Vietnam extends visa exemption for five European countries
Vietnam recently extended its visa waiver program, which just ended on June 30, 2016, for British, French, German, Italian, and Spanish citizens travelling to the country for a period of up to 15 days for single entry to 30 June 2017.
A visa exemption policy in Vietnam which started from July 2015 has proved to be successful after one year in effect. It did help to increase the number of tourists from 5 European countries by 15% to 681,000, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. In the first five months of 2016, this number topped 342,000, an increase of 20% over the same period last year. Of the total number, visitors from Italy increased 30%, followed by the UK 24.6% and Spain 22.7%, Germany 17.1%, and France 13.8%.
Visitors from these countries will now continue to enjoy a free visa for a 15 day stay for each entry. The visa exemption will be applied regardless of passport type or immigration purposes, as long as the visitors meet the requirements stipulated by the law of Vietnam. This regulation will be valid in one year starting from June 30, 2016 to June 30, 2017.
According to Vietnam immigration law, to be eligible for visa exemption, your passport must have at least six months validity. If you wish to enter Vietnam at least two consecutive times without visa, the next entry must be at least 30 days after the previous exit. Otherwise, you still need a visa.