(Livecast) Long-Term Visas in Southeast Asia

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2. I have questions about the Vietnam business visa. On the surface it seems like an easy way to avoid having to leave the country BUT I worked for IBM and obtained many business visas in my career although never for Vietnam. What they all have in common is the requirement for a letter of invitation and a Business cover letter. From one of the e-VISA sites it appears Vietnam’s business visa is the same:

   “1.4 Business Cover Letter
   Applicant must submit a Business Cover Letter (BCL) from a US company. The BCL must be an original, signed document on company letterhead indicating the date, duration and purpose of travel, list a contact and address at the host company, and observe moral and financial responsibility for the applicant. Please review the example below.

   Click here to view example Business Cover Letter
   1.5 Letter of Invitation
   Applicant must submit a Letter of Invitation from the inviting party or organization in Vietnam. The letter should introduce the applicant, detail the purpose of the trip to Vietnam, provide dates of the visit and be signed by a company officer with contact details included.

   Scanned/printed copies are generally acceptable.”

   This is rather run of the mill for American business travellers to China, Russia etc..

   Now, for a regular expat traveller, what “Business” in Vietnam is going to invite them, tell them your travel dates, etc.. and what USA company is going to ASSUME MORAL AND RESPONSIBILITY for your actions while residing there? You could set up a legal corporation I suppose and have office depot create a cover letter for you but…hmmmm.

   It is possible of course for the Vietnam Visa agency itself if it is a “business” located in VN or if they find or create a business there willing to create the letter of invitation and they find some willing US partner or agent (or even use your US “corporation) who could send some business cover letter and even accept legal responsibility for you, the business visa could be issued (but I don’t think so).

   However, if this came to be a commonplace means to get around one of their immigration laws, something tells me they would recognize that scheme rather quickly and immediately shut it down.

   So I am not convinced YET if a Business visa is a “practical”, achievable way of getting around the monthly exit requirement unless you are actually associated with a real business both in the USA and there. And if you have a spouse, even if you worked for a business like IBM Vietnam or any legal business there, and IBM Vietnam or one of its customers sent you the cover and invitation letters (on company letterhead as required), the invitation will not include your Philippine spouse. I tried that with my wife when IBM China could invite only me because only I had a business purpose. However, you are quite knowledgeable about these things and you may have additional information. I would appreciate your comments (I am an expat currently in the Philippines). Thanks!

   1. @John S OK, so you just select “Business Visa” when you arrive in VN and that is it. You get 1 year, do not have to leave every month like the non-business peons. For the countries I am familiar with, you must get your business visa from their Embassy and obtain said letters which could be a major obstacle. Believe me, China will NOT let accept phoney companies created for the purpose of skirting their immigration laws. Vietnam allows you to do it online and at arrival, Sounds good BUT…is there a catch? Maybe the much higher cost of the Business visa is a money maker for them and they don’t care if you do not really have “business” as your first priority. I will say that “logic” is not necessarily a common trait amongst Asian immigration laws and my problem might be that I am trying to make too much sense out of it LOL.

   2. Open an LLC in the USA and make contact with a Vietnamese company that would be interesting in meeting you. It’s really a simple process. Consider something that you may import from Vietnam and resell in the USA.

   3. Visa on Arrival does not require that..only through the embassy..so if you go through an online agent and pick up on arrival then no letter needed..can follow up and confirm through the many agencies that are out there online who have chat option

3. Reekay! Honored by the mention brother!!! Really appreciate it. As you know, the wrong data, mainly opinion, so common from too many Other YT channels about Thailand bugs me. It’s hardly perfect over here but making the process harder than it needs to be is unnecessary! Anyway I can help, happy to. Live the Dream. Peace.

4. Would it not be risky to apply for a VN Business Visa with no intention of doing a business? I think considering this new change there would probably be new scrutiny in checking to see that those granted are legit. Seems the easiest route would be to teach english 5-10 hours a week and then have the school arrange for a temporary residence card in which no exit would be required. Of course that would only be applicable is someone has a university degree and then complete a TEFL course

5. Thailand is wonderful memories of decades past. It’s just not the place many of us loved and hasn’t been for a long time already.

6. Spousal SRRV: I have one of those 🙂 Very nice visa. If your wife were a PI citizen as she is right now, you could not apply for a spousal SRRV because she, as your spouse could not obtain an SRRV visa; she is already a citizen. My wife is a US citizen where we both have come to retire here. The best you can do is apply for a 13a spousal visa. My wife did not become a dual citizen for that (no SRRV) and other reasons. SRRV is much better because you never have to enter a bureau of immigration office during and after acquiring it and a host of other reasons. HOWEVER, you can enter in on the 1 year balikbayan privilege as ou said, even if she becomes a US citizen as she will always be a balikbayan when returning here, citizen or not. For this reason, “the balikbayan SRRV” is a rather inaccurate term.

7. Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA). Their office in Makati handles the SRRV visa. That is where you go instead of BI (for the 13a). It is a much nicer place than BI, located on an upper floor of the Citibank building. PRA (SRRV entity) may also have offices in Cebu.

8. Great live stream Reekay but I’m just wondering are you paying rent for your apartment in Vietnam while you out of the country ?

9. Is there a method for a US citizen, who is born in the US and US as their first and primary citizenship, to become a dual citizen of the US and Philippines. Would one have to marry a Filipina or are other methods of acquiring Philippine citizenship as a second citizenship possible?

10. If you have assets I can’t see any downside to a prenup, we never know the future and even if you trust each other how can you predict the love will last forever? It just makes sense to work out the prenup first, just like you don’t think you are going to die soon yet it still makes sense to have a will. If the downside of a prenup is that it shows distrust that’s nonsense, it just shows your not a clairvoyant and can’t predict the future.

11. We live in Dauis, Bohol and for the past three months we have been blessed to have PLDT Fiber and have been enjoying consistently 100Mbps! Prettu darn good for the Philippines or anywhere else.

    1. @007thematrix007 I disagree with this. We have a DSL line in Davao that is with PLDT and it SUCKS!!!

    2. in filipins, if u have a direct line connection to the internet (*or phone) it’s gonna be good (*similar to having a landline phone connection),…its the wireless wifi (*free or paid) that’s always the issue over there

12. You might want to go the K-1 route or possibly the spousal visa even though you don’t plan on living in the United States. There are a few benefits to this. Something could happen where you would need to go to the US for an extended period of time. If that happens, you won’t be able to take her with you. Another aspect would

    be if you wanted to travel somewhere that would require a US passport. If she doesn’t have it, you can’t go. Well you won’t be able to go together. The last reason is your mother would be able to meet her in person. Unless your mother plans to travel to the Philippines.

    1. I would have to agree with this. As your bond strengthens with your girlfriend / wife and you get some traveling time together, I think you will eventually find it hard to leave and go off on your own. Taking trips on your own will not be the same because you’re not sharing the experience with anyone. My wife went with our youngest back to the Phils once and another time for a family emergency and I can tell you it sucked for the both of us to be separated. Those are the only times we’ve spent time away from each other in 16 years.

       My wife got her US citizenship early on and it’s truly great that we have the freedom to go where we want together. We recently spent the holidays in Thailand and this summer we’ll be checking out Canada. Unless they can come to you, eventually, I think you will feel torn having to leave without your wife/ girlfriend when you’re off visiting others far away. Just something to think about as you get deeper into your relationship.

13. This retire in Asia bubble is burst. Vietnam starts 1st July 30 day boarder runs Europeans no longer welcome

14. All those new high rises will remain empty in Da Nang. Business visa is a bad idea if you get caught you will be deported.

15. She is very pretty …I am the one who talked to PaulTo throw me a bone and ended up she came on I was just hoping to get a picture of her on the cell phone.

16. To me, Thailand has always sucked big-time when it comes to their, “leave-our-country every 60-days” visa! Now, the bullet scam that sent two Americans into a Thai prison! The message seems to be clear from Thailand to foreigners: We don’t want you and don’t need your tourism dollars! Been to Thailand twice, loved it, but will NEVER return. Not worth the risk or constant border-run hassle. Poipet is a nightmare!

17. i dont trust too much Thailand law.is a pretty country also i am not excited about Pattaya and their girls ..i am more interested of Thai nature,muay thai,martial arts, food..a south american guy went to Thailand and got caught by the police selling drugs ,and he was sentenced for 50 yr in jail..I had vietnamese girlfriends in USA and they invited me to Ho Chi Min city ..but one thing ..there is no way for a foreigner to live and work in Vietnam, so i give up Vietnam..i prefer to go to Indonesia, and Philippines

    1. a foreigner can live and work in vietnam. many are doing it as english-teachers. the schools help them with the work-permit and visa.

18. Hey Reekay, this is Gio’s friend/ moderator, i missed your live stream, i will make next one for you if you need more moderators, ok take care for now

19. Any substance to the rumour that Vietnam is about to start taxing world-wide income, including for expats and retirees resident in the country for longer than 183 days? Exit-clearance will be required from the tax authorities before being permitted to leave the country.

    Thailand used to do this years ago, and it created no end of capricious fun in interpreting the regulations, and lots of arbitrary on-the-spot tax ‘assessments’.

    Forget about leaving the country quickly in the event of an emergency if this is indeed introduced.

20. Guys, forget the prenup crap. Put your assests into a Trust and you’re good to go.

    1. This! Prenups are not worth the paper they are written on especially in western societies

21. The Vietnam visa thing is crazy, what kind of 3 month visa only lets you stay for 1 month?

22. Hi Reekay, So when are you making an honest woman out of your beloved? I’ve been married for about 16 years. Never regretted a minute of it. If you leave after marrying the missus, then when you come back in, ask for the Balikbayan visa. With this visa you can stay for a year. Remember however to bring your marriage certificate to prove the matter. This visa is renewed everytime you come in.

    1. it’s only been a few months since we met. and only a few weeks being with each other in-person. far too early to be making a marriage decision.

23. Hi Reekay,
    You may already know but for me in the Philippines, I was allowed a 29 day extension after my first 30 days and then a 6 month extension after that. I was then told I could renew for another 6 months after that. I did not have the option to get a 1 year or a three year extension at that point in time. I was told I could extend another 6 months after my first 6 month extension. I was told by the officer, that there would be no issue to extend another 6 months after the first one. It seems to me, they just want to keep track of everyone. They gave me an ACR I card at my 59th day without having to ask for it.

24. Reekay, so happy for you and V! You will make a beautiful couple

25. Wow you are very lucky to find a Filipina that doesn’t want kids. I’ve dated about 30 and spoken to hundreds and asked them if they want kids. All of them said it is their dream to have a kid. It is almost impossible to find a filipina that doesn’t want kids because family is everything to them. Western women are more likely to not want kids but we all know the issues of western women…

26. If you are on fiber internet the speed is only really limited by the equipment they deploy. It may also be limited by the long haul network congestion. The bottleneck is not normally the neighborhood system if you are connected with fiber.

27. For some reason your videos always start out with chinese subtitles lol

28. Would it be wise to get married someplace other than the USA or the Philippines? Easier to get a divorce if it comes to that and maybe less chance of getting scalped by USA divorce court? Where is the safest place to get married to a filipina?

29. Not long ago there was the infamous kidnapping on Samal Island. What are you thoughts of this ever occurring again?

    1. it’s hard to say. my guess is that these incidents are a combination of intention and opportunity. best to travel with a group, not alone as an expat.

30. Things are changing all over Asia. Thailand – no more visa runs and if you want a retirement visa you need insurance as well as verifiable income. Malaysia – MM2H – income requirements have skyrocketed – over 2500 USD per month verifiable income and 100k USD+ deposit and home purchase allowed but have to be over 1mil RM (200k+ USD) minimum. Looks like its a matter of time if you have limited income and assets Asia will not be a welcoming place for too much longer.

31. Wondering, as you’ve been living in the Philippines for a number of years, why didn’t you get the SRRV visa? Did you ever consider it? Or is it because you always planned to marry a filipina? And if a guy has a lot of assets to protect, instead of getting a prenup, is another choice to just not marry his filipina gf and get the SRRV instead? The yearly cost of the SRRV seems less than the tourist visa. SRRV has many advantages, so it seems like a good choice if staying there a long time. Only disadvantages I see is the initial cost ($1400) plus the required deposit. The deposit actually might be a good thing, because it assures you have enough funds in the future to leave the Philippines… or it can be converted to buy a condo or a long term lease on a house/lot.

32. Hey, she’s a cutie.

33. tldr; do you know where the actual definitive Vietnam visa information can be found?

    I have heard that the Vietnam visa situation has changed to no more than 30 consecutive days at a time, but I can’t find any actual information on it. I can’t seem to find any consistent information about Vietnam visas anywhere. On the government site, the regulation is from 2014 and doesn’t mention anything about the 1 year US tourist visa at all. It says DL(tourist) visas are valid up to 3 months. Did you get a DL visa when you got your 1 year visa?

    I’ve also heard about the 90 day visa run thing for a long time, but I don’t consider visa approval letter sellers, lonelyplanet or tripadvisor reputable sources. I don’t even see the 30 day thing on those sites either. What reputable/definitive source is there to find this information? I can’t believe I keep clicking around and around and can’t seem to find an actual answer on a public policy.

34. You mentioned if you are in an age gap relationship, people, especially in the US, will ask her if he is your father. I ask my GF if her family (she has a big one here in Bohol) ever said anything about our 20 year age gap & she said no. She said the tricycle driver when we came from Cebu to Bohol ask, is he your father. I said, he must have thought you were cute & that is why he asked. She said how do you know that. Well because I have a thin pointed nose, I am a lot paler, taller then most Filipinos & U look like a true Filipino. He would have to be crazy to think I was U r father. So why would he ask U that?

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