How to Extend a Visa in Da Nang: Step by Step (2026)

A Vietnam visa extension costs US$10 and takes up to 5 working days from a complete file, per Law 47/2014/QH13, Article 35(3). You cannot file alone: a sponsor, a company or close relative, files form NA5. A 45-day visa-free entrant may use the same route; the office decides case by case.

Which case are you?

• If an organisation or an individual invited or sponsors you → the sponsor files form NA5 with your passport; you do not file. The government fee is 10 USD per extension, and the office has up to 5 working days once the file is complete.
• If a Vietnamese relative sponsors you → they must be your grandparent, parent, spouse, child or sibling, with proof of the relationship. A friend does not qualify.
• If nobody sponsors you → the law gives you no way to file alone. The route left is to leave and re-enter: a visa run, with a new e-visa, which is issued only to foreigners who are abroad, not to someone staying in Vietnam.
  • New e-visa yourself: US$25 for a single entry; the office decides in no more than 3 working days from a complete application and the paid fee. It is only for a new entry, so you must leave Vietnam first. See the e-visa guide.
• If you hold an e-visa → the route is a new sponsored visa for e-visa holders inside Vietnam, not an extension of the e-visa. Law 23/2023/QH15 lets e-visa holders in Vietnam be considered for a new visa if a sponsor invites or guarantees them.
• If you hold a 5-year visa-exemption certificate (overseas Vietnamese and relatives) → an extension of up to 6 months may be considered, with a sponsor in Vietnam and a valid reason.

If you entered visa-free for 45 days → the same sponsor route applies. The law says these entrants may be considered for a stay extension, and the procedure’s eligibility text asks for a visa only “unless exempt”.

Still open: whether an e-visa holder can use NA5 instead of a new sponsored visa.

Two procedures, one common mix-up

“Extending a visa” in Da Nang usually means extending the temporary stay (gia hạn tạm trú): pushing out the dates on the stay already granted. That is a different procedure from a temporary residence card (thẻ tạm trú), a physical card some foreigners hold.

The forms don’t overlap: a stay extension runs on form NA5, a temporary residence card runs on NA6, NA7 or NA8. English translations flatten both into “temporary residence”, which makes the two easy to confuse.

The NA5 form itself changed partway through this year, because Circular 70/2026/TT-BCA, in force since 1 July 2026, revised the NA-series forms, NA5 among them.

The Gazette listing below shows the circular’s title and dates, but the clause that revises NA5 sits inside the circular’s own text, further down the page than this screenshot goes.

The Ministry of Public Security’s own procedure page hasn’t caught up yet. Its dossier list still names NA5 as the form issued with Circular 22/2023/TT-BCA, so a form downloaded from there may be the pre-July version.

No route that starts with you alone

Article 35(1) of Law 47/2014/QH13 puts the request in the hands of the organisation or individual that invited or sponsored you. The clause applies to foreigners staying in Vietnam generally; holders of the 5-year visa-exemption certificate follow a separate rule, covered below. Under Article 35(2), that sponsor sends the written request, with your passport, directly to the authority.

Your sponsor is the organisation or individual who invited or is sponsoring you. A Vietnamese friend can’t do it: procedure 1.001146 limits Vietnamese-citizen sponsors to a grandparent, parent, spouse, child or sibling, with proof of the relationship. Other relatives are not on that list.

The clock: five working days once your file is complete

A Vietnam visa extension is considered within 5 working days of a complete file, under Article 35(3) of Law 47/2014/QH13. That figure comes from the law itself, and it matches what procedure 1.001146 states on the Ministry of Public Security’s portal.

The clock starts once the passport, the current NA5 form and any supporting documents are all in, not on the day you first show up, so a missing document or a public holiday pushes the window back.

Your sponsor can file in person or online, and post is not a separate way to file. In person means the provincial immigration office, which in Da Nang is the Da Nang Immigration Office. An online file also needs your passport sent to the office by public postal service, and the result can be returned by post for a courier fee.

What it costs, and what you don’t get back

A Vietnam visa extension costs US$10 per extension, set by Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC. See the full immigration fee table for how that compares with a new visa or a temporary residence card.

Article 6(3) of the same circular is worth reading before paying, not after. The fee already collected is not refunded if the application does not qualify or the applicant refuses to accept the result. The officer asks for the fee once the file is accepted as complete and valid, so confirm eligibility and paperwork before that point.

E-visas, exemptions, and how long one extension lasts

Two points need care: who is covered, and how long one extension lasts. The 45-day exemptions come from two separate lists: 12 named countries, for any purpose, and a separate 12 European countries, for tourism only.

For the 45-day exemptions, Law 23/2023/QH15 says these entrants may be considered for a visa or a stay extension under the law.

The procedure’s eligibility wording fits that. It asks for a valid passport, a visa (unless exempt) and a temporary-stay certification from the Vietnamese authorities. It also asks that the person lives in Vietnam and is not barred from entry or under an exit ban. “Considered” means the office decides each file; no source promises approval.

For an e-visa, holders in Viet Nam may be considered for a new visa if invited or guaranteed by a sponsor in Viet Nam. Whether NA5 also works for an e-visa holder is the one point no source settles.

The second point is how long one extension lasts: no maximum is published. A 6-month figure exists, but only for a narrower route: holders of the 5-year visa-exemption certificate. That certificate is a separate document for overseas Vietnamese and their relatives, not the same as the 45-day exemption. Each entry on that certificate gets a 6-month temporary residence certificate, or less if the visa-exemption certificate itself expires sooner.

A holder who needs to stay beyond 6 months may be considered for an extension of no more than 6 months. That needs an organisation or individual in Vietnam as sponsor, and a valid reason. The rule applies only to holders of that certificate.

If you run out of time

Missing the deadline turns a paperwork task into an overstay, fined by number of days under Decree 282/2025/NĐ-CP, Article 21, in force since 15 December 2025, which replaced Decree 144/2021/NĐ-CP.

A newer decree, 347/2026/NĐ-CP, took effect on 15 September 2026. The decree amends Articles 3, 8, 10, 15 and 16 of Decree 282/2025 and leaves Article 21 unchanged, so the bands above still apply.

The officer sets the actual fine within the band, by default at the midpoint. Mitigating or aggravating circumstances move it down or up, never beyond the band. The fine jumps sharply at 16 days.

File early: the 5 working days run from a complete file, so allow that time plus a margin before your current stay ends. For everything else this cluster covers, see the visas and residence hub.

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Not confirmed: Whether an e-visa holder may use this procedure instead of applying for a new visa.

General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.

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