Do I need to register my address in Vietnam as a foreigner?

The rule is older than most people think: any foreigner sleeping at a Vietnamese address, whether a hotel, an Airbnb or a rented flat, has to appear in a temporary residence declaration filed with the police. What changed in 2026 is how it is done. A single national system has been live since 21 May 2026, and Circular 87/2026/TT-BCA, in force from 24 July 2026, makes the online declaration on the Ministry of Public Security portal the standard route. Hotels do it automatically when they scan your passport. Private landlords are supposed to, and many do not.

Who files it and when

1. The accommodation owner files, not the guest. The online declaration is due immediately on check in; paper filings at the ward police are due within 12 hours (24 hours in remote areas).
2. The penalty is on the host. Under Decree 282/2025/ND-CP, Article 21, a landlord who fails to declare pays VND 3 to 5 million for one to three foreigners, VND 10 to 15 million for four to eight, and VND 15 to 20 million for nine or more.
3. You are not fined for a landlord's omission, but you carry the practical cost: no proof of address.

Why you should care anyway

The declaration record is the document that unlocks most of the admin you will do later. Banks in Da Nang ask for proof of local address when opening an account. Licence conversion and temporary residence card applications require a registered address. A landlord who never declared you cannot produce the record when you need it.

What to do in practice

1. When you sign a lease, ask the landlord to file the declaration the same day and to send you a screenshot of the confirmation.
2. If they do not know how, point them to tbltkbtt.bocongan.gov.vn; the form needs your passport details, visa and the address.
3. Keep your rental contract, the landlord's ID number and the confirmation together. You will show them for fibre internet, a bank account and any immigration filing.
4. Each time you move, including a two week stay in Hoi An, the new host must file again.

The full sequence (declaration, SIM, bank, licence, VNeID) is in our setting up in Vietnam guide. Immigration rules change often; always confirm the current procedure on the official portal before relying on it.