Vietnam approves e-visa pilot

By VnExpress   November 24, 2016 | 08:47 pm PT
Vietnam has yet to finalize the list of nationalities eligible to apply for the e-visa.

On Tuesday, Vietnam's National Assembly overwhelmingly approved a plan to allow foreign tourists to apply for electronic visas (e-visas) starting on February 1, 2017.

Under the program, tourists will be able to apply online for 30-day, single-entry e-visas by paying a non-refundable application fee online.

The Vietnamese government is working to decide which nationalities will become eligible for the program and which Vietnamese border gates will allow foreigners to enter by applying online.

Vietnam's foreign tourist arrivals jumped by a quarter in the first ten months of 2016, hitting eight million, according to figures from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism,

China was the country’s biggest feeder market with 2.2 million visitors, followed by South Korea at 1.2 million and Japan at 611,000.

Vietnam has extended visa exemptions to tourists from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as Russia, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Belarus, the U.K., France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

Vietnam also approved a plan to allow Chinese tourists traveling in groups and by car to visit northern border cities for up to three days without visas.

Related news:

> Vietnam extends visa exemptions for tourists from Western Europe

> Vietnam province eases visa policy for Chinese tourists

 
 
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