Vietnam visa exemption
Vietnam visa is an essential governmental certification for foreigners to enter Vietnam. In other words, it is an essential certification issued by the governmental offices of Vietnam like Vietnam Embassy and Consulates abroad or Vietnam Immigration Department, which certified foreigners wish to enter the country.
Who needs Vietnam visa?
Generally speaking, most visitors need a Vietnam visa to enter the country except the citizens of the countries included in the Vietnam visa exemption list as below:
1. Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan and Laos passport holders have 30 days Vietnam visa exemption.
2. Philippines passport holders have 21 days Vietnam visa exemption.
3. Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Finland and Belarus passport holders have 15 days Vietnam visa exemption (until December 31, 2022) and recent added countries including: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom with 15 days visa free as well.
4. Brunei passport holders have 14 days Vietnam visa exemption.
5. Chile passport holders have 90 days Vietnam visa exemption.
6. APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) Holders from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies for visits of 60 days at the maximum.
7. For those who travel to Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam: Foreigners and Vietnamese holding foreign passports who enter Vietnam through an international border gate to travel to Phu Quoc Island and stay in Phu Quoc Island within 30 days will also be granted Vietnam visa exemption. In order to be eligible for 30 days visa exemption for Phu Quoc Island, the travelers must meet the following requirements:
- The traveler’s passports must be valid for at least 6 months since their date of entry.
- The travelers must have a round trip air ticket to and from Phu Quoc Island. The onward destination after Phu Quoc Island can be any other destination except Vietnam. After the visitor’s arrival in Phu Quoc Island, if they want to travel to other localities of Vietnam or stay in the island for more than 30 days, they will need a visa issued by the Vietnam Immigration Department.
- Their stay on the island must be less than 30 days.
Requirements for Vietnam visa exemption:
The travelers must hold a passport valid for at least 6 months from date of departure from Vietnam and at least 30 days must have passed since last leaving Vietnam. If the travelers come back Vietnam within 30 days since last leaving Vietnam then visa is required as other citizenship. For those who expect to stay more 15 days without leaving the country, please refer to Vietnam visa extension.
For British passport holders, only holders of British citizen passports are eligible.
May I have my free visa extension to stay more in Vietnam?
The travelers visited Vietnam with 15 days free visa and now they want to stay more in Vietnam, they can have their visa extended for 2 weeks or 1 month.
If the travelers fly out of Vietnam, they will need to wait 30 days to use free visa program again. Of course, they can start return to Vietnam without waiting 30 days if they apply for a new visa for 1 month, 3 months, 6 month or 1 year.
Who are NOT supported with Vietnam visa on arrival?
Even the citizen of the countries below are required a visa to Vietnam, however, they are not supported with Vietnam visa on arrival due to some security reasons. It is also known as Vietnam visa on arrival exception list:
1. Afghanistan (*)
2. Bangladesh (*)
3. Cameroon (*)
4. Congo (*)
5. Ghana (*)
6. Iran (*)
7. Iraq (*)
8. Mozambique (*)
9. Nigeria
10. Pakistan (*)
11. Turkey (*)
12. Sierra Leone
13. Syria (*)
14. Senegal (*)
15. Mali (*)
16. Guinea (*)
17. Lybia (*)
18. Liberia (*)
(*): The nations whose citizens can be arranged a visa at higher processing fee