How to Send Money Home from Vietnam: Bank Transfers and Remittance

Once your salary starts landing in a Vietnamese account, the next question is how to send money home from Vietnam without it getting stuck. The good news: the law gives foreign workers a clear path to move lawful earnings abroad. The catch: each bank runs its own document review, the rules are about proving the source rather than ticking a fixed list, and a lot of online advice quotes fees or apps that don’t apply to a Vietnam-to-overseas transfer. Here’s how it actually works in 2026 — with honest gaps flagged where there’s no universal rule.

The legal route, in one rule

The core provision is Decree 70/2014/NĐ-CP, Article 7.3: a non-resident or a foreign-resident individual who holds foreign currency in an account, or has lawful foreign-currency income, may transfer or carry it abroad — and if they have lawful VND income, they may buy foreign currency to transfer or carry abroad. In plain terms: if your income here is lawful and you can show it, you can send it home.

Two things this rule is not: it’s not an unlimited “convert any VND balance I like” entitlement (it’s a documented-income route), and it doesn’t remove your bank’s compliance review. The decree gives the right; the bank verifies the source.

Who can use the foreign-worker route?

Article 7.3 covers both non-resident and foreign-resident individuals, so don’t assume only short-term non-residents can repatriate earnings — a long-staying foreign employee is included too. What matters is the type of money:

• Salary and wages — the straightforward case this guide focuses on.
• Other income — business profits, investment returns, inheritance, or property-sale proceeds follow different document and approval routes. If you ever sell a home here, the remittance question is separate (and another reason to plan it early — see can foreigners buy property in Vietnam). Don’t apply a salary checklist to those.

The documents your bank will want

Under Circular 20/2022/TT-NHNN, an authorised bank must set its own internal procedure, specify the documents for your exact transaction, check the purpose, and make sure the amount sent doesn’t exceed what your documents support. So there is no single national checklist — but in practice, expect to provide:

• Identity + status — your passport and proof of foreign nationality / non-resident or foreign-resident status.
• Proof of lawful income — for salary, a current public Vietcombank guide (dated May 2025) gives the working example: your employment contract and a salary-account statement. The amount you can send is determined by that evidence of lawful income, not a fixed public ceiling.
• Beneficiary details — the recipient bank name, SWIFT/BIC, the recipient’s name exactly as the receiving bank holds it, account/IBAN where used, and the destination country.

For accurate tax handling of that income in the first place — which is what makes your “lawful income” clean and easy to evidence — see income tax for expats in Vietnam.

Sending by bank (SWIFT) transfer

The mainstream route is an outward SWIFT wire from your Vietnamese account. Vietnamese banks can send to recipient banks across 200+ countries in a wide range of currencies. The thing to understand is the difference between processing time (when your bank starts the transfer — Vietcombank states “from about 30 minutes”) and delivery time (when it actually lands), which depends on the currency, the correspondent banks in the chain, and the receiving bank. No bank promises a guaranteed end-to-end arrival, so don’t tell family back home it’ll be there “tomorrow.”

Fees are bank-specific and change — here are two published examples (mid-2025, excluding VAT) to show the shape of the cost, not a market rate:

Notice the visible transfer fee is only part of the picture. The amount your recipient actually receives is also affected by correspondent (intermediary) bank charges and the exchange rate applied at the moment of conversion. Before you send:

• Ask for the all-in quote, not just the transfer fee.
• Confirm who bears the correspondent charge — sender pays (OUR), beneficiary pays (BEN) or shared (SHA).
• Check the conversion rate at the same time — the FX spread is not a fixed published figure, so it’s part of comparing the real cost.

Can you use Wise, Remitly or another app from Vietnam?

This is where a lot of guides quietly mislead. As of 2026, there is no officially verified standard route for funding a transfer with a Vietnam VND salary/account and sending it abroad via Wise or Remitly:

• Wise lists VND only as a “within Vietnam” local-transfer currency, and Vietnam isn’t on its list of places where you can open/hold a Wise balance. That points to domestic use, not a Vietnam-to-overseas salary route.
• Remitly’s Vietnam page is a receive-money-in-Vietnam page — i.e. the inbound direction, not sending out.

That doesn’t mean an app will never work for your specific profile — availability can depend on your registered residence, an existing account and the funding method — but verify it inside the app for your own account before relying on it, and don’t assume an app is automatically cheaper or that it sidesteps Vietnam’s source-of-funds and foreign-exchange rules. It doesn’t.

Taking cash out of Vietnam

Carrying cash is a fallback, not a default. When entering or leaving Vietnam, you must declare to customs if you’re carrying more than USD 5,000 (or equivalent) in foreign cash, and/or more than VND 15,000,000. On departure, carrying above the threshold generally requires a certificate from an authorised bank or State Bank approval (unless you’re re-carrying an amount you previously declared on the way in).

Is the money taxed again when you send it?

Sending money abroad is not described in the foreign-exchange rules as a separate, second income-tax event. The real question is whether the underlying income was correctly handled for tax and whether the bank can verify a lawful source. So remittance paperwork and tax paperwork are linked — not because remitting is taxed, but because clean tax and payroll records are exactly what make your transfer go through smoothly. (Get the tax side right first: income tax for expats in Vietnam.)

Mistakes that delay transfers

• Showing up with no source documents. Rebuilding months of payroll evidence after the fact is painful — keep your contract, salary statements and account history together.
• Trying to remit more than your documented income. Banks must check the amount doesn’t exceed your records; over-asking gets the transfer queried or refused.
• Assuming tax proof is always — or never — needed. It’s not a universal requirement, but a bank can ask for it case by case. Don’t be surprised either way.
• Treating a Wise/Remitly “Vietnam” page as outbound support. Check the actual send-from-Vietnam direction in-app.
• Reading only the transfer fee. Correspondent charges and the FX rate can move the real cost more than the headline fee.
• Promising an exact arrival time. Processing start ≠ delivery; the correspondent chain decides.
• Carrying cash without checking the rules. Above USD 5,000 / VND 15m needs declaration and possibly a bank certificate.

Where to rent while you settle work and banking

Where you live doesn’t change your right to remit — that turns on lawful income and your bank’s process, not your neighbourhood. But a convenient branch and a settled routine make gathering documents easier, and the areas most working expats choose are:

• District 1 — central, handy for payroll onboarding and branch visits.
• Binh Thanh — close to the CBD work corridor without District 1 prices.
• Thao Dien — the established expat hub, where many start on a long-term lease.

If you’ve only just arrived, the opening a bank account and work permit and TRC guides cover the steps that come before your first transfer home.

Frequently asked questions

Can foreigners legally send salary out of Vietnam?

Yes. Under Decree 70/2014/NĐ-CP, Article 7.3, a non-resident or foreign-resident individual with lawful income can transfer it abroad — and can buy foreign currency to do so where the income is lawful VND. You’ll go through an authorised bank, which verifies the source.

Do I need a work permit to remit money home?

Not as a universal rule. The verified requirement is proof of lawful income plus your bank’s document review. Some banks may request a work permit, TRC or tax records as extra source-of-funds context, but that’s bank-specific — confirm with yours.

Do I have to show I paid Vietnam tax before transferring?

Not as a blanket national requirement, and current-transaction rules don’t demand tax-completion proof. But a bank can ask for tax documents in an individual case, especially for larger or unusual amounts — so keep clean records.

Can I use Wise from Vietnam?

Not as a verified standard route in 2026 — Wise lists VND only for transfers within Vietnam, and Vietnam isn’t on its hold-a-balance list. It may work for a specific account/profile, so check inside the app for your own case rather than assuming.

How much cash can I take out of Vietnam?

You must declare carrying more than USD 5,000 (or equivalent) in foreign cash and/or more than VND 15,000,000. Departing above the threshold generally needs a bank certificate or State Bank approval. Treat cash as a fallback, not a default.

Is there a maximum I can remit?

No single numeric cap was found in the rules. The practical limit is the amount your lawful-income documents support, together with your bank’s compliance review.

Key takeaways

Settle in first — we’ll help you find the right place

A stable home and a nearby branch make the banking admin far easier. As tenant-side agents we charge you no fee — browse District 1, Binh Thanh and Thao Dien apartments, or tell us your budget and workplace and we’ll shortlist it.

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Related guides:

• Income Tax for Expats in Vietnam
• Opening a Bank Account in Vietnam
• Work Permit in Vietnam for Foreigners