After fully reopening its doors to international visitors on March 15, Vietnam has streamlined immigration policies, with e-visas being issued within only three working days, a representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Immigration Office said on Wednesday.

Vietnam has issued e-visas to citizens of 80 countries.

With its e-visa policies, Vietnam has facilitated foreign experts, investors, and tourists entering the country.

More and more foreigners prefer this way to enter Vietnam, the official said.

However, foreign guests should visit the official website of the Ho Chi Minh City Immigration Office to apply for e-visas as there are many fake websites, the representative noted.

“Foreigners in need can access the website of the Ho Chi Minh City Immigration Office to apply for 30-day e-visas regardless of purposes. Vietnam will also issue e-visas to citizens from more countries,” the representative said.

Vietnam started granting e-visas before the COVID-19 pandemic, but foreigners have been paying more attention to this service when the pandemic first broke out in 2020.

The number of issued e-visas is increasing.

In addition, investors’ temporary residence cards are now valid for 10 years instead of five years as earlier.

Regarding the general director of Furukawa Automotive Parts Vietnam Inc.’s complaint about a long wait for visa application for experts, the representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Immigration Office said the firm completed visa application procedures during the peak period when there were up to 500 applications per day.

However, the number of visa applications has fallen so most of them have been handled in the course of the day.

“We have also advised enterprises to submit applications for e-visas to obtain them within three working days instead of using the traditional method”, the representative informed.

As for the proposal of a German firm owning a factory in Vietnam to extend the visa validity period for foreign investors and experts, the immigration official said Vietnam’s visa duration for foreigners is 90 days.

To extend the duration, enterprises need to submit dossiers, including a copy of the business license, the NA16 form (registration form for the seal and signature of the legal representative of the enterprise), and form NA2 (form of request for a foreigner's entry into Vietnam) to the Ho Chi Minh City Immigration Office.

The visa extension purpose must be declared as for technology transfer.

E-visas will be extended 30 days after the issuance date for those visiting their relatives in Vietnam, and those having work permits or investment certificates.

Earlier, many foreign tourists and investors complained about Vietnam’s visa woes.

According to current visa policies, investors with contributed funds of less than VND3 billion (US$126,793) are only eligible for visas of one year or shorter while investors with contributed capital of more than VND3 billion can apply for a visa with validity of up to three years.  

For investors who currently live in Vietnam and want to continue their stay, a tax report must be submitted to authorities and their Vietnamese business must have been in operation for at least three years.

Such regulations have hindered foreign investors and tourists from entering Vietnam.

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