Vietnam

Vietnam is a comparatively LGBTQ+- unfriendly country located in Southeast Asia, without specific legal protections for trans people. Overall, it's not a specifically attractive option -- however if you do end up here (e.g. things don't work out in Thailand) hopefully this information proves useful.

Why COUNTRY?

• Legal gender recognition: Nothing favorable
• Anti-discrimination laws: None that apply
• Public healthcare: Decent if you speak Vietnamese, except HRT. Terrifying if you don't speak Vietnamese.
• LGBTQ+ rights and community: There are no specific rights granted. There is a community (I don't know it well though)
• Immigration pathways: Yes, but it takes years, you must learn Vietnamese, and give up all other citizenship.

Why not COUNTRY?

• Legal issues: Frankly, LGBTQ+- is just not a topic of discussion here. There are not really any specific legal protections.
• Housing issues: As a foreigner, you must register your address with the police. Your landlord usually does this for you. The police may pound on your door once in a rare while. As long as your visa etc. are valid they will check it and leave without issue.
• Visa issues: Generally, Vietnam is not an easy place to immigrate to. For long term stays, what you want is a work permit or investment visa. A fairly large community of foreign residents uses a string of 3-month tourist visas. This is fine if Vietnam is just a stopgap measure, but not great for stays of 1 year or more.
• Stimulant medication, like some commonly used to tread ADHD is not permitted, even with prescription.

Political Situation for Trans People

Largely, trans people are not a subject of political discussion as far as I know.

Access to Trans Healthcare

Basically doesn't exist as far as I know.

Immigration Policy

Visas are required for many nationalities, including US citizens. You can now get an e-visa online in advance -- this is what you will generally want. They will often try to upsell you a service to cut in line at immigration. This is a real thing -- immigration lines are usually about 1-1.5 hours on entry.

Tourist visas are generally 1 or 3 months. Some people "live here" on a string of 3 month visas. It's a fragile setup -- every single person I've met on it (~30 people) gets sent home eventually. If you search online, people will tell you it's "completely OK", but that's because no one posts about being sent back home. In summary, this is a possible setup but risky if you need to stay for more than a year or two -- and there are occasional crackdowns.

Special visas that essentially equate to residency are available if you have Vietnamese heritage (colloquially called a VK or 'Viet Kieu' visa).

Work permits generally require that you possess a university degree (bring proof) and work contract with an employer. You will also undergo a mandatory medical exam, for the purposes of determining if you can reasonably fulfill your duties at work. Your employer should arrange all this -- if they say you can do it yourself, they are probably lying.

Lawyers are sometimes eligible for a special visa status.

Investment visas require starting a company. The Vietnamese government does not like shell companies -- so you cannot reasonably open a company for residency purposes. You must actively operate it, or it will be shut down. It is very hard to make money here this way, and there is no owner's draw (the company owner cannot pay themselves a salary). You also must have at least one employee. Minimum investment is around 5k USD (which remains under your control in the company), with 1-2k in legal fees besides. The tax laws are very strict and work differently than you may expect.

Investment visas for small companies get you a 1-year visa. With ~ 150k USD capital investment, you can get a 2-year residency card. With a very large investment, a 3-year card.

With a work permit or some investment visas, you may be issued a temporary resident card. These are good for 2 or 3 years. After residing on one for a while, you may move to other forms of residency/citizenship.

Medical Inadmissibility

Vietnam has immigration laws that would find people with disabilities or health challenges inadmissible to emigrate here.

Mostly, this takes place in the form of a medical exam as a requirement for work permits. It is generally a rubber stamp. However, it's at least conceivable that it could make some people inadmissible.

Permanent Residency

You may apply for permanent residency after residing here for a few years (I recall 3) under a temporary resident card. Oddly enough, the permanent residency card is not permanent -- it's like a temporary resident card, but valid for 5 years.

Citizenship Pathway

Once you have permanent residency, you may apply for citizenship. The number of applications round down to zero. I have heard of two or three -- but they were indeed granted citizenship.

You must choose a Vietnamese name, give up all other citizenship, and speak the language. A portfolio of volunteer work doesn't hurt.

LGBTQ+ Friendly Cities

What are potentially good places to live in?

• City A
• City B
• …

Top Trans-Friendly Cities

• please add

Community & Support Resources

• What local communities and support structures are there?

National Organizations

• please add

Cost of Living

• The cost of living in COUNTRY is how comparable to the US/where in the US?
• Rent is…
• Public transport …
• Healthcare is free/expensive…
• Grocery prices …
• Education is

Housing Access & Cost

• add details on discrimination in rentals if applicable
• also how easy is it to rent/buy etc

Law Enforcement ("How bad are the cops?")

• please add details, especially around safety for trans people

Censorship & Digital Privacy

• please add details

Ease of Travel to Other Countries

• What about neighboring countries, visas for those, airports to travel etc.

Animal Policies

• Is COUNTRY is pet-friendly or not
• What do you need to do to bring a pet?
• Consider adding a section on the Traveling with pets page