Why it is here
Why Hanoi is on the list.
A city is listed when there is evidence that people move there. This is the evidence.
- Hanoi has the second-largest average population of the 63 provinces and cities in the National Statistics Office's 2025 table: 8.86 million, after Ho Chi Minh City. [N1]
- The Vietnam Immigration Department, which issues e-visas, is based in Hanoi (44-46 Tran Phu Street, Ba Dinh), and the Embassy in Washington says e-visas are processed by the Department in Hanoi. [V1] [V2]
- UNIS Hanoi is an IB World School (PYP, MYP and DP) in Hanoi with more than 60 nationalities, by its own account. [U1]
- A 2026 expat guide describes a strong expat community in the Tay Ho area, with restaurants, schools and networking groups; it gives no headcount. [E1]
The Fernshore Index
How it grades, factor by factor.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Cost of living
97 of 100StrongCountry figure
Price level 0.280 of United States prices (2025).
Source: Price level index (GDP), Vietnam. Checked 15 October 2026.
Climate
50 of 100MixedOwn figure
Hanoi's own normals: 7 comfortable months a year (January to April and October to December); May to September have an average daily high above 30 °C.
Source: Climate normals 1991–2020, Hanoi. Checked 15 October 2026.
Safety
60 of 100MixedCountry figure
Global Peace Index 2026: 41st of 163.
Source: Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank. Checked 15 October 2026.
Healthcare
39 of 100MixedCountry figure
WHO UHC service coverage index 71 (2023).
Source: UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1). Checked 15 October 2026.
Schools
UnknownCountry figure
Our research doesn't cover schools yet.
Community
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Lifestyle
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Work and career
15 of 100WeakCountry figure
Weak: we found no residence route for remote workers, and fixed broadband is 23.7 per 100 people (2024), under the 30 line. A reported 'Golden Visa' for remote workers is a proposal, not law.
Source: Global immigration and mobility: Vietnam, business travel; Da Nang expat guide; Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Vietnam. Checked 15 October 2026.
Retirement
15 of 100WeakCountry figure
Weak: we found no residence route for people living on a pension or passive income; reports say Vietnam has no dedicated retirement visa.
Source: Vietnam's retiree visa should attract financially stable individuals (opinion); Da Nang expat guide. Checked 15 October 2026.
Internet
53 of 100MixedCountry figure
23.71 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (2024).
Source: Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Vietnam. Checked 15 October 2026.
English
34 of 100MixedCountry figure
EF EPI 2025 score 500, one point above the 499 weak line, so the score is 34 (the bottom of the mixed band).
Source: EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Vietnam. Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, United States passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for United States passports is being checked
Visa, Canada passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for Canada passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for Australia passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for New Zealand passports is being checked
The country
More on Vietnam.
Cities
Other cities in Vietnam.
Questions about Hanoi.
Is Hanoi expensive to live in?
Prices across Vietnam average about 0.28 of US prices (World Bank, 2025), a national figure, not Hanoi's. A private guide (verified 13 August 2026) gives one-bedroom rents of VND 10 million to 18.75 million a month in Tay Ho. One agent advert seen on 15 October 2026 asked VND 21 million there.
Do I need a visa to live in Hanoi?
Visa rules are national. The e-visa lasts up to 90 days, and the Immigration Department that issues it is based in Hanoi (44-46 Tran Phu Street, Ba Dinh); embassies do not process it. Longer visas on a law firm's list need a local employer, investor or other sponsor.
What is the weather like in Hanoi through the year?
Hanoi's 1991-2020 average daily highs run from 20.0 °C in January to 33.8 °C in June, and rain averages 300 mm in July and 335 mm in August. Fernshore counts seven months as comfortable: January to April and October to December, with highs of 30 °C or lower and under 150 mm of rain.
How big is Hanoi, and is there an expat community?
Hanoi had an average population of 8.86 million in 2025, the second largest of Vietnam's 63 pre-merger provinces and cities. A private guide describes a strong expat community in the Tay Ho area, with restaurants, schools and networking groups, but it gives no headcount.
Are there international schools in Hanoi?
Yes. UNIS Hanoi says it is an IB World School (PYP, MYP and DP) with more than 60 nationalities, and it says it is not an agency of the United Nations. Fees, waiting lists and places for new students are unknown here, and other schools were not reviewed.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [N1] Area, population and population density by province (table E02.01), National Statistics Office of Vietnam. Checked 15 October 2026. Average population (thousand people), 2025: Ho Chi Minh City 9,690.83, Ha Noi 8,857.53, Da Nang 1,304.72 (63 provinces and cities, boundaries before the 1 July 2025 mergers). Ho Chi Minh City is the largest of the 63 and Ha Noi the second largest. Read from the PX-Web table on 15 October 2026.
- [V1] Vietnam e-visa: general information, Vietnam Immigration Department (e-visa portal). Checked 15 October 2026. States that an e-visa is valid for a maximum of 90 days, single or multiple entry, and may be applied for by foreigners outside Vietnam holding a valid passport. The footer gives the Department's address as 44-46 Tran Phu Street, Ba Dinh, Ha Noi. The portal's notice says it now also runs at evisa.gov.vn and thithucdientu.gov.vn.
- [E1] Living in Hanoi: cost of living, neighborhoods and expat tips, expatlife.ai (private expat guide, not official). Checked 15 October 2026. Marked 'Verified August 13, 2026'. Describes a 'strong expat community in Tây Hồ'; opinion and description, no headcount.
- [N2] Chi tiết 34 đơn vị hành chính cấp tỉnh từ 12/6/2025 (details of the 34 province-level units from 12 June 2025), Báo điện tử Chính phủ (Vietnam Government e-newspaper). Checked 15 October 2026. In Vietnamese. After the mergers: Ho Chi Minh City (with Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau) 14,002,598 people; Da Nang (with Quang Nam) 3,065,628; Khanh Hoa (with Ninh Thuan) 2,243,554. Ha Noi is one of the 11 units not merged. The page gives no publication time beyond the 12 June 2025 in its title.
- [W1] Climate normals 1991–2020, Hanoi, World Meteorological Organization (World Weather Information Service). Checked 15 October 2026. Mean daily highs 20.0 to 33.8 °C; 7 comfortable months. Coordinates 21.03 N, 105.86 E from the page. Climate period 1991–2020.
- [V2] Viet Nam's visa procedures, Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the United States. Checked 15 October 2026. Lists a regular visa (online portal or in person) and the e-visa; says e-visas are processed directly by the Immigration Department in Ha Noi, not by the Embassy. The 5-year visa exemption certificate is for Vietnamese people living overseas and their spouses and children. Written for applicants in the United States; the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand pages were not opened.
- [U1] UNIS Hanoi, United Nations International School of Hanoi. Checked 15 October 2026. The school's own site: an IB World School (PYP, MYP and DP) with 'more than 60 nationalities' (another line says '65+'); address G9 Ciputra, Phu Thuong, Hanoi. It says it is a UN school but 'not an agency of the United Nations'.
- [C1] Price level index (GDP), Vietnam, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 28.01 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [S1] Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank, Institute for Economics and Peace. Checked 15 October 2026. Vietnam ranks 41st of 163 countries.
- [H1] UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 15 October 2026. Vietnam: 71 out of 100 (2023).
- [K1] Global immigration and mobility: Vietnam, business travel, Baker McKenzie (law firm, private; undated page). Checked 15 October 2026. Lists visa types by purpose: investor visas (DT1 to DT4), employee visas (DN1, LD1, LD2), service-provider visas (DN2) and the new UD1 and UD2 visas (up to five years). 'The majority of visas are valid for no more than 12 months'; electronic visas allow a maximum stay of 90 days and are open to citizens of all countries and territories. No visa type for remote workers or for people living on a pension is listed.
- [K3] Da Nang expat guide, Bamboo Routes (private relocation guide, not official). Checked 15 October 2026. Last updated 21 September 2026. Says 'Vietnam currently has no dedicated digital-nomad visa and no simple retirement visa'. Written about Da Nang; the visa statement is national.
- [K2] Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Vietnam, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2024: 23.71 per 100 people, read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [R1] Vietnam's retiree visa should attract financially stable individuals (opinion), Tuoi Tre News. Checked 15 October 2026. Published 20 June 2025. Says Vietnam has no dedicated retirement visa, and that a proposed five- and ten-year 'Golden Visa' had not been enacted and was still under discussion. An opinion piece from 2025; no 2026 official text was found.
- [F1] EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Vietnam, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 15 October 2026. Score 500, rank 64 of 123 countries and regions, 'moderate' proficiency band (read on the page on 15 October 2026); the 2026 edition was not yet published on 15 October 2026.