The DN visa is the most common business/work visa for short sponsored trips into Vietnam. The DN1 and DN2 symbols look alike but record two different trip substances — and neither of them is a work permit.
Choose the symbol by the trip’s substance
- DN1: entering to work with an enterprise/organization having legal person status in Vietnam — a partner’s personnel coming for joint implementation, a contractor’s experts working alongside a Vietnamese company, a group delegation hosted by a Vietnamese entity;
- DN2: entering to offer services, establish a commercial presence, or act under an international treaty — a service sales promotion delegation, a company-formation advance team, experts entering under international commitments.
The symbol is recorded from the sponsorship dossier; when the trip substance changes (a DN2 delegation shifting into long-term implementation work with a Vietnamese entity, for example), both the visa symbol and the labor procedure must be reassessed rather than stretching the old trip.
The sponsorship flow via the e-account
- The sponsoring company registers an electronic account on the Immigration web portal (one account per company, signed with the company’s digital signature);
- Submit the request (NA2) with a scan of the guest’s passport, stating: the checkpoint/place of visa collection, the expected entry date, the working program;
- Receive the approval (about 5 working days): the entry approval letter is the basis for the guest to collect the visa at the registered place;
- After entry: make the temporary residence declaration for the guest as required (through the accommodation facility or the online declaration system).
Three limits to remember
- The 12-month figure is the visa ceiling, not a default grant — each issuance follows the actual sponsored itinerary;
- No free conversion: a visa’s purpose may not be converted outside the cases listed in clause 4, Article 7 of the Entry-Exit Law;
- Labor is a separate procedure: the work permit/confirmation/notification analysis must run in parallel with the visa dossier for every trip with an actual working element in Vietnam — see the analysis in this article’s Q&A.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do DN1 and DN2 visas differ?
Under Article 8 of the Entry-Exit Law (as amended in 2019): the DN1 visa is for foreigners entering to work with enterprises and organizations having legal person status in Vietnam (meetings, negotiations, joint work with a Vietnamese partner/entity); the DN2 visa is for foreigners entering to offer services, establish a commercial presence, or carry out other activities under an international treaty to which Vietnam is a party. Choose the symbol by the trip’s substance from the sponsorship dossier onwards — declaring DN1 for a purely service-selling trip misstates the visa purpose.
What is the company sponsorship procedure, and how long can a DN visa last?
The Vietnamese sponsoring company opens an electronic account on the Immigration web portal and submits the entry personnel approval request (Form NA2) with the guest’s passport information and itinerary; the immigration authority decides in about 5 working days. Once approved, the guest collects the visa at a Vietnamese mission abroad or at an international checkpoint as registered. DN1 and DN2 visas last a maximum of 12 months under Article 9 — but the term granted for each trip follows the sponsored itinerary, and most short business trips are issued for exactly the working program’s days plus a reasonable margin.
With a DN visa, can the holder work in Vietnam without a work permit?
Not automatically. A visa is an entry and residence basis; the right to work is decided by labor law. If the activity in Vietnam is employment for an employer in a permit-required position, the foreigner still needs a work permit (or an exemption case) despite holding a DN visa — working without one is fined under Decree 283/2026/ND-CP. A DN visa pairs lawfully with: negotiations, meetings, signings, surveys; or short trips in exemption cases (service-selling under 3 months — a notification-only case; handling complex technical incidents under 3 months). The sponsor must review the activity’s substance before choosing the route, rather than using the DN visa as an “umbrella” for permit-category labor.
Contact us
FLAT Law Firm advises FDI companies and foreign employees on work permits, visas and temporary residence cards in Vietnam. Contact us for advice on your specific case.
This content is general information only and is not a substitute for legal advice on a specific case.
