National Assembly set to extend e-visa validity to 3 months

Legislators are set to back a government proposal to extend the validity of e-visas from 30 days to a maximum of three months and allow multiple entry.

Le Tan Toi, head of the National Assembly’s Committee for Defense and Security Committee, said Friday these changes would meet the demand of foreign visitors to stay longer to explore investment opportunities.

The NA's Committee also agreed to triple to 45 days the duration of visa-free stays for tourists from certain countries who now enjoy a 15-day waiver.

Nationals of some western European countries, Japan and South Korea, Vietnam's top tourism markets, are permitted to visit for 15 days without a visa.

Some lawmakers said Vietnam currently waives visas only for nationals of 25 countries, much fewer than neighbors Indonesia (169), Malaysia (162), Singapore (158), the Philippines (157), and Thailand (68), and called for expanding the list.

The changes are set to be approved at the National Assembly session starting on May 22.

During this session, the National Assembly will review and approve a total of eight laws and three draft resolutions. The eight laws are: the amended Law on Protection of Consumer Rights, the amended Law on Bidding, the amended Law on Price, the amended Law on Electronic Transactions, the amended Law on Cooperatives, the Law on Civil Defence, the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of the Law on Public Security, the Law on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens, and the Law on amendments to a number of articles of the Law on Foreigners' entry into, exit from, transit through, and residence in Việt Nam.