CATEGORIES

© Copyright 2004; Hanoitimes - Economic and Urban Newspaper;

The tribune of Hanoi People’s Committee

Publication Permit: 29/GP-CBC

Editor - in - Chief: Nguyen Thanh Loi

Managing Editor: Ta Thu Giang

Email : thugiang@hanoitimes.vn

Head Office: 21 Huynh Thuc Khang Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi

Branch Office: 221 Tran Phu Street, Ha Dong District, Hanoi

WORDS ON THE STREET 70th anniversary of Hanoi's Liberation Day Vietnam - Asia 2023 Smart City Summit Hanoi celebrates 15 years of administrative boundary adjustment 12th Vietnam-France decentrialized cooperation conference 31st Sea Games - Vietnam 2021 Covid-19 Pandemic
Home / News / Viet Nam
Vietnam’s visa waiver policy needs to further expand
Ha Thu 17:50, 2018/03/18
The government should further open up the visa waiver policy to make the country’s tourism industry more attractive to foreign visitors, industry insiders said.
Though Vietnam’s visa procedures were simplified in recent years, the country’s visa requirements are placed a lowly 116th out of 136 countries in the WEF’s Competitiveness Index. 
 
Vietnam ranks fifth in ASEAN in terms of the number of foreign arrivals
Vietnam ranks fifth in ASEAN in terms of the number of foreign arrivals
Vietnam just exempted visa for visitors from 23 countries while Thailand exempted visa for people from 58 countries, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are from 160 to 169 countries.
If Vietnam’s visa policy is further opened up, the country will be much more attractive to foreign visitors, the insiders said. Vietnam currently ranks fifth in ASEAN in terms of the number of foreign arrivals. 
Nguyen Quoc Ky, CEO of local tour organizer Vietravel, said that many tourists complain that the visa rigmarole is one of the biggest obstacles to visiting a country. To boost tourism, Vietnam should adopt a one-sided visa-free policy as many countries have done.
According to representatives from the Vietnam Tourism Association, visa exemption should be expanded to more countries.
Once Vietnam is willing to scrap visa requirements, it should also allow tourists to stay longer in the country, from the current 15 days to 30 days, it suggested, adding that the expansion will encourage holidaymakers to stay longer and spend more in the country.
Local travel agencies hope for more robust growth if the government considers extending the list of visa-free countries in June 2018, Ky said.
The visa exemption has been proved an effective measure to attract foreign arrivals to the country in recent years.
Vu The Binh, vice chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said that the visa-exemption policy for citizens from the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy that has been in force since July 2015 has boosted the number of European tourists to the country.
The exemption policy attracted 720,000 tourists from these countries in the first 12 months – an increase of 96,000 tourists compared to the period in 2014 – yielding total revenues of US$126 million. Last year, 58,000 more European tourists visited the country and yielded $76 million in revenues.
Vietnam has so far also taken measures to ease foreign visitors through the application of e-visa program. 
According to the Administration of Immigration under the Ministry of Public Security, 96,478 foreigners requested e-visas on Vietnam’s immigration portal last year.
Procedures for granting e-visas on the website are implemented simply, ensuring publicity and transparency. The time for processing e-visa applications is within three working days. 
Vietnam began allowing tourists from 40 countries to apply for e-visas from February 1, 2017, such as China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United States, the UK, Germany and Sweden. 
The government recently decided to expand e-visa issuance for visitors from six more countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UAE, India and the Netherlands. 
Visitors with e-visas can enter through eight international airports, 13 international border gates on land or seven ports. 
Simplifying immigration procedures is a common trend around the world. According to the Global Competitiveness Report 2016-17 from the World Economic Forum (WEF), the percentage of tourists requesting visas to enter a country decreased from 77 percent in 2008 to 58 percent in 2016. 
Vietnam aims to welcome 16 million foreign visitors in 2018, year-on-year increase of 25 percent. 
In the first two months of this year, the country served 2.86 million foreign holiday-makers, up 29.7 percent against the same period of 2017.
Comments
Other news
20:47, 2025/01/22
Vietnam news in brief - January 22
Stay up to date with the latest news from The Hanoi Times.
20:53, 2025/01/21
Vietnam news in brief - January 21
Read The Hanoi Times for more updates about Vietnam and its capital.
08:58, 2025/01/21
Vietnamese leaders congratulate President Donald Trump on inauguration day
Vietnamese leaders expressed confidence that, under Trump's leadership, the partnership would continue to grow based on mutual respect for independence, sovereignty, and political systems.
23:10, 2025/01/20
Vietnam, Czech Republic issue Joint Statement on elevating ties to Strategic Partnership
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala have issued a Joint Statement, upgrading Vietnam-Czechia relations to a Strategic Partnership during the Vietnamese Prime Minister's official visit to the Czech Republic, from January 18 to 20.
21:52, 2025/01/20
Vietnam news in brief - January 20
Read The Hanoi Times news in brief to get the latest updates on the country.
06:05, 2025/01/20
President calls for overseas Vietnamese to join hands in nation-building efforts
The president said Vietnam will strengthen efforts to promote patriotism, fulfill aspirations, preserve the Vietnamese language, and uphold the nation’s cultural heritage among overseas Vietnamese.