The province of Bac Ninh is located in the Red River Delta in the northern part of Vietnam, just east of the capital city of Hanoi. It’s home to some of the historical and religious sites in the country, such as the Đền Đô Temple, which was founded in the 11th Century by the Ly Dynasty. This is also where the Quan Ho folk music originated, which was recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.
There are quite a few foreigners who are living in Bac Ninh province. Because of this, the Vietnam Immigration has established an office in the province. The Vietnam Immigration Office in Bac Ninh is responsible for the processing of all immigration-related concerns of foreigners living in the area. They can process visa extension and renewal, and several other visa related services.
If you are holding a visa that will allow you to stay in Vietnam for a limited period, then you have to make sure that you get out of the country before your visa expires. Whether you’re holding a tourist visa, business visa, or something else, you should know that the visa has an expiry date. If you will not go out of the country before your visa expires, then you will be slapped with a penalty and this could tarnish your record in Vietnam Immigration, which is not a good thing. So what happens if you wanted to stay longer? Your best option is to get a visa extension.
Since you are based in Bac Ninh, you can visit the Vietnam Immigration Office in Bac Ninh to apply for a visa extension. You will be asked to fill out a form and submit the original copy of your passport. If the current visa that you are holding has a validity period of 3 months, then you can only request for an extension of 3 months or less. That’s because you are not allowed to stay in Vietnam for more than 6 months. After submitting your application request, you need to wait for 3 -5 business days for them to inform you of whether or not your request has been approved.
Another option to legally extend your stay in Vietnam is to apply for a visa renewal. With this option, you will be given a new visa sticker in your passport and there’s no need for you to go out of the country. This is different from the visa extension because, with a visa extension, they will only stamp your passport for the new duration of your stay in Vietnam. Also, the visa extension is only good for a single entry. But with visa renewal, you can choose from a single entry or multiple entries.
When getting a visa renewal in Bac Ninh, you’ll be asked to submit your passport and fill out an application form. Since they will attach a visa sticker to your passport, your passport must have extra blank pages. Your passport must be valid for at least six months from the duration of your new visa. When your visa renewal is approved, the Vietnam Immigration Office in Bac Ninh will ask you to claim your passport. Your passport should already have a visa sticker in it.
The visa renewal is a good option for those who entered Vietnam without a visa since they qualify for the Visa Exemption program. This program will allow citizens of certain countries to enter Vietnam with no need to submit a visa, for as long as they will go out of the country after a certain number of days. But if they need to extend their stay, they can ask for a visa renewal so they will be issued a new visa that will allow them to stay in the country longer.
The visa extension and visa renewal have a pretty similar concept so it’s not a surprise why many foreigners will often get confused about them. This is why it’s sometimes a good idea to consider hiring a local agency for your visa related concerns.
There are lots of local agencies in Vietnam that can help you with the processing of your visa extension or visa renewal. You just need to submit the requirements and they will facilitate the processing of your request at the Vietnam Immigration Office in Bac Ninh Province. And if you are confused about the difference between the visa extension and visa renewal, they can explain that to you clearly. That way, you will be able to decide which option can work best for you.
