities record it — building, floor, unit, street, ward, province
  • The intended arrival and departure dates, or the tenancy period
  • An account on the temporary residence declaration website of the provincial immigration authority where the accommodation is located, registered by whoever manages the accommodation
  • Form NA17, the paper temporary residence declaration slip, if declaring in person instead of online
  • The signed lease and the landlord's identity documents — not part of the declaration itself, but what you will be asked for if anything is disputed

How it works

  1. 1

    Settle the question before you sign the lease

    Ask the landlord directly whether they have declared foreign tenants before and whether they hold an account on the provincial declaration website. A landlord who has never done it is not disqualifying, but it tells you the first declaration will need chasing. Put the obligation in the lease in writing.

  2. 2

    Know the clock: 12 hours from arrival

    The Ministry of Public Security states that the person directly managing the accommodation must complete the temporary residence declaration and submit it to the police within 12 hours of the foreigner arriving, extended to 24 hours in remote and mountainous areas. The obligation is triggered by arrival, not by the lease start date, so a night spent in the apartment before the contract runs still counts.

  3. 3

    Declare online, which is the normal route

    The person declaring registers an account on the temporary residence declaration website of the provincial immigration authority, or via the National Public Service Portal or the Ministry of Public Security portal, logs in, and either types the foreigner's details into the form or uploads a file in the published template. The Ministry's procedure record lists this route as online-only, with no fee.

  4. 4

    Or declare on paper at the local police

    The alternative is form NA17, the temporary residence declaration slip, handed in at the commune or ward police, or the police post covering the accommodation. The officer on duty checks the form, accepts and confirms it, or asks for corrections. Keep the confirmed slip — it is the only proof the declaration was made.

  5. 5

    Get proof and keep it

    Ask the landlord for a screenshot of the accepted online declaration or a photo of the confirmed NA17 slip, and keep it with your immigration documents. When an immigration officer later asks where you have been living, a dated confirmation answers the question in one move.

  6. 6

    Re-declare on every move and every re-entry

    A declaration attaches to an address and a stay, not to you permanently. Change apartment and a new declaration is due at the new address. Leave the country and come back and the accommodation manager declares again. Set the expectation with your landlord early so it does not become a monthly argument.

Where people get stuck

  • Assuming your employer handles it. Your company handles your work permit and your residence card. The residence declaration is made by whoever manages the place you sleep, which in a private rental is your landlord and nobody at the office.
  • A landlord who says it is unnecessary for long-term tenants. The obligation is triggered by a foreigner arriving at the accommodation; there is no long-stay exemption that makes the first declaration optional.
  • Short-let and serviced apartments booked through platforms. The host may not be registered as an accommodation establishment at all, which leaves a hole in your residence history exactly where an immigration officer will look.
  • Declaring the wrong address. Ward and district names changed in the 2025 administrative reorganisation. A declaration filed under a former ward name may not match the address on your other documents.
  • Never asking for proof. Landlords say they did it. Without a screenshot or a confirmed slip you have no way to demonstrate compliance, and it is your visa file that suffers, not theirs.
  • Ignoring the penalty side. Administrative fines apply for failing to declare, and the amounts are set by the sanctions decree currently in force — which has been replaced since some widely circulated guidance was written. Check the current figure rather than quoting an old one.

Common questions

Do I have to do this myself?

No. The Ministry of Public Security places the duty on the person directly managing the accommodation. In a private rental that is the landlord; where you stay at a private home, the householder. Your job is to hand over your passport details promptly and to insist on seeing the confirmation.

What if my landlord refuses or keeps forgetting?

Go to the commune or ward police covering the address with your passport and ask how to have the declaration recorded. It is a routine visit, not a complaint. If the landlord is persistently unwilling, treat that as a signal about the tenancy as a whole — the same landlord will be difficult about the paperwork you need later.

I stay in a hotel. Is anything required of me?

Hotels declare their guests as a matter of course, which is why hotel stays rarely cause problems. Give reception your passport at check-in and let them copy it. The gap in most people's residence history is not the hotel nights; it is the apartment they moved into afterwards.

Does this cost anything?

The Ministry of Public Security's procedure records for both the online declaration and the paper NA17 slip show no fee. If someone is charging you for it, they are charging for their time, not for a government fee — check the current record on the public service portal before paying.

Official sources

Other guides

VNeID & digital ID

Temporary residence card

Driving licence