Visitors to Vietnam must obtain either an e-Visa or a visa in advance, unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries.
Holders of ordinary passports of the following countries may enter Vietnam without a visa (including all ASEAN member states).
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, the maximum allowed period of stay depends on nationality:[1]
| 90 days 45 days 30 days 21 days 14 days |
In addition, citizens of China, Cuba and North Korea who have a passport for public affairs or ordinary passports endorsed "for public affairs" may enter Vietnam without a visa.
Holders of certificates of visa exemption do not require a visa regardless of nationality. A certificate of visa exemption is valid for up to 5 years or up to 6 months before the passport expiration date (whichever is shorter). This is available for Vietnamese residing abroad or spouses or children of Vietnamese citizens or Vietnamese residing abroad.[18]
The exemption is valid for 180 consecutive days of stay. There is no limit on the number of entries and exits during the stay or the minimum waiting time between each 180-day stay.
Holders of passports issued by the following countries who possess an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) containing "VNM" on the back of the card may enter Vietnam without a visa for business trips for up to 60 days.
ABTCs are issued to citizens of:[19]
Holders of diplomatic or official / service passports of the following countries may enter Vietnam without a visa for the following period:
| 90 days 30 days
14 days |
D - Diplomatic passports only.
Vietnam has signed visa exemption agreements with the following countries, but they have not yet entered into force:
| Country | Passports | Agreement signed on |
|---|---|---|
 Timor-Leste[20] | Diplomatic | 2 August 2024 |
 Belarus[21] | All | 8 December 2023 |
 Nigeria[22] | Diplomatic, official | October 2019 |
 Botswana | Diplomatic, service | August 2019 |
 Lithuania[23] | Diplomatic | 23 January 2019 |
 Ethiopia[24] | Diplomatic, service | August 2018 |
 Cameroon[25] | Diplomatic, service | December 2017 |
In November 2023, the authorities in Vietnam proposed to abolish visas for citizens of China and India.[26] In July 2024 Prime Minister of Vietnam instructed relevant ministries to work on expanding the list of visa exemption eligible countries.[27]
Vietnam introduced a pilot electronic visa system on 1 February 2017.[28]
Starting from August 15, 2023, an e-Visa is issued to citizens of all countries and territories and is issued for multiple-entry up to 90 days. The e-Visa costs 25 USD.[29] [30] The list of border crossings that allow foreigners to enter and exit on an e-Visa includes:
List of international airports
List of road border crossings
List of sea border crossings
e-Visa holders who present a Chinese biometric ordinary passport upon arrival must exchange their e-Visa for a free paper visa at the port of entry. This is because the passport contains a disputed map of the South China Sea, and the Vietnamese government refuses to stamp on it.[31]
Travellers who are not exempted from visa requirements may enter Phú Quốc without a visa for up to 30 days.[32] [33] [34] They must arrive at Phú Quốc directly from a third country, or from airports in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City where they will clear immigration and proceed to the domestic terminals.
Holders of a visa letter issued and stamped in Hanoi or Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh City by the Vietnamese Immigration Department within the Ministry of Public Security or the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may obtain a visa on arrival for a maximum stay of 1 or 3 months at airports in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Hai Phong, Da Lat or Nha Trang.
Passengers of any nationality may transit through Vietnam by air without a visa for less than 24 hours providing that they do not intend to leave the sterile transit area. Staying overnight in the transit lounge is permitted.
Most visitors arriving in Vietnam on short-term basis were from the following countries of nationality:
Decree No. 390/TTg dated October 27, 1959, on the regulation of passport control, signed by Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, was the first legal document that regulated passport control in Vietnam.[35] Article 1 of the decree states:
This means that both Vietnamese citizens and foreigners, when leaving or entering Vietnam, must have a passport and a visa. A person who wants to leave the territory of Vietnam must have an exit visa. Exit visas are administrative procedures imposed to restrict the freedom of citizens of a country to travel abroad. This measure was previously used by many countries, especially socialist countries, to control their citizens and migration issues. Currently, only a very few countries in the world still use exit visas (for example: Saudi Arabia). Therefore, before the Renovation period, the travel of Vietnamese citizens abroad was highly restricted and tightly controlled. Vietnamese individuals were issued passports and exit/entry visas mainly for official work purposes, with decisions made by relevant authorities.
In 1988, Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet issued the Decision of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers No. 48/CT dated February 26, 1988, on allowing Vietnamese citizens to temporarily leave the country to settle personal matters.[36] This decision relaxed the regulations on exit permits "to meet the legitimate aspirations of our people to apply for temporary exit permits to settle personal matters".
In 1993, the Government issued Decree No. 48-CP on passports and visas,[37] which unified the regulations on passport types and visas for the first time. The decree officially abolished entry visas for holders of Vietnamese passports, as stated in Article 10, Clause 3:
It was not until 1997 that Prime Minister Phan Van Khai officially abolished the regulation on exit visas for Vietnamese citizens by issuing the Decision No. 957/1997/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister on improving some procedures for exit and addressing the issue of Vietnamese citizens who have left the country but have not returned on time,[38] [39] stated in Clause 2, Article 1:
As for foreigners, in 2000, the National Assembly abolished exit visas by referring to all types of visas (exit, entry, exit-entry, entry-exit) as visas (valid for entry and exit) in the Ordinance No. 24/2000/PL-UBTVQH10 on Entry, Exit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam[40] by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.
In 2014, the National Assembly of Vietnam issued the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam (No. 47/2014/QH13), which is the highest legal document that regulates all activities related to the entry, exit, transit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam.[41]
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