Vietnam temporarily suspend visa issuance for all countries to limit input of coronavirus

Vietnam temporarily suspends all visa issuances to limit intake of coronavirus

March 17, 2020 | 16:01

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Vietnam will temporarily suspend granting visas to visitors from any country for 15 to 30 days to limit the number of infected arrivals.

vietnam temporarily suspends all visa issuances to limit intake of coronavirus

Passengers wearing masks to avoid coronavirus infection at Tan Son Nhat airport

Hosting a government meeting on COVID-19 disease prevention on Monday afternoon, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that many recent flights to Vietnam had passengers infected by coronavirus. Thus, the Vietnamese government has decided to suspend visa issuances for all arrivals for 15 to 30 days to limit the intake of infected travellers. However, the PM did not announce the official date of this policy.

According to data released by the Ministry of Health on the evening of March 16, eight flights had arrived to Vietnam with passengers infected by coronavirus, including flights from Singapore, Malaysia, Turkey, Russia, and England.

So far, Vietnam has detected sources of infection from Europe (UK, France), the US, Southeast Asia (Malaysia), and South Korea (Daegu). In the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic, Vietnam had 16 cases originated from China (Wuhan).

Since March 15, Vietnam has temporarily suspended entry for visitors from or having travelled through the Schengen area, the UK, or Northern Ireland within 14 days before their intended date of arrival in Vietnam, and has temporarily suspended visa issuance at the border. This policy is also applied for overseas Vietnamese holding foreign passports.

Currently, Vietnam has implemented three forms of isolation: centralised military management, home isolation, and group isolation (for foreign experts and those who have official passports to work in Vietnam).

By Phuong Hao

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