Can foreigners legally work as tour guides in Nha Trang, Vietnam?

The most recent answer in the discussion (July 2026): no foreigner can legally work as a guide in Vietnam, because the job requires a guide license, and this applies even at large tour operators.

The answer came in response to a question about how tourists work at all, given that they formally are not allowed to and face fines. The practical takeaway from the discussion: if you came to Vietnam as a tourist, working as a guide is a legal problem.

An earlier comment (early July 2026) says the same: under current Vietnamese law, foreigners are prohibited from working as sightseeing guides. The author noted that a separate question is whether a travel agency would take responsibility for hiring a foreigner for this work; that does not make it permitted.

The same author mentioned that if one works in this field at all, it would only be as a guide for tour operators running package tours. Another participant later countered that a guide license is required even at large tour operators, so a foreigner does not become a legal guide there either.