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
Tourism body insists on loosened visa policy for tourists
VietNamNet Bridge - The national steering committee for tourism will present to the Government draft policies meant to make it easier for international tourists to come to Vietnam, including the loosened visa policy proposal. An official of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration told the Daily that the visa-free policy should be maintained for the seven major markets, including Japan, South Korea, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. Besides, the visa-free stay for tourists should be 30 days instead of 15 days like now. Early this month, the Vietnam Tourism Association also presented to the Prime Minister proposals concerning visa issuance at border gates and continued visa-free policy for tourists from the aforesaid seven markets, saying the policy has boosted the growth of arrivals from the important markets. Arrivals from Russia, South Korea and Japan totaled 1.45 million with revenues of some US$2 billion last year. If the visa-free policy is removed, there is a … [Read more...] about Tourism body insists on loosened visa policy for tourists
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