海角乱伦

Interesting history from a widow of a GI and mother of a poor child. Three option for her: 1) become a stateless, 2) recover her Vietnamese citizenship, do that with an Agency and maybe the President would accept her dual citizenship . or 3) the child takes care of her mother in US. There could be a 4ta, but you said your mom leaves with friends, so maybe she doesn't have family or real states in VN to ask for a residency

Hi there, I'm hoping a US expat in Vietnam can help advise. My 90yr mom is Vietnamese but a US citizen from 1967 as she married my dad -an American GI. When my dad passed due to cancer in 2019 she went to VN on 5 yr visa to stay in her homeland as it's easier for her with her language, the food, weather and it's cheaper to live on her fixed savings BUT since she is a US citizen, it seems that every 6 months she has to leave VN in order to get her VISA stamped per VN laws. She has been taking the bus to Cambodia but these days it is really hard on her as she cannot walk and gets tired easy. I wanted to ask how US expats are able to live in VN permanently. Are you having to also leave the country every 6 months? this seems a lot. My mom is old and wants to spend her last days in her homeland, without my father, she is lost in America. They did everything together and he took care of her. I am not able to care for her in the US as I have a full time job and also I worried about not having enough $ for health care. I do not ever want to put her in a nursing home here. They are awful. At least in VN she is being cared for by friends and lives next to them. I'm hoping there's a way she can not need to leave VN every 6 months. Is there a different paper work she has to do? Thanks in advance for any kind advice. - @VNdw7

Your Mom is lucky (in a way) in that Vi峄噒 Ki峄乽 (Vietnamese Outside Vietnam) are able to get the 5-year visa exemption certificate (VEC) allowing them to stay in the country for 6 months at a time.

The great majority of foreigners attempting to live here long term are required to leave the country every 3 months to get a new 90 day tourist visa.

Anyway, there have been some recent changes by the government making it much easier for Vi峄噒 Ki峄乽 (and spouses of Vietnamese citizens) to regain their citizenship:

/en/forum/asia/vietnam/1100202-new-vietnamese-citizenship-laws-for-viet-kieu-and-foreigner-spouses.html

There is a lot of non-specific chatter in that thread but basically there is the updated law:

...and the application process:

Ironically it would be easier for her to apply for citizenship than it would be to apply for permanent residency.

Good luck to her!

(Many questions have already been answered in that other thread so please read it before you ask more questions here in this thread 馃檹)

Normally US don't request for renausing to previous citizenship . May I ask how about her original Vietnamese citizenship? Cannot she simply go to her hometown and ask for a new ID card?

Normally US don't request for renausing to previous citizenship . May I ask how about her original Vietnamese citizenship? Cannot she simply go to her hometown and ask for a new ID card? - @ajairon

I believe you are a certified "contrarian鈥�, in that, almost every time I share advice on a topic in which you believe you are well informed, you suggest that I haven't given the best answer.

That's okay. We all have our own opinion. I just wish that you would run your answers through AI so that your broken English would get translated well and not be so confusing as it was in your previous post in this thread.

Maybe you didn't read this: "My 90yr mom is Vietnamese but a US citizen from 1967"

So, this woman was born in 1935.

She obviously left Vietnam in or before 1964, because it takes a foreigner married to a US military member or veteran 3 years to become a US citizen.

Based on the past experience of people who have posted to this forum about regaining their citizenship, it seems likely that this person hasn't wanted to regain her citizenship.

That's because she has already been issued a 5-year VEC in which it was necessary for her to prove her Vietnamese ancestry.

So yeah maybe she and her friends are ignorant to the method you are suggesting and have never bothered to go to her hometown and ask about that.

But under the updated law since June 24th, there is now a system in place that doesn't even require her to be here in Vietnam.

If you would familiarize yourself with the changes in the law by reading through the links that I shared, you will see that a Viet Kieu person who qualifies for the 5-year VEC can apply for the citizenship without even needing to come to Vietnam.

So since she has a VEC and is here in Vietnam, it seems that the best route for her to go is to simply apply for her citizenship under the new relaxed procedures.

That's because she has already been issued a 5-year VEC in which it was necessary for her to prove her Vietnamese ancestry.

So yeah maybe she and her friends are ignorant to the method you are suggesting and have never bothered to go to her hometown and ask about that.

- @OceanBeach92107

Dear @VNdw7,聽 Due to the wrong interference above, I鈥檇 like to clarify the reason behind my previous question and help to other people in real difficult situations :

Perhaps you could share what criteria your mom used to get her VEC. Did she apply as a VN-citizen living abroad without a valid VN-passport?, or as a ex-VN-citizen? Another possibility is applying as a family member of a Vietnamese citizen鈥攖here are several alternatives in the how to get a VEC.

Depending on the above, it鈥檚 possible that your mom is still considered a VN citizen and may be eligible to renew her plastic ID card with chip in her hometown (or at least her birth certificate). There are still many unknowns in her case, and if she has previously renounced her VN-nationality, oh man! that will complicate everything

If she simply wants to get a permanent residence in Vietnam as a VN citizen only, that shouldn鈥檛 be too difficult with the hints in the shared link of the law above and go to the Ministry of Public Security. However, if she鈥檚 aiming to get a TRC or PRC being a U.S. citizen only, it would be impossible without a vn-family sponsor.

If her goal is to get both VN and U.S. citizenship, then better consider consulting a visa agent. They can assess her case, background, and interests to increase the chances of receiving special authorization from the President of Vietnam.

If her goal is to get both VN and U.S. citizenship, then better consider consulting a visa agent. They can assess her case, background, and interests to increase the chances of receiving special authorization from the President of Vietnam. - @ajairon

That's absolutely unnecessary, proving you didn't read the most recently updated changes to the law since June 24th, 2025.

Why do you tend to take simple answers and complicate them with maybes and might bes?

An agent is definitely not necessary at this point.

The instructions are crystal clear and only be require an estimated 105 days of patience, according to the official instructions.

Her friends can almost certainly assist her without the need to incur the cost of an agent.