Vietnam Extends Visa Exemption for Tourists from 5 European Countries

Tourists from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy will continue to be exempted from visa to Vietnam until June 2021, Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung said at a Government meeting on 3^rd May 2018.

The Vietnamese Government has agreed to the waiver for visitors from the five above-mentioned countries for a 3-year period starting from 1^st July 2018 after the visa waiver program expires at the end of June this year.

When the extension expires, Vietnam would review its unilateral visa exemption policy and re-evaluate its electronic visa pilot. “Extending the visa exemption is definitely something we should opt for, since at the moment, Vietnam waives visa one-sidedly for only 24 countries, including nine ASEAN countries, while our neighbors are doing more than that,” Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said.

The visa exemption will be applied regardless of passport type or immigration purpose, as long as the travelers meet the requirements of relevant Vietnamese laws and stay in Vietnam no more than fifteen (15) days. This extension aims to attract and invite more European citizens to Vietnam, thereby boosting domestic tourism, and facilitating business travel and foreign investment into Vietnam.