U.S. citizens can now get one-year Vietnam visas Tu Hoang By Tu Hoang - The Saigon Times Daily HANOI - The National Assembly (NA) has passed a resolution approving a diplomatic note on issuing one-year multiple-entry visas for U.S. citizens. The resolution came out last Saturday after State President Tran Dai Quang proposed the legislature endorse the diplomatic note on April 4. According to Quang, the U.S. had many times raised concern over Vietnam’s visa policy for U.S. citizens. Especially since the NA approved the law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners, the Americans had been able to get three-month visas but without an extension of stay. The U.S. said the Vietnam visa policy did not match that of the U.S. applying to Vietnamese passport holders and the expanding relations between Vietnam and the U.S. Therefore, the U.S. requested Vietnam to increase the validity of visas for U.S. visitors to one year with multiple entries. With the NA Standing … [Read more...] about U.S. citizens can now get one-year Vietnam visas
Vietnam visa policy
City wants loosened visa policy to attract tourists
City wants loosened visa policy to attract tourists Dao Loan By Dao Loan - The Saigon Times Daily HCMC – HCMC has worked out some propo sals concerning visa policy, including offering unilateral visa exemptions for major markets and establishing representative offices in foreign countries. These proposals will be discussed at the forthcoming meeting of the State Steering Committee for Tourism. Specifically, to attract tourists from major markets, Vietnam needs to improve the visa policy for international tourists. In addition to issues concerning travel management, accommodation and tour guides, HCMC also suggests setting up tourism representative offices in important markets like the U.S., western Europe, Japan and South Korea to effectively promote tourism images of destinations in Vietnam. Besides, there should be incentive tax policies for over-30-seat vehicles transporting tourists to encourage investment in high-quality vehicle fleets for tourists. In preparation for … [Read more...] about City wants loosened visa policy to attract tourists
Vietnam promises change after asked to ease visa policy for Australian, US citizens
Foreign tourists cross a street in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Diep Duc Minh Business groups from Australia, Japan and the US in Vietnam have asked the government to ease its visa policy for their business persons, local media reported. They were speaking at the year-end session of the Vietnam Business Forum in Hanoi on Tuesday, where they criticized Vietnam for failing to open entry for investors and tourists from other member states of the Pacific Rim trade bloc TPP, which Vietnam is joining. Sherry Boger, chairwoman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, said in a statement that it once asked Vietnamese government to extend the validity of temporary visas for US business persons and tourists from three months to 12 months, allowing multiple entries instead of single entry. However, since the proposal was made in June, the chamber has not seen any change yet, she said. Currently, the US government grant Vietnamese citizens who travel to the country for business and … [Read more...] about Vietnam promises change after asked to ease visa policy for Australian, US citizens
American expat recounts Vietnam visa run nightmare
Editor’s note:Michael Tatarski, an American freelancer based in Ho Chi Minh City, retold his most recent visa run and explained why he did not hesitate to call it a nightmare. The story below reflects the author’s own view and experience. get a new visa on a regular basis. One way to do this is to go on a border run to Cambodia and back, which I did recently. The process was a complete nightmare, and illustrative of many of the problems with Vietnam’s tourism. Local media have been full of recent stories lamenting Vietnam’s 12-month run of declining vistor numbers, although there was apparently an uptick in July. Officials, experts and members of the public have weighed in through multiple outlets, with some blaming pollution, scams and a lack of interesting tourism sites for the downward trend. Many, however, pointed to the inconvenient, expensive visa policies of the country, especially given the fact that many neighboring countries offer paid visas on … [Read more...] about American expat recounts Vietnam visa run nightmare
Open visa policy urged to make Vietnam’s tourism more attractive
Vietnam has set a target of welcoming 20 million foreign visitors in 2020 and developing tourism into a key economic sector, and one way of achieving that goal is to provide visa waivers for important markets, the insiders said.Luong Hoai Nam, Deputy General Director of Vietstar Airlines, said that the open visa policy is one of preconditions for attracting arrivals, adding that most of tourists don’t care about visa costs but feeling uncomfortable when applying for a visa. According to Nam, tourism visa is not a bilateral issue, which means that expanding or tightening visa depends on tourism policies of each country.Vietnam’s visa policy has been considered a “bottleneck” of tourism. The complicated procedures and visa costs make Vietnam less attractive for foreigners than neighboring countries.Visa exemptions are a global trend and Vietnam’s tourism competitors in the region are “very open” with their policies, Vu The Binh, vice … [Read more...] about Open visa policy urged to make Vietnam’s tourism more attractive