Visa exemption for one more year for Western European visitors

On the morning of July 1, the General Director of the General Department of Tourism announced that the Government has just agreed to continue exempting visas for one year for citizens of five countries: the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

According to the Resolution signed by the Government on June 30, citizens of the above Western European countries will continue to be exempted from visas for a stay of 15 days. The extension period will be extended by one year, until June 30, 2017. The visa exemption does not distinguish between passport types or entry purposes, on the basis of meeting all conditions as prescribed by Vietnamese law.

The visa exemption policy for Western European visitors was first applied from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016. The number of visitors from these countries after being exempted from visas has grown strongly. In the first 6 months of the year, visitors fromItaly increased by more than 30%,He is over 24%,Spain by nearly 23%, Germany by more than 17%, and France by nearly 14%. The total number of visitors to the five Western European countries in the first six months of 2016 increased by more than 62,000 compared to the same period in 2015 (when the visa exemption policy had not yet been applied).

Before the expiry date, the General Department of Tourism proposed the Government to extend the visa exemption period from one to five years and the stay period from 15 to 30 days for citizens of the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. However, so far the Government has only agreed to extend it by one year with a stay period of 15 days.

According to the General Department of Tourism, the average spending of tourists from the five visa-exempt countries in Vietnam is 1,316 USD. Photo: Nhat Anh

Thus, Vietnam is currently exempting visas for 22 countries, including unilateral visa exemptions for 13 countries (Japan, South Korea, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Belarus, UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy) and bilateral visa exemptions for 9 ASEAN countries.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, also said that electronic visas (e-visas) and visas issued at border gates (visa on arrival) will be applied from the beginning of 2017. This will create favorable conditions for international tourists to easily apply for visas to Vietnam.

According to VNE