Delegate Ha Phuoc Thang proposed that the drafting committee study increasing the temporary stay period for people entering the country under unilateral visa exemption from 15 days to 60-90 days.
On the afternoon of May 27, the National Assembly discussed in 19 groups the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens and the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam.
At the Ho Chi Minh City delegation, delegate Ha Phuoc Thang (Deputy Head of the Ho Chi Minh City delegation) suggested that the drafting committee re-evaluate the proposal to increase the temporary stay period for people entering the country under unilateral visa exemption from 15 to 45 days. This number of days is only average compared to other countries in the region, such as Singapore 30-90 days; Malaysia 14-90 days; Myanmar 28-70 days; Philippines 30-59 days; Thailand 45 days; Indonesia maximum 30 days; Cambodia 14-30 days.
"Why not increase the temporary residence period to 60 or 90 days to create conditions to attract investment, cooperation, and tourism ?" Mr. Thang asked.
Delegate Ha Phuoc Thang. Photo: National Assembly Media
Ms. Van Thi Bach Tuyet (Deputy Head of Ho Chi Minh City Delegation) also proposed to amend the regulation to increase the duration of e-visas from no more than 30 days to 90 days, instead of 3 months to ensure clarity because the number of days in a month in Vietnam can vary. She also wants the Government to report to the National Assembly the list of countries that will be granted e-visas so that delegates can report to voters.
Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung (Standing member of the Economic Committee) said that changing visa policies is too late. In 2019 - before the pandemic, Vietnam had 19 million international visitors, while Thailand had 25 million. In 2022, Vietnam set a target of recovering 5 million international visitors after the pandemic, but only reached 60%; Thailand had 11 million, Malaysia had more than 9 million visitors.
Since 2022, Thailand has had many policies to extend visas, extend the length of stay or facilitate online entry. Meanwhile, Vietnam has not yet implemented these solutions. In the first three months of the year, the country only welcomed 3.7 million international tourists out of the total target of 8 million visitors in 2023.
"Removing visa procedures is the key for Vietnamese tourism to take off because in terms of natural conditions, our country's nature is not inferior to neighboring countries," said Mr. Hung, saying that difficulties in applying for visas are a major barrier in addition to the poor quality of tourism services.
Delegate Nguyen Manh Hung. Photo: National Assembly Media
On the same morning, Minister of Public Security To Lam submitted a draft law to the National Assembly, proposing to increase the duration of electronic visas from no more than 30 days to a maximum of 3 months; electronic visas (e-visas) are valid for multiple entries instead of one entry as before; and expand the scope of e-visa issuance (currently 80 countries). The drafting committee proposed to increase the temporary stay period for people entering the country under unilateral visa exemption from 15 days to 45 days.
After group discussion, this content will be discussed by the National Assembly in the hall on June 2 and voted on on the morning of June 24 - the last working day of the 5th session of the 15th National Assembly.
Written by Tuan - Hoai Thu
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