Travelers who want to live among Vietnam’s Southeast Asia’s new golden visa program will please those who love pagodas, ornate temples and tropical rainforests.
According to a report published in Financial Express. First, a golden visa is available. It allows a stay between 5 and 10 years. There are also options to extend the period. The second option, also valid 10 years and with the option of starting the process to become permanent residents after 5 years, is the investor visa. Third, a talent visa is available for professionals who work in certain fields. It is valid for five years and can be renewed easily.
It is still unknown what the exact requirements are for each of these three new visas. Although applications have not yet been opened, the entire application process will be done digitally, simplifying paperwork and eliminating the requirement to visit an embassy.
Golden visa programs aim to attract more investors and professionals to a country’s borders to boost its economy. Vietnam’s economy is strong and growing, but it wants to grow even more. According to the UN, Vietnam has gone from being one of the world’s poorest nations to having a middle-income country in just a generation. World Bank. It’s a place that attracts high-net worth investors. World Bank also says that the country “aspires to be a country with a high level of income by 2045”.
The Tourism Advisory Board also recommended that the pilot program be implemented in large cities, such as Phu Quoc. These cities already host millions of tourists. Ho Chi Minh City One of the Best Places to Visit in 2025According to Skift.
The new visas also form part of an overall push to increase tourism in Vietnam. The country’s ambitious goal is to attract 23 million tourists by 2025. In 2024, Vietnam welcomed 17.6 million foreign visitors.
Southeast Asia is seeing a rise in the number of long-term residency programs and golden visas. ThailandIndonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand offer long-term visas for visitors wanting to stay more than a decade.
These schemes are gaining in popularity in certain regions while officials in Europe are reducing the number of long-term Visas. Malta’s golden-passport program, which gave EU citizenship to investors who invested more than 525,000 Euros, has just been terminated by EU courts. Spain has also just terminated its program—which required a real estate investment of 500,000 euros in exchange for three years of residency—in early April, because it had become too popular.
The programs are particularly attractive in Europe as they provide access to the entire program. Schengen region. Greece and Portugal continue to offer residency in exchange for certain investments. However, these programs are more stringent now with increased investment requirements and stricter rules about the type of real estate that applicants may purchase.