Vietnam to grant 3-month e-visas for foreign tourists

Vietnam to grant 3-month e-visas for foreign tourists 

The government is proposing to increase the period of e-visas given to foreigners entering Vietnam from 30 days to three months and is considering expanding the use of e-visas for citizens from all nations and territories at the national assembly gathering in May.

Latest news about Vietnam E-visa 2023: The government considers extending e-visas to three months and intends to expand the list of nations eligible for visa exemption. 

1. Vietnam considers extending e-visas to three months

According to the news, to support tourism recovery, the administration declared that it will propose to the National Assembly that the period of e-visas given to foreigners entering Vietnam be increased from 30 days to a maximum of three months. The e-visa will be valid for single or multiple entries, according to a proposed amendment to The Law on Entry, Departure, Transit, and Residency of Foreigners in Vietnam, which the ministry is drafting to solicit public feedback on. The new government proposal also involves expanding the period of stay for tourists from 15 days in visa-free countries to 45 days. Up to the present time, the multi-entry, three-month visa that was available before COVID has not yet been reinstated.

source: Vietnamplus.vn
As stated in a government report, the number of international tourists has remained low since Vietnam reopened its borders in March last year, causing experts in the tourism industry to call for visa relaxations to save the tourism industry. Visitors from some European countries, Japan, and South Korea, Vietnam's biggest tourism markets, can now stay in Viẹtnam for up to 15 days without requiring a tourist visa.

2. Vietnam will expand the list of nations eligible for visa exemption 

The government is also considering expanding the use of e-visas for citizens from all nations and territories. Vietnam presently offers a one-month single-entry e-visa to travelers from 80 countries and territories, including the United States and Australia.

The list of nations eligible for e-visa issuance will be enlarged, the Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh announced at a conference on post-Covid tourism recovery on March 15. The Prime Minister indicated that Vietnam will waive visas for more countries and expand the length of stay for foreign tourists.Vietnam already waives visas for visitors from 25 countries, compared to 162 for Malaysia, 157 for the Philippines, and 68 for Thailand. It also provides a one-month single-entry e-visa to tourists from 80 countries.

Reported by VNExpress, 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 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.

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.

Although Vietnam is one of the first Southeast Asian countries to fully reopen to international tourism following the COVID outbreak, Vietnam only received 3.6 million foreign tourists last year, around 20% of the pre-pandemic rate. Hopefully, the National Assembly meeting in May will bring positive results regarding the visa issues, which is a barrier for foreign tourists who want to take holidays to Vietnam.