5 years visa exemtion

It used to be that anyone wanting to stay in Vietnam for a long time  could just get a 3 or 6 month tourist/business visa and extend it indefinitely.  Many expats have stayed in Vietnam for years using this method.  However, in the past year there seems to be a concerted effort by the Vietnamese Government to crackdown on undesirables which includes backpackers,  illegally employed Chinese/non-Vietnamese Asians, and Africans that are accused of propagating drugs and prostitution.
There seems to be two goals for this recent crackdown:
1.) To control (and get an accurate count of) the number of foreigners  in the country by forcing them to the border checks.
2.) To get rid of foreign workers/cheap labor that take jobs away from the local people and money out of the country.
Nowadays, most people entering Vietnam can only obtain 1 month/3 month tourist visas which they can at most renew twice from within Vietnam for a maximum 9 month stay in Vietnam.  This is a major issue for retired expats that have chosen to settle in Vietnam and for foreign English teachers without a work permit.  I have heard that it may be possible to get a new tourist Visa once you are out of the country.but it is a risky proposition since there is no guarantee that once you leaveyou will be able to get back in.  As suchmany people that have lived in Vietnam for years suddenly have to think about possibly having to move somewhere else.
Of course, If you have a work permit, you can stay as long as your permit allowshowever work permits are not easy to come by.  If you are employed in Vietnam, it is the responsibility of your employer to obtain a work permit for you.  Many employers are not willing to go through the trouble and expense (about $500) of filing for a work permit, except for their most valued employees.  I am not going to delve into the process of what it takes obtain a work permit since many other Expat.coms have already expounded on this issue.   Work permits are only valid for 12 monthsso you will have to go through the entire process yearly.
If you or your parents were born in Vietnam or if you are married to a current or former Vietnamese citizen, you do have another option if you wish to stay in Vietnam for an extended period of time..its called the 5 Year Visa Exemption (Mien Thi Thuc).  In an effort to boost the number of overseas Vietnamese that come to Vietnam and infuse the country with money and investments.in 2007, the Government of Vietnam passed a bill which allows people who meet specific conditions to stay in Vietnam for 5 years (90 days continuous) without being required to have a Visa.  This is akin to having a 3 month multiple entry Tourist Visa that is valid for 5 years.  If you meet the criteria, the cost to obtain a 5 Year Visa Exemption is only $20 for the first certificate and only $10 to renew it thereafter.  For detailed information on how to obtain the exemption certificate go to:
http://mienthithucvk.mofa.gov.vn
The 5 Year Visa Exemption is  great if you regularly travel to Vietnam to vacation or visit relatives and you dont want to apply for Visas each time.  The only problem is that the certificate states that you can only stay 90 days continuously in the country.which means that you must leave the country at least 4 times each year. A few people with the Visa Exemption have been taking short vacations every few months due to the 90 day stipulation. However there was a way to extend your exemption from within the country. They used to allow extensions for up to 1 year.but recently due to the crackdown on foreigners in Vietnam, the maximum extension allowed is capped at 90 days