Vietnam grants e-visas for citizens from 80 countries

At an airport in Vietnam (Photo: VNA)

Among the countries are Austria, Poland, Portugal, the UAE, Germany, India, the Republic of Korea, Japan, US, Italy, Poland, France, China, Russia and the UK.

The resolution also features a list of border gates and airports that will accept electronic entry.

Eight airports that will accept e-visas are Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat, Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Cat Bi, Can Tho, Phu Quoc and Phu Bai.

Sixteen road border gates listed in the new decision include Mong Cai in Quang Ninh province, Huu Nghi in Lang Son province, Lao Cai, Nam Can in Nghe An province, Cau Treo in Ha Tinh province, La Lay, Lao Bao in Quang Tri province and Ha Tien in Kien Giang province.

Thirteen sea border gates in the list are Hon Gai, Cam Pha in Quang Ninh province, Hai Phong in Hai Phong city, Nghi Son in Thanh Hoa province, Vung Ang in Ha Tinh province, Chan May in Thua Thien-Hue province, Dung Quat in Quang Ngai province, HCM City sea border gate, among others.

Vietnam started a two-year e-visa pilot programme for foreigners from 40 countries on February 1, 2017.

The pilot scheme did not require foreigners to be sponsored or invited by organisations or individuals in Vietnam to be applicable for the e-visas, as long as they have valid passports and are citizens of one of the 40 listed countries.

Foreigners are not required to be present at representative agencies of Vietnam in their countries, get interviewed or scan their fingers to apply for e-visas.

They can go directly to the website https://immigration.gov.vn and apply for e-visas themselves.

Applications are processed within three working days. Each applicant will be provided with a digital code, with which they can check the application progress and print their e-visas once they have been issued.

They can also present the codes at border gates and airports for scanning of their e-visas.

The e-visas are valid for 30 days. Each applicant must pay a non-refundable application fee of 25 USD via bank transfer.