Vietnam eyes expansion of eligible countries for e-visa issuance

By Hoang Phong August 23, 2022 | 08:47 pm PT

Foreign tourists are seen in Hoi An, central Vietnam, on July 24, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Dac Thanh

The government has sought recommendations from the tourism, foreign affairs and public security ministries for expanding the list of countries whose nationals can get visas online.

Vietnam currently offers 30-day single-entry e-visas for citizens from 80 countries and territories, including major economies such as Australia, India, the U.K. and the U.S.

The government also instructed the Ministry of Public Security to simplify e-visa procedures to help foster tourism.

Though Vietnam allows quarantine-free entry and resumed pre-pandemic e-visa and visa exemption policies on March 15, the number of foreign visitors has remained disappointing.

In the first seven months of the year there were only 733,000 foreign arrivals, or 15 percent of this year's target.

Vietnam's target for this year of five million visitors is only equivalent to 30 percent of the pre-pandemic number.