Visa exemption for Vietnamese people residing abroad

The Government has just issued Decree No. 82/2015/ND-CP stipulating visa exemption for Vietnamese people residing abroad and foreigners who are spouses or children of Vietnamese people residing abroad or of Vietnamese citizens.

Illustrative photo. (Source: Vietnam+)

According to regulations, Vietnamese people residing abroad and foreigners who are spouses or children of Vietnamese people residing abroad or of Vietnamese citizens who want to be exempted from visas must ensure the following conditions: have a passport or international travel document valid for at least 1 year; have documents proving that they are Vietnamese people residing abroad and foreigners who are spouses or children of Vietnamese people residing abroad or of Vietnamese citizens.

In addition, the above subjects do not fall under the cases of not being allowed to enter or temporarily suspending exit as prescribed in Articles 21 and 28 of the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam.

To be granted a visa exemption, the applicant for a visa exemption certificate residing abroad must submit an application according to regulations to the competent visa-issuing authority of Vietnam abroad.

People temporarily residing in Vietnam who need a visa exemption certificate must submit an application according to regulations at the Immigration Department.

The visa exemption certificate has a maximum validity of no more than 5 years and is at least 6 months shorter than the validity of the passport or international travel document of the person granted it.

Visa exemption papers are issued to people entering Vietnam to visit relatives or handle personal matters. Visa exemption papers are issued in passports.

The following cases are issued separately: Passports that have run out of visa pages; Passports of countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Vietnam; Documents valid for international travel; at the request of the person granted a visa exemption; for diplomatic, defense, and security reasons. Visa exemption papers are issued separately for each person. Children sharing a passport with one parent are issued a visa exemption paper together with their parent./.

According to VietnamPlus