Vietnam
Working Remotely on a Tourist Stay
Last verified August 15, 2026
Written for U.S. passport holders
Working on an E-Visa
- An e-visa doesn't authorize employment, and Vietnamese authorities can treat sustained remote work performed while physically in Vietnam as creating tax or legal exposure, even when your employer and clients are entirely outside the country.
- One specific risk worth knowing: working remotely for a foreign company from Vietnam can, in some circumstances, be read as creating a 'permanent establishment' for that employer, a corporate tax concept that could create obligations for your employer, not just you.
Tax Residency
- Under Circular 111/2013/TT-BTC, you're a Vietnamese tax resident if you're present 183 days or more in a calendar year, or 183 days or more in any 12 consecutive months from your arrival date (arrival and departure days both count as one full day).
- You're also considered resident if you have a 'regular place of residence' in Vietnam, including a long-term house rental contract or a temporary/permanent residence card, which can apply to remote workers who've settled into a rental even without hitting the day count yet.
- Once resident, you're taxed on worldwide income; non-residents are taxed only on Vietnam-sourced income, generally at a flat 20% rate.
The Gotcha
Vietnam's tax residency test has a second trigger beyond the day count: simply having a long-term rental contract or a residence card counts as having a 'regular place of residence,' which can make you a tax resident even if you haven't hit 183 days yet. Signing a long lease to settle in for a while is exactly the kind of practical step that can trip this, independent of how many days you've actually counted.
Sources
This page was drafted from the primary sources below. Rules change, so check the linked page directly before relying on any of this.
- Circular No. 111/2013/TT-BTC (Personal Income Tax) (Ministry of Finance, Vietnam)