How to declare your temporary residence while traveling in Vietnam?

By Hoang Phong November 24, 2025 | 03:03 pm PT

Foreign tourists shop inside Ben Thanh Market in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Tuan Anh

"I am planning to travel to Vietnam and stay at a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. Do I need to make a temporary residence declaration with local authorities?" - a foreign reader asked.

Huynh Thi My Hanh, senior lawyer from Le&Tran Law Corporation, answered that it is the responsibility of the accommodation provider (hotel/host), not the tourist themselves, to register the tourist's temporary stay with the local police.

Tourists simply need to present their passport or travel documents at check-in, and the hotel/host uses that information to declare their stay to the local police.

Tourists do not need to personally file any declaration with the authorities and they will not be fined if the hotel fails to declare their temporary residence.

However, if a tourist refuses to provide information or deliberately provide false information to the hotel for making the declaration, they may be fined VND3-5 million (US$113-192), Hanh said.

A tourist is allowed to stay in Vietnam for as long as their visa/temporary residence card or the immigration stamp on their passport determines, not by the temporary residence registration itself.

Overstaying may result in fines of up to VND20 million depending on how long. Starting from Dec. 15, 2025, the fine will go up to VND40 million, the lawyer added.