National Assembly set to extend e-visa validity to 3 months

By Hoang Phong May 12, 2023 | 06:35 pm PT

Foreign tourists visit Tra Que vegetable village in Hoi An in central Vietnam, January 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Xuan Phuong

Legislators are set to back a government proposal to extend the validity of e-visas from 30 days to a maximum of three months and allow multiple entry.

Le Tan Toi, head of the National Assembly’s Committee for Defense and Security Committee, said Friday these changes would meet the demand of foreign visitors to stay longer to explore investment opportunities.

The NA's Committee also agreed to triple to 45 days the duration of visa-free stays for tourists from certain countries who now enjoy a 15-day waiver.

Nationals of some western European countries, Japan and South Korea, Vietnam's top tourism markets, are permitted to visit for 15 days without a visa.

Some lawmakers said Vietnam currently waives visas only for nationals of 25 countries, much fewer than neighbors Indonesia (169), Malaysia (162), Singapore (158), the Philippines (157), and Thailand (68), and called for expanding the list.

The changes are set to be approved at the National Assembly session starting on May 22.

Vietnam received over 3.6 million foreign visitors in January-April, equivalent to 62% of pre-pandemic numbers and nearly half of this year's eight-million target.

But the number is far below those of its Southeast Asian neighbors like Thailand, which received 8.4 million in the period.