Vietnam VIsa News

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Stravaiger
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Vietnam VIsa News

Post by Stravaiger »

Vietnam to expand list of eligible countries for visa exemption
By Hoang Phong March 15, 2023 | 12:06 am PT
Vietnam will waive visas for more countries and extend the length of stay for foreign tourists to speed up the recovery of tourism, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said Wednesday.

The list of eligible countries for e-visa issuance will be expanded, the prime minister said at a conference on post-Covid tourism recovery.

"The government will create favorable conditions for domestic and international airlines to open direct routes connecting Vietnam with key tourism markets," he added.

Vietnam already waives visas for travelers from 25 countries, compared to 162 for Malaysia, 157 for the Philippines and 68 for Thailand. It also offers a one-month single-entry e-visa to visitors from 80 countries.

The multi-entry three-month visa that was available before Covid has not been brought back yet.

Speaking at the conference, Sun Group Chairman Dang Minh Truong proposed the government consider exempting visas for tourists from key markets such as Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium.

In addition, Truong proposed that the 15-day period of visa-free stay allowed for tourists from key markets such as Europe be increased to 30 or 45 days.

In 2019, the number of international visitors to Vietnam was 21% of domestic tourists, but revenues from international tourists accounted for nearly two-thirds of the country's total tourism revenue, Truong said.

International visitors stayed in Vietnam for 8-12 days, spending $1,100 to 2,000 per trip while domestic tourists mainly traveled on weekends, staying one or two days.

Nguyen Thi Nga, chairwoman of real estate developer BRG, also urged the government to quickly extending the length of stay for international visitors to boost tourism revenue.

Currently, only citizens of Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Kyrgyzstan are offered visa-free stay of 30 days, while tourists from Chile and Panama enjoy a 90-day visa waiver.

Visitors from some European countries, Japan and South Korea, Vietnam's top tourism markets, are permitted to stay in the country for no more than 15 days without applying for a tourist visa.

Despite being one of the first Southeast Asian countries to fully reopen to international tourism post Covid, Vietnam only received 3.6 million foreign tourists last year, around 20% of pre-pandemic levels.
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel/vie ... 81636.html
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cabron
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Re: Vietnam VIsa News

Post by cabron »

Stravaiger wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 10:05 am Vietnam to expand list of eligible countries for visa exemption
By Hoang Phong March 15, 2023 | 12:06 am PT
Vietnam will waive visas for more countries and extend the length of stay for foreign tourists to speed up the recovery of tourism, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said Wednesday.

The list of eligible countries for e-visa issuance will be expanded, the prime minister said at a conference on post-Covid tourism recovery.

"The government will create favorable conditions for domestic and international airlines to open direct routes connecting Vietnam with key tourism markets," he added.

Vietnam already waives visas for travelers from 25 countries, compared to 162 for Malaysia, 157 for the Philippines and 68 for Thailand. It also offers a one-month single-entry e-visa to visitors from 80 countries.

The multi-entry three-month visa that was available before Covid has not been brought back yet.

Speaking at the conference, Sun Group Chairman Dang Minh Truong proposed the government consider exempting visas for tourists from key markets such as Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium.

In addition, Truong proposed that the 15-day period of visa-free stay allowed for tourists from key markets such as Europe be increased to 30 or 45 days.

In 2019, the number of international visitors to Vietnam was 21% of domestic tourists, but revenues from international tourists accounted for nearly two-thirds of the country's total tourism revenue, Truong said.

International visitors stayed in Vietnam for 8-12 days, spending $1,100 to 2,000 per trip while domestic tourists mainly traveled on weekends, staying one or two days.

Nguyen Thi Nga, chairwoman of real estate developer BRG, also urged the government to quickly extending the length of stay for international visitors to boost tourism revenue.

Currently, only citizens of Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Kyrgyzstan are offered visa-free stay of 30 days, while tourists from Chile and Panama enjoy a 90-day visa waiver.

Visitors from some European countries, Japan and South Korea, Vietnam's top tourism markets, are permitted to stay in the country for no more than 15 days without applying for a tourist visa.

Despite being one of the first Southeast Asian countries to fully reopen to international tourism post Covid, Vietnam only received 3.6 million foreign tourists last year, around 20% of pre-pandemic levels.
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel/vie ... 81636.html
I hope this will happen in a very near future, travelling to Vietnam with no visa requirement.
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Alex
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Re: Vietnam VIsa News

Post by Alex »

They really need to bring back the 3-month multi-entry tourist visa, that used to be great for exploring the country and made side trips (or even returning to work in Bangkok for a few weeks lol) easy.
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ExPenhMan
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Re: Vietnam VIsa News

Post by ExPenhMan »

I've seen other reports from this same meeting that were not quite as positive or detail intensive -- to be generous. In fact, the Viets have been proposing, urging, discussing, meeting on, demanding, furthering, but have made not a grain of progress since March 15, 2022 on the visa policy issue. There have probably been 20-25 stories much like this one since then.

This was the only remotely positive thing said by the VN PM, as reported by the Voice of Vietnam:
In his speech, PM Chinh said since the national conference on tourism back in 2020, the industry has experienced two difficult years, suffering heavy damage due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Faced with this negative impact, the Government has issued many policies and taken timely support measures in a bid to ease difficulties and damage done to businesses and employees under the motto of safe, flexible adaptation, and effective disease control.

Through the great efforts of the tourism industry, under the leadership of the Party, the management, the administration of the State, the involvement of the whole political system, the companionship and support of the community, along with businesses and people, the Vietnamese tourism market has been gradually restored.

The Vietnamese Government leader pointed out that moving forward both entry and exit barriers will be removed. This move will bring about more opportunities and advantages, but also plenty of difficulties, challenges, and competition between the country and other tourism markets.
If anyone enjoys abundant empty phrases, you can read the whole thing here:

https://english.vov.vn/en/economy/gover ... 007596.vov

From Viet Nam News, blah blah blah:
HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam will expand the list of countries eligible for visa exemptions and extend the duration of stay for international tourists as part of the efforts to support the tourism sector, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính said at a conference held on Wednesday.

The country will also ensure reasonable visa fees and widely implement the e-visa application process as well as create favourable conditions for local and international airlines to launch direct flights connecting Việt Nam with key and/or potential tourism markets.
Not a single nugget you can take to the bank. Here's the whole empty story only a bureaucrat could love:

https://vietnamnews.vn/society/1498135/ ... ption.html


I was just in Vung Tau for a few weeks. Some guys are doing border hops every month. Some are arriving back in VN and being told they will not be allowed to re-enter again without a few months' break. One bar owner had his Temporary Residency Cert pulled on arrival. Now he's doing 30-day runs.

I'm told there are loads of guys sitting in Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Australia waiting for the 90-day visa to be reinstated. Looks like that's not going anywhere. "The multi-entry three-month visa that was available before Covid has not been brought back yet."
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Re: Vietnam VIsa News

Post by Bongmab69 »

I would like to visit Vietnam, but as long as i need an 75-dollar visa to just hop over the border and probably do a weekend or a week in Vungtau and/or Saigon, i prefere to go for a weekend to Bangkok, or even cheaper, just take a 3 or 6 month visa-extension !!
I came first to KOW in 2014 and pllanned to do 10 days KOW and 10 days VN, after 9 years never maid it over the VN-border !!
The main problem is in fact those sticky-bar-counters . . .
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Alex
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Re: Vietnam VIsa News

Post by Alex »

Bongmab69 wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 2:34 pm I would like to visit Vietnam, but as long as i need an 75-dollar visa to just hop over the border and probably do a weekend or a week in Vungtau and/or Saigon
The 30-day eVisa, for all its faults, costs $25, so it's nowhere near that expensive.
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ExPenhMan
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Re: Vietnam VIsa News

Post by ExPenhMan »

Alex wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 3:37 pm
Bongmab69 wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 2:34 pm I would like to visit Vietnam, but as long as i need an 75-dollar visa to just hop over the border and probably do a weekend or a week in Vungtau and/or Saigon
The 30-day eVisa, for all its faults, costs $25, so it's nowhere near that expensive.
Yup. In early Feb., I ordered my visa on a Tuesday afternoon, got the visa the following Friday morning. (A VN Immigration visa confirmation email came later in the day.) They give you a link to a search page where you write in your registration code, email address and date of birth to keep checking for the finished visa letter. Print it out (I did it in colour) and hand it to the immigration officer at the VN airport. You just get a small entry stamp and then the exit stamp. Takes up a total of one-third of a passport page.
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Re: Vietnam VIsa News

Post by hanno »

ExPenhMan wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 11:51 am

I've seen other reports from this same meeting that were not quite as positive or detail intensive -- to be generous. In fact, the Viets have been proposing, urging, discussing, meeting on, demanding, furthering, but have made not a grain of progress since March 15, 2022 on the visa policy issue. There have probably been 20-25 stories much like this one since then.
Aspects of this whole visa saga have been discussed since when I first moved to Vietnam, and that was in 1995. I am not exactly holding my breath.
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Jerry Atrick
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Re: Vietnam VIsa News

Post by Jerry Atrick »

Visa exemption for me and my countryfolk would be very nice
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Kammekor
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Re: Vietnam VIsa News

Post by Kammekor »

Stravaiger wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 10:05 am Vietnam to expand list of eligible countries for visa exemption
By Hoang Phong March 15, 2023 | 12:06 am PT
They have been having this intention for nearly a decade now I think, but nothing ever materialized, much to my disappointment.
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