At a meeting with heads of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad on Thursday, the PM asked agencies to research appropriate visa policies to make it convenient for foreign tourists and help to create momentum for tourism recovery.

"The Ministry of Public Security should cooperate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to waive visa for several countries," he said.

Vietnam now waives visas for travelers from 25 countries compared to 162 for Malaysia and Singapore, 157 for the Philippines and 93 for Thailand.

Many Asian countries are increasing their competitiveness to attract foreign tourists with visa-free policies. Thailand on Monday increased the number fo countries and territories enjoying its 60-day visa-free stay from 57 to 93, while Indonesia plans to grant visa-free visits to 20 destinations including Australia, China and India by October.

Under the current immigration policy, Vietnam grants three-month tourist visas for citizens from all countries and territories.

The government also tripled the duration of stays in Vietnam to 45 days for citizens of 13 countries unilaterally exempted from visas from August last year.

Vietnam received 8.8 million international visitors in the first half of this year, up 58% year-on-year and 4% from pre-Covid levels, with South Koreans and Chinese topping the list.

The target for full-year 2024 is 18 million visitors.

Australia approves visa for Vietnamese agricultural workers

The Australian government has announced the approval of a visa which allows workers in a range of agriculture sectors and skill levels from certain Southeast Asia countries including Vietnam to work in Australia.

Vietnam negotiating with 15 countries for mutual visa exemption

The foreign ministry is negotiating with 15 countries for mutual visa exemption and with 80 others for exemption for diplomatic passports.

Visa exemption to be discussed at National Assembly next week

Vietnamese tourism promotion and visa exemption will be discussed at the ongoing session of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee.

Mongolia gives visa exemption for Vietnamese visitors

Vietnamese visitors traveling to Mongolia for stays of up to 30 days no longer require a visa starting from March 7.

Vietnam considers expanding visa exemption for more countries

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered the Ministry of Public Security to consider expanding visa exemptions for citizens of certain countries in accordance with bilateral cooperation.

Malaysian media highlights attractiveness of Vietnam’s visa policy

With its new visa exemption policy, Vietnam has been more attractive to visitors from near and far, with the number of tourist arrivals far exceeding the country’s set target, Malaysia’s only broadsheet format English language newspaper News Straits Times highlighted in its article “Visa-free travel a boon”.

Source: VnExpress