Vietnam Visa Exemption

Vietnam Visa Exemption countries & Duration.

As of November 2023, regular passport holders of 25 countries DO NOT need a visa for Vietnam. Here is the full list of Vietnam visa free countries and duration:

Table of Contents

Special notes

British National Overseas (BNO) passport holders are not eligible for the 15-day free visa exemption. Hence, BNO passport holders are required to obtain a valid visa to visit Vietnam.
Foreign passports are exempt from visa requirements to Phu Quoc island for no longer than 30 days. If they transit through other international airports in Vietnam before arriving Phu Quoc, they are still eligible for the exemption.
APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) holders with valid passports are exempt from Vietnam visa requirements for stay of no longer than 60 days.
From July 01, 2020, the 30-day gap between 2 entries was removed. Therefore, visitors from visa-free countries can exit and re-enter Vietnam immedately without having to wait 30 days.
There is a proposal for 45-day visa-exempt stay for travelers from European countries, Japan and South Korea. Update: This proposal was approved on 24/06/2023.

List of countries with visa-free entry (2024)

Countries	Passport Required	Maximum Stay
Belarus	Yes	Maximum 45 days
Brunei	Yes	Maximum 14 days
Cambodia	Yes	Maximum 30 days
Chile	Yes	Maximum 90 days
Denmark	Yes	Maximum 45 days
Finland	Yes	Maximum 45 days
France	Yes	Maximum 45 days
Germany	Yes	Maximum 45 days
Indonesia	Yes	Maximum 30 days
Italy	Yes	Maximum 45 days
Japan	Yes	Maximum 45 days
Kyrgyzstan	Yes	Maximum 30 days
Laos	Yes	Maximum 30 days
Malaysia	Yes	Maximum 30 days
Myanmar	Yes	Maximum 14 days
Norway	Yes	Maximum 45 days
Panama	Yes	Maximum 90 days
Philippines	Yes	Maximum 21 days
Russia	Yes	Maximum 45 days
Singapore	Yes	Maximum 30 days
South Korea	Yes	Maximum 45 days
Spain	Yes	Maximum 45 days
Sweden	Yes	Maximum 45 days
Thailand	Yes	Maximum 30 days
United Kingdom	Yes	Maximum 45 days

Vietnam visa-waiver policy 2024

What is Vietnam visa exemption?

Vietnam visa exemption (also called visa waiver or visa-free policy) is Government’s policy when a foreigner can enter and stay in Vietnam for a certain period of time without applying for a visa and paying related visa fees. Accordingly, foreigners must be citizens of one of the 25 countries eligible for Vietnam visa exemption and comply with the attached conditions.

Visa exemption in brief

Number of visa-free countries (2024)	25 countries (regular passports)
Longest visa exemption period	5 years (For Overseas Vietnamese and foreigners whose spouses are Vietnamese)
Shortest visa exemption period	14 days (Brunei, Myanmar)
European visa-free countries (2024)	Citizens of 11 European countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Russia, Belarus, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, are exempted from a visa for a 45-day stay in Vietnam.
The 30-day gap between 2 consecutive entry policy	This rule was removed in July 2020
APEC card holders	Exempt from visa for 60 days
Phu Quoc island visa exemption	30 days
Documents required	Valid passports (6 months) Proof of onward travel

List of countries with visa exemption

In regard to Resolution No. 32/NQ-CP issued on 15 March 2022, there are a total of 25 countries that are exempted from the Vietnam visa. Foreigners just need an ordinary passport which is valid for 6 months minimum and includes 2 blank pages for the stamp. Besides, Vietnam supports many other foreigners with diplomatic passports to enter Vietnam without a visa.

Ordinary passports

Citizens with an ordinary passport from one of the 25 following countries will be waived from a visa to Vietnam:

No.	Country	Duration of stay	Purpose of entry
1	Chile	90 days	Purpose of generating income is not allowed
2	Panama	90 days	Purpose of generating income is not allowed
3	Cambodia	30 days	N/A
4	Indonesia	30 days	N/A
5	Kyrgyzstan	30 days	N/A
6	Laos	30 days	N/A
7	Malaysia	30 days	Tourism, conference, seminars, visiting relatives, business negotiation
8	Singapore	30 days	Purpose of generating income is not allowed
9	Thailand	30 days	N/A
10	Philippines	21 days	N/A
11	Brunei	14 days	N/A
12	Myanmar	14 days	N/A
13	Belarus	45 days	N/A
14	Denmark	45 days	N/A
15	Finland	45 days	N/A
13	France	45 days	N/A
17	Germany	45 days	N/A
18	Italy	45 days	N/A
19	Japan	45 days	N/A
20	Norway	45 days	N/A
21	Russia	45 days	N/A
22	South Korea	45 days	N/A
23	Spain	45 days	N/A
24	Sweden	45 days	N/A
25	United Kingdom (Not applicable to BNO)	45 days	N/A

Diplomatic passports

With a diplomatic passport, foreigners can enter Vietnam without a visa and stay for 15 to 90 days.

Reference: The list below is based on data obtained from the official website

No.	Country	Duration of stay
1	Afghanistan	30 days
2	Albania	30 days
3	Algeria	90 days
4	Angola	30 days
5	Argentina	90 days
6	Armenia	90 days
7	Azerbaijan	30 days
8	Bangladesh	90 days
9	Belarus	30 days
10	Bolivia	90 days
11	Botswana	90 days
12	Brazil	90 days
13	Brunei	14 days
14	Bulgaria	90 days within 180 days period from the date of entry
15	Cambodia	30 days
16	Cameroon	90 days
17	Chile	90 days
18	China	30 days
19	Colombia	90 days
20	Costa Rica	90 days
21	Croatia	30 days
22	Cuba	30 days
23	Cyprus	90 days
24	Czech	90 days
25	Denmark	15 days
26	Dominican (Republic)	90 days
27	Ecuador	90 days
28	Egypt	90 days
29	El Salvador	90 days
30	Estonia	90 days within 180 days period from the date of entry
31	Finland	15 days
32	France	03 months within 6 months period from the date of entry
33	Germany	15 days
34	Greece	90 days within 180 days period from the date of entry
35	Hungary	90 days
36	India	90 days
37	Indonesia	14 days
38	Iran	30 days
39	Iraq	90 days
40	Israel	90 days
41	Italy (Republic)	90 days within 6 months period
42	Ivory Coast	90 days
43	Japan	90 days
44	Kazakhstan	30 days
45	North Korea	30 days
46	South Korea	90 days
47	Kyrgyzstan	30 days
48	Kuwait	90 days within 06 months period from the date of entry
49	Laos	30 days
50	Liberia	90 days
51	Macedonia	03 months within 06 months period from the date of entry
52	Malaysia	30 days
53	Malta	90 days
54	Mexico	90 days
55	Moldova	90 days
56	Mongolia	90 days
57	Montenegro	90 days
58	Morocco	90 days
59	Mozambique	90 days
60	Myanmar	30 days
61	Nepal	90 days
62	Nicaragua	30 days
63	Nigeria	90 days
64	Norway	15 days
65	Pakistan	90 days
66	Panama	90 days
67	Paraguay	90 days
68	Peru	90 days
69	Poland	90 days within 180 days period from the date of entry
70	Philippines	30 days
71	Romania	30 days
72	Russia	90 days
73	Serbia	90 days
74	Seychelles	90 days
75	Singapore	90 days
76	Slovakia	90 days
77	Slovenia	3 months within 6 months period from the date of entry
78	South Africa	90 days
79	Spain	90 days within 180 days from the date of entry
80	Sri Lanka	90 days
81	Sudan	90 days within 180 days period from the date of entry
82	Sweden	15 days
83	Switzerland	90 days
84	Tanzania	90 days
85	Thailand	30 days
86	Tunisia	90 days
87	Turkey	90 days
88	Ukraine	90 days
89	United Arab Emirates	90 days
90	United Kingdom	15 days
91	Uruguay	90 days
92	Uzbekistan	60 days
93	Venezuela	90 days

Other visa exemptions

Apart from 25 countries whose citizens are eligible for the visa exemption as listed above, there are some other visa-free categories you can refer to.

5 year visa exemption for Overseas Vietnamese

According to Clause 5, Article 12 in the Law of entry, exit, transit, and residence of foreigners, Vietnam Government grants a 5-year visa exemption to the following objects:

Overseas Vietnamese having a valid passport or international travel documents issued by competent foreign agencies and foreigners who are their spouses and children.
Foreigners who are spouses and children of Vietnamese citizens.

A 5-year visa waiver allows foreigners/overseas Vietnamese to enter and exit Vietnam at any time during 5 years but the maximum stay for each entry is not exceeding 180 days. If you do not want to exit and en-enter Vietnam, you must extend your visa to continue to stay. The extension time is up to 180 days (6 months).

Certificate of visa exemption

Requirements

To get a 5-year visa waiver, you have to submit all required documents at the Vietnam Embassy or Consulate in your residing country if you are staying outside Vietnam or at Vietnam Immigration Office if you are currently staying in Vietnam territory.

Phu Quoc Visa exemption

For the development of Phu Quoc Island (Kien Giang Province), Vietnam issued Decision 80/2013/QĐ-TTg on 27/12/2013 that foreigners can enter, exit, and stay on Phu Quoc Island without a Vietnam visa for no longer than 30 days. The decision is applied to both foreigners entering Vietnam directly on Phu Quoc Island and those transiting at a Vietnam border gate (airport or seaport) and moving to Phu Quoc Island thereafter.

Requirements

In order to enter Vietnam with a Phu Quoc visa exemption, foreigners have to follow some requirements below:

Owning a passport with 6-month validity upon arrival date.
Flying from your residing country to Phu Quoc via Phu Quoc International Airport. No matter if direct/indirect/transit flights, your final destination must be Phu Quoc.
A valid exit date (air ticket, cruise departure date, etc.) showing your duration of stay on Phu Quoc island is no longer than 30 days.
Only airport or seaport is available for this visa type.

APEC card visa exemption

APEC card or APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) is a card granted to eligible senior government officials and business travelers by APEC (The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation). This card is used to support business trips within the APEC region for a short period of time.

Foreigners holding an APEC Business Travel Card and having a valid passport are exempted from the Vietnam visa for up to 60 days. Moreover, fast entry and exit through APEC’s separate lanes at the airport will be provided for foreigners with this visa waiver.

Requirements

Each country in APEC has a distinct policy to grant an ABTC but applicants need to comply with some fundamental requirements including:

Being citizens of economies participating in APEC
Having a valid passport or equivalent travel document
Business persons who frequently travel within the APEC region for a short term stay
Government officials engaged in APEC business meeting certain requirements

Visa exemption extensions

As foreigners with a visa exemption certificate are allowed to stay in Vietnam for a certain period of time, you need to apply for an exemption extension if you want to continue to stay in Vietnam.

Conditions

Sponsored by Vietnamese agencies/organizations for reasonable reasons.
Overseas Vietnamese and foreigners who are spouses or children of overseas Vietnamese or Vietnamese citizens holding foreign passports or equivalent international travel documents with at least 1 year of validity.
Not being prohibited from entering or suspended from exiting Vietnam.

What to prepare

A valid passport, or equivalent international travel documents, or permanent residence permit issued by a competent authority in a residing country to overseas Vietnamese.
Application form for stay extension (Form NA5).
Visa exemption certificate.

How to extend

Step 1: Prepare all required documents
Step 2: Submit all documents to the Vietnam Immigration Office (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Danang) or the Immigration Office of provinces and cities in Vietnam. The process takes around 5 working days since the Immigration Department receives your complete application.
- If application is approved, the receipt will be made and given to the applicant.
- If application is not sufficient, applicants are required to amend or supplement the documents as required.
Step 3: Pay fee and get the visa exemption extension

Applicants present the receipt to Immigration Officer to get a response, pay the fee and sign for confirmation.

Processing time & fee

The review process for visa exemption extension is 05 working days. Applicants must pay a fee of USD10 after the review process finishes to get the certificate.

Exemption policy updates

Since March 15, 2022, citizens of 13 countries unilaterally exempted from Vietnam visas for a period of 15 days, regardless of purposes, do not need to wait for at least 30 days from the last exit date to re-enter Vietnam on a unilateral visa-free basis. This is the most updated policy according to Resolution No. 32/NQ-CP by the Prime Minister.

Previously, all foreigners entering Vietnam under unilateral visa exemption must be at least 30 days from the time of their last exit from Vietnam regarding the provisions of Law No. 47/2014/QH13.

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Vietnam Visa Exemption