Shadowing Practice: Vietnam's Visa Problem Nobody Talks About - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Every week I read a new article or watch a new video of Vietnam being the best place to retire in 2026.
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Great weather, cheap food, buzzing cities.
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That's all well and good, but the part everyone's leaving out and people are missing, you can't retire there.
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Of all the countries in Southeast Asia, Vietnam has no retirement visa and the visa system is built in a way
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that almost suggests that the government don't want millions of foreigners moving there on a whim.
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The first issue with the retiring Vietnam narrative is
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that you're going to do 90 day border runs for the rest of your life.
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Either that or you're going to teach English as a foreign language.
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I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but neither of those things constitute a normal retirement, nor are they actually guaranteed.
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First of all, the 90 day.
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Tourist visa. is exactly
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that it was never designed for people to live there Vietnam opened the doors they wanted people to come
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and visit they're very happy to have you there for a
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short amount of time global tourism global travel has been a mess since COVID really
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that it's taken a while for authorities to catch up it's taken a
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while for authorities to figure out what's our next move as we've seen recently in Thailand.
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The Vietnamese government know thousands of people are now living there on a tourist visa.
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But just because it was tolerated in a messy period, does not mean it's going to be allowed for much longer.
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And if you read some of the articles, - Coming from Vietnam, the government's language is getting stronger, especially since all of a sudden,
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all the lunatics from abroad have congregated in Da Nang and are causing trouble.
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If you're planning your retirement, in Vietnam or to live in Vietnam by doing 90 day border runs I would say that's a massive gamble
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I'm almost certain won't work in the future.
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And what's funny, what I find really funny about it is the cope behind it.
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So people like to say, oh, it's a small price to pay to be able to live in Vietnam.
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And that's fine.
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In theory, it is.
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And they also say, oh, I like to travel to other countries every 90 days.
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It suits me to to go traveling for a few days
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No one says that one day you might not get back in.
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For me, that's not a retirement plan.
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That's not a strategy for living abroad at all in Southeast Asia.
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Now, what used to be tolerated is not the case anymore.
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You need to get a legitimate visa to live here.
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And the alternatives, they're there, but they're not great.
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So teaching English, you can do that if you want to, but teaching English, is not retirement.
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It was actually the most stressful job I ever had in my life.
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And I wouldn't, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
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You can definitely set up a business but It has to be legitimate now the gray areas the shelf company stuff
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all the stuff that we knew went on in Asia, that's just not an option anymore.
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It has to be above board.
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They're scrutinizing the businesses, actually every country is scrutinizing.
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We can see that Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam's no different.
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They're all doing it.
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This is the trend now if you want to do the business visa route.
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You need real commitment And then lastly, what I find funny is people float the idea of marriage to a local as a legitimate strategy.
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I'm sorry, but that's a legitimate way to ruin your life.
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That is not a visa pathway.
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And even though people do it, that strategy has a predictable ending.
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The truth about Vietnam, I admire the optimism.
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I admire the mentality it takes to pack your bags and go to somewhere new, especially somewhere challenging like Vietnam.
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But the truth is that people are a bit overly optimistic about is There's no clean pathway to live there.
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You can't just retire there.
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It's set up in a way where it...
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Of all the countries in Asia, It's like the government don't want you there.
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Thailand has the good retirement visa, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia has the MM2H, Philippines has the SROV.
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They all have pathways for you to retire, except the number one destination for retirement.
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And then look, there's the stuff that no one actually wants to say out loud, but it does mean a lot to me.
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I want to go to a place where my reputation is good.
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Right now, Vietnam, The foreigner fatigue is real and it happened even quicker than Thailand locals are concerned
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and they should be you can't just go to Vietnam as a foreigner and make a mess they're the most nationalist
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country of all of Asia they don't like outside interference.
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No country wants outside interference.
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But how did we think Vietnam is just going to accept bad behavior from tourists.
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They want visitors, they don't want settlers, and they especially don't want people
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disrespecting them and rightfully so I agree with them
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but that's why for me not only the visa but right now Vietnam does not suit me.
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It's a very predictable cycle when I said
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I believe Thailand is about to change "the visa exemption and Thailand's going to get stricter." Someone's like,
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"Oh, you're spreading misinformation." It was obvious as day they're going to change.
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I would say it's obvious as day Vietnam are going to clamp down even faster, way faster than Thailand.
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If your plan is to live there long term on a tourist visa, I would be thinking about some plan B or C.
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I'm not saying don't go to Vietnam.
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Vietnam, you must go to it.
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It's a fascinating country.
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You'll see things there you've never seen before.
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But definitely please don't base your whole retirement plan or your your digital nomad strategy on tourist visas in Asia.
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I'm using Vietnam as the example, but it's for all of them.
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The tourist visa days are gone.
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You can't live there anymore indefinitely on tourist visas.
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We'll look back at that period as, "Wow, what a funny time." And it's humorous, but It's just not acceptable anymore.
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So the narrative is nice.
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Everyone packed their bags and moved to Da Nang and it sounds great on paper, but you need to be legitimate.
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You need to have a legal base in Southeast Asia.
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That's the message of this video.
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Cambodia gives you one of the last legal bases.
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I believe Laos as well.
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Laos is way more informal and a gray area that could change on a whim.
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But right now, Cambodia, once you get that business visa, That's really one of the only legitimate,
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legal, most accessible ones that's accessible for most people.
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If you have a specific reason to be in Vietnam, if you're doing business in Vietnam, if your spouse is Vietnamese and you're learning Vietnamese, then that will work for you.
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But if you just saw a YouTube video saying, let's all move to Da Nang on tourist visas, I think you could be in trouble.
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If you want to know where you can actually stay legally, watch your visa options, all the cities I've been to, check out the SEA Insider below.
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Weekly updates, if you like my newsletter updates, you'll love this. And also...
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Oh, the free cheat sheet, I always forget.
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Get the free Southeast Asia cheat sheet in the box below.
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Quick overview of all the countries in Asia.
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Check it out, see which one suits you.
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That's it guys.
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Look, if you're on the fence, you won't make it in Vietnam.
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Look, if you're on the fence, you're not gonna make it in Vietnam.
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It's too challenging, there's no visa.
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It's just not a legitimate option for people.
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Check out Cambodia, check out Malaysia if you qualify, and if you qualify, Indonesia.
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They're the smartest plays for the next 10 years.
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Like, subscribe, do whatever you want to do.
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I need all the help I can get here.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 106 sentences and 1361 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:22. The speaker talks fast, about 185 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- visa /ˈviːzə/ (noun) — A permit to enter and leave a country, normally issued by the authorities of the country to be visited.
- legitimate /lɪˈd͡ʒɪt.ɪ.mət/ (adjective) — In accordance with the law or established legal forms and requirements.
- retire /ɹəˈtaɪɹ/ (verb) — To stop working on a permanent basis, usually because of old age or illness.
- pathway /ˈpæθˌweɪ/ (noun) — A footpath or other path or track.
- gray /ɡɹeɪ/ (adjective) — Of a color between black and white, having neutral hue and intermediate brightness.
- sheet /ʃit/ (noun) — A thin bed cloth used as a covering for a mattress or as a layer over the sleeper.
- abroad /əˈbɹɔːd/ (adverb) — Beyond the bounds of a country; in foreign countries.
- narrative /ˈnæɹ.ə.tɪv/ (noun) — The systematic recitation of an event or series of events.
- fence /fɛns/ (noun) — A thin artificial barrier that separates two pieces of land or forms a perimeter enclosing the lands of a house, building, etc.
- qualify /ˈkwɑ.lɪ.faɪ/ (verb) — To describe or characterize something by listing its qualities.
- accessible /əkˈsɛs.ɪ.bəl/ (adjective) — Easy of access or approach.
- cheat /ˈt͡ʃiːt/ (verb) — To violate rules in order to gain, or attempt to gain, advantage from a situation.
- interference /ˌɪntəɹˈfɪɹɪns/ (noun) — The act of interfering with something, or something that interferes.
- admire /ədˈmaɪɹ/ (verb) — To regard with wonder and delight.
- tolerate /ˈtɑ.lə.ɹeɪt/ (verb) — To allow or permit without explicit approval, usually if it is perceived as negative.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- check out (verb) — To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
- live in (verb) — To reside on the premises of one's employer (used especially of domestic staff such as nannies, cooks, maids, etc.)
- catch up (verb) — To pick up suddenly.
- come from (verb) — To have as one's origin, birthplace or nationality.
- figure out (verb) — To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
- leave out (verb) — To omit, to not include, to neglect to mention.
- set up /ˌsɛt ˈʌp/ (verb) — To make ready for use.
- think about /ˈθɪŋk əˌbaʊt/ (verb) — To ponder.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 44 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, they're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: sheet /ʃit/, reputation /ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/, destination /dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/, shelf /ʃɛlf/, nationalist /ˈnæʃ.ə.nə.lɪst/
- Long words — get the stress right: legitimate /lɪˈd͡ʒɪt.ɪ.mət/, accessible /əkˈsɛs.ɪ.bəl/, interference /ˌɪntəɹˈfɪɹɪns/, predictable /pɹəˈdɪktəbləl/, reputation /ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like visa, legitimate, retire.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if you like my newsletter updates, you'll love · if you're on the fence, you won't make |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has been · we've seen · have congregated |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is built · was never designed · was tolerated |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.