Vietnam

The country's own registry

• Finding No published rule found as of October 27, 2026. No sex offender registry was found.

Entry and admissibility

• Law A foreigner may enter only with a passport and a visa, unless exempt, and only if none of the cases in which entry is not permitted applies (Law 47/2014/QH13, art. 20(1), as amended).
  Source: Law No. 47/2014/QH13 on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, consolidated text 30/VBHN-VPQH (2023, incl. Laws 51/2019/QH14 and 23/2023/QH15), Official Gazette (Vietnamese)
• Law Article 21 lists nine such cases. None refers to a criminal conviction abroad. They include forged papers or false statements to obtain entry papers (cl. 3), expulsion from Vietnam less than 3 years ago (cl. 5), and "reasons of national defence, security, social order and safety" (cl. 9).
  Source: Law No. 47/2014/QH13 on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, consolidated text 30/VBHN-VPQH (2023, incl. Laws 51/2019/QH14 and 23/2023/QH15), Official Gazette (Vietnamese); Consolidated text 62/VBHN-VPQH (2026) of Law No. 47/2014/QH13, incl. Laws 118/2025/QH15 and 103/2025/QH15 (LuatVietnam)
• Law The head of the border immigration unit decides refusals under clauses 1 to 6. Refusals on defence, security or public-order grounds are decided by the Minister of Public Security or the Minister of National Defence (art. 22).
  Source: Law No. 47/2014/QH13 on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, consolidated text 30/VBHN-VPQH (2023, incl. Laws 51/2019/QH14 and 23/2023/QH15), Official Gazette (Vietnamese)
• Finding No published rule found as of October 27, 2026. No official Vietnamese report of U.S. sex offenders being refused entry was found.

Visa / travel authorisation

• Policy U.S. citizens need a visa, or a pre-approval letter for a visa on arrival, and a passport valid for six months beyond the planned stay. They can apply for an e-visa online.
  Source: U.S. Department of State: Vietnam International Travel Information
  Recheck: travel.state.gov returned 403 to the build network; read from an archived copy of the page last updated July 17, 2025. Confirm against the live page.
• Law E-visas (symbol EV) are valid for no more than 90 days (Law 47/2014, art. 9(2), as amended in 2023). The e-visa portal says the e-visa can be single or multiple entry.
  Source: Law No. 47/2014/QH13 on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, consolidated text 30/VBHN-VPQH (2023, incl. Laws 51/2019/QH14 and 23/2023/QH15), Official Gazette (Vietnamese); Vietnam National Electronic Visa system (Immigration Department)
• Policy The e-visa form asks about any past violation of Vietnamese laws or regulations and warns that such a violation on a previous entry may lead to refusal. No question about convictions abroad was found in the form's text.
  Source: Vietnam National Electronic Visa system (Immigration Department)
  Recheck: The portal renders with JavaScript and its certificate chain fails some checkers; the wording was read from the site's own script. Confirm in the live form.

Registration or reporting after arrival

• Law Every foreigner staying in Vietnam must have their temporary residence declared to the local police through the person running the place where they stay. A paper declaration must reach the police within 12 hours, or 24 hours in remote areas (Law 47/2014, art. 33(1)-(2), as amended).
  Source: Law No. 47/2014/QH13 on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, consolidated text 30/VBHN-VPQH (2023, incl. Laws 51/2019/QH14 and 23/2023/QH15), Official Gazette (Vietnamese)
• Policy The U.S. State Department says guests at a private residence must register their stay at the local police station within 24 hours.
  Source: U.S. Department of State: Vietnam International Travel Information
• Finding No published rule found as of October 27, 2026. No rule requiring foreign sex offenders to register or report after arrival was found.

Residency, employment and housing

• Law A work permit application must include a criminal record certificate, or a document confirming the worker is not serving a sentence, has no unexpunged conviction and is not being prosecuted, issued by a foreign country or Vietnam within the previous 6 months (Decree 219/2025/ND-CP, art. 18(4)).
  Source: Hung Yen Provincial Portal: Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP on foreign workers in Vietnam, art. 18 (work permit file)
• Law A foreign worker must not be serving a sentence, have an unexpunged conviction, or be under criminal prosecution under foreign or Vietnamese law (Labour Code 2019, art. 151(1)(c)).
  Source: Labour Code No. 45/2019/QH14, art. 151 (conditions for foreign workers) (cited by name)
  Recheck: Cited by name; the official text of art. 151 was not read. How Vietnam treats a U.S. conviction that is old but still on record was not confirmed.

Removal, rehabilitation or waivers

• Law A foreigner may be forced to leave when their permitted stay has expired, or for reasons of national defence, security, social order and safety (Law 47/2014, art. 30(1)).
  Source: Law No. 47/2014/QH13 on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, consolidated text 30/VBHN-VPQH (2023, incl. Laws 51/2019/QH14 and 23/2023/QH15), Official Gazette (Vietnamese)
• Law Someone expelled from Vietnam is refused entry until 3 years have passed since the expulsion decision took effect. After a forced exit, the bar is 6 months (art. 21(5)-(6)).
  Source: Law No. 47/2014/QH13 on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, consolidated text 30/VBHN-VPQH (2023, incl. Laws 51/2019/QH14 and 23/2023/QH15), Official Gazette (Vietnamese)
• Law The official who decides a refusal of entry may also lift it (art. 22(5)).
  Source: Law No. 47/2014/QH13 on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, consolidated text 30/VBHN-VPQH (2023, incl. Laws 51/2019/QH14 and 23/2023/QH15), Official Gazette (Vietnamese)

What U.S. rules still apply

• Law U.S. law still applies to the trip itself: registrants must report international travel at least 21 days in advance, and the U.S. may notify the destination country before arrival. See the U.S. travel guide for the notice rule, the passport identifier and how notifications work.
  Source: ComplianceAtlas: Traveling Abroad as a U.S. Registrant

Sources

• Law No. 47/2014/QH13 on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, consolidated text 30/VBHN-VPQH (2023, incl. Laws 51/2019/QH14 and 23/2023/QH15), Official Gazette (Vietnamese)
• Vietnam National Electronic Visa system (Immigration Department)
• U.S. Department of State: Vietnam International Travel Information
• Hung Yen Provincial Portal: Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP on foreign workers in Vietnam, art. 18 (work permit file)
• Consolidated text 62/VBHN-VPQH (2026) of Law No. 47/2014/QH13, incl. Laws 118/2025/QH15 and 103/2025/QH15 (LuatVietnam)
• Labour Code No. 45/2019/QH14, art. 151 (conditions for foreign workers) (cited by name; no page confirmed)
• ComplianceAtlas: Traveling Abroad as a U.S. Registrant

Related: International guide · U.S. rules for international travel · Cruises · Case law