Security ministry proposes extending e-visas to three months

The e-visa will be valid for single-entry or multiple entries, according to a draft amendment to The Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, for which the ministry is preparing to collect public opinions.

Vietnam currently offers a one-month single-entry e-visa to visitors from 80 countries and territories, including the U.S. and Australia.

Under the draft, the ministry also suggested extending the duration of stays for tourists from countries enjoying 15-day visa exemptions to 30 days.

Now, 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.

The ministry said that since Vietnam reopened its borders in March last year, the number of foreign tourists has remained low, prompting tourism industry insiders to urge visa relaxations to save the tourism industry.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told a tourism conference that Vietnam will waive visas for more countries and extend the length of stay for foreign tourists to speed up the recovery of tourism.

Despite being one of the first Southeast Asian countries to fully reopen to international tourism post Covid, Vietnam received only 3.6 million foreign tourists last year, around 20% of the pre-pandemic figure.

This year, Vietnam aims to receive 8 million foreign visitors.