Foreigners' temporary-residence declarations consolidated onto a new site: where residents get stuck

Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security (Bộ Công an) has consolidated the temporary residence declaration for foreigners (khai báo tạm trú) and the lodging notification for Vietnamese (thông báo lưu trú) into a single shared website, "tbltkbtt.bocongan.gov.vn," and a mobile app, "TBLT KBTT," effective May 21, 2026. The old systems hotels and guesthouses used (such as ASM software) will be phased out in the affected areas and switched over to filings on the new system. For most travelers this is "a procedure the hotel handles behind the scenes," so it barely registers, but for Japanese who live in or stay long-term in Vietnam, this reporting duty can land on their own shoulders when they move, when a friend visits, or when they rent an apartment themselves. Here we lay out "who, by when, and where," to the extent it can be verified.

The bottom line first: if you're staying at a hotel, travelers basically don't need to do anything

In how the system is set up, the duty to file the temporary-stay declaration falls not on the foreigner themselves but on “the party managing or operating the accommodation.” Hotels, guesthouses, homestays and the like file with the local public security (the commune-level public security agency) based on the passport information they receive at check-in. All the traveler has to do is present a passport or valid ID at check-in. Even if the facility fails to file, in principle it is the facility that is penalized — the foreign guest who stayed there is not fined.

Put the other way, for stays where no lodging establishment is involved — staying at a friend's place, crashing at a relative's home, or renting and living in an apartment or house yourself — there is no one to handle this 'establishment-side reporting.' In that case, the person hosting or renting out (i.e., the property manager) bears the reporting responsibility; that is the crux of the system. This is almost always the pattern where Japanese residents in Vietnam actually get tripped up.

What changed with the May 21 consolidation

This change isn't "a new obligation added" but "two separate procedures merged into one system." Previously, the temporary residence declaration for foreigners and the lodging notification for Vietnamese were handled at different windows with different software. The core of this change is that the Ministry of Public Security has brought them together into one shared system, so it can be completed from a PC at "tbltkbtt.bocongan.gov.vn" and from a smartphone via the app "TBLT KBTT," which supports both iOS and Android.

The new system includes features that lighten the practical workload for accommodations: a function that automatically reads and enters information from photos of passports and ID cards to cut data entry, a function to manage multiple branches and properties under a single account, and two-factor authentication that reads a QR code with an authenticator app at first login. The procedures underpinning the operation still rest on the framework of Circular 53/2016/TT-BCA, which sets out temporary-residence declarations for foreigners and lodging notifications for citizens.

The rollout is phased rather than nationwide all at once, starting with seven provinces and cities — An Giang, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Phu Tho, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa and Ho Chi Minh City — plus three wards of Hanoi in the initial stage. Facilities that hold an account on the old immigration management system are told to log in with a regional abbreviation added as a prefix. For example, An Giang is “ag_,” Hai Phong is “hp_,” Bac Ninh is “bn_,” and Phu Tho is “pt_,” so an old username “abc123” is rewritten as “ag_abc123.” In areas where the system has not yet been introduced, the previous procedure remains, so the surest way to know whether your area has switched is to check the local public security’s guidance.

Deadlines and penalties: how far do the 'verified' figures go

The reporting deadline depends on how the area is classified. In ordinary areas such as cities, the guideline is within 12 hours of a foreigner's arrival; in mountainous or remote areas, within 24 hours. Because an electronic declaration can be sent instantly at check-in, this instant filing is becoming the norm in practice. As for penalties that affect travelers, it is worth knowing that filing false information on a passport or the like can bring a fine on the individual.

For facilities and managers who neglect to file, the fines are cited as based on Decree 282/2025/NĐ-CP, which took effect on December 15, 2025. The amounts under that decree are tiered by factors such as the number of people involved. The following are rough figures confirmed across multiple explanatory sources; actual application depends on the region and the case.

As a rough yen conversion at about 60 yen per 10,000 dong, 3 million dong is about 18,000 yen and 20 million dong is about 120,000 yen (an approximate rate at the time of writing; actual figures move with exchange rates). More than the amounts themselves, what benefits residents is grasping the structure: 'if the tenant is a foreigner, the landlord incurs a reporting duty,' and 'if neglected, the landlord can face a fine.' For the finer details of the decree (the exact thresholds between headcount tiers and aggravating conditions), we recommend a final check against primary guidance from the Ministry of Public Security or local authorities.

How it's viewed on the ground

In practice, before and after the switch, a few voices come up repeatedly. First, hotel operators react positively: "it can auto-extract passport details from a photo, so input is easier" and "being able to manage multiple locations from one account helps." Second, users of old accounts stumbled during the migration: "I forgot to add the prefix (like ag_ or hp_) and couldn't log in, which threw me." Third, small-scale hosts who take in foreigners through rentals or homestays said, "I didn't know I also had a filing obligation"—less an issue with the system than with awareness. There are also reports of local public security offices holding sessions for residents on how to use the new system, so the switch is proceeding with on-the-ground guidance included.

Three situations where resident and long-stay Japanese actually run into trouble

This is the main point. Let’s look concretely at the situations where a procedure you never had to think about when staying in a hotel comes back to you once you are living here.

When you move or rent an apartment yourself

If you rent and live in a place on your own, without going through a real estate agency or landlord as intermediary, someone has to file your temporary residence declaration. At a serviced apartment or condominium with a resident manager, the front desk or management office usually files it for you. When you sign, always confirm who handles the temporary residence declaration (khai báo tạm trú). If you rent a bare unit from an individual landlord, the landlord is responsible for filing, but in practice it is realistic for the foreign tenant to hand over a passport and residency documents (visa, temporary residence card, etc.) and go to the local police together with the landlord. And don't forget that if you move and your address changes, you have to file again each time.

When a friend or family member comes and stays at your home

If a friend or family member comes from Japan to visit and you put them up at your own home rather than a hotel, you become the "host." If you lodge a foreigner at your home, that stay too can be subject to notification. There's no need to get overly nervous about a short visit, but it's reassuring to understand that, in principle, "a foreigner staying somewhere other than a hotel means someone, somewhere, files a notification." For a property with a manager, it's safest to check with the management office about how to file when you host guests.

When staying in a homestay, a friend’s home, or a guesthouse

On a business trip or vacation, if you stay not at a hotel but at a homestay, a friend's place, or a family-run guesthouse, whether the establishment or host has filed under the new system is up to them. A properly registered homestay or guesthouse will handle it, but with informal person-to-person subletting the report can be skipped. To avoid trouble, it's enough to show your passport at check-in and simply ask, 'Could you file the temporary-stay declaration?' As noted above, responsibility for a missed report falls in principle on the host, so travelers themselves need not be overly anxious.

Reading it within the broader push to digitize procedures

This consolidation is one of the digital integrations of administrative procedures underway in Vietnam. Immigration procedures have been folded into the electronic ID app, vehicle inspections have gone paperless, and one procedure after another affecting residents and expats is moving online. Developments around residence and stay status areVietnam's immigration procedures consolidate into VNeID from June: what expats and companies should doSo, the big picture of administrative digitalization isVehicle inspections go paperless—Vietnam's new rule completed via VNeID from Julytouches on this as well. Read alongside the moves on the new long-term visa, you can see a trend in which the management of foreigners’ stays is converging into a single framework built around “registration, declaration, and identity verification.” Related regulatory updates areNew visa "UĐ1" of up to five years starts in July: who qualifiesis also a helpful reference.

From the lodging side, centralized management of multiple properties and automatic passport scanning ease the paperwork burden. At the same time, transition-specific snags like two-factor authentication and region-based prefixes create 'stumbling at the first login' moments. Since the reporting obligation itself hasn't actually increased, for establishments and landlords who have already been declaring properly, the reality is closer to 'only the point of contact changed.'

Practical checks residents can do now

In the end, what residents and long-term Japanese stayers need to grasp comes down to the following three points. Here's a practical summary you can act on.

Summary: travelers needn't brace themselves; if you live here, check "who files the notification"

The unification from May 21, 2026 is, for travelers staying in hotels, effectively a change where “nothing changes.” Filing is the facility’s duty, and all you do is show your passport. On the other hand, if you live in or stay long-term in Vietnam, keep the following actions in mind. First, when you rent an apartment yourself, confirm before signing “who files the temporary-stay declaration.” Second, if the property has no manager, complete the filing together with the landlord, and redo it each time you move. Third, when you put up friends or family at your home, or when you stay at a homestay or a friend’s place, give the host a quick word to confirm the filing. For the fine print of the system (the application of Decree 282/2025 or whether your area has switched to the new system), the surest final check is the primary guidance from the Ministry of Public Security or your local public security. Now that the procedure has moved online, it helps to keep access to the latest guidance via the official app “TBLT KBTT” or the site tbltkbtt.bocongan.gov.vn.

Sources

• Báo Chính phủ「Từ 21/5, khai báo lưu trú, tạm trú cho người Việt Nam và người nước ngoài trên một trang web chung」
• Bộ Công an「Hướng dẫn đăng ký, đăng nhập hệ thống khai báo tạm trú…」
• Vietnam News「How do foreign travellers declare their temporary residence in Viet Nam」
• AZV Law「Không khai báo tạm trú cho người nước ngoài bị phạt bao nhiêu?」
• Trang khai báo tạm trú / thông báo lưu trú（tbltkbtt.bocongan.gov.vn）