Seeking Info about resedency card - after marrying vietnamese local

Many foreigners married with Vietnamese woman with the intention of get a TRC / PRC or even citizenship 
Unfortunately spouse married with a Vietnamese citizen only get a VEC (Visa Exemption Certificate) for 5 years maximum which you should renew each 3 months!
Yeah,  foreigner husbands are considered as  'visiting husband' here 
At present law doesn't  give much privilege to a foreigner husband. Same as tourist, just visit sometime....

Thanks for your advice charmavietnam
Do you know if the provincial offices should be able to do that or does it mean a trip to HCMC every time?

Rikka wrote:

Do you know if the provincial offices should be able to do that or does it mean a trip to HCMC every time?

The three-month renewals should be done at the Immigration Office of whatever province you are residing in. Don't be tardy - late registrations can cost you penalties or bribes.

My wife is Vietnamese and I have a 5-year Visa Exemption, meaning I don't require a visa, but I have to get my passport re-stamped at the immigration office every three months (exactly like Jaitch is saying). I am going through the first round of it now. I went to the immigration office, they gave me a paper to fill out, and told me to get it stamped by my local police station and bring it back. After that they said they would re-stamp my passport.

I also asked them about dual citizenship for me and my daughter (who is half-Vietnamese, but 100% American). The lady said that they only give dual citizenships to foreigners who are willing to destroy their old passport and that dual citizenships are only allowed for people who hold a Vietnamese passport first and then gain another passport. I'm not sure if that is true or not, but that is what they told me.

I don't know what the differences between temporary residency, permanent residency, and a Visa Exemption are.

Ok, great.
Here's a question for ya; if the VEC is valid for 5 years (renewed on 3 month periods) and allows you to "multi-entry" status, what would happen if I was to go overseas for a period longer than 3 months? Would it lapse? Would I then have to reapply for either the VEC or a visa before coming back to Vietnam?
Very interesting...

Thanks again for your help

Hey jakejas,

thanks for your info,
Could you tell me please, are you in HCMC all the time? Was it a difficult process to get the VEC originally ?

I live regionally so I'm hoping that my stamped certificate (proof of address) from the local police will be good enough as evidence of where I live, rather than coming and going to get the VEC application form stamped. If not I'll just have to bus back and forward to complete the process I guess.

I know what you mean about not knowing what to believe when being told about the legal practices and bureaucratic processes, I have had a great deal of difficulty here being told a different thing each time I return to the regional immigration office. They usually start with - we don't do that here, must go to HCMC - even when the previous visit they advised to the contrary. Let alone the different versions from the different departments. Its been a wild ride.

Rikka wrote:

Ok, great.
Here's a question for ya; if the VEC is valid for 5 years (renewed on 3 month periods) and allows you to "multi-entry" status, what would happen if I was to go overseas for a period longer than 3 months? Would it lapse? Would I then have to reapply for either the VEC or a visa before coming back to Vietnam?
Very interesting...

Thanks again for your help

Rikka his a link with most if not all of the answers to your questions:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=369913

Short answer to this question is no it won't lapse no matter how long you stay out of VN as long as you return before the certificate expires.

I got my VEC in the Vietnamese consulate in Houston, Texas, USA because I was living there at the time. The process for me was as easy as getting a travel visa, just a little more expensive. I had to bring translated and notarized copies of my marriage license and my wife's passport to the office, fill out some paperwork, pay some money, and then I came back several weeks later to pick it up. I'm not sure if the process is more difficult in Saigon or not.

You can leave Vietnam for any length of time and still be admitted back in as long as your VEC hasn't expired.