This guide is part of the VIFC talent and residency pathway, which explains the dual-hub framework, legal instruments, work authorization, tax and family routes.
VIFC family residence
VIFC UD2 card for spouses and children
A source-bounded family guide explaining what is confirmed, what follows the principal UD1 card, and what must be checked before a household relies on the route.
Direct answer
The spouse and children under 18 of an eligible VIFC member-organization foreign worker may receive a VIFC UD2 card. Its duration matches the principal worker’s UD1 card, which may be valid for up to 10 years subject to eligibility and guidance. Residence does not by itself confirm permission to work.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Regulations at the VIFC are new and evolving — confirm current requirements with a licensed professional.
What the VIFC family route confirms
The Vietnam International Financial Centre, or VIFC, is one legal entity operating through hubs in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. Family residence is connected to the qualifying principal worker and the VIFC framework, not simply to a household choosing to live in either city. A city address alone does not establish access to a UD2 card.
The confirmed family categories are the spouse and children under 18 of the principal. They may receive UD2 residence cards with the same duration as the principal’s UD1 card. This is a linked residence proposition: the family period follows the period actually granted to the principal rather than creating a separate maximum term for each dependant.
An eligible foreign national working for a VIFC member organization may receive a UD1 card for up to 10 years, subject to eligibility and guidance. The words “up to” describe a maximum, not a promised result. If the principal receives a shorter UD1 period, the confirmed same-duration rule means the connected UD2 period should be presented by reference to that shorter principal period.
The VIFC framework includes Resolution No. 222/2025/QH15 and Decree No. 323/2025/ND-CP. Decree No. 324/2025/ND-CP concerns tax, while Decree No. 325/2025/ND-CP and Decree No. 327/2025/ND-CP concern labour, entry/exit, and residence mechanics (Decree 325 for employment, Decree 327 for immigration). This page does not assign a family filing rule to a particular provision.
How the same-duration linkage should be read
The family card has the same duration as the principal’s UD1 card. This wording keeps the principal approval at the centre of planning. It does not mean every family receives 10 years, because the principal’s UD1 card itself is available only up to 10 years and remains subject to eligibility and guidance.
Before budgeting or arranging a move, ask what UD1 period the principal is expected to receive and what evidence supports that expectation. Then describe each family card as linked to the period actually granted.
The reviewed official materials do not explain whether the principal and family may apply together, whether UD2 applications must follow UD1 issuance, or how a later-arriving family member is treated.
Renewal should also be treated as unconfirmed. A linked initial period does not establish automatic renewal, a renewal term or a right to remain if the principal no longer qualifies.
Residence does not automatically establish work rights
A UD2 residence card should not be described as independent permission to work. The verified family rule establishes residence linkage only. A spouse considering employment needs a separate work-authorization assessment before beginning work, and the assessment should identify the person’s own legal basis rather than relying on family status alone.
The VIFC framework states that Decree No. 325/2025/ND-CP excludes accompanying family members from the Article 5(1) work-permit-exemption category. The operational route for a family member who wants to work is separate and must be assessed under the applicable rules. It should not be converted into a blanket statement that every spouse or child may work.
A work-permit exemption, work authorization and residence are distinct questions. Even where an exemption is potentially relevant, the family member should confirm any required recognition or authorization before undertaking employment.
The child category must be handled especially carefully. The confirmed facts support residence for children under 18 but do not state that a child may work. No employment implication should be drawn from the UD2 card.
Documents and filing points that remain open
No definitive UD2 checklist is established in the reviewed official materials. A generic family-visa list should not be represented as the current VIFC list. Obtain requirements for the principal and every family member from the responsible authority or licensed professional before ordering translations or certifications. Decree No. 293/2026/ND-CP takes effect on 11 September 2026; confirm the applicable authentication and translation route before filing.
Relationship records will likely be central, but their required format is not verified.
The filing channel and responsible actor are also open.
No fee or processing period is stated here. Families should build plans around confirmed instructions rather than an assumed service standard.
Consistency across the principal and family files matters as a practical review point, but the authority’s correction practice is not supplied.
Plan for changes to the principal’s status
Because UD2 duration is tied to the principal’s UD1 card, a household should assess changes affecting the principal before relying on continued family residence. The reviewed official materials do not state what happens after employment ends, the employer loses VIFC member status, the principal changes employer or role, or the UD1 card is shortened, cancelled or replaced.
Families should also confirm notice and action requirements rather than assuming a grace period or automatic continuation.
A move between the Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang hubs should not be treated as immaterial without checking current rules. The VIFC is one dual-hub legal entity, but that fact does not establish how a location, member employer or role change is administered.
Keep family planning separate from predictions about permanent residence. The confirmed family proposition concerns UD2 residence for the same duration as the principal UD1 card.
Practical checklist before the household relies on UD2
First, identify the exact VIFC member organization and the proposed principal worker. Confirm that the principal’s UD1 analysis is based on eligible work for that member and record the period sought as a maximum request, not an assured outcome.
Second, list only the confirmed family categories: spouse and each child under 18. Record every child’s date of birth and flag any child who may reach 18 near the intended filing or residence period. Obtain an answer to the age-boundary question before making non-refundable plans.
Third, map the requested UD2 period to the principal’s actual or expected UD1 period. Ask how a later application, passport end date or changed principal approval could affect the family end date.
Fourth, request the current checklist and compare every name, date, passport detail and relationship across the file. Confirm translation and document-authentication requirements before commissioning work.
Fifth, separate residence and employment. If a spouse intends to work, obtain an individual assessment of permit, exemption and work authorization. Do not use a UD2 card or the phrase “accompanying family” as proof that employment may begin.
Finally, agree who will monitor the principal’s UD1 status and communicate any change to the household. Record a contingency plan for employer, role or member-status changes without assuming a particular grace period.
Open questions
What is not yet settled
These points require confirmation against current guidance and the facts of an individual case
- Not yet confirmed: the provisions and current guidance governing UD2 eligibility, issuance and linkage to a principal UD1 card.
- Not yet confirmed: whether passport validity, application timing or another rule can produce a UD2 end date earlier than the principal UD1 end date.
- Not yet confirmed: filing sequence, joint-filing availability and duration treatment for a family member applying after the principal.
- Not yet confirmed: UD2 renewal requirements, renewal sequence and evidence of the continuing principal-family link.
- Not yet confirmed: whether a family member has any separate work-authorization route; Article 5(1) of Decree No. 325/2025/ND-CP expressly excludes accompanying family members from that exemption category.
- Not yet confirmed: the confirmation required before an accompanying family member works and the authority responsible for it.
- Not yet confirmed: any rules affecting work by a UD2 holder under 18.
- Not yet confirmed: the complete current UD2 document checklist and prescribed forms.
- Not yet confirmed: accepted marriage and birth records, issuing-authority requirements, translation language, certification, legalization or authentication, originals and copy rules.
- Not yet confirmed: competent authority, sponsor role, submission channel, appointment rules, signatures and whether the applicant must be present.
- Not yet confirmed: official fees, payment method, published processing period, tracking method and collection arrangements.
- Not yet confirmed: treatment of name, passport, date or relationship discrepancies and the process for supplementing or correcting a UD2 file.
- Not yet confirmed: the effect of each principal-status change on linked UD2 cards.
- Not yet confirmed: notification duties, deadlines, cancellation or replacement steps and any lawful-status options after the principal relationship changes.
- Not yet confirmed: whether a hub, work-location or member-employer change requires amendment or replacement of UD1 and UD2 records.
- Not yet confirmed: whether any permanent-residence route applies to a principal or family member and its separate conditions.
- Not yet confirmed: age-assessment practice.
- Not yet confirmed: duration-setting practice for each family member.
- Not yet confirmed: current evidence preparation standards.
- Not yet confirmed: family-member work-authorization route.
- Not yet confirmed: current status-change procedures.
- Not yet confirmed: definitions, evidence and any separate routes for relatives outside those categories.
- Not yet confirmed: any separate limits that can shorten an individual UD2 card.
- Not yet confirmed: age-transition rules and alternative status options.
- Not yet confirmed: individual eligibility, required confirmation and work authorization before employment begins.
- Not yet confirmed: notice, amendment, cancellation, replacement and lawful-status consequences for each principal-status change.
Questions senior candidates ask
VIFC pathway FAQ
Who can receive a VIFC UD2 card?
The confirmed categories are the spouse and children under 18 of the eligible principal VIFC worker. The reviewed official materials do not extend this UD2 proposition to adult children or other relatives.
Will every family card be valid for 10 years?
No. The UD2 duration matches the principal’s UD1 duration. The principal UD1 card may be valid for up to 10 years, subject to eligibility and guidance, so the actual family period follows the actual principal period.
What happens when a child turns 18?
The verified rule covers children under 18, but the age-assessment date and the effect of reaching 18 during a card period are not supplied. A family with a child near that boundary should obtain a case-specific answer before relying on continued UD2 status.
Can a spouse work while holding a UD2 card?
Do not assume so. Residence does not itself establish permission to work. Decree No. 325/2025/ND-CP expressly excludes accompanying family members from the Article 5(1) work-permit-exemption category; a spouse or other family member needs an independent assessment under the applicable rules before employment begins.
What happens to UD2 cards if the principal’s status changes?
The reviewed official materials do not state the result. Because UD2 duration is linked to the principal UD1 card, employment, employer, role or UD1 changes require prompt review.