Binh Duong may not be on top of your list of destinations to visit in Vietnam as a tourist, but this industrialized province is known for its fast-growing economy. Businessmen and investors who wanted to invest in Vietnam’s economy should consider visiting this small province. Thanks to the encouraging policies of the Vietnam governments, there is now an increasing number of commercial projects from foreign investors in Binh Duong. Because of this, several foreigners have called this province their home.
If you are a foreigner in Binh Duong and you are thinking of extending your stay in Vietnam but you’re worried since your visa is about to expire, the best thing that you can do is to request for a visa extension or renewal. And since there’s a Vietnam Immigration Office in Binh Duong, there’s no longer a need for you to travel far to process this. Here’s what you need to know when extending or renewing your Vietnam visa.
The first thing that you need to do if you plan to extend your visa is to find out what the requirements are. Before you show up at the Vietnam Immigration Office in Binh Duong, it’s important that you have the requirements available on hand. The most important requirement is the original copy of your passport. You will also be asked to fill out a form known as the NA5 form. They might request additional requirements depending on your nationality and the type of visa that you’re currently holding.
When requesting a visa extension, make sure that the new duration will not exceed the period duration of your original visa. For instance, if you are holding a business visa that’s only good for 30 days, then you can only extend it for 30 days or less. Also, the visa extension is only good for a single entry and you cannot request an extension more than two times.
After submitting the form and the passport, the staff at the Vietnam Immigration Office in Binh Duong will ask you to wait for about 3 to 5 business days while they process your request.
The process of applying for the visa renewal is somewhat similar to that of the visa extension. But take note that these two methods are different. Also, not all nationalities may be eligible for the visa extension or renewal. With the visa extension, your passport will be stamped indicating the new duration of your stay in the country. As for the visa renewal, they will issue a new visa and attach it to your passport.
And while the visa extension will require you to exit Vietnam and re-enter again to be stamped, the visa renewal does not require any of this. If your request for the visa renewal is approved, they will issue a new visa on your passport so there’s no need for you to leave Vietnam. The visa renewal is suitable for those who entered Vietnam without a visa under the visa exemption policy and would like to extend their stay in the country.
Both the visa extension and visa renewal will allow you to prolong your stay in Vietnam even if your visa is only good for a certain period. But what are the differences between the two? Should you go for a visa extension or visa renewal?
If you plan on going out of Vietnam since your visa is about to expire but you have plans to go back to extend your stay, the visa extension will work in your situation. Just show your passport when you re-enter and the immigration officer will stamp it for the new duration of your stay. But if you do not want to go out of the country and re-enter, you might as well apply for a visa renewal. This option costs more than the visa extension but you no longer need to go out of Vietnam so it’s less hassle. Furthermore, the visa renewal will let you choose from a single entry or multiple entries. But the visa extension is only good for a single entry.
Those foreigners who entered Vietnam through the visa exemption program can choose the visa renewal. Since the visa exemption program will let them stay in Vietnam for a limited time, they can apply for the visa renewal so they will be given a new visa that will let them stay in the country longer.
If you are still confused about the visa extension and visa renewal, or if you have any concerns that have not been addressed in this article, you better get in touch with a local agency in Vietnam.
