Before you start

A temporary residence card or a visa with 12+ months remaining
Passport valid at least six months
An active Vietnamese mobile number registered to your own passport
The ward police confirmation of temporary residence, as proof of address

Step-by-step

1
Sort the SIM and the residence confirmation first
The chain runs address → ward police declaration → SIM → bank. Every Vietnamese bank sends one-time passwords to a local number and every one asks for proof of address; the police confirmation is what serves as the latter. Arriving at a branch without both is the standard wasted morning.
In personWho: YouBefore the branch visit
2
Pick a branch, not just a bank
Vietcombank, BIDV, Techcombank and VPBank all open accounts for resident foreigners, but branch practice varies more than bank policy does. In Hanoi the branches around Tây Hồ, Ba Đình and the Lotte and Keangnam towers handle foreigners daily and have English-speaking staff; a neighbourhood branch in Hà Đông may simply decline rather than work it out.
In personWho: You
3
Bring the full dossier and expect an hour
Passport, visa or TRC, work permit, labour contract, address confirmation and phone number. Opening deposits run from VND 50,000 to a few million depending on the account tier. The card and the app are usually issued the same day.
In personWho: YouSame dayOpening deposit VND 50,000–3,000,000
4
Ask specifically about the foreign currency account
As a resident foreigner you can hold a USD account alongside the đồng one, which matters if you are paid partly abroad. Non-residents are much more restricted. Ask at opening — retrofitting it later means a second branch visit and a second set of forms.
In personWho: You
5
Set up QR payments, because Vietnam runs on them
VietQR is near-universal — market stalls, bia hơi joints and taxi drivers all accept a bank-app QR transfer, and many now prefer it to cash. Once the app is working you will carry noticeably less cash than in most of Southeast Asia. Momo and ZaloPay wallets sit on top of the same rails.
Mobile appWho: You
6
Understand the rules before you try to send money out
Vietnam maintains foreign exchange controls. Remitting salary abroad requires documentary evidence that the income was taxed here — payslips, the employer's withholding statement and often the tax finalisation. Banks apply this strictly. Plan for it before you accumulate a balance you want to move.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport valid 6+ months
Temporary residence card or visa with 12+ months validity
Work permit
Labour contract
Ward police confirmation of temporary residence
Vietnamese mobile number registered to your passport

Things most newcomers don’t know

The twelve-month residence validity rule, not the bank, is what refuses you.

Under State Bank requirements applied from 2025, the major banks need a visa or residence card with at least twelve months remaining before opening a full account. That closed the old route of opening on a three-month business visa. It is not branch discretion and arguing does not help — the fix is to get the residence card moving and use a foreign card in the meantime.

Source: State Bank of Vietnam requirements / provider consensus

Getting money out of Vietnam is harder than getting it in.

Vietnam maintains exchange controls, and remitting salary abroad requires proof the income was earned lawfully and taxed here — payslips, employer withholding statements, often the annual tax finalisation. People who accumulate two years of savings in đồng and then try to move it in one transfer discover the paperwork at the worst moment. Remit regularly and small, and keep the tax documents.

Source: State Bank of Vietnam / provider consensus

VietQR made Vietnam close to cashless faster than anyone expected.

Bank-app QR transfers are accepted by street vendors, bia hơi stalls and market traders across Hanoi, settle instantly and cost nothing. It runs on the domestic interbank rails rather than on card networks, which is why it reached the informal economy so completely. Once your account is open you will use cash mainly for the older generation of vendors and for taxi drivers who prefer it.

Source: community-reported

Hanoi branch capability is geographically lumpy in a way Saigon's is not.

The head offices of the State Bank and most large commercial banks are in Hanoi, but head office is not where you open a personal account. Foreign-facing capability is concentrated in a handful of branches — Tây Hồ, Ba Đình, the Keangnam and Lotte towers — and a suburban branch may have no one who has ever processed a foreigner. Choosing the branch is more consequential than choosing the bank.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving on a tourist or short business visa and expecting to open an account.
Turning up without a Vietnamese SIM registered to your own passport.
Not having the ward police residence confirmation as proof of address.
Saving up two years of đồng and only then discovering the outward remittance paperwork.
Letting the account lapse into a frozen state after a TRC renewal you never told the bank about.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.