Foreigners With Visas / TRCs Can Now Enter Vietnam Without Special Approval (But No New Visas Yet)
Vietnam is now letting foreigners into the country with a valid visa or Temporary Resident Card without needing special approval from the government.
This was confirmed through Dispatch 450 on 18th January 2022 plus further confirmation came from the Immigration Department. The update took immediate effect.
It only applies to those who currently hold a visa, visa exemption or Temporary Resident Card (TRC).
This means that current visa and TRC holders no longer need special approval as an essential foreign worker such as an invester, expert or manager from the local People’s Commitee, plus a special invitation letter from the Immigration Department.
By all accounts this is now in effect – airlines that are now flying regularly to Vietnam have updated their website to reflect this and we’ve already heard of a few people that have flown in.
If you’re fully vaccinated and have a TRC you can fly in on a regular flight and just self isolate for 3 days on arrival.
This is only for current visa, TRC holders or people with visa exemptions.
So that’s spouses of Vietnamese citizens who have a TRC or visa exemption, foreigners who are employed in Vietnam and have a TRC, business owners who have a TRC etc.
There are a lot of TRC holders that haven’t been able to get back into the country because they have a TRC but weren’t able to get the special approval. If you’re one of these people (some for up to 2 years) then this is a huge update as a lot of people have been separated from families, been unable to return to work etc.
If you’re someone that is trying to get a new visa to come to Vietnam this doesn’t directly help just yet though unfortunately.
There are only 2 ways to get into Vietnam right now if you don’t already have a visa:
- Special approval as an expert as explained above.
- Closed package tours.
You can take an expensive package tour but you cannot travel around freely after during the tour and have to leave Vietnam again after 7 – 30 days based on the length of the tour.
So, while this isn’t a full reopening of borders yet, it’s a good step in the right direction and all we need now is the issuing of new visas in order for us to help people start moving to Vietnam to teach English again.
We hope to receive some positive news about this soon as Vietnam has a target of 5 million tourists in 2022.
P.S. If you’re interested in teaching English in Vietnam and want to start getting prepared for the inevitable easing of travel restrictions, then consider enrolling in our online TEFL course to get certified to teach in Vietnam. After which you can upgrade to in-person programs at a discounted rate.
Or have a look through all our TEFL programs to learn about our options for Vietnam when borders open or consider other destinations which are currently open.