City guides Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam's biggest city, with a deep coworking market, national broadband at 307 Mbps, its first metro line and a com tam lunch for VND 50,000 to 100,000. There is no remote work visa. People use a 90-day e-visa, then leave and apply again. From May to October it takes 200 to 490mm of rain a month, and Thao Dien, the expat district, floods when it rains. Since July 2025 the districts on every map have been abolished and the wards renamed.
Every figure checked 15 Oct 2026
- VND 13 to 34 million a month One-bed, District 3, Binh Thanh and District 1
- VND 1.5 to 4 million Coworking monthly
- VND 50,000 to 100,000 Com tam
- Country Vietnam
- Time zone UTC+7 12:28 there now
- Language Vietnamese
- Currency Vietnamese dong (VND)
- Plugs Type A, B and C, 230V
How far English gets you English works in coworking spaces, the Thao Dien cafes, hotels and the Grab and Xanh SM apps. It thins out in District 3 and almost vanishes in District 5, Chinatown. It stops at landlords and their contracts, ward offices, street stalls and hospital front desks. Expect to use a translation app, or a Vietnamese-speaking agent, for anything to do with a lease or paperwork.
Honestly
Is this your kind of place?
It suits you if
Remote workers who want a big, fast city that is cheap to eat in, with plenty of desks: Toong, The Hive, UpGen and others charge from about VND 1.5 million a month. It suits someone who can live in District 3 or Binh Thanh for about VND 13 to 23 million a month, who is happy on a 90-day e-visa and will leave the country every three months. British passports also get 45 days visa-free for a trial. December to April is the window.
It does not suit you if
Anyone who needs to be legal on paper. There is no remote work visa, no route from the e-visa to residence, and no clear official blessing for working for foreign clients while you are there. You leave every 90 days and apply again. Stay 183 days, or sign a fixed-term lease, and you can be taxed as a resident on worldwide income. It has highs of about 32 to 35 degrees all year. From May to October it rains 200 to 490mm a month, and the most expat-friendly district, Thao Dien, floods. Traffic means Grab rides, not walks, and a one-bed in Thao Dien can run to VND 47 million. If you want quiet, walkable streets, cool evenings or a visa you can renew from your sofa, go somewhere else.
Money
What everything else costs
| One-bed, Thao Dien | VND 26 to 47 million a month | USD 1,000 to 1,800, the dearest area. One blog only |
|---|---|---|
| Dreamplex hot desk | USD 100 to 145 a month | From Dreamplex's own site: USD 100 to 130 in Thao Dien, USD 115 to 145 in District 1. Priced in USD |
| Coworking day pass | VND 120,000 to 290,000 | UpGen VND 120,000, cirCO and Saigon Coworking VND 150,000, Toong VND 165,000, The Hive about VND 200,000 (one blog). Regus VND 290,000, from its own site |
| Metro monthly pass | VND 300,000 | Line 1, Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien. A day ticket is VND 40,000. Fares set in November 2024 |
| Grab ride | VND 15,000 to 40,000 by motorbike in the centre | The default way round. A Grab car is VND 60,000 to 120,000, a city bus VND 6,000 to 7,000 |
| Ca phe sua da | VND 20,000 to 35,000 | Iced coffee with condensed milk. A specialty roaster is VND 60,000 to 90,000 |
| Weekly supermarket shop | Price not checked | No source found |
Paperwork
Can you legally stay?
| What people use | The electronic visa (e-visa): up to 90 days, single or multiple entry. Open to all nationalities since 15 August 2023 |
|---|---|
| Minimum income | None. The e-visa has no income or savings test |
| Evidence | A valid passport, applying from outside Vietnam. No income or bank statements are asked for. The US State Department says six months' passport validity beyond arrival and two blank pages |
| Fee | USD 25 single entry, USD 50 multiple entry, set in USD. The fees now sit in Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC, in force since 1 April 2026 |
| Who qualifies | Unclear for employees, freelancers and company owners. Anyone can get the e-visa, but no official text says you may work on it, and GOV.UK says to check which visa or work permit you need. Treat remote work on it as unauthorised |
| How long | Up to 90 days. You cannot extend it from inside Vietnam unless a Vietnamese agency, organisation or person sponsors you, so people leave and apply again |
| Permanent residence | None from the e-visa. It is only for holders of state honours, experts recommended by a minister, people sponsored by a Vietnamese parent, spouse or child after three years' residence, and stateless people living there since before 2000 |
| Citizenship | Five years of permanent residence. Since 1 July 2025 people with a Vietnamese-citizen parent no longer need the five years, the language test or permanent residence. Living there three years does not by itself give either |
| Without a visa | British passports: 45 days, any purpose, until 14 March 2028. American passports: none. You need a visa or e-visa, except for 30 days or less on Phu Quoc island |
| Tax residency | 183 days or more in a calendar year, or in the 12 months from your arrival. A registered residence, or a rented home on a fixed-term lease, can make you resident sooner |
Where to live
Where to base yourself
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District 1 (now Sai Gon and Ben Thanh wards)
About VND 18 to 34 million a month for a one-bedThe centre: walk to coworking, the Ben Thanh end of metro Line 1 and everything else
The catch The city's highest prices, loud and crowded, and the night noise is worst around Bui Vien
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Thao Dien (now part of An Khanh ward)
About VND 26 to 47 million a month for a one-bed, from one sourceThe leafy expat enclave, with villas, cafes and the most English-friendly services
The catch It floods when it rains: it is one of 24 flood hotspots in the old Thu Duc area, with water up to about 30cm taking one to two hours to drain. The Saigon Bridge is gridlocked at peak hour
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District 3 (now Xuan Hoa, Ban Co and Nhieu Loc wards)
About VND 14 to 23 million a month for a one-bedCentral and leafy, one step out of District 1, with plenty of cafes and coworking spaces such as Toong and UpGen
The catch Older flats and few new builds, noisy main-road junctions, and less English
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Binh Thanh (now Thanh My Tay, Gia Dinh and Binh Thanh wards)
About VND 13 to 18 million a month in older blocks, VND 18 to 29 million in VinhomesThe best value next to District 1, with pool towers at Vinhomes Central Park and Landmark 81
The catch The big complexes are cut off from street life, with District 1 food prices inside, and the old streets are narrow and noisy
Timing
The best time to come
- Jan 32C, dry: 12mm, 2 rain days
- Feb Driest, 8mm. Tet 4 to 10 Feb 2027
- Mar 33.6C, dry at 18mm
- Apr 34.5C, rains near
- May 34.9C, hottest, rains arrive
- Jun Wet season, 224mm
- Jul 231mm, 19 rain days
- Aug 219mm, 17 rain days
- Sep Wettest, 490mm. 2026 peak tides forecast
- Oct 340mm, 16 rain days
- Nov Rain easing, 128mm
- Dec 31.6C, dry season, 41mm
Come now Fine Avoid
December, January and March are the months: dry, with highs of 32 to 34 degrees. February is the driest of all, but Tet, the Lunar New Year, is a seven-day official holiday from 4 to 10 February 2027. It is hot all year, peaking at 34.9 degrees in May, when the rains arrive. May to October brings 200 to 490mm a month, wettest in September. The city's own hazard is tidal flooding: the regional forecasters put the year's highest tides at 29 and 30 September 2026, 1.60 to 1.65m at Phu An, about 5cm above alert level 3, with parts of the city already under water. GOV.UK puts the rain season at June to September in the south. Other public holidays: Vietnamese Culture Day on 24 November 2026, and National Day from 2 to 5 September 2027.
Connectivity
The internet, honestly
That is Vietnam's median fixed download, 307.11 Mbps, from Ookla data for July 2026, seventh in the world. There is no figure for Ho Chi Minh City.
Cafe wifi is patchy: one blog measured about 34 to 166 Mbps in city cafes, against 100 to 500 Mbps in coworking spaces, and one cafe dropped nearly 11 per cent of its packets. A cafe works for about two hours with no calls. Staying all day means re-ordering every two to three hours, about VND 105,000 to 200,000 over the day. That is about what a day pass costs at Saigon Coworking, so past four hours, or once you have a call, take a desk.
Work
Remote roles open to someone in Vietnam
A remote job is not in any one city. These are roles whose employer will hire someone living here, pulled from the board as you load the page.
Eating
What to eat, and what it costs
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Com tam
VND 50,000 to 100,000Saigon's broken-rice plate with grilled pork chop, the default workday lunch
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Pho or hu tieu
VND 40,000 to 80,000Hu tieu is the southern noodle soup to try alongside pho
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Banh mi
VND 25,000 to 50,000The cheapest filling meal in the city
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Ca phe sua da
VND 20,000 to 35,000Iced coffee with condensed milk, sold on every corner
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Bar beer
VND 40,000The going rate in a bar
Days off
Worth a Saturday
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War Remnants Museum
VND 40,000, or VND 20,000 for ages 6 to 15The essential, unflinching museum of the American War. Open daily, 7:30 to 17:30
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Independence Palace (Reunification Palace)
VND 40,000 adult (the official fee, Circular 182/2016/TT-BTC; combined tickets cost more)The 1960s palace, kept as it was on 30 April 1975
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Cu Chi Tunnels (Ben Dinh or Ben Duoc)
VND 110,000 with a guide. A group tour with transport is VND 350,000 to 500,000The tunnel network, 1.5 to 2 hours out of town. Arrive by 7:00 to beat the coaches
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Metro Line 1, end to end
VND 40,000 day ticketRide the city's first metro from Ben Thanh out to Suoi Tien
The rest
Things the other guides leave out
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The districts are gone
Since 1 July 2025 addresses use 168 new wards and communes. Thao Dien is now part of An Khanh ward, and District 1 is mostly Sai Gon and Ben Thanh wards. Listings still use the old numbers, so expect leases and maps to mix old and new names
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A lease can make you tax resident
A rented home on a fixed-term lease counts as a permanent residence, so you can be resident before 183 days
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Arrival card at Tan Son Nhat
Foreign arrivals are asked to fill in a digital arrival card at prearrival.immigration.gov.vn within 72 hours of landing. GOV.UK says it is encouraged, not mandatory
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Pay the metro without cash
Singles are VND 6,000 to 19,000 cashless, against VND 7,000 to 20,000 in cash
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Vapes are banned
Both buying one and bringing one in
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Carry photo ID
You must carry it at all times. A printed copy of your passport photo page and visa is accepted
Work out whether you can actually afford to go
Every role on the board says which countries you can live in and still take it, so remote means remote.
Every figure on this page was checked on 15 Oct 2026. Prices move and rules change; tell us when something is wrong and we will fix it.