Moving to Vietnam: The Complete Expat’s Guide (Visas, Costs & More)

Sometimes, when I think of Vietnam, it feels like an old photo album someone found in the attic. The pictures still show the rice fields and the gentle eyes of grandmothers, but right next to them, someone has glued a new, shining picture of a skyscraper. Welcome to a country that loves to remember yesterday while speeding full-force towards tomorrow. It is a place full of small, warm secrets lying right next to the loud, obvious wonders, and I want to show you a few of them.

Let’s start with something we all love: the taste. Sure, we all know a steaming bowl of Phở or a crispy Bánh mì that tastes better on the street than in any restaurant. But have you ever sat in a small café in Hanoi and tried Cà phê trứng, an egg coffee? It’s sweet and thick like a liquid childhood memory, a warm hug on a cool morning. And just a few streets away, in a shop you’d almost overlook, you might find elderly gentlemen sharing a sip of Rượu rắn, snake wine, with serious faces – a drink as old as the stories they tell, considered a cure-all for the world’s worries. And while they do that, the younger generation is opening a shop for plant-based alternatives because they have discovered “functional food” and a healthy lifestyle. That’s Vietnam: Yesterday and tomorrow, often in the same cup.

You see this feeling of two speeds everywhere. You see the glittering towers of Ho Chi Minh City and the bustling factories around Hanoi – those are the engines everyone knows. But the real wonders often happen in secret. A province like Bắc Giang, just quiet farmland yesterday, is a global “growth champion” today, a place where thousands of hands assemble electronics for the whole world. And while places like Phú Quốc island dream of becoming the next big trading hub, the country’s “rice bowl,” the Mekong Delta, is fighting for survival. Imagine being the farmer whose field, which has fed generations, is suddenly flooded by saltwater from the sea. It’s a quiet, tough fight against climate change. At the same time, high up in the Northern Highlands, people wait patiently for better internet, while the youth dream of the big cities.

If you really want to hear the soul of this country, forget the music from the water puppet theater for a moment. Listen closely. Do you hear that lamenting, singing tone that goes straight to the heart? That is the Đàn Bầu, an instrument with only a single string that can express more feeling than an entire orchestra. It is the voice of longing. And deep in the old quarters of Hanoi, you might still find masters of Ca Trù, an ancient form of sung poetry, so complex and valuable that UNESCO wants to protect it. And the next moment? The next moment, V-Pop explodes from the café speakers, led by superstars like Sơn Tùng M-TP. The youth celebrate the poetic rhymes of hip-hop artists like Đen Vâu and listen to the dreamy melodies of indie bands like Vũ. or Cá Hồi Hoang. The old string and the modern beat – they tell the same infinite story of love and life.

Of course, when the “Golden Star Warriors” play football – especially against our eternal rival Thailand – the nation holds its breath. That is passion, that is fire, that is a national event. But the real sport, the sport of the heart, the rhythm of everyday life, you see in every park and on every sidewalk: Đá cầu. It’s like badminton, but without rackets, just with the feet, knees, and chest. Watching children and adults acrobatically keep the shuttlecock in the air in an almost dance-like duel is pure, contagious joy of life.

You will quickly learn to take off your shoes before entering a house and to cover your shoulders in the temple. That is easy. But you only truly understand Vietnam when you understand the concept of “face.” The golden rule is not what you do, but how you make the other person feel. It’s about avoiding confrontation and not publicly embarrassing anyone. It’s about your host repeatedly placing the best pieces in your bowl during a meal, as a silent sign of affection. And it’s about never just saying “You.” You will call a waiter “Anh ơi!” – “Oh, older brother!” – or a saleswoman “Chị ơi!” – “Oh, older sister!”. In this one small word lies all the respect and familial warmth that holds this country together at its core.

And in the evening? In the evening, you might be sitting in Hanoi on a tiny plastic stool at Bia Hoi Corner, drinking a fresh, cheap draft beer and feeling close to the universe. Or you might be standing on a glamorous rooftop bar in Ho Chi Minh City, looking out over a sea of lights that looks like an inverted starry sky. But if you really want to know what the youth dreams of, you might have to go to a small club like Hanoi Rock City or Polygon Musik, where a local indie band is playing the song that is changing their lives. All of this is Vietnam. A place of contrasts, yes, but above all, a place full of heart.

It is wonderful to feel this heart. But to truly enjoy it, the foundation of your new life must be secure. Because the warmth of an “Anh ơi!” can only be truly accepted once the worries about the residence permit are settled and the employment contract is understood. This guide is your practical roadmap through modern Vietnam. We give you the tools for the bureaucracy so that you have the head and the heart free to experience the country as it should be experienced: not as a stressed newcomer, but as a welcome part of the family.