Do long-term tourists in Vietnam (staying 183+ days via visa runs) have to pay Vietnamese taxes?
Based on 1 discussion with 2 participants · Last activity: 23 days ago
TL;DR
Technically, spending 183+ days a year in Vietnam makes you a tax resident even if you're there on tourist visas with visa runs, but there's no clear enforcement mechanism for foreigners with no local income — in practice nobody actually pays this tax.
What the community said
There's a legal inconsistency in Vietnamese law: a tourist can live in the country for years via visa runs, remaining formally a tourist, while technically meeting the tax residency criteria (183+ days/year). The rules for gaining/losing this status are publicly searchable online.
25 days ago 183 days/year threshold
One expat is skeptical about the actual risk: they've heard 'the tax authority will get you' warnings in multiple countries, but no one can explain the mechanism — how would a local tax inspector prove foreign income exists if there is none on paper.
25 days ago
Clarification on the debate: the point wasn't that you must pay tax on savings, but that tax residency status technically kicks in based on length of stay — even if you're formally a tourist due to visa runs, the legal gray area remains.
25 days ago