Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has directed immigration authorities to explore the possibility of exempting visas for stays ranging from six to 12 months for visitors hailing from affluent nations, aiming to bolster tourism recovery.

He stated in a directive issued on Friday that the roster of countries whose nationals enjoy unilateral visa exemptions could be expanded beyond the current 13.

The existing list comprises:

🇩🇪 Germany, 🇫🇷 France, 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇪🇸 Spain, 🇬🇧 Britain, 🇷🇺 Russia, 🇯🇵 Japan, 🇰🇷 South Korea, 🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇸🇪 Sweden, 🇳🇴 Norway, 🇫🇮 Finland, and 🇧🇾 Belarus.

Additionally, the Prime Minister urged agencies to contemplate issuing long-term and multi-entry visas ranging from 12 to 36 months to attract affluent retirees from Europe, Northeast Asia, North America, India, and certain Middle Eastern nations.

This initiative unfolds as several Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand and Malaysia, engage in a competitive tourism strategy to entice foreign visitors, particularly from China, through visa-free policies.

Vietnam presently grants visa waivers to travelers from 25 countries, a modest figure in comparison to Malaysia’s 162 and Singapore’s 157.

🇲🇾 Malaysia, 🇸🇬 Singapore, 🇵🇭 the Philippines, 🇯🇵 Japan, 🇰🇷 South Korea, and 🇹🇭 Thailand boast higher numbers, with 68, 66, and 64 visa-free countries respectively.

Vietnam extends tourist visas for up to three months to citizens of all nations and territories.

Despite welcoming 12.6 million international visitors last year, which represents approximately 70% of pre-COVID levels, the country aims to invigorate tourism by potentially waiving visa requirements for citizens from major source countries such as China, India, and Australia, as anticipated by industry experts.