$5 fee still applied to foreign travelers coming to Vietnam by sea

Under the directive, the fee of US$5 per sea visitor as the fee for a sightseeing permit for travelers coming to Vietnam on the same boat has still been applied in 2015 while waiting for an amendment to the new regulation on visa fees, under which a visa fee of US$45 would be imposed on each passenger who arrived in Vietnam on the same boat as of January 1, 2015.

After receiving feedback of the new rule, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung recently asked the Ministry of Finance to coordinate with other relevant ministries and agencies to rapidly amend the new regulation on visa fees.

While waiting for such amendments to be completed, the above fee of US$5, which was regulated by the Finance Ministry in 2009, will still be applied, instead of a $45 visa fee, according to the PM’s directive.

This fee rate was applied to the above Dutch ship, the Volendam, which landed at Tan Cang-Cai Mep Port in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau at 6 am yesterday.

Local border guards carried out immigration procedures as soon as the ship reached Buoy No. 1, so when the vessel arrived in the port about three hours later, the procedures were basically completed, saving a lot of time for travelers.

After its passengers took a tour, the ship left the port to continue its journey to the south central city of Nha Trang, Chan May port in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, and Hon Gai port in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

Later the same day, another cruise ship, the Star Pride of Panama, carrying 127 American travelers, docked at Quy Nhon port in the south central province of Binh Dinh, for a tour of Vietnam.