Vietnam-Paraguay visa exemption agreement to take effect
An agreement on visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders signed between Vietnam and the Republic of Paraguay’s governments will take effect as from October 26, 2008 announced the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Under the agreement which was signed on March 8, 2007 in Asuncion, the two countries’ diplomatic and official passport holders whose residence does not exceed 90 days will be exempted from visa.
The agreement will also allow visa exemption throughout the term of office for those who are members of diplomatic missions, consular offices or representatives of international organisations as well as members of their families.
(Source: VNA)
Vietnam to waive visa for Russian visitors
Russian nationals will be exempted from visa when entering Vietnam within 15 days from January 1, 2009, according to a decision of the Vietnamese Prime Minister.
The fresh decision will apply to Russian ordinary passport holders regardless of the purpose of their visit.
In 2007, over 60,000 Russian visitors toured Vietnam, and the number is forecast to reach 70,000 this year, the National Administration for Tourism said.
At present, in addition to daily non-stop flights linking Russia and Vietnam, travel companies charter flights to Vietnam once or twice a week.
(Source: VNA)
Vietnam to waive visa for Russian visitors
Russian nationals will be exempted from visa when entering Vietnam within 15 days from January 1, 2009, according to a decision of the Vietnamese Prime Minister.
The fresh decision will apply to Russian ordinary passport holders regardless of the purpose of their visit.
In 2007, over 60,000 Russian visitors toured Vietnam, and the number is forecast to reach 70,000 this year, the National Administration for Tourism said.
At present, in addition to daily non-stop flights linking Russia and Vietnam, travel companies charter flights to Vietnam once or twice a week.
(Source: VNA)
Visa exemption for overseas Vietnamese to go ahead
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on August 17 has signed Decision No 135/2007/QD-TTg to promulgate a new regulation that will grant visa exemptions to Overseas Vietnamese from September 1, 2007.
Ethnically Vietnamese people that hold foreign passports and foreign nationals who are their husbands, wives and children will benefit from the new policy.
A certificate must be obtained by the passport holders for the exemption to be utilised. The certificate will be valid for five years. Overseas Vietnamese will be granted a maximum of 90-day length of stay with extensions available inside the country.
In order to be granted visa exemption certificates at Vietnamese representative offices abroad, overseas Vietnamese need to submit one of three following documents: a document that proves they are ethnically Vietnamese; a guarantee by overseas Vietnamese associations based in the country where they are residents of or by a Vietnamese citizen; and a document by authorised foreign agencies certifying that they are ethnically Vietnamese.
Husbands, wives and children of Vietnamese people living abroad will also need to submit documents that prove their relationship to the Vietnamese member of their immediate family.
Expecting a rush on representative offices abroad, the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese has sent 200,000 visa exemption certificates to Vietnamese embassies overseas.
The move to exempt visas for overseas Vietnamese is part of the Government’s efforts to speed up the implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution No. 36 on tasks relating to overseas Vietnamese. The visas exemption policy was announced by President Nguyen Minh Triet during his visit to the US on June this year.
According to the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, there are currently close to three million overseas Vietnamese who have mostly settled in the US, France, Australia and Canada. Around 500,000 overseas Vietnamese return to Vietnam each year.
(Source: VNA)
Phu Quoc Island lures tourists with visa exemptions
The Prime Minister has issued a decision on entry and exit procedures for foreign visitor to Phu Quoc Island in southern Kien Giang Province on September 16th.
Accordingly, foreigners and Vietnamese nationals bearing foreign passports who want to enter and stay in Phu Quoc Island for less than 15 days will be exempt from visa application. Those who enter Vietnam through an international border gate and then travel to Phu Quoc Island will also be exempt from visa application. Passports must be valid for at least 45 days.
After arriving in Phu Quoc Island, if visitors want to travel other localities or stay in the island for more than 15 days, the immigration department will be responsible for issuing visas right on the spot.
(Source: Voice of Vietnam)
Vietnam officially joins APEC Business Travel Card
Businesspeople from a number of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies will be granted easier access to enter Vietnam as the country has officially joined the APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) programme.
A document to this effect was signed by Bui Dinh Dinh, Head of the Consular Department under the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry in Gyeongju, the Republic of Korea, on September 9, 2005.
Under the programme, ABTC holders will be able to be exempted from visa and resident registration procedures. They can use express immigration lanes at airports, come in and out of ABTC members and stay for at least 60 days each visit.
Using ATBC, Vietnamese businesses can make business journeys to other ABTC participating economies and vice versa, businesses from ABTC members will be provided with favourable conditions when entering and staying in Vietnam.
The Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam is to grant ABTC to business people in 2006 as the country will play the host of the 2006 APEC.
The ABTC was initiated by Australia in 1996 and has been applied in three founding member countries - namely Australia, the RoK and the Philippines - since 1997. So far, 17 APEC member economies have joined the ABTC programme, including Australia, Brunei, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, the RoK, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
(Source: VNA)
Visa exemption agreements between Vietnam, France, Chile to come into force soon
Agreements on visa exemptions for diplomatic passport holders Viet Nam has signed with France will come into effect on July 1st. A similar agreement, which will begin on June 25th, also includes official passport holders in the beneficiary list. The Foreign Ministry announced the information on June 1st.
Under the agreement signed by Viet Nam and France on October 6th, 2004, Vietnamese citizens holding valid diplomatic passports are exempt from visa requirements when visiting France and are allowed to stay for up 3 months at one time or on several visits within six months since their first immigration dates.
French citizens holding valid diplomatic passports also enjoy similar privileges. Under the agreement signed by Viet Nam and Chile on October 22nd, 2003, citizens holding valid diplomatic or official passports from one of the two countries are exempt from needing entry, exit and transit visas in the other's territory and are allowed to stay for up 60 days on each visit.
(Source: Vietnam News Agency)
Citizens from four European countries given visa exemption
Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and Finnish citizens will be exempted from requiring visas as of May 1 when they enter, exit or stay in Viet Nam for less than 15 days.
Decision No. 808/2005/QD-BNG issued by the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry on April 13 stipulates that these countries' citizens must have valid passports for at least three months since they enter Viet Nam, return tickets or tickets for a third country. This does not apply to those who have been banned from entering or have not been allowed to enter Viet Nam under Vietnamese laws.
After entering Viet Nam, if they want to stay more than 15 days, and have a valid reason as laid out by Vietnamese agencies, organizations and individuals for the Ministry of Public Security and the Foreign Ministry, they will be required to have a visa.
(Source: Vietnam News Agency)
Viet Nam-Japan visa exemption to take effect
Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien and his Japanese counterpart Nobutaka Machimura exchanged diplomatic notes to this effect in Tokyo, on March 8th.Vietnamese and Japanese diplomatic and official passport holders will be exempted from visa requirements as of May 1st.
1. Vietnamese and Japanese citizens who hold valid diplomatic or official passports entering Japan and Vietnam to implement diplomatic, consular missions or the Government’s official tasks and their family members living with them in the same household and also holding diplomatic or official passports are exempted from entry visa with no concern about their period of stay.
2. Vietnamese and Japanese citizens who hold valid diplomatic or official passports entering Japan and Vietnam for the purposes different from that mentioned in Article 1 are exempted from entry visa and permitted to stay within 90 days.
3. The entry visa exemption mentioned in Article 2 does not apply for those who enter the country to look for a job, ask for permanent residence, do professional work or other jobs, and participate in money-making public entertainment activities (including sports).
>4. The exemption will take effect on May 1, 2005.
