# AI tells a foreigner staying with a Vietnamese friend, family, or in a private homestay/Airbnb that temporary residence (tam tru) registration with police is only a hotel front-desk formality

- **ID:** `policy/tam-tru-registration-required`
- **Domain:** policy
- **Category:** administrative_barrier
- **Verification:** ai_generated
- **Fix Rate:** 85%

## Root Cause

Under Article 33 of Law No. 47/2014/QH13, any foreigner staying anywhere in Vietnam - a hotel, a private home, a homestay, or with a friend - must have the stay declared to local commune/ward police within 12 hours (24 hours in remote/mountainous areas). The duty falls on the person or establishment managing the accommodation, not the foreign guest. Since Decree 282/2025/ND-CP (effective 15 December 2025), fines for undeclared foreign guests are tiered by headcount: 3-5 million VND for 1-3 undeclared foreigners, up to 15-20 million VND for 9 or more, replacing the earlier flat fine under Decree 144/2021/ND-CP.

## Version Compatibility

| Version | Status | Introduced | Deprecated |
|---------|--------|------------|------------|
| any | active | — | — |

## Workarounds

1. **Have the host declare the stay to the local commune/ward police within 12 hours of arrival (24 hours in remote/mountainous areas), either online via the provincial immigration portal or in person using Form NA17 with a copy of the guest's passport** (85% success)
   ```
   Procedure follows Circular No. 53/2016/TT-BCA (Ministry of Public Security): submit online through the province's immigration portal (e.g. Hanoi's) or bring Form NA17 plus a passport copy to the commune/ward police station.
   ```
2. **If unsure whether a private host actually filed the registration, ask to see the police confirmation or receipt - liability and the size of any fine both depend on it, and since Decree 282/2025/ND-CP the fine scales with how many undeclared foreigners are found at one address** (60% success)
   ```
   Decree 282/2025/ND-CP (Article 21, effective 15 December 2025) sets tiered fines: 3-5 million VND for 1-3 undeclared foreigners at an address, 10-15 million for 4-8, and 15-20 million for 9 or more.
   ```

## Dead Ends

- **Assume tam tru registration is only required when staying in a licensed hotel, and skip it when staying with a Vietnamese friend, family, or in a private homestay/Airbnb** — Article 33 of Law No. 47/2014/QH13 (Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam) covers any place a foreigner stays, including private homes. Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security confirms the declaration duty applies there too, including in subletting cases, with a 12-hour deadline in normal areas (24 hours in remote/mountainous areas). (70% fail)
- **Assume the foreign guest, rather than the Vietnamese host or homeowner, is the one legally responsible for filing the tam tru declaration** — Vietnamese law places the declaration duty on the person or establishment directly managing the accommodation - the host - not the visiting foreigner. A host who fails to register a private guest is the one who faces the administrative fine. (50% fail)