Decree No. 82/2015/ND-CP dated September 24, 2015 of the Government prescribing visa exemption for overseas Vietnamese and foreigners who are spouses or children of overseas Vietnamese or Vietnamese citizens

Visa exemption for overseas Vietnamese

Taking effect on November 15, 2015, the Decree No. 82/2015/ND-CP dated September 24, 2015 of the Government prescribing visa exemption for overseas Vietnamese and foreigners who are spouses or children of overseas Vietnamese or Vietnamese citizens, having a passport or an international travel document valid for at least 1 year; having papers proving eligibility; not falling into the cases subject to suspension from entry and exit.

A visa exemption paper is valid for no more than 5 years and expires at least 6 months prior to the expiry date of the holder’s passport or international travel document. Each person shall be granted a separate visa exemption paper. Children sharing passports with their parents shall share visa exemption papers with their parents.

In particular, people entering Vietnam with visa exemption papers before the effective date of this Decree who wishes to extend their temporary residence for relative visit or personal business shall be considered for extension of no more than 90 days. A person entering Vietnam with a visa exemption paper shall be granted by an immigration control unit a six-month temporary residence certificate upon each entry; if the visa exemption paper is valid for less than 6 months, the validity duration of the temporary residence certificate is the same as that of the visa exemption paper.