According to Vietnamese government’s regulations, citizens of visa–exempted countries can enter the second time if the gap between the two consecutive entries is 30 days. Is this applied to any other cases?

Question:

“Hi! I am Korean, unilaterally visa exempted for 15 days. I heard that according to Vietnamese regulations, the time between the two entries is at least 30 days. If I enter Vietnam for a few days, then take my relatives to Thailand to travel for a week, am I allowed to re-enter Vietnam after that? If so, it’s less than 30 days. In this case, what should I do ?”, asked Park Rin Young (Seoul- Korea)

Answer:

Hi Park Rin Young!

Thanks for your letter.  For your case, our immigration experts' response is as follows:

According to item 1, article 20 of Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence Law No. 47/2014/QH2013 dated 16/06/2014, foreigners can enter Vietnam if they meet the following requirements:

+ Passport or valid international travel documents and visa: Those who enjoy unilateral visa exemption, the passport must be valid for at least 06 months and enter at least 30 days since the last exit from Vietnam.

+ Not in the list of not being allowed to enter Vietnam

Therefore, in this case, you must re-enter Vietnam after at least 30 days. More specifically, if you enter Vietnam for a few days then travel to Thailand with your relatives and come back afterwards, you cannot use visa exemption to enter again. If so, you have to wait for at least 30 days for the next entry since the last day of departure.

If you cannot wait for such a long time and want to enter right away, you have to pay for a consular fee to get a visa, which is applied for those who enter Vietnam with unilateral visa exemption, then exit and enter again within 30 days (Collected fee is regulated in the Circular No. 157/2015/TT- BTC on collection, payment, management of fees for issuance of passports, visas, documents related to entry, exit, transit, and residence in Vietnam.)

In brief, if you want to come back to Vietnam after your Thailand trip for a week, don’t hesitate to contact us for more support!

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