Tạm trú is a foreigner's temporary residence declaration in Vietnam, and it is not you who makes it but whoever houses you: the owner of the apartment must declare you to the police when you move in: online right away, or on the paper form within 12 hours. It costs you nothing, takes an owner with an account a few minutes, and without that record you will not extend a visa or get a residence card later. Below: how it works, what to give the owner, how to check the record exists, and what to do if the owner waves it away. This is a description of practice, not legal advice; the law changes, and before filing anything check with the immigration office.

The rule is set by the Ministry of Public Security in Circular 87/2026/TT-BCA.

What it is and where the duty comes from

Vietnam's law on the entry, exit and residence of foreigners requires that every foreigner not staying in a hotel be declared to the police of the place where they live. A hotel does it for you at the desk; in a rented apartment it is the duty of the owner or whoever lets the place. Since 2026 the declaration is filed online in the Ministry of Public Security's shared system, tbltkbtt.bocongan.gov.vn, or its TBLT KBTT app, or on the paper form NA17 at the ward police station. Online, it is due as soon as you arrive. The paper form must reach the police within 12 hours, 24 in remote areas.

Not to be confused with three other things. A visa is the right to enter and stay. Tạm trú, the temporary residence declaration, is a record of where you live. Thẻ tạm trú, the temporary residence card, is a separate document valid for up to 2, 3, 5 or 10 years depending on the visa, for people who work, invest or are married to a citizen; it is issued by the immigration office, and it is precisely for that card that the declaration is needed. Permanent residence, thường trú, does not concern tenants.

What the owner needs from you

  • Passport: the photo page and the page with the visa or entry stamp, as a photo or scan.
  • Your move-in date and the apartment's address down to the unit number; the address under the new rules without a district, explained in our guide to the new ward names.
  • For a family, the documents of everyone, children included.

The owner enters this in the system, and that is it. If they prefer to take a paper form to the police themselves, they need your passport for half an hour; handing it over overnight is not required and not advisable.

How to check you are registered

Ask for a screenshot of the submitted declaration or a photo of the paper form with the police stamp. It is a normal request, and a reasonable owner answers it at once. The second way is to go to the ward police station yourself with your passport and ask; in Vietnamese it is "xác nhận tạm trú", a confirmation of temporary residence, and the same paper is useful for a bank or a school.

Why it matters to you

  • Visa extension, a new visa inside the country, a residence card: the immigration office looks at where you lived, and without the record it refuses or sends you to register first.
  • Checks. The police sometimes go round buildings with foreigners; an unregistered occupant means a fine for the owner and an unpleasant conversation for you.
  • Bank, school, a long-term SIM: they often ask for proof of address.

The fine for not declaring falls on the host: 3 to 5 million dong for a private owner with one to three foreigners, under Decree 282/2025/NĐ-CP. A foreigner who does not show the owner a passport for the declaration faces a fine of the same size. And in real life a missing declaration turns into your problem at your next visit to the immigration office.

If the owner refuses

It happens, most often because the apartment is let informally and the owner does not want to show the income. What to do:

  1. Remind them it is their legal duty and that it is written in the lease; how to write it in is in our guide to the lease and deposit.
  2. Offer to do it together in the system; it takes a few minutes.
  3. If the refusal is firm, go to the ward police station with your passport and lease and declare yourself; the police will accept it and talk to the owner themselves.
  4. If the refusal comes with threats, look for another apartment: an owner who hides from the police will hide from returning your deposit too.

Moving and leaving

When you change apartments, it all starts again: the new owner declares you at the new address. When you leave the country and come back on a new visa, again, even if the apartment is the same. On short trips inside Vietnam with a hotel night, the hotel registers you itself and your apartment record stays.

Everything about visas and the first documents is in our guide to moving to Da Nang; the first practical steps are in first days in Da Nang. How the whole deal runs and at which step the registration happens is on the how to rent page. For owners letting to foreigners, the procedure is on the for owners page.

Rules, fees and tariffs in this text were checked against official sources on 27.09.2026; the links sit on the document numbers. This is not legal advice, so confirm your own case with a lawyer or the authority.