Travel to Vietnam is expected to become slightly cheaper after the Southeast Asian nation on Monday night announced that all foreign visitors — including Taiwanese — are eligible to apply for a multiple-entry electronic visa, of which the validity has been extended to 90 days from 30 days.
The policy took effect yesterday after the National Assembly of Vietnam on June 24 passed amendments to the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam.
Before Taiwan was included in the e-visa program, Taiwanese who traveled to Vietnam needed to have a travel agency file visa applications on their behalf, which only permitted a single entry and was valid for 30 days.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The visa cost NT$1,300 to NT$1,500 per person, but travel agencies charged service fees, with the total cost ranging from NT$2,000 to NT$6,000.
Under the new policy, Taiwanese passport holders pay US$25 for an e-visa, without having to go through a travel agency.
An e-visa would normally be approved in about three work days after an application is submitted at https://dichvucong.bocongan.gov.vn/bocongan/bothutuc/tthc?matt=26277.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security Web site has Vietnamese and English-language versions.
Pin Kuan International Travel Service Co assistant manager Kevin Hsiang (向建倫) said that the new policy would make it more convenient to apply for a tourism visa, but business travelers would benefit the most, as an e-visa allows them to enter the country multiple times.
Visa application fees skyrocketed when Vietnam reopened borders for tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic, but that was only for people on tourist visas who were not part of a group tour, Hsiang said.
People on package tours paid NT$1,300 per person for visas, so the e-visas mean they would save about NT$500, he said.
Vietnamese government data for this year show that 6.6 million international tourists had visited the Southeast Asian nation as of last month, on track to reach its target of 8 million.
Vietnam had 18 million visitors in 2019, with Taiwan its fourth-largest source, the data showed.
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