UK visa application center in HCMC reopens amid strict lockdown

It only functions from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays meaning there will be significantly fewer appointments available than usual, the British embassy said in its official Facebook page.

People coming to the center have to furnish negative Covid PCR test results obtained not more than 72 hours earlier.

Earlier the government had also allowed the British visa application center in Hanoi to reopen on Monday though its office in Da Nang City remains closed.

Currently 12,000 Vietnamese students are studying in the U.K., according to official statistics.

Britain lifted almost all social distancing measures and restrictions last month. Vietnam is currently on its amber list, which requires visitors to self-isolate for 10 days at home upon arrival.

Vietnam is grappling with its most challenging Covid wave, triggered by the Delta variant, and several countries have banned or imposed stricter quarantine measures for travelers from the country.

In the current wave that began in late April, the country has recorded nearly 458,000 cases.

HCMC, the epicenter, has imposed strict lockdown order that bans people from leaving home entirely from August 23.