Flexible visa policy brings international visitors to Vietnam

International tourists visit Hoan Kiem Lake. Photo: Minh Quyet/VNA

Vietnam is a country with great tourism potential, able to compete with other countries in the Southeast Asian region. Expanding visa policies is an important factor in helping Vietnam build the image of a safe, friendly destination and ready to welcome international visitors in the new era. In the context of globalization and increasing tourism demand, in order for the tourism industry to develop to its full potential, Vietnam needs to have a more open, flexible and friendly visa policy.

Expanding visa policy

On March 7, 2025, the Government issued Resolution No. 44/NQ-CP on visa exemption for citizens of 12 countries including: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. This policy allows citizens of the above countries to temporarily stay for 45 days from the date of entry, regardless of passport type and purpose of entry. The policy implementation period lasts three years, from March 15, 2025 to March 14, 2028, and will be considered for extension according to Vietnamese law.

In the 2025 Tourism Development Stimulus Program, on January 15, 2025, the Government also issued Resolution No. 11/NQ-CP on visa exemption for a temporary stay of 45 days for citizens of Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. These positive moves have brought growth signals for international visitors to Vietnam. According to statistics from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, in the first 4 months of 2025, Vietnam welcomed more than 7.6 million international visitors, an increase of 23.8% over the same period in 2024.

According to Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, visa policy plays a particularly important role in attracting international tourists. However, tourism is a comprehensive economic sector, requiring synchronous coordination between many related policies to ensure that Vietnam's tourism industry can develop sustainably in the era of integration and development.

Recently, the Government has implemented many new visa policies such as visa exemption, electronic visa issuance with simple procedures, longer stay, creating convenience for international tourists to come to Vietnam. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is coordinating with relevant agencies to research and propose improvements to visa approval procedures, applying flexible policies according to each tourism stimulus program and international events such as diplomacy, sports, culture.

Director Nguyen Trung Khanh said that the expansion of the short-term visa exemption policy should be prioritized for potential markets with direct flights to Vietnam, tourists with high spending capacity and long-term stay needs. At the same time, there should be a priority visa policy for specific groups in the fields of culture, sports and tourism such as athletes, coaches, sports experts, directors, actors, filmmakers, international reporters coming to Vietnam for work or to participate in events. However, this expansion needs to be considered in harmony between the goal of economic and tourism development and the task of ensuring security and national defense.

Promoting tourism growth

Applying a visa exemption policy is considered one of the key strategies to promote tourism growth. Currently, Thailand is exempting visas for 98 countries, allowing stays of 30-90 days; Malaysia exempts visas for 165 countries, allowing stays of 30-90 days; Singapore exempts visas for 163 countries, allowing stays of 30-90 days. The number of countries and the number of visa-free days in Vietnam is much less than that of some countries in the Southeast Asian region.

To achieve the target of welcoming 22 to 23 million international visitors in 2025, the Government has decided to promote a flexible visa policy, typically visa exemption for 12 countries under Resolution No. 44/NQ-CP. At the same time, Vietnam has implemented electronic visas (e-visas) for citizens of more than 80 countries and territories. However, compared to neighboring countries, Vietnam's visa policy still has many limitations, especially in terms of length of stay, scope of application and convenience. This is the "bottleneck" that needs to be removed so that Vietnam's tourism can improve its competitiveness compared to other countries in the region.

According to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietravel Company, visa is the first “key” for international tourists to enter the country. Therefore, Vietnam needs to consider and learn from the flexible visa models of countries in the region such as opening visas according to season, nationality, and specific subjects such as businessmen, scientists, public-private partnerships, bilateral or strategic cooperation relationships.

Ms. Nguyen Thu Thuy, Marketing Director of Vingroup Corporation, said that it is possible to implement a conditional visa model, such as visa exemption for tourists who register for package tours, stay at licensed establishments, have a clear schedule and travel with reputable international travel companies. In addition, it is possible to test seasonal or campaign visa exemption policies to measure actual effectiveness before applying them on a large scale.

In addition, Vietnam can consider applying visa exemption policies for specific groups of people such as conference tourists (MICE), medical tourists, etc. For example, it is possible to issue "golden visas" with a validity of 3-5 years and allow multiple entries for experts, scientists, and investors. At the same time, it is necessary to study visa exemption for people who need to enter the country frequently such as guests staying at 4-5 star hotels, medical tourists, golfers or participating in specially designed luxury tours.

For the visa policy to be truly effective and create momentum for sustainable tourism development, Vietnam needs to improve service quality, upgrade tourism infrastructure and develop unique tourism products. Ms. Dao Thi Bich Huong, General Director of SeaGate Travel Company, commented that a more open visa policy will help Vietnam attract more international conferences, exhibitions and events, while creating favorable conditions for businessmen and tourists to participate in these activities. Thus, not only the tourism industry but also other economic sectors will benefit.

Visas are just the first step. The bigger challenge is how to keep tourists staying longer, spending more and wanting to return to Vietnam. Currently, Vietnam still lacks unique tourism products to maintain tourists’ interest for many days at a place of stay. In addition, many tourist areas in Vietnam still face limitations in infrastructure, uneven services, environmental pollution and weak destination management, especially during peak tourist seasons.

In order for Vietnam’s tourism industry to truly make a breakthrough and develop sustainably in the coming period, expanding and improving visa policies should be considered a priority step. Along with removing visa barriers, Vietnam needs to continue to invest heavily in tourism infrastructure and connecting transport systems, step up promotion and advertising of destinations in a professional manner, and develop diverse and unique tourism products that are suitable to market demand.

Improving service quality, training professional human resources, protecting the environment and promoting green tourism are also key factors, helping to bring a complete experience to tourists. When solutions are implemented synchronously, visa policy is not only an "open door" to welcome international visitors, but also becomes a strategic driving force to bring Vietnamese tourism to new heights.

Source: https://baobinhphuoc.com.vn/news/20/172988/chinh-sach-thi-thuc-linh-hoat-gop-phan-thu-hut-khach-quoc-te-den-viet-nam