Major General Le Xuan Vien, head of the Immigration Management Department, speaks at the press conference to review the nine-month pilot e-visa scheme. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi(VNA) – The number of e-visa issues for foreigners entering Vietnam has seendramatic growth month on month, said Major General Le Xuan Vien, head of theImmigration Management Department in a press conference on December 12.
The pressconference, held by the department, reviewed Vietnam’s nine-month pilot e-visascheme and announced six more nations whose citizens are eligible to thescheme.
Since February 1,the National Web Portal on Immigration has reported about one million visits;and approximately 96,500 foreign citizens were granted e-visas, 97 percent ofwhom got their e-visas through the portal, Vien unveiled.
The country’s newe-visa scheme has been well-received by both people at home and overseas afternine months of implementation, and particularly attracted greater attentionfrom citizens from the US and European countries, he noted.
The immigrationofficial added that Vietnam provides both e-visa and visa-upon-arrivalservices.
Followingthe success of the scheme, the government has decided to expand it to visitorsfrom six more countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UAE,India and the Netherlands. Australiansare the seventh biggest group of foreign arrivals and among the top spenders.
Vietnam began allowing tourists from40 countries to apply for e-visas last February, with China, Japan, theRepublic of Korea, the US, the UK, Germany and Sweden — all major targetmarkets for its tourism sector, among the 40.
Visitors can apply online for a30-day, single-entry visa by paying a non-refundable application fee. It willtake applicants three working days to find out if their visa applications havebeen approved.
Visitors with e-visas can enterthrough eight international airports, 13 international border gates on land orseven ports. - VNA
VNA
