Vietnam Officially Opens It Borders Today!

Three months ahead of schedule, Vietnam will allow international travellers to enter its border starting today, March 15.

It is reported that the Vietnamese Government has come to an agreement with the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism over its proposal to fully reopen Vietnam’s tourism following the “new normalcy”.

Back in February, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam was pushing the tourism ministry to quickly finish up and announce a plan for the reopening of the tourism industry, along with detailed instructions on how to execute the plan for localities to follow. The tourism ministry was also assigned to release proper safety procedures for incoming international travellers.

Before today, March 15, Vietnam allowed no-visa entry for citizens of 13 countries, including: Belarus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom. Vietnam has also struck an agreement on visa exemption with 88 additional countries and territories.

Due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, the government has prohibited foreign tourists from entering the country beginning March 22, 2020. After almost a full-year pause, Vietnam has now finally been ready to roll back entry curbs and recommence its tourism.

Owing to the rampant pandemic, Vietnam’s tourism took a massive blow last year. 2021 saw a mere 157,000 foreign tourists arriving in the country, a heart-throbbing drop from the 18 millions visitors it welcomed in 2019, according to the General Statistics Office.

Although mass entry will be allowed starting today, foreigners under pilot program have already been able to enter Vietnam since November last year following the country’s successful effort to distribute vaccines, with over 200 millions doses of vaccines administered up to now.

Entry protocols starting March 15

All visitors aged 12 or older must present either a proof of full vaccination, or proof of recent recovery from COVID-19 to enter Vietnam issued by competent authority in Vietnam.

In order to be considered fully vaccinated, visitors must have received the final dose of COVID-19 vaccine within 14 days and 6 months prior to departure. They can also present proof of recovery from COVID-19 within the previous six months, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

They must also present a negative test result for SARS-CoV-2 (by RT-PCR/RT-LAMP method) within 72 hours, or a negative rapid test result within 24 hours before departure (not applied for infants under the age of 2) for visitors entering the country via air and a negative rapid test results for those entering by land and sea

Visitors are also required to present medical or insurance cover for COVID-19-related treatment with a minimum liability of $10,000.

In addition to all requirements pre-departure, visitors must also take a second rapid test within 24 hours of arrival and quarantine until receiving a negative result. Additionally, they must install one safety management app as instructed by specialised agencies and maintain connections during their stay.