This is the fourth time that governments decide to extend visa-free travel policy for citizens of five European countries: the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France and Italy. The new policy is officially in effect on July 1, 2018, with a longer validity of three years, compared to one year in the last two renewals.
During the last meeting of the Government of Vietnam, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc accepted the visa exemption for visitors from five countries mentioned with a validity period of 3 years, responding in favor of the suggestions of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism . The new visa exemption policy will expire on July 1, 2021. However, the suggestion to increase the allowed stay from 15 to 30 days and add more countries to the visa waiver list was rejected. Prime Minister Phuc also urged relevant ministries and agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of the current visa exemption policy, which was applied to the five countries in a pilot plan before the government decided to make any changes.
The visa waiver policy for five European countries was presented for the first time in July 2015, allowing visitors from the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France and Italy to stay 15 days without a visa for each ticket when traveling to Vietnam. The policy has helped to significantly increase the number of European visitors. European citizens who traveled to Vietnam exceeded 1.5 million last year, more than double the 720,000 registered in 2015, when the visa waiver policy was applied for the first time.
However, the short 15-day allowable stay also discouraged many other travelers from visiting Vietnam because they wish to stay a longer time to fully enjoy their private vacations in Vietnam. For those who want to stay longer than the 15-day visa exemption, they must still go through the visa application process for their stay in Vietnam. Read our previous article "Vietnam Visa Guide" for more information on the application of the Vietnamese visa