HANOI – The government of Vietnam is exploring the possibility of introducing more travel-friendly policies to spur the economy.
In this regard, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has directed immigration agencies to consider visa waivers for visitors from affluent nations for stays ranging from six to 12 months to revive tourism in the country.
Under the new directives issued on Friday, the list of countries eligible for unilateral visa exemptions is set to expand beyond the current 13, which include Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Britain, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Belarus.
In addition to considering long-term visa waivers, the Prime Minister has also instructed authorities to explore the possibility of issuing multiple-entry visas lasting from 12 to 36 months, with the aim of attracting wealthy retirees from Europe, Northeast Asia, North America, India, and select Middle Eastern countries.
This initiative comes amidst heightened competition among Southeast Asian nations, such as Thailand and Malaysia, to attract foreign tourists, particularly from China, through visa-free policies.
Vietnam, while currently waiving visas for travelers from 25 countries, lags behind its regional counterparts, with Malaysia and Singapore granting visa waivers to citizens from 162 countries, followed by the Philippines (157), Japan (68), South Korea (66), and Thailand (64).
Moreover, Vietnam extends tourist visas for up to three months to citizens from all countries and territories. However, despite these measures, the country’s tourism industry is still on the path to recovery, having received only around 70% of its pre-Covid number of international visitors; the number of international tourists last year was recorded at 12.6 million.
In light of this, the Prime Minister has tasked the Public Security Ministry with exploring further expansions to the visa exemption policy, taking into account the evolving global situation and Vietnam’s diplomatic relations.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been instructed to review the current unilateral visa exemption for citizens of 13 countries and collaborate with the Public Security Ministry to propose additional nations for inclusion in Vietnam’s visa exemption list.
The envisioned expansion of visa-free policies aims to attract a greater influx of international tourists to Vietnam, with the country also offering electronic visas to citizens of all countries since August 2023, along with extended stays from 30 to 90 days with multiple entries. Additionally, citizens of countries eligible for unilateral visa exemption have seen their stay extended from 15 to 45 days as part of the measures to boost tourism and inturn boost the economy.
