Vietnam Visa Exemption

Vietnam Visa for the brunei

brunei is NOT IN the VIETNAM VISA EXEMPTION list.

So, the brunei Citizen live in brunei or other countries must obtain a visa to enter Vietnam for travel and work purposes. There are several options available for obtaining a Vietnam visa:

  • Embassy/Consulate Visa Application: Obtain a Vietnam visa through a Vietnamese embassy or consulate.
  • Electronic Visa (e-Visa): Apply for an e-visa through an online visa service provider with normal to urgent options.
  • Rush E-Visa Application: Expedite your pending e-visa application if you have an e-visa registration code.
  • Emergency Visa Requests: If you need a visa urgently in the same day, you can apply for a visa approval letter (visa on arrival) through an online visa service provider.

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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:

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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