When you enter Vietnam, you have to submit The Entry and exit form to the Immigration Officer. It is an important document as approval letter to get visa stamp. Since March 1, 2015, a new one that was renamed into Vietnamese visa application form has replaced the old entry and exit form. As such, the old form is currently invalid. Therefore, in case you received the old form for getting Vietnam visa on arrival at the airport from any travel agent, please ignore it, download the new version, fill it out and bring it together with you upon departure for Vietnam.

In case you do not have the Vietnamese visa application form from any source yet, you can take one at the airport upon your arrival to fill out with your information. However, it may take you 5 to 10 minutes to fill out. So we highly recommend you to download and fill it out before visit Vietnam to save your time. » Click here to download it.

This law is to come into effect on January 01, 2015. The Ordinance No. 24/2000/PL-UBTVQH10 on entry, exit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam is annuled as from the effective date of this law.

We would like to list some notable points of the law:

1. A foreigner holding various passports is forced to use only one of his/her passport for all his/her entry in, exit from, transit and residence in Vietnam. (Clause 4, Article 4).

2. Visa symbols are changed and more specific in accordance with the purposes of immigration (Article 8). 

The Immigration Law stipulates 20 different types of visa.

3. Foreigners who enter Vietnam to work are able to obtain a visa up to 02 years maximum (Clause 5, Article 9), while foreigners who enter Vietnam to invest are able to obtain a visa valid up to 05 years maximum in accordance with the law on investment (Clause 6, Article 9).

The validity of each visa type differs under the Immigration Law. For example, the maximum duration of an investor visa will be five years; the maximum duration of working visas will be two years which corresponds with the maximum duration of work permits.

The duration of temporary residence granted can be canceled or shortened where foreigners violate the Vietnam law or stay in Vietnam with a purpose different from the initial registered purpose.

4. Foreigners who enter Vietnam to work must obtain a work permit before applying for a Vietnamese entry visa (Section c, Clause 4, Article 10).

 To legally enter Vietnam, foreigners must apply for a suitable type of visa. For example, foreigners entering Vietnam for investment purposes must submit documents as proof of investment in Vietnam; foreigners working as lawyers in Vietnam must present their permit for practicing law in Vietnam; foreigners working in Vietnam must have a work permit in the visa application dossiers.

5. The law describes specific cases of Vietnamese visa-free entry, including the case of foreigners who enter Vietnam at the checkpoint of economic zones or special administrative – economic units (Clause 3, Article 12), and unilateral visa-free entry, in which the validity period of a decision to unilaterally grant visa-free entry shall not exceed 05 years and may be extended (Clause 2, Article 13).

6. The law broadens up to 06 cases of entities that are qualified to apply for visas at international border checkpoints (Clause 1, Article 18).

7. Cases of suspension from entry are also stipulated expressly in this law including children under 14 years of age without accompanying adult(s), persons expelled from Vietnam for less than 03 years, and persons deported from Vietnam for less than 06 months (Article 21).

Moreover, foreigners may be suspended from exit in one of the following cases:  (Article 28)

- Tax obligation is not fulfilled.

- Implementing a judgement or decision of a court.

- Implementing a decision on penalties for administrative violations, ect.

8. The law has a separate Chapter to describe the conditions for transit, transit passenger area, and transit by air/sea (Article 23, 24, 25 and 26).

9. The law gives provisions on both temporary and permanent residence of foreigners in Vietnam. Any stateless person who has had temporary residence in Vietnam from 2000 or earlier will be considered for granting permanent residence (Article 39).

Besides, duration of temporary residence cards is from 02 to 05 years and subject to visa types (Article 38).

10. The sanctions for administrative violations related to entry, exit, residence and travel of foreigners are still being applied in accordance with existing regulations. According to these regulations, the maximum penalty for violation is 40 million dong (US$2,000). Depending on the violation, foreigners may also be deported from Vietnam. 

Vietnam has many long holidays. Special in 2015, there are 15 days for Vietnam holidays that Vietnam Immigration Department will not work.

If you are planning to go to Vietnam in these days, you should apply the Visa online in advance to prevent any problem for applying a Visa to Vietnam.

Notes that Vietnam Visa upon arrival allows you apply online from 3 months before your entry dates.

 National public holidays of Vietnam in 2015

This September, Vietnam is ranked sixth in list of top countries for solo travelers by the top tourism website Travel and Leisure made. The list is chosen relying on two main factors: the safety and the happiness. It means that these countries have to guarantee visitors’ safety and must be a happy place to live.

Ha Long is not only known as a beautiful Bay but also has delicious seafood. This is Ngan. Ngan is bigger than Clam and has many times more nutritious than Clam. It also can treat diseases such as Alzheimer's, arthritis, anemia. Ngan is abundant and easy to catch in the summer-autumn season because they often burrow deeper into the sand during the winter. Experienced anglers in Quang Ninh say it is not easy to catch the clam, which live in saltwater and can only be caught when the tide is low. Local find them by scanning the sand for the tiny holes they create.

Mui Ne sand dunes, Sapa, the Mekong Delta, Phu Quoc Island and the Cu Chi tunnels are Vietnam’s destinations that are listed the 19 destinations in Southeast Asia

The ranked second place is Phu Quoc Island, Mui Ne sand dunes in fourth, the Mekong Delta at the 8th position, 9 th adjacent belonged Sapa and the last is Cu Chi tunnels at the 18th position.

Beside Vietnam, other destinations in Asia countries are in list, include Pai, Mae Sot, White Temple, Ko Lanta, Chiang Dao (Thailand), Bagan, Ngwe Saung Beach, Inle Lake, Mergui Archipelago (Myanmar), Cameron Highlands (Malaysia), Marina Bay Sands (Singapore), Luang Prabang (Laos), Kep and Angkor Wat (Cambodia).

Soak up the sun where white sands and tropical waters entice beachgoers from all over the globe. Snorkeling, scuba diving and fishing are the most popular water sports here. Phu Quoc Island never has a shortage of places to explore and experience while enjoying your holiday on Phu Quoc. Rent a motorbike for your journey and drive around the red dirt roads of this island paradise is the thing that you should not miss.

Although Mui Ne is not far from Saigon, but these sand dunes seem like they belong on another continent entirely. Sled, bike, or just freely frolic down both white and red mountains of bliss is easy for you. You can visit the Fairy Stream, a magical river with a soft, sandy bottom that flows between dry rocks.

Floating markets are special culture in Mekong Delta where is called the largest rice producing of Vietnam. Friendly locals will gladly let you sample their fruit that sold on their boat. Then biking passed the impressive rice paddies is good memory.

The bright green or yellow of Terraced fields are dotted with the colorful clothes of ethnic minority and roofs of French colonial villas are on your view when you travel to SaPa. The grill and boil foods such as pork meats, eggs, corn, Vietnamese potatoes and Tao Meo wine are popular, they are sold on the street, don't forget to try.

During the Vietnam War, Viet Cong soldiers used these narrow tunnels as their house. There have serving communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and countless guerrilla fighters, living places, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, control centers and cooking spaces where they can stay to sleep and active within many days at once. Experiencing wartime revealed more obviously, when you are enjoying disk boiled cassava, eat together salt and sugar and drink hot tea in the middle of the tunnels.