Overnight, a link to a Vietnamese police press release spread through chat rooms, leading to the hasty conclusion that a crackdown on foreigners had begun. We've reviewed the original sources and believe there's no reason to panic yet.
What really happened
On August 1 at 3:00 a.m., police in Haichau District deployed 200 officers and conducted a comprehensive check of residence registration, along with rapid drug tests.
At SAM TOWERS on Nhu Nguyet Street, 118 apartments and 203 foreign tenants were inspected, 72 people were tested, and one Chinese citizen was found. At BLOOMING TOWERS on Xuan Dieu, 92 apartments were inspected, 154 foreigners were inspected, 57 tests were performed, and one Indian citizen was found to be a suspect.
Why isn't this about us?
Two weeks earlier, on July 16 at 4:30 a.m., the same area and the same 150 employees checked six ordinary Vietnamese houses on Nguyen Duc Canh Street; 200 people were tested there, almost all of them local.
And on July 31 at 5 a.m., Shoncha came under attack: about 150 employees, along with militia and border guards, passed through nine blocks, and among those found were a Vietnamese father and son.
This is a citywide campaign ordered by the Chief of Da Nang Police Department, with the official goal of making the districts free of all kinds of trash by 2028. In Son Tra, testing has already been implemented weekly. Expats have been particularly hard-pressed, as the planned inspections have expanded to include luxury buildings.
Here's What Could Really Cost You Money
The press release's "tests for all sorts of nasty things" are listed alongside the residency registration check, and this could be our Achilles' heel. Decree 282/2025 , which came into effect on December 15, is in effect:
- registration of a foreigner within 12 hours after check-in;
- for 1-3 unregistered persons – a fine of 3-5 million dong;
- for 4–8 – 10–15 million;
- from 9 people to 20 million;
- separately: a foreigner with expired residence documents from 500 thousand to 40 million dong; in case of serious violation, deportation is possible.
The key point: the landlord pays for the lack of registration. You pay for an expired visa or TRC.
A brief analysis of the decree is available on our website: https://letfind.me/laws/decree-282-2025-fines-accommodation/
What to do with all this?
- Ask the landlord for confirmation that you're even registered. Half of those who've lived here for years don't know the answer to that question.
- Extend your visa and TRC well in advance, not on the last day.
