When you check into a hotel or move into a rented apartment in Vietnam, the accommodation operator or an authorised person must declare your temporary stay to local police—not normally you as the foreign guest. You provide your passport and relevant immigration documents; the hotel, landlord or authorised manager makes the filing. Under rules effective 24 July 2026, an online declaration is due immediately on arrival. Where a paper declaration is used, the information must be sent to commune-level police immediately and the form delivered within 12 hours, or 24 hours in remote areas. Those paper deadlines are not permission to delay online reporting. Ministry of Public Security guidance.
The rule also applies to a single overnight stay. It is different from holding a valid visa or temporary residence card: your permission to stay in Vietnam does not automatically prove that the address where you sleep was reported.
What should actually happen at your address?
| Where you sleep | Who normally sends the declaration | What you should do |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel or guesthouse in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or Da Nang | The hotel's owner, legal representative or authorised front-desk/management employee | Give the receptionist your genuine passport and valid residence/entry documents at check-in. Ask whether the guest declaration was completed. |
| Apartment or serviced apartment rented for weeks or months | The owner, legal representative or properly authorised manager of the accommodation | Before paying, agree in writing who actually files; on move-in, provide the required information and request confirmation of submission. |
| A friend's or relative's home | The host responsible for that accommodation, or an authorised person—not automatically the foreign guest | Tell the host your arrival date in advance, give the needed passport/permission details and identify the person making the filing. |
| An Airbnb-style or intermediary-managed rental | Still the accommodation owner, legal representative or their authorised declarant, as applicable | A booking-app receipt, building access card or agent saying “we handle it” is not proof. Ask for the person responsible and confirmation after filing. |
The Ministry's October 2026 explanation expressly includes rented houses and apartments, even where bookings are managed by an intermediary. This is why a rental contract should name the reporting actor, not merely state that the guest is responsible for “registration”.
The 2026 deadline: online now, paper notice now and form shortly after
Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security issued Circular 87/2026/TT-BCA on 9 June 2026, effective 24 July 2026. The Government Gazette records the regulation and effective date.
Online route (normal choice): The authorised accommodation declarant logs into the ministry's temporary residence reporting system, provides the lodging facility and foreign guest information and submits as soon as the guest arrives. Police accept declarations around the clock. The declarant receives a system notification once the required fields are completed, according to the current provincial police procedure.
Paper fallback: If electronic filing cannot be used, the responsible person completes Form NA17. They must send the information immediately by an appropriate means to commune-level police, then submit the paper form within 12 hours of the guest's arrival—24 hours for accommodation in legally designated remote areas. The government's June 2026 procedure explanation states the form and deadlines. Police receive paper forms 24/7; these are not “within 12 hours after the next office opening” deadlines.
Example: You arrive at a serviced apartment at 9 p.m. on Friday. The manager should not wait until Monday because the office is closed. For electronic reporting the filing is due on arrival. If the legitimate paper route is used, police must be told immediately, and the paper has the 12-hour (or applicable remote-area 24-hour) delivery window.
Do not confuse a dated older provincial online-service page, which still cites Circular 53/2016, with the newer operative Circular 87/2026. For 2026, the consolidated national platform and revised procedure are the relevant starting point; ask commune-level police for assistance if an account or address does not work.
What information goes into the report?
Before accepting the stay, the provider must ask to see the foreign guest's passport or recognised travel document and the applicable Vietnam immigration/residence documentation. The submission includes identity details (name, birth date, nationality and passport/travel-document number), relevant permission/residence validity and intended stay at that address. The provincial police procedure identifies the required data fields.
As a guest, supply accurate information and cooperate, but you should not need the landlord's reporting-system credentials or be asked to pretend to be the owner. Ask the operator for a submission confirmation or, for paper filing, the police-confirmed copy. A verbal promise is not the same as a completed declaration. Keep only the confirmation you need; do not distribute passport photos or portal account details unnecessarily.
The current official provincial procedure lists no administrative fee for this declaration. That does not mean a hotel may not charge for accommodation or that every private service an agent offers is free.
If your hotel or landlord has not filed
A hotel guest: Give the correct documents at check-in and ask the reception team to confirm the filing; if the system is down, the operator should use the prescribed paper/commune-police fallback. You do not generally need to queue at a police station yourself to replace the hotel's legal duty.
A tenant: If your landlord says “the building registers everyone” or “you can do it yourself later,” ask for the name of the authorised declarant, the intended reporting channel and confirmation that your passport and your specific address were actually submitted. Apartment-building access registration and police temporary-stay declaration are different things. If the responsible manager cannot provide confirmation, contact the commune-level police where the accommodation is located for guidance with the landlord or host. Do not invent a police receipt or report a different address.
You move to another address: Article 33 of the 2026 consolidated immigration law provides for a fresh temporary-stay declaration when the residence address changes. A previous hotel's filing does not cover your new apartment. Tell the new host on arrival and update the information through the proper responsible person.
One key distinction: This declaration is an accommodation report, not an extension of your visa or a new residence permit. If your permitted stay expires, a successful address report does not legalise an overstay.
What to arrange before arriving tonight
For a hotel, have your passport and entry/residence evidence ready and confirm the reception team will report the stay. For a rental or private home, agree which specific owner/authorised manager submits, provide the documents on arrival and request proof of the filing. If online registration is inaccessible, the responsible operator—not an uninformed guest—should coordinate the immediate notice and NA17 paper route with the local commune police.
For broader questions about deposits, bills and rental contracts, see renting a home in Vietnam; temporary-stay declaration is the separate, time-sensitive task covered here.