Vietnam E-visa Available from February 1, 2017

With the Vietnamese Government Decree No. 07/2017/NĐ-CP taking effect on 1 February 2017, the pilot grant of an e-visa to Vietnam has been applied now.

The e-visas are granted for single-entry visits for up to 30 days to nationals of the following 40 eligible countries:

Asia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Brunei, China (not applicable to Chinese e-passport holders), Japan, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Mongolia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, and Timor Leste.

Europe: Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Romani, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Americas: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, the United States of America, and Venezuela.

With all procedures, from submitting the dossier, declaring the form, and paying a fee to send the e-Visa all performed online, it takes only three working days for tourists to be informed if their applications have been approved or not.

Halong Bay, Vietnam

To apply for e-visas, foreign citizens must complete a form, after which applicants will receive an application code and be prompted to pay a non-refundable fee of USD25 online.

The move aims to spur the country's tourism industry by streamlining visa processing and hence attracting more travelers. Vietnam's Ministry of Finance, Public Security, and Foreign Affairs has been pricing this e-visa application and making efforts to ensure international arrivals receive top-notch local services.

So far, Vietnam has visa-free agreements with 21 countries, 5 of them from the EU; visitors from other countries can apply for visas at Vietnamese embassies or consulates within their own homelands; they can also obtain visas on arrival, through a service that has been notorious for its long wait - in the high season, it is hardly unusual for arrivals to have to inch along for an hour or two.

Over the past 7 months, Vietnam has embraced 5.55 million foreign visitors, with a year-on-year increase of 24%; by the end of 2016, the country aims to welcome an 8.5million overseas travelers, with an annual increase of 6%, and gain tourism revenue of $8.9616 billion. Vietnam has also set a longer-term target of attracting 10~10.5 million international arrivals by 2020 with tourism revenue of $18~19 billion.