On March 19th, at the Government’s meeting with the FDI business community and the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF), Mr. Denzel Eades – Vice Chairman of the British Business Association in Vietnam – assessed that Vietnam’s visa policy has not been adjusted as quickly as its competing destinations in the tourism market.
Vietnam is expected to loosen visa regulations soon.
To adapt to the post-COVID-19 context, the association representative hopes that Vietnam will consider urgent measures to keep up with the growth rate of its competing destinations, including adding visa-free policies for major target markets such as China, India, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.
Agreeing with the above proposal, Mr. Gabor Fluit – Chairman of the European Business Association in Vietnam (EuroCham) – emphasized the need to exempt visas for all EU member countries, issue special visas for conferences, exhibitions, or sports events, and streamline immigration procedures in general to promote Vietnam as a leading destination for tourists and investors.
“With Vietnam’s current visa policy, the recovery rate of the tourism industry, as well as the supply chain like restaurants and hotels, will be slower than other countries due to missed revenue and growth opportunities,” evaluated Eurocham’s chairman.
In addition, international tourism promotion units propose that Vietnam should diversify visa types. Currently, investment visas for individuals contributing over 50 billion VND are granted for a period of 5 years. Accordingly, work visas for long-term foreign residents are limited to 2 years. At the same time, the documents and procedures for visa extension are quite complicated. Therefore, the associations propose that the Vietnamese Government should simplify the documents and procedures as soon as possible.
In fact, on March 18th, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son stated that the management agency is negotiating with many countries on mutual visa exemptions. In addition to the 13 countries that unilaterally exempt Vietnam from visas, Vietnam is negotiating with 15 countries to implement mutual visa exemptions, facilitating “smooth” entry and exit. If expectations are met, Vietnamese citizens will be able to travel freely to 28 countries without needing a visa.
