January 2023
Impact High
Summary
Starting from late December 2022, the Immigration Department in Ho Chi Minh City has initiated a pilot project whereby business visitors to Vietnam can apply business visa online for a longer term without limitation to just a single-entry e-visa.
This pilot online business visa application will allow visitors to apply for a multiple entry visa with a validity period of up to 12 months.
See below for full details.
The Detail
With the Vietnamese border fully opened in March 2022, the Government has since resumed all visa exemption programs, including e-visa application for the 80+ countries who were previously eligible for the online application.
The e-visa application, once approved, allows the applicant to stay in Vietnam up to a maximum of 30 days. As the visa granted is for single-entry purpose, the visa has restriction on the applicant’s travel frequency. Travelers who wish to apply for a longer-term visa (for example, with a validity period of 3 to 12-
months) will need to go through a manual paper visa application with the Immigration Department. Manual submission of visa application can be administratively burdensome and time consuming.
With the aim to stimulate the country’s economy and to ease the administrative procedures for companies with frequent business travelers, the Ho Chi Minh City Immigration Department has initiated a visa pilot online project which allows company’s frequent business travelers to:
– apply and obtain visa approval online;
– apply for a longer validity period of up to 12 months (instead of 30 days);
– apply for multiple entries visa (instead of single-entry visa);
The company/employer, as the sponsoring entity, will need to register and obtain an e-signature token first from the Ho Chi Minh City Immigration Department before proceeding with the e-business visa application.
There are several documents required for the registration.
This is a much welcomed news and an efficient way of obtaining an e-business visa. Although the project is currently piloted in Ho Chi Minh City for business visa application only, we expect a similar process will be followed by other provisional Immigration Department.
Contact us
Please reach out to your usual Vialto Partners contact should you have questions on the above.
● Brittany Chong, Partner, Vietnam: brittany.chong@vialto,com
Further information on Vialto Partners can be found here: www.vialtopartners.com
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