Travel agencies and international visitors are "waiting every day" for official guidance documents after the National Assembly approved the visa relaxation policy in June.
Most travel agencies operating in the inbound sector (welcoming foreign visitors to Vietnam) said they have grasped the positive changes in the new policy, such as the validity of electronic visas (e-visas) will be increased from 30 to 90 days, with unlimited entries and exits. Citizens of Vietnam who unilaterally exempt visas will have their temporary stay increased from 15 to 45 days and will be considered for visa issuance and temporary stay extensions according to regulations. These changes will take effect from August 15. However, without guidance documents, promotion and advertising with foreign partners will face many difficulties.
Mr. Pham Ha, CEO of Lux Group, a 5-star yacht business, said that all partners have positive reviews of the change in Vietnam's visa policy. However, they cannot believe it 100% because they "have not seen the official document" from the competent authority.
"Foreign partners also need to get information early to plan for the peak period, from October to April," said Mr. Ha.
Lux Group representatives hope to receive detailed information about the visa policy change soon. According to Mr. Ha, developing new products to suit the more favorable conditions of the visa policy takes a lot of time. Partners need to come directly to Vietnam to survey and work with airlines and land tours in Vietnam before launching new products. Therefore, Mr. Ha hopes that the official document "will be available sooner rather than later".
Foreign tourists traveling to Ha Long before Covid-19. Photo: World Mate Travel
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son, Deputy Director of Benthanh Tourist International Travel Center, said the company has sent notices to a number of partners in important markets such as Romania, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and the US to inform them about Vietnam's new visa policy. All parties are very excited about this good news.
However, the company has not yet received any documents from the authorities regarding the new visa policy, such as which countries will be eligible for the extension of the e-visa period to 90 days; which countries will be eligible for the unilateral visa-free temporary stay period to 45 days; and how the new visa policy will be applied.
"Only after receiving detailed instructions can the company coordinate with partners to design new tourism programs, renew products and conduct promotional and marketing activities to tourists," said Mr. Son.
A representative of Top Ten Travel's visa office for foreigners entering Vietnam also said that they are "waiting every day" to see the official document. According to this person, many international visitors have known about the information that Vietnam is preparing to change its visa policy and are very interested, especially individual visitors. Because group visitors usually prepare 6 months in advance, the main group of interest from now until the end of the year is individual visitors.
Top Ten Travel representative said they received many questions such as "Should I apply for a visa now or wait until August 15?", "If I apply for a visa now, will the new policy be applied by August 15?". However, this person said he could not explain or promise anything to customers. The only advice is that if it is really necessary, do it now, otherwise wait until August 15.
"We do not know specifically how the new policy will be applied, what form it will take, how long it will last, whether the application fee will change or whether the e-visa application system will be improved," said a company representative.
As of the afternoon of August 3, the website of the Vietnam Immigration Portal has not had any new announcements regarding changes in visa policy.
Many foreign visitors are also confused by this information. Sharman, from the UK, plans to visit Vietnam for a month and learned about the visa policy change through the media. However, when she asked some foreigners living in Vietnam, the answer she received was "not sure about anything".
Under the old policy, Sharman was exempt from visa but could only stay for a maximum of 15 days. If he wanted to stay longer, he had to exit and re-enter Vietnam under visa exemption. This method is quite popular with some international visitors when they choose to go to Laos, Cambodia and then return to Vietnam to continue traveling or fly home. Meanwhile, according to the information on the new visa policy, Sharman can stay for up to 45 days and be considered for visa issuance and temporary residence extension according to regulations.
Tu Nguyen
Source link
Comment (0)