After 2 years of international border closure and strict entry restrictions, Vietnam’s full reopening is now official as per The Office of the Government’s announcement on 15 March 2022. Resolution No. 1606 confirms the resumption of pre-pandemic immigration policies and essentially reopens Vietnam for all travelers.
Lifting Entry Permit Requirement
International travelers coming to Vietnam for business purposes or on work assignments will no longer be required to obtain an entry demand approval from the People’s Committee (which was required prior to applying for a visa). The entry demand approval was a long and complicated process that was put into place early on in the pandemic. Now that it is has been removed, companies and individuals need no longer go through the approval process (which sometimes took up to 6 weeks) and can now apply for visa as normal. Due to the immediate demand from travelers and the volume of applications to be processed, we can expect some delay from the immigration department in getting approvals of visas over the coming weeks.
Full Reopening and Resumption of Immigration policies
On the same day, The Office of the Government also issued Resolution No. 32 regarding visa-free travel to Vietnam for citizens of numerous countries. The list of countries subject to this visa exemption includes the following: Belarus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. This resolution is effective immediately and replaces former resolutions issued at the beginning of the pandemic on the temporary suspension of unilateral visa exemptions.
Lifting Quarantine Requirements
Last but not least, The Ministry of Health also issued on 15 March, 2022 Resolution No. 1265 related to the requirements for people entering Vietnam and lifting the quarantine requirement for all international travelers entering Vietnam with immediate effect. Travelers still must perform a PCR test 72 hours before departure but upon arrival in Vietnam, they no longer need to even self-quarantine for 3 days. Incoming travelers should double-check with their airline and immigration provider for the most up to date requirements.
The three resolutions are effective immediately.
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