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 answer hub
Vietnam International Financial Centre FAQ
Concise answers to recurring VIFC questions, grouped by legal framework, work, residence and family, tax, employer and investor issues, and implementation.
Direct answer
The VIFC is one legal entity operating through Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang hubs. Its verified framework includes member-linked work permits or exemptions, work authorization and UD1 residence of up to 10 years, linked UD2 family residence, defined tax relief and full foreign ownership subject to separate eligibility checks.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Regulations at the VIFC are new and evolving — confirm current requirements with a licensed professional.
How to use this FAQ
The VIFC package should not be treated as one visa or one approval. Member status, permission to work, residence, family residence, personal income tax treatment, permanent residence and ownership are separate outcomes. Eligibility for one does not prove eligibility for another.
Where the verified sources establish a benefit but do not provide its complete criteria or procedure, the answer states the boundary and uses a descriptive verification marker. The marker is intentional. It prevents current unknowns from being replaced with assumptions about forms, fees, timing, evidence or administrative practice.
The VIFC is one legal entity with hubs in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. That structure does not establish that every function, authority, activity or filing channel is identical between the hubs. A matter-specific review should identify the member organization, relevant hub, activity, individual and outcome sought.
Legal framework
Legal questions
Resolution No. 222/2025/QH15 established the VIFC. Decree No. 323/2025/ND-CP formalized its legal foundation. 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).
The centre is a separate regulatory zone inside Vietnam and applies international financial standards alongside Vietnam’s existing legal system. IFRS or accepted international reporting may be used. The framework also includes a one-stop Executive Agency and a specialized VIFC court in Ho Chi Minh City.
Employment
Work authorization questions
The employment starting point is an eligible foreign national working for a VIFC member organization. A city address, finance-sector role or executive title does not independently establish access. The exact member entity, employing relationship, role and individual eligibility must be identified.
Work permits, exemptions, extended authorization and residence should remain separate in an offer and compliance record. An exemption from a permit requirement should not be described as an exemption from all work controls.
Residence and family
UD1, UD2 and permanent-residence questions
An eligible foreign national working for a VIFC member organization may receive a UD1 temporary residence card for up to 10 years, subject to eligibility and guidance. Residence does not replace the need to establish the correct work-authorization route.
A spouse and children under 18 may receive UD2 cards for the same duration as the principal’s UD1 card. The family period follows the principal period actually granted. The confirmed facts do not establish automatic family work rights.
Personal income tax
Tax questions
Decree No. 324/2025/ND-CP is the tax instrument in the supplied legal map and was issued on 18 December 2025 and took effect on 17 January 2026. It should not be used as the source for work authorization, UD1 residence, UD2 residence or permanent residence.
The confirmed exemption is narrower than a general claim of tax-free VIFC employment. The person, employer connection, income category, centre connection and time boundary must each be established.
Organizations and ownership
Employer and investor questions
Member status is central to the employment and tax propositions, but membership alone does not approve a foreign worker, establish tax qualification or guarantee residence. Each organization should keep evidence of the relevant entity’s status and assess every individual route separately.
A foreign investor may own 100% of the charter capital of an economic organization registered as an IFC member. The ownership statement does not determine which entities or activities qualify for membership or which other approvals may apply.
Operational planning
Implementation questions
Reviewed materials establish benefits and boundaries but do not provide a complete implementation manual. No definitive form, filing portal, document list, fee, processing period, translation rule or appointment procedure should be inserted from assumption.
A practical case file should identify the decision sought, verified legal proposition, supporting facts, unresolved questions and responsible adviser or authority. Keep work, residence, family, tax, permanent residence and ownership in separate workstreams even when they are coordinated.
Open questions
What is not yet settled
These points require confirmation against current guidance and the facts of an individual case
- Not yet confirmed: hub-specific functions, authorities, activities and filing channels.
- Not yet confirmed: official text, authoritative translation and current consolidated status.
- Not yet confirmed: applicable law, jurisdiction, procedure, appeal and enforcement for the proposed activity or dispute.
- Not yet confirmed: agency authority, court jurisdiction, standing, language, filing channels, procedural rules, appeal routes and enforcement powers.
- Not yet confirmed: detailed worker, employer, role, relationship, evidence and confirmation requirements for each route.
- Not yet confirmed: current criteria, evidence standards, assessment method, decision form and official confirmation required before the individual begins work.
- Not yet confirmed: route, duration-setting factors, validity dependencies, first-authorization practice, renewal, amendment, replacement and cancellation rules.
- Not yet confirmed: continuing employer recruitment, workforce-planning, reporting, monitoring and recordkeeping obligations despite the absence of a numerical cap.
- Not yet confirmed: applicant categories, evidence, duration-setting practice, passport-related limits, renewal, amendment, cancellation and competent authority.
- Not yet confirmed: relationship evidence, age-assessment date, application sequence, later-arriving family treatment, renewal rules and consequences of principal-status changes.
- Not yet confirmed: covered categories, individual criteria and authorization required before work begins.
- Not yet confirmed: permanent-residence categories, qualifying period if any, sponsorship, evidence, competent authority, procedure, family treatment and continuing conditions.
- Not yet confirmed: manager and expert definitions, qualification evidence, meaning of working for a member and any recognition process.
- Not yet confirmed: treatment of allowances, benefits, reimbursements, deferred pay, severance, carried interest, options, restricted shares, other equity awards, investment returns and proceeds at each relevant event.
- Not yet confirmed: allocation requirements, accepted method, treatment across locations and records needed to support the amount claimed within the centre.
- Not yet confirmed: final covered earning point, payment and vesting timing, allocation across the boundary and every rule applying from 1 January 2031.
- Not yet confirmed: employer planning, labor, recruitment, reporting, authorization-monitoring and other continuing compliance obligations.
- Not yet confirmed: admission criteria, regulated or conditioned activities, licensing, capital requirements, approval sequence and continuing member obligations.
- Not yet confirmed: treatment of affiliates, group companies, secondments, contractors, professional-employer arrangements, shared payroll and third-party engagements.
- Not yet confirmed: competent authority, filing channel, authorized filer, prescribed forms, evidence, originals, copies, signatures, translation, certification, legalization, appointments and applicant-presence requirements.
- Not yet confirmed: official fees, payment method, published processing period, earliest filing point, tracking, passport-retention practice and collection or delivery procedure.
- Not yet confirmed: notification, amendment, replacement, cancellation, transfer, departure and lawful-status consequences after each material change.
Questions senior candidates ask
VIFC pathway FAQ
Is the VIFC one centre or two separate centres?
It is one legal entity operating through hubs in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. Da Nang inaugurated its hub on 9 January 2026, and Ho Chi Minh City launched its hub on 11 February 2026.
Which instrument established the VIFC?
Resolution No. 222/2025/QH15 established the VIFC. It was passed on 27 June 2025 and became effective on 1 September 2025. It is the founding instrument, not a complete operational manual.
Does the VIFC replace Vietnam’s existing legal system?
No. The VIFC is a separate regulatory zone inside Vietnam that applies international financial standards alongside the existing legal system. That does not resolve hierarchy or conflicts for a specific matter.
What do the Executive Agency and specialized court do?
The verified framework establishes a one-stop Executive Agency and a specialized VIFC court located in Ho Chi Minh City. Their complete mandates and procedures are not supplied.
Who may receive a VIFC work permit or exemption?
Eligible foreign nationals working for VIFC member organizations may receive permits or exemptions. Foreign experts relying on the stated exemption must meet high-level criteria defined by the Executive Agency.
Is the expert exemption automatic for a senior executive?
No automatic result is confirmed. The exemption is linked to high-level criteria defined by the Executive Agency, not merely to title, salary or seniority.
Can VIFC work authorization last ten years?
Eligible foreign nationals may receive extended work authorization for up to 10 years. “Up to” is a maximum, not a standard period or guarantee.
Does the no-cap rule remove individual permit requirements?
No. The VIFC has no cap on the proportion of foreign workers, but every proposed worker still requires the applicable individual permit, exemption and authorization route.
Does a member-company offer guarantee a ten-year UD1 card?
No. 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.
Who may receive a VIFC UD2 card?
The confirmed categories are the qualifying principal’s spouse and children under 18. Their UD2 cards may match the duration of the principal’s UD1 card.
Can a spouse work while holding a UD2 card?
Do not assume so. UD2 establishes linked family residence, not independent work permission. Accompanying family members appear in an exemption proposition connected to high-level Executive Agency criteria, but its scope is unresolved.
Does a UD1 card automatically lead to permanent residence?
No automatic conversion is confirmed. The verified framework states that eligible foreigners may qualify for permanent residence, but UD1 remains temporary residence.
Who receives the confirmed VIFC PIT exemption?
Qualifying managers, experts, scientists and individuals with high professional qualifications working at the International Financial Center receive the confirmed Vietnamese PIT exemption on salary and wage income earned from work at the International Financial Center until the end of 2030.
Does the exemption cover every part of compensation?
No such broad scope is confirmed. The verified categories are salary and wage income earned from work at the International Financial Center.
How is mixed-location work treated?
The confirmed exemption concerns salary and wage income earned from work at the International Financial Center. Reviewed materials do not establish treatment for travel, remote work or duties elsewhere.
What happens to the tax exemption after 2030?
The confirmed measure applies until the end of 2030. No extension, expiry mechanics, transition, grandfathering or post-2030 treatment is established.
Can a member organization build an entirely foreign workforce?
The verified framework places no cap on the proportion of foreign workers. It does not collectively approve an entirely foreign workforce or remove individual requirements. Each person needs the correct route.
Can a foreign investor own all of a VIFC member company?
A foreign investor may own 100% of the charter capital of an economic organization registered as an IFC member. That does not establish membership or activity approval.
Does a group affiliate receive benefits through another member entity?
No group-wide result is established by the verified facts. The exact member organization and its relationship to the worker, income or investment must be identified.
Which forms, documents and filing portal are required?
The complete requirements are not established by the reviewed materials. A generic checklist should not be represented as the VIFC process.
What are the official fees and processing times?
No fee or processing period is confirmed in the reviewed materials. Employers and applicants should not build a schedule around assumed service standards.
What should be reviewed when employment or member status changes?
Review work authorization, UD1 residence, every linked UD2 card and tax treatment separately. Reviewed materials do not establish automatic cancellation, portability or a grace period.