A foreign family brings young children to Vietnam — at hotel check-in, must a separate temporary-residence declaration be filed for the children? The answer has two parts that must be kept distinct: YES, they must be declared — but NO, not separately.
Part 1: children are covered by the duty — no age exception
Clause 1, Article 33 of the Law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam (consolidated document 62/VBHN-VPQH) provides: “Foreigners temporarily residing in Vietnam shall declare temporary residence through the person directly managing the accommodation facility…” — the subject is “foreigners” in general, with no age-based exception. No exemption for children can be found in Law 47/2014, Decree 282/2025/ND-CP or Circular 87/2026/TT-BCA.
A common confusion: point a, Clause 2, Article 7 provides that visas are issued to each person individually, except for children under 14 sharing a passport with their father, mother or guardian, for whom the visa may be issued together. So a child under 14 may have no separate passport or visa — but “no separate visa” does not mean “no residence declaration”. These are two entirely different regimes.
In addition, Clause 2, Article 21 lists children under 14 not accompanied by a father, mother, guardian or authorised person among the cases of denied entry — a child under 14 is always tied to an accompanying adult.
Part 2: declared together with the adult’s filing, no separate form
The temporary-residence declaration form (form NA17 under Circular 87/2026/TT-BCA — signed 09/6/2026, effective 24/7/2026, replacing Circular 53/2016/TT-BCA) contains a dedicated section “Children under 14 accompanying” (full name, gender, date of birth, nationality, passport number). Children under 14 are therefore declared within the form or filing of the accompanying parent/guardian — NO separate declaration form. On the Ministry of Public Security’s electronic declaration system, the child’s information is entered together with the family’s filing.
On who performs it: point dd, Clause 2, Article 44 requires presenting the passport and lawful-residence documents to the accommodation facility for declaration — for children, the parent or guardian does this on their behalf.
On timing and method: Circular 87/2026 requires declaration as soon as the family arrives at the facility, via the electronic system; commune-level police receive filings 24/7 — applicable to every temporarily residing foreigner, regardless of age.
On responsibility: the filing duty lies with the accommodation facility (Clauses 1–2, Article 33 — 12 hours for paper forms, 24 hours in remote areas); the family only needs to provide the child’s complete information and documents.
Do not confuse this with the 2020 Law on Residence
The rule that “parents declare on behalf of children under 14” in the 2020 Law on Residence applies only to Vietnamese citizens — not to foreigners. For foreigners, the sole basis is Article 33 of Law 47/2014 (62/VBHN-VPQH) as analysed above.
FAQs
Must an infant be declared?
Yes. Article 33 has no age exception; the infant is declared within the parent’s filing — no separate form.
A child with their own passport — separate or joint filing?
The law makes no such distinction; detailed practical guidance has not been verified. When checking in, families should hand over the child’s complete documents to the facility.
Can an unaccompanied child under 14 enter Vietnam?
No. A child under 14 without a father, mother, guardian or authorised person is denied entry (Clause 2, Article 21).
Need help with visas, temporary residence or work permits for foreigners in Vietnam? Reach us via the Contact page of FLAT Law Firm.
The information above is for reference only and does not constitute legal advice.
Transparency note: this article was drafted and quality-checked by the AI Legal Council of FLAT Law Firm under its internal process; it has not been reviewed by a human lawyer.
