Foreign tourists were surprised and delighted by the openness of Vietnam’s visa policy, but commented that there are still points that need to be fixed with the visa application website.
From August 15, the Government will issue electronic visas (e-visas) to citizens of all countries and territories in the world instead of only 80 countries and territories as before. The temporary stay period of the e-visa is also increased from 30 days to 90 days. In addition, the temporary residence period was also increased from 15 days to 45 days for citizens of 13 Vietnamese countries to unilaterally exempt visas.
Responding to VnBooking, Shiela Zobel, a German tourist, said that allowing citizens of all countries and territories to apply for an e-visa will make it easier for them to decide to come to Vietnam. Germany is on the list of unilateral visa exemptions from Vietnam, so Zobel can stay in Vietnam for up to 45 days or 90 days if applying for an e-visa. She commented that the previous 30-day period was too short and that tourists like her were “fed up of having to go to Moc Bai border gate” every month to reapply for a visa.
“This is a waste of time, we also need to save money. With the current change, I think many foreign tourists will benefit and decide to stay in Vietnam longer,” Zobel said. I know I will come to Vietnam on August 21.
Reg Boling, an American, has great affection for the people, landscape, culture, and cuisine of Vietnam. He said he had been to Vietnam several times since March and commented that the 30-day temporary stay period as in the old policy was only enough for tourists to “see a very small part of the country”. Boling is currently retired and sees Vietnam as a potential destination for business investment. Extending the temporary stay period for foreign visitors not only helps people like him travel more but also increases their ability to find investment opportunities in Vietnam.
However, Boling said Vietnam should also consider visa exemption for many other countries and introduce a priority visa policy for retirees with good economic conditions. According to Boling, some Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore have done so and this brings economic benefits to both sides.
Sharing the same opinion as Zobel and Boling, Sue Schein, an American tourist, said she had been to Vietnam many times since 2015 and was one of the first people to return to travel after the pandemic. She has been waiting for a change in visa policy for a long time. Schein plans to come to Vietnam in October and stay for two months to travel to Hanoi, Sa Pa (Lao Cai) and possibly Laos.
“I hope Vietnam can expand its visa policy further in the future. Honestly, I’m a bit jealous of those who are exempted from visas,” she said.
On August 15, Schein tried to apply for an e-visa to Vietnam but encountered some problems with the visa application website. Female tourists commented that the new e-visa application website interface looks more modern and detailed than the old version. However, the website still has many errors, especially in the payment step. By dawn on August 17 (Vietnam time), Schein still could not complete the e-visa application due to unpaid payment.
Schein is not the only tourist who encounters this situation when applying for an e-visa on the Public Service Portal website of the Ministry of Public Security. Joel, an American tourist, said he had some problems downloading photos and even paying. In addition, Joel found it a bit annoying to have to answer some questions.
For example, in the online application step, visitors must answer the question: Have you been to Vietnam within the past year? Joel believes that this question is quite redundant because the authorities already know this information. In addition, tourists also have to answer the question of where they will stay when they come to Vietnam. According to Joel, this is a common but annoying question because visitors must clearly state the district or ward where they will stay. He said most tourists cannot clearly grasp this information.
“I think Vietnam should simplify everything to make it easier for tourists to come to you. Those small problems will make many people choose Thailand instead of Vietnam,” he said.
According to Mr. Phan Dinh Hue, Director of Vietcircle Tourism Company, “there is nothing to criticize” about the openness of the current visa policy. However, Vietnam still needs to improve some technical factors so that tourists feel welcome right from the visa application stage.
Mr. Hue suggested that there should be a written notice soon and widely disseminated on Vietnam’s official visa application website. Currently, there are many fake websites online, using domain names similar to real websites, easily confusing visitors. Zobel also said he was deceived when applying for a visa to Vietnam.
On the other hand, Vietcircle representative said that Vietnam still lacks people on call center to support tourists when they have questions about visas. Currently, foreign tourists cannot directly contact support staff by phone or online messaging. They have to contact via email and the wait sometimes lasts several days. Previously, some international tourists reported not receiving support when sending emails to inquire about visa procedures.
Currently, Vietnam’s e-visa application website only supports two languages: English and Vietnamese. Mr. Hue commented that this is a shortcoming that needs to be supplemented soon to provide maximum support for tourists during the check-in process. Some languages that should be added are Chinese (for Chinese guests), French (for French guests, African diaspora, Middle East), Spanish (for South American guests). According to Mr. Hue, if the above factors are improved, tourists will feel the hospitality from Vietnam and want to travel more.