Each and every country needs to follow the visa policy when it comes to application and other operations. These visa policies help in structural and smooth operations to be carried out. Vietnam also has these set of Vietnam visa policies that are supposed to be followed when a tourist is planning to apply for a visa. These rules are for those people who are not a part of the country and for those who are not a citizen of this country. This means all the outsiders regardless of where they come from must follow these visa policies in order to get permission to enter Vietnam.
The Vietnam visa is only required for those countries that do not have an exemption applied to them. Those countries that are exempt from the visa can easily enter Vietnam and stay there for a set period of time after which if they wish to stay longer must have a visa extension or must exit as in most cases.
Content:
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Visa exemptions for other countries
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Diplomatic passport holder visa exemption
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Phu Quoc Island visa exemption
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Transit through Vietnam
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E visa for foreigners
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Pre-registered visa
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Business travel card
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Use of travel agencies in applying for a visa
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Application of Vietnam visa
Visa exemptions for other countries:
The visa exemptions for countries can be divided on the number of days they can stay in Vietnam without a visa. The division can be given as follows:
1. 90 days visa exemption:
This 90 days visa exemption is only given to one country which is Chile.
2. 30 days visa exemption:
There are about 8 countries whose nationals can go to Vietnam without a visa. The list of countries can be given as follows:
| Cambodia | Indonesia | Kyrgyzstan |
| Laos | Malaysia | Myanmar |
| Singapore | Thailand |
It is to be noted that only the nationals who live in these countries can avail of this facility while those foreigners who live in the above-mentioned countries cannot avail of this opportunity.
3. 21 days visa exemption:
Only the Philippines country can have this 21-day visa-free entry.
4. 14 days visa exemption:
Brunei can avail of this opportunity. There are no other countries that can access this.
5. 15 days visa exemption:
There are 13 countries that can avail of this facility. The list can be given as follows:
| Belarus | Denmark | Finland |
| France | Germany | Italy |
| Japan | Norway | Russia |
| South Korea | Spain | Sweden |
| United Kingdom |
All the above-mentioned countries can enter without a visa and stay in Vietnam but only for a period of 15 days. This stay also has some restrictions included in them. Such as these countries who want to avail of this facility must have a 30-day gap between two visits which are free of visas also the nationals of these countries must have a printout of an onward flight ticket which they will be taking to after leaving Vietnam.
Diplomatic passport holder visa exemption:
The following list of countries whose nationals are holding diplomatic and service passports do not require a visa to visit Vietnam. They are:
There is an agreement that was done with the following countries regarding the visa exemptions. The countries are as follows:
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Agreement with Cameroon which took place in December 2017
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Agreement with Ethiopia in August 2018
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Agreement with Lithuania on 23 January 2019
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Agreement with Namibia on 19 November 2013
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Agreement with Botswana in August 2019
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Agreement with Nigeria in October 2019.
The above-listed countries had agreed for a visa-free visit to Vietnam but this has not been put into action yet.
Phu Quoc Island visa exemption:
Those countries whose names have been put up in the visa exemption list can go to the Phu Quoc Island without a visa and can stay for up to 30 days. The condition for them to get a visa-free visit to this island is that the foreigner should either enter the island from a third country or should clear immigration from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City and then proceed to a domestic airport from where they’ll fly to this island.
Transit through Vietnam:
There are no restrictions for any of the nationalities to transit through Vietnam. However, they can stay in Vietnam sterile transit area only for 24 hours and not more than that. Staying in this area for overnight is also allowed. However, if they need to enter the country and stay for a longer period of time then they might have to gain access to the Vietnam 15 day transit visa which will allow a time period of 15 days of stay.
E visa for foreigners:
An e visa system was implemented on the 1st of February 2017. This allows the countries which will be mentioned below to take a visa through an online method. This visa will be valid for 30 days and will have a single entry or multiple entries based on the tourists’ choice. There are 81 eligible countries and they are as follows:
Pre-registered visa:
For those countries whose nationals have a visa letter which has been stamped at Hanoi or Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh city by either the Vietnamese immigration department which is located within the ministry of public security or the consular department of the ministry of foreign affairs can obtain a visa which allows a stay of 1 to 3 months at the airport located in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, or Nha Trang.
Business travel card:
Those countries that hold an APEC business travel card also known as ABTC and have a sign named “VNM” at the back of the card can get visits to Vietnam without a visa. The following countries can avail of this facility:
| Australia | Brunei | Chile |
| China | Hong Kong | Indonesia |
| Japan | South Korea | Malaysia |
| Thailand | Taiwan | Singapore |
| Russia | Philippines | Peru |
| Papua New Guinea | New Zealand | Mexico |
These countries can get the ABTC issued and can get the visa-free visit.
Use of travel agencies in applying for a visa:
The travel agencies normally help a lot of people to get their visas issued. However, some of them might think that this is all a sort of fraud system set up by the travel companies to gain profits. So to solve all these doubts here are 3 articles which mention the importance of a travel agency in assisting you to complete the visa application process:
1. Article 2:
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All of those organizations which are foreign and Vietnam-based ones can invite a foreigner to Vietnam. Apart from this the agencies, Vietnamese citizens, those foreigners who reside in Vietnam, or any other international organization can also invite foreigners to Vietnam.
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Those who invite the foreigners must bear all the responsibilities which are related to the foreigner. This includes various responsibilities such as the purpose of the foreigner’s visit, the financial matters accompanied to him or her among others.
2. Article 5:
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Those agencies or organizations or individuals who invite the foreigners into Vietnam must give a written request for both the entry and exit of the foreigner to the ministry of public security or the consular office of the ministry of foreign affairs.
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This request will be replied to within a matter of 5 days after sending in the request.
3. Article 6:
The foreigner who needs a visa on arrival or needs a grant of entry will be able to get a visa through the international borders on during the following conditions:
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The foreigners enter Vietnam for attending a funeral or to visit someone who is seriously ill.
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If the foreigners are from such places where there is a Vietnam consulate or embassy available.
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The foreigner entering Vietnam for other programs that have been organized by international enterprises of Vietnam.
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For other urgent reasons such as entering Vietnam to provide care for the ill people or for treatment during natural disasters or epidemics or any other such urgent cases.
The visas for these types of cases will be given directly by the management agency of the ministry of public security.
Application of Vietnam visa:
There are currently three ways in which a foreigner can apply for a visa:
1. Applying for a Vietnam visa through an embassy:
You can find a nearby embassy and apply for a visa there. The below-given steps might have to be followed in order to get a visa:
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Get all the required documents for a visa
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Submit the documents and pay the fee
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The visa will be processed and you have to wait for it
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Get the passport and know what decision has been made about your visa
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If you are granted a visa, then you get a stamp onto your passport.
2. Applying for an e visa:
Once you take a look at the list you will come to know whether you are eligible for an online visa or not and depending on this you can apply for one.
3. Vietnam visa on arrival:
Those countries that are eligible can get a letter of approval and get the visa at the airport upon arrival at any of the checkpoints where the visa on arrival is provided.
This will complete your visa application and get you a visa for your visit to Vietnam. However, while applying for a visa through any methods, it is important that you take the Vietnam visa policies into consideration and act accordingly.
