A Vietnamese citizen working in the UAE can be a Vietnamese tax resident without spending a single day in Vietnam. Under the new Personal Income Tax Law No. 109/2025/QH15, in force since 1 July 2026, a registered permanent residence (thường trú) in Vietnam makes you resident on its own, and Decree 253/2026/NĐ-CP says you stay resident unless you prove you are a resident of another country with a residence certificate. A resident is taxed on worldwide income at 5% to 35%, and the Vietnam to UAE treaty only credits UAE tax, which is zero.
This guide is for Vietnamese citizens living and working in the UAE. It covers what the 2025 law changed, the two residence tests and how the decree applies them, why a UAE tax residency certificate is the document that decides the outcome, the 2009 treaty with the UAE, and what a non-resident still owes on Vietnamese income.
The UAE side is simple. The UAE does not tax employment income, as our guide to what a tax-free salary really means explains, so every question here is about Vietnam.
A New Law From 1 July 2026
The National Assembly passed the Law on Personal Income Tax No. 109/2025/QH15 on 10 December 2025. Under Article 29:
- it took effect on 1 July 2026;
- its rules on residents’ wage and business income apply from the 2026 tax period, so they cover the whole of 2026; and
- it replaced Law No. 04/2007/QH12 and all of its amendments.
The Government then issued Decree 253/2026/NĐ-CP on 30 June 2026, detailing the law, including how residence is determined. Guidance written before July 2026 cites Circular 111/2013 and the 2007 law; treat its article numbers as historical.
The Two Residence Tests
Article 2(2) of the 2025 law makes you a resident if you meet either one of two conditions.
| Test | Wording | Typical Vietnamese in Dubai |
|---|---|---|
| (a) Presence | In Vietnam for 183 days or more in a calendar year, or in 12 consecutive months from the first day of presence. Decree 253/2026 counts the arrival day and the departure day as one day each. | Usually not met |
| (b) Habitual residence | A place of habitual residence in Vietnam, being a registered place of permanent residence or a house rented for living under a fixed-term lease | Often met: most citizens keep their permanent residence registration at the family address |
Why permanent residence registration catches so many people
For a Vietnamese citizen, the decree reads “registered permanent residence” as the place where you live regularly, stably and without a time limit and have registered as permanent residence under the law on residence. Many workers going abroad never change that registration, so on paper they still have a habitual residence in Vietnam.
Days abroad do not help with test (b). A worker who has been in Dubai for five years and visited home for three weeks a year still meets it if the registration is unchanged.
The way out: proving residence in another country
Decree 253/2026 adds the rule that decides most cases. As reported by the Vietnam Bar Federation’s law journal, a person with habitual residence in Vietnam who is actually present for less than 183 days in the tax year, and who cannot prove residence of another country, is a Vietnamese resident.
Proof is based on a residence certificate (Giấy chứng nhận cư trú) from the other country. Where a treaty partner does not issue such certificates, a copy of the passport showing time spent there can be used instead.
The UAE does issue certificates, so for you the practical proof is a UAE tax residency certificate from the Federal Tax Authority. Our UAE tax residency certificate guide covers the 183-day and 90-day tests, the documents and the fee.
| Situation | Likely result |
|---|---|
| Permanent residence registered in Hanoi, 40 days in Vietnam, UAE tax residency certificate for the year | Non-resident: residence of another country is proved |
| Permanent residence registered in Ho Chi Minh City, 40 days in Vietnam, no certificate | Resident: habitual residence in Vietnam and no proof of residence elsewhere |
| Any registration, 190 days in Vietnam during a long break between UAE contracts | Resident under test (a), whatever certificate you hold |
What a Vietnamese Resident Owes
Article 2(1) taxes residents on income earned inside and outside Vietnam. A UAE salary is therefore taxable in Vietnam if you are resident.
Article 9 sets a five-band scale for residents’ wage income, and Article 10 sets the family deductions: VND 15.5 million a month for yourself (VND 186 million a year) and VND 6.2 million a month for each dependant.
| Annual taxable income | Rate (Article 9) |
|---|---|
| Up to VND 120 million | 5% |
| VND 120 million to 360 million | 10% |
| VND 360 million to 720 million | 20% |
| VND 720 million to 1.2 billion | 30% |
| Above VND 1.2 billion | 35% |
Taxable income is what is left after the family deductions. A mid-level UAE salary converted into dong can reach the 20% and 30% bands, and with no UAE tax to credit, the full Vietnamese amount is payable.
The remittance exemption is not a salary exemption
Article 4 of the law lists income from foreign remittances among exempt income. That exemption is about money received in Vietnam, typically by family members, from someone abroad. We found nothing in the law that treats a resident’s own foreign salary as exempt because it is sent home, so do not rely on the remittance label to make a UAE salary tax free if you are resident.
The Vietnam to UAE Treaty
The two governments signed an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation in Dubai on 16 February 2009. It entered into force on 12 April 2010. We read the Vietnamese text published on LuatVietnam.
| Article | What it says | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
| 4(2)(ii) | A UAE resident includes an individual who is considered a resident under UAE law | No nationality condition and no liable-to-tax condition. A Vietnamese who is a UAE tax resident is inside the treaty. |
| 4(3) | Tie-breaker: permanent home, center of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, mutual agreement | Decides which country wins if both treat you as resident. Nationality only comes in at step (c). |
| 15(1) | Salary is taxable only in the state of residence unless the work is done in the other state, which may then tax it | If the UAE wins the tie-breaker, Vietnam cannot tax your UAE salary |
| 23(1)(a) | Vietnam credits tax paid in the UAE, capped at the Vietnamese tax on that income | If Vietnam wins, the credit is worth nothing, because no UAE tax was paid |
How the tie-breaker usually plays out
A registered permanent residence is a registration; the treaty asks a factual question about where you have a permanent home available. A long-term rented apartment in Dubai is a permanent home. Your parents’ house in Da Nang, where you stay on visits, may or may not be.
If you have a home in both countries, the question becomes where your personal and economic relations are closer. A spouse and children living with you in the UAE, a UAE employer and UAE bank accounts all point to the UAE. A family that stayed in Vietnam points the other way.
If You Are Non-Resident
A non-resident is taxed only on income earned in Vietnam, under Article 2(1). Article 21 applies a flat 20% to a non-resident’s Vietnamese employment income, with no family deductions. Other Vietnamese income, such as rent from property in Vietnam or gains on transferring it, is taxed under the rules for that type of income.
The Order to Do This In
- Count your days in Vietnam for the calendar year and for any 12-month run, counting arrival and departure days.
- Check your residence registration. If your permanent residence is still registered in Vietnam, assume test (b) applies.
- Get a UAE tax residency certificate for each year. It is the proof Decree 253/2026 asks for.
- Apply the treaty tie-breaker if you are resident in both countries, and keep evidence of your Dubai home and family life.
- If Vietnam still treats you as resident, declare your UAE salary in the annual finalization and pay the tax, with no credit.
For moving money home, our guide to sending money from the UAE compares channels. Nationals of other Asian countries face different rules, as our guides for Thais in the UAE and Filipinos in the UAE show.
What We Could Not Verify
- The exact article numbers in Decree 253/2026/NĐ-CP. The official file on the Government portal is a scanned PDF we could not extract text from. The residence rules above come from the Vietnam Bar Federation’s law journal report of the decree.
- How the tax authority treats the remittance exemption for a resident’s own salary. We found no guidance under the 2025 law.
- The annual finalization deadline for self-declared foreign income under the tax administration rules that apply from 2026. Check with the tax department before filing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Vietnamese workers in the UAE pay tax in Vietnam?
Only if they are Vietnamese tax residents. Residence comes from 183 days in Vietnam or from a habitual residence there, such as a registered permanent residence, and the second test can apply even if you spend almost no time in Vietnam.
Does a registered permanent residence make me a Vietnamese tax resident?
It gives you a place of habitual residence under Article 2(2)(b) of Law 109/2025/QH15. Under Decree 253/2026, if you are in Vietnam for less than 183 days you remain resident unless you prove residence in another country with a residence certificate.
When did the new Vietnamese personal income tax law take effect?
Law 109/2025/QH15 took effect on 1 July 2026, and its rules on residents’ wage and business income apply from the 2026 tax period. It replaced Law 04/2007/QH12.
What proves I am a resident of the UAE?
A tax residency certificate from the UAE Federal Tax Authority. Decree 253/2026 bases proof of residence in another country on that country’s residence certificate.
Is there a tax treaty between Vietnam and the UAE?
Yes. It was signed in Dubai on 16 February 2009 and entered into force on 12 April 2010. It treats any individual considered a resident under UAE law as a UAE resident.
What tax rate would I pay on my UAE salary as a Vietnamese resident?
The progressive scale of 5% to 35% in Article 9 of the 2025 law, after deductions of VND 15.5 million a month for yourself and VND 6.2 million for each dependant. There is no credit for UAE tax, because none is paid.
Is money I send home to my family taxed?
Income from foreign remittances is exempt under Article 4 of the 2025 law. That covers money your family receives, but it does not by itself make your own salary exempt if you are a Vietnamese resident.
How is a non-resident taxed on Vietnamese salary?
At a flat 20% under Article 21 of the 2025 law, with no family deductions. Non-residents are taxed only on income earned in Vietnam.
Official Sources
- Law on Personal Income Tax No. 109/2025/QH15 (Articles 2, 4, 9, 10, 21, 29), English translation via LuatVietnam
- Government of Vietnam, Decree 253/2026/NĐ-CP detailing the Law on Personal Income Tax (Vietnamese)
- Vietnam Bar Federation law journal, How Decree 253/2026/NĐ-CP defines resident individuals (Vietnamese)
- Vietnam to UAE Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation, 2009 (Vietnamese text via LuatVietnam)
Information current as of September 2026. Verify with official authorities before proceeding.
This guide is for informational purposes only and is not tax advice. Vietnamese and UAE regulations are subject to change. Always verify current requirements with the relevant official authority, or a licensed tax adviser, before proceeding with any filing or transaction.
