Visa policy of Vietnam

A Vietnamese visa sticker issued in Noi Bai International Airport

Vietnamese loose-leaf visa

Visitors to Vietnam must obtain either an e-Visa or a visa in advance, unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries.

Visa policy map

  Vietnam

  Visa not required (90 days)

  Visa not required (45 days)

  Visa not required (30 days)

  Visa not required (21 days)

  Visa not required (14 days)

  Visa required / eVisa

Visa exemption

Ordinary passports

Holders of ordinary passports of the following countries may enter Vietnam without a visa (including all ASEAN member states).

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, the maximum allowed period of stay depends on nationality: ^{[1] [2]}

90 days   Chile   Panama 45 days   Belarus [lower-alpha 1]   Denmark [lower-alpha 1]   Finland [lower-alpha 1]   France [lower-alpha 1]   Germany [lower-alpha 1]   Italy [lower-alpha 1]   Japan [lower-alpha 1]   Norway [lower-alpha 1]   Russia [lower-alpha 1]   South Korea [lower-alpha 1]   Spain [lower-alpha 1]   Sweden [lower-alpha 1]   United Kingdom [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2] 30 days   Cambodia   Indonesia   Kazakhstan   Kyrgyzstan   Laos   Malaysia   Mongolia   Myanmar   Singapore   Thailand 21 days   Philippines 14 days   Brunei

Date of visa changes

15 July 1985: Kyrgyzstan (signed as USSR) 1 April 2000: Philippines [3] 9 July 2000: Thailand [3] 21 November 2001: Malaysia [3] 1 December 2003: Singapore [3] 4 December 2003: Indonesia [3] 1 January 2004: Japan [4] 5 March 2004: Laos [3] 1 July 2004: South Korea [5] 1 May 2005: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden [6] 8 August 2007: Brunei [7] 4 December 2008: Cambodia [8] 1 January 2009: Russia [9] (resumed) 26 October 2013: Myanmar [10] 1 July 2015: Belarus, [11] France, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom [12] 11 August 2017: Chile [13] 1 January 2020: Myanmar (extended from 14 to 30 days) [14] 15 January 2021: Panama [15] 7 March 2024: Mongolia [16] 25 May 2024: Kazakhstan [17] Cancelled: Russia: 20 February 1994 [18] (was resumed in 2009)

In addition, citizens of China, Cuba and North Korea who have a passport for public affairs or ordinary passports endorsed "for public affairs" may enter Vietnam without a visa.

Certificate of visa exemption

A certificate of visa exemption for an overseas Vietnamese citizen who holds a foreign passport

Holders of certificates of visa exemption do not require a visa regardless of nationality. A certificate of visa exemption is valid for up to 5 years or up to 6 months before the passport expiration date (whichever is shorter). This is available for Vietnamese residing abroad or spouses or children of Vietnamese citizens or Vietnamese residing abroad. ^[19]

The exemption is valid for 180 consecutive days of stay. There is no limit on the number of entries and exits during the stay or the minimum waiting time between each 180-day stay.

APEC Business Travel Card

Holders of passports issued by the following countries who possess an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) containing "VNM" on the back of the card may enter Vietnam without a visa for business trips for up to 60 days. ^[2]

ABTCs are issued to citizens of: ^[20]

Australia   Brunei   Chile   China   Hong Kong   Indonesia   Japan   South Korea   Malaysia

Mexico   New Zealand   Papua New Guinea   Peru   Philippines   Russia   Singapore   Taiwan   Thailand

Non-ordinary passports

  Vietnam

  Visa not required for diplomatic and official / service passports

  Visa not required for diplomatic passports

Holders of diplomatic or official / service passports of the following countries may enter Vietnam without a visa for the following period:

90 days   Albania   Argentina   Armenia   Bulgaria   Colombia   Costa Rica   Côte d'Ivoire   Croatia   Cyprus   Czech Republic D   Dominican Republic   Ecuador   El Salvador   Estonia D   France   Germany   Hungary   Italy   Israel D   Japan   Jordan   Malta D   Mexico   Moldova   Montenegro   Morocco D   Nicaragua   Panama   Poland D   Romania   Russia   Serbia   Slovakia D   Slovenia   South Korea   Spain    Switzerland D   Tunisia D   Turkey   Uruguay 30 days ASEAN member states (except Brunei and Indonesia)   Afghanistan D   Algeria   Angola   Azerbaijan   Bangladesh   Belarus   Bolivia   Brazil   Chile   China   Cuba   Egypt   India   Iraq   Kazakhstan   Kuwait   Mongolia   Mozambique     Nepal   North Korea   Pakistan   Paraguay   Peru   Saudi Arabia   Seychelles   South Africa   Sri Lanka   Sudan   Ukraine   United Arab Emirates   Uzbekistan   United Kingdom D 14 days   Brunei   Indonesia

_{D - Diplomatic passports only.}

Future changes

Vietnam has signed visa exemption agreements with the following countries, but they have not yet entered into force:

Country	Passports	Agreement signed on
Timor-Leste [21]	Diplomatic	2 August 2024
Belarus [22]	All	8 December 2023
Nigeria [23]	Diplomatic, official	October 2019
Botswana	Diplomatic, service	August 2019
Lithuania [24]	Diplomatic	23 January 2019
Ethiopia [25]	Diplomatic, service	August 2018
Cameroon [26]	Diplomatic, service	December 2017

In November 2023, the authorities in Vietnam proposed to abolish visas for citizens of China and India. ^[27] In July 2024 Prime Minister of Vietnam instructed relevant ministries to work on expanding the list of visa exemption eligible countries. ^[28]

Electronic visa (e-Visa)

Vietnamese e-Visa

Vietnamese e-Visa Stamp

Vietnam introduced a pilot electronic visa system on 1 February 2017. ^[29]

Starting from August 15, 2023, an e-Visa is issued to citizens of all countries and territories and is issued for multiple-entry up to 90 days. The e-Visa costs 25 USD. ^{[30] [31]} The list of border crossings that allow foreigners to enter and exit on an e-Visa includes:

List of international airports

• Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi
• Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Ho Chi Minh City
• Cam Ranh International Airport
• Da Nang International Airport
• Cat Bi International Airport, Hai Phong
• Can Tho International Airport
• Phu Quoc International Airport
• Phu Bai International Airport, Hue
• Van Don International Airport
• Tho Xuan Airport
• Dong Hoi Airport
• Phu Cat Airport
• Lien Khuong Airport

List of road border crossings

• Tay Trang, Dien Bien Province
• Mong Cai, Quang Ninh Province
• Huu Nghi, Lang Son Province
• Lao Cai, Lao Cai Province
• Na Meo, Thanh Hoa Province
• Nam Cau, Nghe An Province
• Cau Treo, Ha Tinh Province
• Cha Lo, Quang Binh Province
• La Lay, Quang Tri Province
• Lao Bao, Quang Tri Province
• Bo Y, Kon Tum Province
• Moc Bai, Tay Ninh Province
• Xa Mat, Tay Ninh Province
• Tinh Bien, An Giang Province
• Vinh Xuong, An Giang Province
• Ha Tien, Kien Giang Province

List of sea border crossings

• Hon Gai Port, Quang Ninh Province
• Cam Pha Port, Quang Ninh Province
• Hai Phong Port, Hai Phong city
• Nghi Son Port, Thanh Hoa Province
• Vung Ang Port, Ha Tinh Province
• Chan May Port, Thua Thien Hue Province
• Da Nang Port, Da Nang City
• Nha Trang Port, Khanh Hoa Province
• Quy Nhon Port, Binh Dinh Province
• Dung Quat Port, Quang Ngai Province
• Vung Tau Port, Ba Ria Province - Vung Tau
• Ho Chi Minh City Port, Ho Chi Minh City
• Duong Dong Port, Kien Giang Province

e-Visa holders who present a Chinese biometric ordinary passport upon arrival must exchange their e-Visa for a free paper visa at the port of entry. This is because the passport contains a disputed map of the South China Sea, and the Vietnamese government refuses to stamp on it. ^[32]

Investor visas

Investor visas in Vietnam 2024 ^[33]

Code	Description	Length
DT1	Investments over VND 100 billion (US$4.15 million), or for investment into ‘prioritised’ sectors, professions, or areas of Vietnam.	5 years
DT2	Investments between VND 50 billion (US$2.07 million) and VND 100 billion (US$4.15 million), or for investment into ‘prioritised’ sectors, professions, or areas of Vietnam.	5 years
DT3	Investor visa: issued for investors with total investment capital between VND 3 billion (US$125,000) and VND 59 billion (US$2.07 million).	3 years
DT4	Investor visa: issued for investors with total investment capital less than VND 3 billion (US$125,000).	12 months

Phú Quốc Visa-free Program

Travellers who are not exempted from visa requirements may enter Phú Quốc without a visa for up to 30 days. ^{[34] [35] [36]} They must arrive at Phú Quốc directly from a third country, or from airports in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City where they will clear immigration and proceed to the domestic terminals. ^[2]

Pre-arranged visa on arrival

Approval letter for obtaining Vietnamese visa on arrival

Holders of a visa letter issued and stamped in Hanoi or Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh City by the Vietnamese Immigration Department within the Ministry of Public Security or the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may obtain a visa on arrival for a maximum stay of 1 or 3 months at airports in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Hai Phong, Da Lat or Nha Trang. ^[2]

Transit

Passengers of any nationality may transit through Vietnam by air without a visa for less than 24 hours providing that they do not intend to leave the sterile transit area. Staying overnight in the transit lounge is permitted. ^[2]

Visitor statistics

Most visitors arriving in Vietnam on short-term basis were from the following countries of nationality:

This section is transcluded from Tourism in Vietnam. (edit | history)

Data Source: Ministry of Culture, Sport & Tourism ^[37]

Country	9/2024	2023	2022	3/2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014
South Korea	3,367,700	3,595,062	769,167	819,089	4,290,802	3,485,406	2,415,245	1,543,883	1,152,349	849,384
China	2,705,402	1,743,204	71,862	871,819	6,806,425	4,966,468	4,008,253	2,696,848	1,771,654	1,949,433
Taiwan	953,805	851,024	89,463	192,216	926,744	714,112	616,232	507,301	425,060	391,040
United States	578,615	717,073	215,274	172,706	746,171	687,226	614,117	552,644	492,847	445,945
Japan	529,006	589,522	128,764	200,346	951,962	826,674	798,119	740,592	677,477	648,612
Australia	355,303	390,087	99,156	92,227	383,511	386,934	370,438	320,678	323,792	322,424
Malaysia *	356,517	470,105	135,007	116,221	606,206	540,119	480,456	407,574	341,125	333,859
India	353,118	145,340	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Cambodia *	325,727	402,062	140,461	120,430	227,910	202,954	222,614	211,949	220,449	397,399
Thailand *	300,968	489,174	162,567	125,725	509,802	349,310	301,587	266,984	218,025	253,503
Singapore *	241,300	328,195	128,399	51,726	308,969	286,246	277,658	257,041	237,496	202,870
United Kingdom	224,510	253,522	67,337	81,433	315,084	298,114	283,537	254,841	214,866	203,719
France	198,716	215,508	58,107	74,480	287,655	279,659	255,369	240,808	211,780	214,569
Germany	175,585	200,425	59,975	61,465	226,792	213,986	199,872	176,015	134,784	142,843
Philippines *	175,225	153,168	36,281	36,969	179,190	151,641	133,543	110,967	101,451	104,988
Russia	159,382	125,610	28,056	244,966	646,524	606,637	574,164	433,987	339,270	365,163
Indonesia *	135,610	105,380	26,338	21,446	106,688	87,941	81,065	69,653	65,660	68,974
Laos *	111,091	120,522	47,002	36,810	98,492	120,009	141,588	137,004	116,349	136,658
Canada	108,670	133,493	37,894	41,807	159,121	149,535	138,242	122,929	105,189	105,279
Italy	64,250	57,054	15,051	17,774	70,798	65,562	58,041	51,265	43,202	36,509
Spain	64,745	76,087	22,511	11,783	83,597	77,071	69,528	57,957	45,483	40,824
Netherlands	57,677	68,057	19,756	18,265	81,092	77,300	72,277	64,712	48,862	49,837
New Zealand	34,988	33,730	8,681	9,470	47,088	49,854	49,115	42,588	34,731	33,385
Poland	31,480	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Denmark	27,520	30,231	8,250	14,444	42,043	39,926	34,720	30,996	27,285	27,115
Switzerland	23,464	27,929	8,025	10,845	36,577	34,541	33,123	31,475	25,765	32,315
Sweden	22,981	25,755	6,487	21,857	50,704	49,723	44,045	37,679	34,131	30,223
Belgium	22,5901	26,353	8,104	7,452	34,187	31,382	29,144	26,231	23,689	23,275
Norway	20,593	22,717	5,235	8,958	28,037	26,134	24,293	23,110	21,130	23,165
Finland	N/A	8,618	2,476	9,994	21,480	22,785	18,236	15,953	16,283	13,867
Hong Kong	N/A	112**	43**	3,780	51,618	62,208	47,721	34,613	TBA	14,871
Total	12,705,316	12,602,434	3,661,222	3,686,779	18,008,591	15,497,791	12,922,151	10,012,735	7,898,852	7,887,013

* Country in ASEAN ** Incomplete data

History

Decree No. 390/TTg dated October 27, 1959, on the regulation of passport control, signed by Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, was the first legal document that regulated passport control in Vietnam. ^[38] Article 1 of the decree states:

Vietnamese citizens and foreigners entering or leaving the Democratic Republic of Vietnam must carry a passport with a visa issued by the competent authority of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and must present the passport with the visa to the police station at the final place when leaving or the first place when entering.

This means that both Vietnamese citizens and foreigners, when leaving or entering Vietnam, must have a passport and a visa. A person who wants to leave the territory of Vietnam must have an exit visa. Exit visas are administrative procedures imposed to restrict the freedom of citizens of a country to travel abroad. This measure was previously used by many countries, especially socialist countries, to control their citizens and migration issues. Currently, only a very few countries in the world still use exit visas (for example: Saudi Arabia). Therefore, before the Renovation period, the travel of Vietnamese citizens abroad was highly restricted and tightly controlled. Vietnamese individuals were issued passports and exit/entry visas mainly for official work purposes, with decisions made by relevant authorities.

In 1988, Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet issued the Decision of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers No. 48/CT dated February 26, 1988, on allowing Vietnamese citizens to temporarily leave the country to settle personal matters. ^[39] This decision relaxed the regulations on exit permits "to meet the legitimate aspirations of our people to apply for temporary exit permits to settle personal matters".

In 1993, the Government issued Decree No. 48-CP on passports and visas, ^[40] which unified the regulations on passport types and visas for the first time. The decree officially abolished entry visas for holders of Vietnamese passports, as stated in Article 10, Clause 3:

Vietnamese citizens (except Vietnamese citizens residing abroad) holding diplomatic passports, official passports, or ordinary passports are exempt from entry visas to Vietnam.

It was not until 1997 that Prime Minister Phan Van Khai officially abolished the regulation on exit visas for Vietnamese citizens by issuing the Decision No. 957/1997/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister on improving some procedures for exit and addressing the issue of Vietnamese citizens who have left the country but have not returned on time, ^{[41] [42]} stated in Clause 2, Article 1:

Vietnamese citizens with valid passports are exempt from exit visas and can pass through Vietnam's international border gates.

As for foreigners, in 2000, the National Assembly abolished exit visas by referring to all types of visas (exit, entry, exit-entry, entry-exit) as visas (valid for entry and exit) in the Ordinance No. 24/2000/PL-UBTVQH10 on Entry, Exit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam ^[43] by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

In 2014, the National Assembly of Vietnam issued the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam (No. 47/2014/QH13), which is the highest legal document that regulates all activities related to the entry, exit, transit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam. ^[44]

See also

• Vietnam portal

• Visa requirements for Vietnamese citizens

Notes

1. Temporary visa-free regime until 14 March 2025.
2. Including all classes of British nationality, except for British National (Overseas).

References

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   Under Resolution No. 99/NQ-CP Archived 2017-08-05 at the Wayback Machine trom 1 January 2015
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   Under Resolution No. 99/NQ-CP Archived 2017-08-05 at the Wayback Machine trom 1 January 2015
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   Under Resolution No. 99/NQ-CP Archived 2017-08-05 at the Wayback Machine trom 1 January 2015
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18. Was applied from 14 August 1982 under Agreement between USSR and Vietnam on 15 July 1981.
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26. @MOFAVietNam (27 December 2017). "DPM/@FMPhamBinhMinh holds talks w/ #Cameroon FM Lejeune Mbella Mbella discussing broadening affiliation & sign framework agreement in bilateral cooperation/agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic & official passports/MoU on cooperation btwn the 2 Foreign Ministries" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2019– via Twitter.
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30. "E - Visa Page". National Web Portal on Immigration. Vietnam Immigration Department. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
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39. "Decision of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers No. 48/ct dated February 26, 1988, on allowing Vietnamese citizens to temporarily leave the country to settle personal matters". National Database of Legal Documents.
40. "Decree of the Government No. 48-CP on passports and visas". National Database of Legal Documents.
41. "Decision No. 957/1997/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister on improving some procedures for exit and addressing the issue of Vietnamese citizens who have left the country but have not returned on time". National Database of Legal Documents.
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44. "Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam". National Database of Legal Documents.

External links

• Vietnam e-visa application
• List of Vietnamese diplomatic missions