Moving to Ho Chi Minh City from Australia: the guide

Short answer: fly in on an e-visa to look around, but if you're staying to work, your employer needs to get you a work permit before you start, and everything else hangs off that.

The short version

Australians need a visa for Vietnam. The standard way in is an e-visa of up to 90 days, single or multiple entry, applied for online before you fly [1][2].
An e-visa is for visiting. Working legally means a work permit, which your employer applies for. Since August 2025 that's one combined application, decided in about 10 working days once the file is complete [3].
Whoever houses you, a hotel, landlord or friend, must declare you to local police within 12 hours of arrival in normal areas. Hand over your passport details on day one [4].
Ho Chi Minh City redrew its map in July 2025. Districts are gone on paper, replaced by wards, but everyone still says "District 1" and "Thao Dien" [5].
Register with the Australian Consulate-General in the city's centre and save its 24-hour number before you need it [6].

Pick the right way in

The visa you hold decides what you're allowed to do. Sort this first, because every other step assumes it's right.

Your situation	What you need	Key point
Scouting trip, apartment hunting, interviews	E-visa, up to 90 days	Apply on the official portal; fees quoted at US$25 single entry and US$50 multiple entry [2]
Starting a job	Work permit, then a work-related visa or residence card	Employer files 10 to 60 days before your start date [3]
Short work stints	Possibly exempt from a work permit	Under Decree 219/2025, work of under 90 days in a calendar year can be exempt, but exemptions still involve paperwork [7]
Moving with a working partner	A family-based visa sponsored through your partner	Check the current requirements with a Vietnamese embassy or consulate before you go
Visiting Phu Quoc only	Nothing, for up to 30 days	The island-only exemption doesn't cover the mainland [2]

The e-visa, done properly

The Vietnamese Embassy in Canberra points people to the government immigration portal and says it can't help with applications made through third-party websites [1]. Plenty of lookalike sites charge extra for the same form. Use the official one, give yourself a week, and keep your passport valid well beyond the visa end date. Processing normally takes a few working days, longer if you need to correct something [1].

Don't work on the wrong visa

Smartraveller is blunt about this: keep a valid visa and work permit, and never hand your passport to an employer, even for "safekeeping" [10]. Working without a permit can lead to fines, detention and, in a dispute, an exit ban that stops you leaving the country [10]. If a job offer says "come over on a tourist visa and we'll sort it later", treat that as a red flag.

Your first fortnight

Once you land at Tan Son Nhat, the city moves fast. Here's a sensible order of jobs.

Check into short-term accommodation. A serviced apartment or hotel gives you two to four weeks to look around, and the provider handles your police declaration [4].
Get a local SIM. You need a Vietnamese number for ride-hailing apps, banking, deliveries and half the forms you'll fill in. Bring your passport to the shop.
Download Grab and a map app. Grab covers motorbike taxis, cars and food delivery, and it's how most newcomers get around before they work out the buses and metro.
Ride the metro once. Line 1 opened in December 2024 and runs 19.7 km from Ben Thanh in the centre out past Thao Dien and An Phu to Suoi Tien [8]. If you're house-hunting in the east, it shows you the commute.
Open a bank account. Banks will want your passport, a valid visa or residence card and often your work permit or contract. Ask your employer which bank its payroll uses.
Find the place and sign a lease. Check that your landlord will declare you to police within the deadline. If they won't, walk away; staying at an undeclared address isn't allowed [9].
Sort health cover. Private international insurance is worth having from day one. Check what your employer provides and whether it covers medical evacuation.
Tell the Consulate you're here. Note the address and emergency numbers below.

The new map: wards, not districts

On 1 July 2025 Ho Chi Minh City absorbed Binh Duong and Ba Ria–Vung Tau provinces. The city roughly tripled in area, and the old 22 districts were abolished and replaced with 168 ward and commune units [5].

What that means for you:

Your lease, bank and visa documents will use ward names. District 1 is now split into wards including Sai Gon, Ben Thanh, Tan Dinh and Cau Ong Lanh. The old District 2, Thao Dien included, sits in An Khanh ward [5].
People still talk in districts. Hotels, blogs and taxi drivers use the old names, and neighbourhood names such as Thao Dien and Phu My Hung have kept their identity [5].
Double-check addresses. When you give an address for official paperwork, ask the landlord for the current ward version.

Where Australians tend to live

There's no single "Aussie suburb", but expats cluster in a few areas. We've used the names people actually say, with the new ward in brackets where it helps.

Area	What it's like	Good for
Thao Dien, old District 2 (An Khanh ward)	Leafy, riverside, cafes, international schools nearby, metro stations at Thao Dien and An Phu [8]	Families and first-timers who want an easy landing
District 1 (Sai Gon, Ben Thanh wards)	The centre: offices, bars, the Consulate, walking distance to everything [5]	Singles and couples who work in town
District 3	French-era streets, local food, a bit calmer than District 1	People who want city living with less tourist buzz
Binh Thanh	Between the centre and Thao Dien, newer high-rises, mid-range prices	Commuters who want value
Phu My Hung, old District 7 (Tan My and nearby wards)	Planned, wide streets, big apartments, more international schools [5]	Families who want space and order

Get the full renting guide for Ho Chi Minh City before you sign anything.

Laws that catch Australians out

Most of daily life feels relaxed. A few rules don't.

Drugs. Penalties are severe even for small amounts, and drug offences can carry the death penalty. It's an offence to have drugs in your system, including from use outside Vietnam [10].
Vapes. You can't bring in, sell or use vaping devices or e-cigarettes [10].
Gambling. Illegal outside government-licensed casinos [10].
Photos and borders. Don't photograph military sites or border crossings [10].
Marriage. Marrying a Vietnamese citizen needs formal government approval plus a Certificate of No Impediment from the Australian side [10].

Read the latest Smartraveller advice for Vietnam before you go and subscribe to updates. Typhoon season also brings flooding, and the Consulate regularly reminds Australians to check their insurance and follow local forecasts [6].

Your Australian lifeline in the city

The Australian Consulate-General is on the 20th floor of Vincom Center, 47 Ly Tu Trong Street, Sai Gon ward. It covers the south of Vietnam, offers passport and notarial services by appointment, and has a 24-hour emergency line on +84 28 3521 8100 (or +61 2 6261 3305 from abroad) [6]. Bring your passport: building security is airport-style and you need a QR code to get through the lift gates [6].

The Consulate has also warned that scammers spoof its phone number. It will never ask for banking details over an unexpected call [6].

For everything social, from footy to the Consulate's annual Taste of Australia, see our guide to Aussie life in Ho Chi Minh City. And if you want to ask someone who has done the move recently, join Cooee Vietnam, our Facebook group for Australians in Vietnam.

Before you book the flight

Some things are much easier to sort from home:

Degree and police check. Your employer will likely need your qualifications and a criminal record certificate for the work permit [3]. Ask exactly which documents they need and whether they must be legalised, then do it before you leave.
Health certificate. Under the 2025 decree, foreign health certificates are accepted where Vietnam has a recognition arrangement with the issuing country [7]. Ask your employer which clinic to use.
Tax residency. Leaving Australia doesn't automatically make you a non-resident for tax. Read our guide before you go.
Banking. Keep at least one Australian account open and online access working.

Moving to Ho Chi Minh City: visas, your first fortnight and where Aussies live