Latest Decree on measures to suspend departure from Vietnam due to unpaid taxes
2025/06/01
- I-GLOCAL CO., LTD. Hanoi Office
- Partner
- Masaya Sakai
In recent years, the Vietnam Tax Department, in cooperation with the Immigration Bureau, has been taking measures to temporarily suspend the departure of tax defaulters from the country. There have been several cases of Japanese people being prevented from leaving Vietnam at immigration at airports. We have previously published a related report (https://www.i-glocal.com/en/report/241011/), but Decree 49/2025/ND-CP was promulgated on February 28, 2025 and came into effect on the same day, further specifying the provisions regarding this measure. This article explains the key points of the departure suspension measures based on the latest government ordinance.
1.Those subject to departure ban measures
The Decree further clarifies the subject of suspension of departure for tax delinquency as follows:
| No. | Target group | Conditions |
| (i) | Foreigners, Vietnamese planning to emigrate, Vietnamese living abroad | No regulations |
| (ii) | Legal representative of the company |
– The company is a “company subject to enforcement” under Article 124 of the Tax Administration Law.
– Tax arrears exceed 500 million VND
– The tax payment deadline has passed by more than 120 days |
| (iii) | Self-employed/family business |
– Tax arrears exceed 50 million VND
– The tax payment deadline has passed by more than 120 days |
| (iv) | Taxpayers whose business activities cannot be verified through address registration | No regulations |
It is important to note that “delinquency” includes not only unpaid taxes but also late fees and administrative penalties.
Most of the cases in which Japanese nationals have been suspended from the country are personal income tax cases, and are categorized as “foreign nationals” under subject (i) in this Decree. The major point is that this category does not have a monetary condition such as “arrearage amount of XX or more. Therefore, as long as you are in arrears, even if it is only a small amount, your departure from Japan may be suspended.
2. Notification of departure ban and lifting procedure
(1) Notifying departure suspension
・Electronic notifications to taxpayers (e.g. eTax Mobile app, Electronic Tax Transaction Account [thuedientu.gdt.gov.vn], registered email address)
・If electronic notification cannot be sent, it is posted on the official website of the Tax Department
It is recommended that taxpayers check this website on a regular basis, as missing the notice may cause them to suddenly face problems upon departure from the country. In addition, under current practice, taxpayers are generally notified in advance of this notice. It is important not to miss such advance notice.
(2) Process for Applying Departure Suspension
・Target group (i)
If the taxpayer is preparing to leave the country, the Tax Administration immediately implements a suspension of departure. The taxpayer and the immigration authorities will be notified
・Target group (ii), (iii) , (iv)
1. Tax bureau sends delinquency notice to taxpayer
2. Failure to pay arrears within 30 days, tax authorities request immigration authorities to suspend departure from the country
As mentioned above, in the case of individual income tax of foreign nationals, the suspension of departure can be taken at the same time as the notice of delinquency. On the other hand, since the definition of “cases in which the alien is preparing to leave the country” is unclear, it is necessary to closely monitor future practical cases to see how it will be determined in practice.
(3) Procedures for Lifting Departure Suspension
Upon payment of the delinquent tax amount, the tax bureau will send a notice of cancellation of suspension of departure to the immigration authorities within 24 hours, after which the applicant can leave the country.
Conclusion
There have been a certain number of cases in which taxpayers were determined to be in arrears due to mistakes or system errors at the tax bureau, even though they had correctly paid their taxes in the past. Until now, this has seldom resulted in suspension of departure from Japan if the tax bureau is notified of the tax delinquency and the taxpayer presents his/her tax payment certificate to the bureau for correction.
To prevent sudden problems, we recommend that you regularly check your eTax Mobile application or electronic tax transaction account [thuedientu.gdt.gov.vn] for your own tax delinquencies. In addition, if you confirm that you have tax delinquencies, or if you receive a delinquency notice or communication from the Tax Department, we encourage you to immediately consult with your own company representative or an accounting firm such as ours.
*This article was translated by Yarakuzen and DeepL.
