Several Taiwanese people have recently complained that they had to pay 'under-the-table' money to be able to enter Vietnam on inbound flights.

The case was brought up by reporters from Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) during a regular press meeting of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hanoi on Thursday.

The reporters quoted the Taiwanese passengers as saying they had been required to pay under-the-table money for immigration paperwork and procedures, transport at Vietnamese airports, and quarantine at local facilities.

Responding to the questions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang stated that aside from repatriating Vietnamese citizens, the government has been providing favorable conditions for foreign diplomats, experts, investors, and their family members to enter the country, as well as assisting them in arranging flights and quarantine venues.

“Negative acts that change the humanitarian nature of these flights need to be condemned and punished in line with the law,” Hang stressed. 

Vietnamese citizens in South Korea have also reported the activities of brokers in the purchase of commercial flight tickets to and from the Southeast Asian country.

Responding to the information, the spokesperson said the Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Foreign Affairs will coordinate with relevant agencies to verify these reports and impose stern punishment upon those responsible.

Following the latest development of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has announced the temporary suspension of inbound commercial flights.

Repatriation flights are still allowed to continue but will only for necessary cases.

More than 240 flights have been conducted so far to repatriate over 66,000 Vietnamese from some 50 countries and territories, according to Hang.

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