Procedures for granting visas for foreign entries in Vietnam
PROCEDURES FOR GRANTING VISAS FOR FOREIGN ENTRIES IN VIETNAM
Visas are documents issued by a competent Vietnamese authority for each person, except for children under 14 years of age who are issued joint passports with their parents or guardians, allowing foreigners to enter the Vietnam. Vietnamese law specifies the subject matter and duration of each type of passport depending on the purpose of entry as follows:
Types of passport:
| Symbols | Subject matter | Maximum Duration |
| NG1 | Members of delegations invited by the Secretary General of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s Central Committee, the President, the Chairperson of the National Assembly or the Prime Minister. | 12 months |
| NG2 | Members of delegations invited by the Standing Body of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s Secretariat, Vice Presidents, National Assembly Vice Chairpersons, Deputy Prime Ministers, the President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Central Committee, the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court, the Procurator General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, or the State Auditor General; members of delegations invited by ministers and the equivalent post holders, secretaries of Party Committees of provinces and centrally run cities or chairpersons of People’s Councils and People’s Committees of provinces and centrally run cities. | 12 months |
| NG3 | Members of diplomatic missions, consular offices and representative offices of international organizations affiliated to the United Nations, representative offices of intergovernmental organizations and their spouses, under-18 children and housemaids who live with them during their terms of office. | 12 months |
| NG4 | People who come to work with diplomatic missions, consular offices, representative offices of international organizations affiliated to the United Nations and representative offices of intergovernmental organizations; visitors of members of diplomatic missions, consular offices, representative offices of international organizations affiliated to the United Nations and representative offices of intergovernmental organizations. | 12 months |
| LV1 | People who come to work with departments, agencies and units under the Communist Party of Vietnam’s Central Committee; the National Assembly, the Government, the Central Committee of Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the State Audit of Vietnam, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, People’s Councils and People’s Committees of provinces and centrally run cities. | 12 months |
| LV2 | People who come to work with socio-political organizations, social organizations and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. | 12 months |
| ĐT | Foreign investors in Vietnam and foreign lawyers practicing in Vietnam. | 5 years |
| DN | People who come to work with Vietnam-based enterprises. | 12 months |
| NN1 | Heads of representative offices or projects of international organizations and foreign non-governmental organizations in Vietnam. | 12 months |
| NN2 | Heads of representative offices or branches of foreign traders, representative offices of other foreign economic, cultural, Professional organizations in Vietnam. | 12 months |
| NN3 | People who come to work with foreign non-governmental organizations, representative offices or branches of foreign traders, representative offices of other foreign economic, cultural, professional organizations in Vietnam. | 12 months |
| DH | People who come to practice as probationers or study in Vietnam. | 12 months |
| HN | People who come to attend conferences or workshops. | 3 months |
| PV1 | Permanent correspondents and journalists in Vietnam. | 12 months |
| PV2 | Correspondents and journalists who come to work for a short term in Vietnam. | 12 months |
| LĐ | People who come to work. | 2 years |
| DL | Tourists. | 3 months |
| TT | Foreigners who are parents, spouses, under-18 children of foreigners holding LV1, LV2, ĐT, NN1, NN2, DH, PV1 or LĐ visas, or foreigners who are parents, spouses or children of Vietnamese citizens. | 12 months |
| VR | People who come to visit their relatives or for other purposes. | 6 months |
| SQ | Foreigners who wish to enter Vietnam to conduct market surveys, take tours, visit relatives or receive medical treatment in accordance with the law. | 30 days |
The conditions and procedure for granting visas:
The conditions for granting visas is having a passport or an international travel document and not be one of cases of suspension from entry prescribed in law. In addition, foreigners must be invited or guaranteed by agencies, organizations or individuals (except in case of SQ visa) according to the following procedures:
For foreigners who are the subject of NG1, NG2, NG3 and NG4 visas, through the inviting and guaranteeing agencies or organizations shall send written requests for visa issuance and pay charges at competent agencies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In case of application for issuing visa at an international border gate, the border-gate, the time of entry and the reason for the application for a visa at the border gate should be clearly stated. After receiving a written reply from the competent bodies of the Foreign Ministry, agencies or organizations that invite or guarantee the foreigners into Vietnam shall notify the foreigners thereof for carrying out the procedures for receiving visas at overseas Vietnamese agencies competent to grant visas. After receiving the direction from the competent agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the passport and the visa application stuck with a photo of the applicant, the overseas Vietnamese agency competent to grant visas shall grant a visa within 1 working day.
In other cases, before carrying out procedures for inviting or guaranteeing a foreigner to enter Vietnam, agencies, organizations or individuals inviting foreigners shall send to the immigration management agency a written notice, together with a dossier comprising:
- A certified copy of the organization’s establishment license or decision issued by a competent agency;
- A document introducing the seal and signature of the organization’s competent person.
Agencies or organizations that invite or guarantee the foreigners directly send the application for granting visas at at the immigration management agency. Notice that when applying for a visa in the following cases, papers proving the purposes of entry are requires:
- Foreigners who come to make investment must have papers proving their investment in Vietnam in accordance with the Law on Investment;
- Foreigners practicing law in Vietnam must have a practice license in accordance with the Law on Lawyers;
- Foreigners who come to work in Vietnam must have work permits in accordance with the Labor Code;
- Foreigners who come to study in Vietnam must have admission documents of Vietnamese schools or educational institutions.
Within 5 working days after receiving the visa application, the immigration management agency shall consider and process the dossier and send a reply to the inviting or guaranteeing agency, organization or individual and notify such to the overseas Vietnamese agency competent to grant visas. After receiving the written reply from the immigration management agency, the inviting or guaranteeing agency, organization or individual shall notify such to the foreigner for the latter to carry out procedures for receiving the visa at the overseas Vietnamese agency competent to grant visas.
After receiving the notice from the inviting or guaranteeing agency, organization or individual, the foreigner shall submit his/her passport, the application and his/her photo to an overseas Vietnamese agency competent to grant visas, if visas are required. Under-14 children who share passports with their parents or guardians are not required to make visa applications.
Within 3 working days after receiving a notice from the immigration management agency or the competent agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the overseas Vietnamese agency competent to grant visas shall grant a visa.
A foreigner may be granted a visa at an international border gate in the following cases:
- He/she departs from a country without a Vietnamese agency competent to grant visas;
- He/she has to travel through many countries before arriving in Vietnam;-
- He/she enters Vietnam on a tour organized by an international travel agent in Vietnam;
- He/she is a crewmember on board a foreign ship anchoring at a Vietnamese seaport and wishes to leave Vietnam through another border gate;
- He/she enters Vietnam to attend the funeral of a relative, or to visit a seriously ill relative;
- He/she enters Vietnam to join in the handling of urgent incidents, search and rescue, prevention and control of natural disasters or epidemics or for other special purposes at the request of a competent Vietnamese agency.
Foreigners who are eligible for visa grant at international border gates shall submit their passports or international travel documents and filled visa applications stuck with their photos, to immigration control units. Information on under-14 children who share passports with their parents or guardians shall be declared on visa applications of their parents or guardians.
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