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Vietnam visa exemption – Vietnam visa-free countries list

List of countries with visa-free entry (2024)

It’s great to check if you need a visa for Vietnam or not before applying for a visa to Vietnam as it will save your money and effort as well, especially in urgent cases.

As of 2024, citizens of 25 countries can travel to Vietnam without having to apply for a visa. To enter Vietnam, you only need a valid passport with at least two blank pages for stamping. You can find the full list of visa-free countries below. However, if your country is not on the visa exemption list, then you will need to obtain a visa to enter Vietnam.

Now, let’s go into details about the Vietnam visa exemption policy.

Special notes:

British National Overseas (BNO) passport holders are not eligible for the 15-day free visa exemption. Hence, BNO passport holders are required to obtain a valid visa to visit Vietnam.
Foreign passports are exempt from visa requirements to Phu Quoc island for no longer than 30 days. If they transit through other international airports in Vietnam before arriving Phu Quoc, they are still eligible for the exemption.
APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) holders with valid passports are exempt from Vietnam visa requirements for stay of no longer than 60 days.
From July 01, 2020, the 30-day gap between 2 entries was removed. Therefore, visitors from visa-free countries can exit and re-enter Vietnam immedately without having to wait 30 days.
There is a proposal for 45-day visa-exempt stay for travelers from European countries, Japan and South Korea. Update: This proposal was approved on 24/06/2023.

Vietnam visa-waiver policy 2024

1. What is Vietnam visa exemption?

Vietnam visa exemption (also called visa waiver or visa-free policy) is Government’s policy when a foreigner can enter and stay in Vietnam for a certain period of time without applying for a visa and paying related visa fees. Accordingly, foreigners must be citizens of one of the 25 countries eligible for Vietnam visa exemption and comply with the attached conditions.

Visa exemption in brief

Number of visa-free countries (2024)	25 countries (regular passports)
Longest visa exemption period	5 years (For Overseas Vietnamese and foreigners whose spouses are Vietnamese)
Shortest visa exemption period	14 days (Brunei, Myanmar)
European visa-free countries (2024)	Citizens of 11 European countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Russia, Belarus, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, are exempted from a visa for a 45-day stay in Vietnam.
The 30-day gap between 2 consecutive entry policy	This rule was removed in July 2020
APEC card holders	Exempt from visa for 60 days
Phu Quoc island visa exemption	30 days

Those who enter Vietnam under visa exemption will get the exemption stamp as follows on their passport:

Sample Vietnam visa exemption stamp.

2. List of countries with visa exemption

In regard to Resolution No. 32/NQ-CP issued on 15 March 2022, there are a total of 25 countries that are exempted from the Vietnam visa. Foreigners just need an ordinary passport which is valid for 6 months minimum and includes 2 blank pages for the stamp. Besides, Vietnam supports many other foreigners with diplomatic passports to enter Vietnam without a visa.

Ordinary passports:

As of November 2023, regular passport holders of 25 countries + Kazakhstan DO NOT need a visa for Vietnam. Here is the full list of Vietnam visa free countries and duration:

No.	Country	Maximum visa-free duration	Applicable purpose of visit (if any)
1	Chile	90 days	Entries that do not include remunerated activities
2	Panama	90 days	Entries that do not include remunerated activities
3	Cambodia	30 days	Not mentioned
4	Indonesia	30 days	Not mentioned
5	Kyrgyzstan	30 days	Not mentioned
6	Laos	30 days	Not mentioned
7	Malaysia	30 days	Tourism, attending press, conference/coverage, official duty, visiting relatives, business negotiation, investment, sports, or attending seminars or conferences
8	Singapore	30 days	Entries that do not include remunerated activities
9	Thailand	30 days	Not mentioned
10	Philippines	21 days	Not mentioned
11	Brunei	14 days	Not mentioned
12	Myanmar	14 days	Visiting only
13	Belarus	45 days	Not mentioned
14	Denmark	45 days	Not mentioned
15	Finland	45 days	Not mentioned
13	France	45 days	Not mentioned
17	Germany	45 days	Not mentioned
18	Italy	45 days	Not mentioned
19	Japan	45 days	Not mentioned
20	Norway	45 days	Not mentioned
21	Russia	45 days	Not mentioned
22	South Korea	45 days	Not mentioned
23	Spain	45 days	Not mentioned
24	Sweden	45 days	Not mentioned
25	United Kingdom (Not applicable to BNO)	45 days	Not mentioned

Diplomatic passports:

With a diplomatic passport, foreigners can enter Vietnam without a visa and stay for 15 to 90 days.

Reference: The list below is based on data obtained from the official website: https://lanhsuvietnam.gov.vn/

No.	Country	Duration of stay
1	Afghanistan	30 days
2	Albania	30 days
3	Algeria	90 days
4	Angola	30 days
5	Argentina	90 days
6	Armenia	90 days
7	Azerbaijan	30 days
8	Bangladesh	90 days
9	Belarus	30 days
10	Bolivia	90 days
11	Botswana	90 days
12	Brazil	90 days
13	Brunei	14 days
14	Bulgaria	90 days within 180 days period from the date of entry
15	Cambodia	30 days
16	Cameroon	90 days
17	Chile	90 days
18	China	30 days
19	Colombia	90 days
20	Costa Rica	90 days
21	Croatia	30 days
22	Cuba	30 days
23	Cyprus	90 days
24	Czech	90 days
25	Denmark	15 days
26	Dominican (Republic)	90 days
27	Ecuador	90 days
28	Egypt	90 days
29	El Salvador	90 days
30	Estonia	90 days within 180 days period from the date of entry
31	Finland	15 days
32	France	03 months within 6 months period from the date of entry
33	Germany	15 days
34	Greece	90 days within 180 days period from the date of entry
35	Hungary	90 days
36	India	90 days
37	Indonesia	14 days
38	Iran	30 days
39	Iraq	90 days
40	Israel	90 days
41	Italy (Republic)	90 days within 6 months period
42	Ivory Coast	90 days
43	Japan	90 days
44	Kazakhstan	30 days
45	North Korea	30 days
46	South Korea	90 days
47	Kyrgyzstan	30 days
48	Kuwait	90 days within 06 months period from the date of entry
49	Laos	30 days
50	Liberia	90 days
51	Macedonia	03 months within 06 months period from the date of entry
52	Malaysia	30 days
53	Malta	90 days
54	Mexico	90 days
55	Moldova	90 days
56	Mongolia	90 days
57	Montenegro	90 days
58	Morocco	90 days
59	Mozambique	90 days
60	Myanmar	30 days
61	Nepal	90 days
62	Nicaragua	30 days
63	Nigeria	90 days
64	Norway	15 days
65	Pakistan	90 days
66	Panama	90 days
67	Paraguay	90 days
68	Peru	90 days
69	Poland	90 days within 180 days period from the date of entry
70	Philippines	30 days
71	Romania	30 days
72	Russia	90 days
73	Serbia	90 days
74	Seychelles	90 days
75	Singapore	90 days
76	Slovakia	90 days
77	Slovenia	3 months within 6 months period from the date of entry
78	South Africa	90 days
79	Spain	90 days within 180 days from the date of entry
80	Sri Lanka	90 days
81	Sudan	90 days within 180 days period from the date of entry
82	Sweden	15 days
83	Switzerland	90 days
84	Tanzania	90 days
85	Thailand	30 days
86	Tunisia	90 days
87	Turkey	90 days
88	Ukraine	90 days
89	United Arab Emirates	90 days
90	United Kingdom	15 days
91	Uruguay	90 days
92	Uzbekistan	60 days
93	Venezuela	90 days

3. Other visa exemptions

Apart from 26 countries whose citizens are eligible for the visa exemption as listed above, there are some other visa-free categories you can refer to.

3.1) 5 year visa exemption for Overseas Vietnamese:

According to Clause 5, Article 12 in the Law of entry, exit, transit, and residence of foreigners, Vietnam Government grants a 5-year visa exemption to the following objects:

Overseas Vietnamese having a valid passport or international travel documents issued by competent foreign agencies and foreigners who are their spouses and children.
Foreigners who are spouses and children of Vietnamese citizens.

A 5-year visa waiver allows foreigners/overseas Vietnamese to enter and exit Vietnam at any time during 5 years but the maximum stay for each entry is not exceeding 180 days. If you do not want to exit and en-enter Vietnam, you must extend your visa to continue to stay. The extension time is up to 180 days (6 months).

Certificate of visa exemption.

Requirements:

To get a 5-year visa waiver, you have to submit all required documents at the Vietnam Embassy or Consulate in your residing country if you are staying outside Vietnam or at Vietnam Immigration Office if you are currently staying in Vietnam territory.

3.2) Phu Quoc Visa exemption:

For the development of Phu Quoc Island (Kien Giang Province), Vietnam issued Decision 80/2013/QĐ-TTg on 27/12/2013 that foreigners can enter, exit, and stay on Phu Quoc Island without a Vietnam visa for no longer than 30 days. The decision is applied to both foreigners entering Vietnam directly on Phu Quoc Island and those transiting at a Vietnam border gate (airport or seaport) and moving to Phu Quoc Island thereafter.

Requirements:

In order to enter Vietnam with a Phu Quoc visa exemption, foreigners have to follow some requirements below:

Owning a passport with 6-month validity upon arrival date.
Flying from your residing country to Phu Quoc via Phu Quoc International Airport. No matter if direct/indirect/transit flights, your final destination must be Phu Quoc.
A valid exit date (air ticket, cruise departure date, etc.) showing your duration of stay on Phu Quoc island is no longer than 30 days.
Only airport or seaport is available for this visa type.

3.3) APEC card visa exemption:

APEC card or APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) is a card granted to eligible senior government officials and business travelers by APEC (The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation). This card is used to support business trips within the APEC region for a short period of time.

Foreigners holding an APEC Business Travel Card and having a valid passport are exempted from the Vietnam visa for up to 60 days. Moreover, fast entry and exit through APEC’s separate lanes at the airport will be provided for foreigners with this visa waiver.

Requirements:

Each country in APEC has a distinct policy to grant an ABTC but applicants need to comply with some fundamental requirements including:

Being citizens of economies participating in APEC
Having a valid passport or equivalent travel document
Business persons who frequently travel within the APEC region for a short term stay
Government officials engaged in APEC business meeting certain requirements

4. Exemption policy updates

Since March 15, 2022, citizens of 13 countries unilaterally exempted from Vietnam visas for a period of 15 days, regardless of purposes, do not need to wait for at least 30 days from the last exit date to re-enter Vietnam on a unilateral visa-free basis. This is the most updated policy according to Resolution No. 32/NQ-CP by the Prime Minister.

Previously, all foreigners entering Vietnam under unilateral visa exemption must be at least 30 days from the time of their last exit from Vietnam regarding the provisions of Law No. 47/2014/QH13.

4.1) Important notes regarding Vietnam visa exemption:

The 30-day interval between 02 stays with visa exemption has been removed in accordance with the new law on entry, exit, transit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam which takes effect on July 1, 2020.
British National Overseas (BNO) passport holders are not eligible for the 45-day Vietnam visa exemption. So, they need to apply for a visa to visit Vietnam.
Visa exemption includes visa exemption for entry, exit and transit.
The visa-free stay period is counted from the date of entry.

The above information about the Vietnam visa exemption (updated on November 23, 2023) is provided for informational purposes only, please double-check with the official authorities in your current country before departure.

4.2) Conditions for Making Vietnam Visa Exemption

To enter Vietnam with a Vietnam visa exemption, eligible travelers are required to ensure:

Their passport valid for at least 6 months following their date of arrival in Vietnam; and
Their passport has at least 02 blank pages.

5. Vietnam Visa Exemption Extension

Before Covid, the Vietnam visa exemption can be extended in Vietnam. However, it cannot be done today.

Those who want to further remain in Vietnam for longer than their allowed exemption duration may have 02 options as follows:

Enter Vietnam with visa exemption, and then leave the country for a neighboring country (such as Thailand, Cambodia, or Laos) when the exemption duration ends and come back with a new visa exemption. This way of stay extension is called Visa Run.
Apply for a 90-day Vietnam evisa to enter the country.

6. How to speed up arrival procedure with Vietnam visa exemption?

No matter you are entering with Vietnam visa exemption or any valid entry paper for Vietnam, completing the arrival procedure is required.

► In case you want to speed up this procedure, check out our Vietnam Airport Fast-track service.

In case you need advice, feel free to let us know at our hotline/zalo/whatsapp/viber No. + 8479 666 2638 or chat with us or our email info.skyvietnamvisa@gmail.com.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Vietnam visa exemption for UK citizens with 02 visits within 30 days

Q. I’m a UK passport holder. Is Vietnam visa exemption for UK citizens applied for my second visit within 30 days after my visa-free visit to Vietnam?

A. Yes. You can enter Vietnam with a Vietnam visa exemption for your every stay of less than 15 days in our country.

How to apply for Vietnam visa exemption?

>> Please be kindly informed that if you are eligible for Vietnamese Visa exemption (except for 5 year visa exemption), you are not required to do anything beforehand, including completing any Vietnam visa exemption form. Just make sure your passport is valid for at least 6 months following your arrival date and has at least 02 blank pages. And then, upon arrival at the port of entry in Vietnam, please show your passport to enter Vietnam.