Visa (visa) is a document issued by a competent authority of Vietnam, allowing foreigners to enter Vietnam. Foreigners who want to enter Vietnam must have a valid passport and visa, issued by a competent Vietnamese agency. However, the law provides that there are some cases where foreign nationals are exempted from applying for a visa. So what are those cases, let's find the answer with EZ in this article.
1. What is visa exemption? Benefits of being exempted from visa to Vietnam
Visa exemption can be understood as the entry and stay of a citizen of another country in Vietnam for a certain period of time without having to go through the procedures for obtaining a visa as well as paying related fees. to immigration.
The certificate of "visa exemption" allows Vietnamese people permanently residing abroad or foreigners with Vietnamese parents and spouses to be entitled to "visa-free" to enter Vietnam. The visa exemption certificate is valid for up to 5 years and is shorter than the expiry date of the passport or valid international travel document of the grantee for at least 6 months. Each entry is allowed to stay up to 180 days, if you want to stay longer after 180 days, you must apply for a visa extension.
When subject to visa exemption, foreigners will save costs when renewing their next visa. For example, people who are not exempted from visas, when their visas are about to expire, they will have to extend their visas and may have to renew them many times if they want to stay in Vietnam for a long time. easier and more convenient due to preferential policies for Vietnamese or foreigners who have a husband, wife and child relationship of Vietnamese people.
2. Who does Vietnam exempt from visas?
According to Articles 12 and 13 of the Law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam 2014, the cases of visa exemption include:
- According to international treaties to which Vietnam is a member.
- Use permanent residence card, temporary residence card according to the provisions of this Law.
- Entering border-gate economic zones, special administrative-economic units.
- Overseas Vietnamese have passports or valid international travel documents. Issued by a competent authority of a foreign country and the foreigner is their spouse or child. And foreigners who are spouses and children of Vietnamese citizens are exempt from visas according to the Government's regulations.
- The cases are unilaterally visa-exemption under the provisions of Article 13 of this Law.
- Flight crew members of foreign airlines regardless of nationality on flights of that airline to and from Vietnam.
- Flight crew members of foreign airlines operating in Vietnam to Vietnam on commercial flights or by other means of transport to serve as crew members on flights departing from Vietnam .
- Crew members of foreign airlines operating in Vietnam come to Vietnam on their flights as crew members, then exit Vietnam as passengers on commercial flights or by other means of transport.
3. Citizens of which countries are exempt from visa to enter Vietnam?
On a case-by-case basis, citizens of certain countries will be exempted from entry visas when specific requirements are met. Eg:
- For citizens of Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia: The temporary stay period does not exceed 30 days.
- For Brunei citizens: The temporary stay period is not more than 15 days.
- For Filipino citizens: The temporary stay period is not more than 21 days.
- For citizens of Japan, Korea, Russia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, France, England, Spain, Russia, Italy: The temporary stay period shall not exceed 15 days.
- Citizens of France and Chile who have diplomatic or official passports will be exempted from visa application procedures upon entry to Vietnam. The duration of stay must not exceed 90 days within a period of 6 months from the date of first entry.
- Holders of Apec business travel card are entitled to visa-free entry to Vietnam with a stay of no more than 60 days.
- Foreigners or Vietnamese with foreign nationality traveling in Phu Quoc island will be exempted from visa to Vietnam with a stay of 15 days.
Note: If you are eligible for visa exemption (except for 5-year visa exemption), foreigners only need to ensure that their passport is valid for at least 6 months from the date of entry and has 02 blank pages. After that, when arriving at the Vietnam border gate, foreigners only need to present their passport to enter Vietnam.
4. Procedures for applying for a 5-year visa exemption certificate
According to the Government's regulations, overseas Vietnamese have passports or valid international travel documents issued by competent foreign agencies and foreigners are their spouses and children. Foreigners who are spouses and children of Vietnamese citizens will be exempted from entry visas.
The duration of the visa exemption for this subject is not more than 5 years. Maximum stay is 06 months (180 days). After the expiry of 6 months, that foreigner must exit or extend his temporary residence if he wants to continue to stay in Vietnam.
Application form granting 5-year visa exemption certificates to foreigners, including:
- An application form for a visa exemption certificate, made according to form NA9;
- 02 photos of size 4x6 on white background, taken within 6 months (01 photo glued to the declaration, 01 photo to leave);
- Passport or international travel document valid for at least 01 year (enclosed with a photocopy for the competent authority to keep records);
- One of the following documents proving the relationship between husband, wife and children with the overseas Vietnamese (submit a certified copy from the original or attach the original for comparison): Marriage registration certificate ; Birth certificate; Certificate of father, mother and child relationship; other valid papers as prescribed by Vietnamese law; The decision to adopt a child.
Dossier to apply for a 5-year visa exemption certificate for foreigners of Vietnamese origin (overseas Vietnamese):
Documents proving that you are Vietnamese residing abroad:
- Birth certificate, decision to renounce nationality or certificate of loss of nationality;
- Vietnam passport has expired, ID card, household registration book...
If you are a spouse or child of a Vietnamese citizen or overseas Vietnamese, you must have:
- Papers proving the relationship with Vietnamese citizens or overseas Vietnamese;
- Personal papers of guaranteed Vietnamese citizens.
Note: The 5-year visa exemption certificate must be shorter than the passport validity of 6 months. Therefore, if a foreigner's passport is valid for less than 5 years, the validity of the visa exemption certificate will not be full 5 years.
The place to apply for a 5-year visa exemption certificate is at the nearest Immigration Office. Processing time usually takes 5-7 working days.
5. Fee for applying for a 5-year visa exemption certificate
According to Circular No. 219/2016/TT-BTC dated November 10, 2016, the state fee for granting a visa exemption certificate is 10 USD/piece.
However, this is only the required state fee. In the process of preparing for the procedure, the application for a visa exemption certificate may incur other costs.
6. Some frequently asked questions when applying for a Vietnam visa exemption certificate
6.1. Q – What is the validity period of the visa exemption certificate?
Answer – Visa exemption certificate is valid for up to 5 years and is shorter than the validity period of a passport or permanent residence document issued by a foreign country at least 6 months.
6.2. Q – Can children under 14 years old get a visa exemption certificate?
Answer – Yes, if the conditions are met for the issuance of a visa-free certificate. Children under 14 years old traveling with a parent's passport. Then the visa waiver is issued together with the passport of the parent.
7. Apply for a 5-year visa exemption certificate at EZ
The procedure for applying for a 5-year visa exemption certificate in practice always has many difficulties around legal issues. Therefore, please use EZ's 5-year visa exemption certificate" service.
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Coming to EZ, you will get:
- A team of experts who are knowledgeable in law, fluent in foreign languages, professionally and enthusiastically advise to give the best solution for customers;
- Handle all cases of dossiers and nationality quickly and accurately;
- Transparent, thrifty, committed to have no unreasonable costs incurred in the implementation process;
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- Delivery of documents to the place;
- Closed and professional working process to save time;
- Commitment to confidentiality of all customer information;
- Careful customer care policy after using the service.
Above is all information about Vietnam visa exemption for foreigners. To learn more about visa procedures and services, please contact us or call us at 0869 907 519 | 0867 439 725 for more details.
