Vietnamʼs Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism calls for the introduction of a visa waiver for tourists from America, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India. With this waiver, he intends to boost the countryʼs tourism sector.
Proposal plan for visa waiver extension
Nguyen Van Hung, Vietnamʼs Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, has submitted a proposal to extend the visa waiver to a large number of countries from around the world. He sees this as a necessary measure to bring Vietnamʼs tourism back up to par after the Covid-19 pandemic. He also believes that the Vietnamese government should relax immigration procedures to attract foreign tourists to Vietnam. Especially as Vietnamʼs tourism sector has suffered a lot after the coronavirus crisis of the past two years. He also wants to extend tax cuts for tourism businesses until the end of 2023 to allow them to recover after the prolonged coronavirus pandemic.
Tourism sector still not at pre-coronavirus crisis level
Even though the country has reopened to tourists and most coronavirus restrictions have been lifted, many tour operators and people working in the tourism sector are still struggling. They have hardly benefited from the governmentʼs current policies. And that, according to Hung, needs to change.
In the first months of 2022, Vietnam welcomed 954,000 foreign tourists. That is nine times the number of tourists who arrived in Vietnam in 2021. This year, Vietnam plans to welcome five million tourists to the country, which is about 30 per cent of the number of tourists from before the Covid-19 pandemic.
From mid-March, the Vietnamese government abolished the quarantine requirement on arrival and resumed the pre-pandemic visa-free policy for 24 countries. This includes Western European countries that have visa-free stays of up to 15 days.
Current Covid-19 measures in Vietnam
From 15 March 2022, Vietnam has lifted the entry ban on foreign tourists. This makes it possible again to go to Vietnam for a holiday or business trip. Currently, the UK government considers Vietnam to be relatively safe and only recommends a few precautions. They do recommend being careful in general, so it is advisable that travellers prepare properly. Also, vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers may travel to Vietnam again from 15 May. They will no longer have to take a Covid-19 test before departure, regardless of vaccination status. However, anyone travelling to Vietnam must download the PC-COVID app and travellers must have health insurance that covers any coronavirus treatment in Vietnam.
Apply for a Vietnam visa
For now, travellers from the UK are eligible for the visa waiver. Irish citizens still need a visa to travel, and will have to apply for a Vietnam visa. This is a digital travel authorisation that allows you to travel to Vietnam and enter the country. Everyone travelling to Vietnam must have a valid visa; including children. The Vietnam visa has a validity period of 30 days, and you are also allowed to stay in the country for a maximum of 30 days. You do not yet need to know exactly when you will arrive and depart, nor do you need to have booked transport to Vietnam at the time of application. However, you do need to have at least one place to stay already booked. The visa is easy to apply online and costs £54.95. If you need an urgent application, a further £17.50 fee will be added.
Please note: this news article about the visa for Vietnam is more than one year old. It might contain outdated information and advice, and no rights can therefore be derived from this article. Are you going on a trip soon and do you wish to do know what rules currently apply? Read all about the up-to-date information about the visa for Vietnam.