Vietnam Visa Exemption

WHAT IS VISA EXEMPTION?

Visa exemption (also known as visa free) is a policy on immigration regulations of the Vietnamese government for other countries in the world, through which, citizens of other countries who are exempted from Vietnam visa will not have to apply for a visa or pay any visa-related fees when entering Vietnam. Depending on policy of each country, the visa exemption period also varies.

👉 Bilateral visa exemption: It is understood that between two countries there is a policy/agreement on allowing citizens of the two countries to enter the country without having to apply for a visa.

For example, Vietnam and Thailand signed a bilateral visa exemption agreement, it means that Vietnamese or Thai citizens can enter and exit between Thailand and Vietnam without having to apply for a visa.

👉 Unilateral visa exemption: The Vietnamese government unilaterally exempts citizens of another country from visas without an agreement on visa exemption between the two countries, whereas Vietnamese citizens still need to apply for a visa to enter such country.

Bilateral visa exemption and unilateral visa exemption both allow foreigners to enter Vietnam without specific purpose without having to apply for a visa or pay any visa-related fees.

The only difference is length of stay allowed, normally citizens of countries on bilateral visa exemption are allowed to stay longer (up to 90 days) than those of countries on unilateral visa exemption (15 days).

Note: This kind of visa exemption is completely different from the VISA EXEMPTION CERTIFICATE (5-YEAR VISA) issued to overseas Vietnamese or those who are Spouses/Children of Overseas Vietnamese.

REQUIREMENTS FOR VISA FREE

For visa-free entry, foreigners need to meet following conditions:

• Citizens holding passports of countries on list of bilateral/unilateral visa exemption with Vietnam.
• Passport valid for at least 6 months from date of arrival
• Passport with at least two (02) blank pages.

LIST OF COUNTRIES UNDER VIETNAM VISA EXEMPTION

Latest regulation on Visa Exemption was issued by the Vietnamese government on March 15, 2022 and has been applied from its issuance until now.

According to this regulation, the Government of Vietnam give bilateral visa exemption for 12 countries/territories and unilateral visa exemption for 13 countries/territories. Details in the table below:

Important notes about visa exemption:

• Previously, citizens of countries on list of unilateral visa exemptions (15 days) when using the visa-free entry right, had to wait at least 30 days from the date of departure to be allowed to use the visa-free entry for 2^nd time.
• However, from January 1, 2023, the Government of Vietnam allows citizens of countries on list of unilateral visa exemption to enter and exit an unlimited number of times, without having to wait at least 30 days between entries.
• The temporary stay period is counted from the date of arrival.
• British nationals overseas – BNOs are not exempt from Vietnam visa
• Citizens of countries on list of bilateral/unilateral visa exemptions still may apply for a visa (if required).

OTHER CASE OF VISA EXEMPTION

In addition to visa exemption for citizens of countries on the list of bilateral/unilateral visa exemptions as above, the Vietnamese government also exempts foreigners from visas in the following specific cases:

• Foreigners holding diplomatic passports and entering Vietnam for official purposes
• Holders of a valid temporary residence card (Can enter and stay up to the length of temporary residence card)
• Holders of a valid visa exemption certificate (Can enter and stay up to 180 days)
• Foreigners with Apec cards and valid passports: Can enter and stay up to 60 days
• Foreigners entering Vietnam's coastal special economic zones such as: Phu Quoc (Can enter Phu Quoc and stay up to 30 days)

EXTENSION OF VIETNAM VISA EXEMPTION

Depending on visa exemption category, the visa exemption extension is also different, specifically as follows:

• Foreigners entering under bilateral visa exemption category are required to exit after their stay expires, then re-enter if they still need to stay in Vietnam.
• Cases of entry under unilateral visa exemption (Staying up to 15 days). After the expiration of the stay, it is possible to extend 15 more days.
• Holders of a valid visa exemption certificate are allowed to extend for another 180 days if they have a guarantor in Vietnam and have a good reason.

All cases of being allowed to extend visa exemption (Temporary residence extension) are done at Immigration Department of Vietnam.

SERVICES OF EXTENSION OF VIETNAM VISA EXCEPTION

There are many cases where foreigners want to extend their visa exemption (Extension of length of stay) but do not know where to start or prepare documents correctly to save money and time. Some with length of stay are overdue due to not being able to prepare documents in time

To assist foreigners in solving this problem, we provide visa-free extension services with outstanding advantages:

• 24/7 consulting
• Prepare documents quickly, ensuring 100% accuracy
• Supporting whole process from preparing to processing documents
• Collecting documents at home or company’s offices
• Having results in 3-5 working days
• No need to be present at competent authorities in Vietnam
• Receiving results at home (Addresses in Vietnam)

Please contact us immediately via Hotline (Call, SMS, WhatsApp): +84 93 6699 869 or Email: Support@vietnamEvisa.Com for further support