Phu Quoc Visa Exemption For Foreigners
Meeting all four specified conditions, only Phu Quoc is eligible for visa exemption for citizens from foreign countries. Foreigners will be exempt from visas for stays of less than 30 days on Phu Quoc Island, according to the prime minister's recent decision.
- No visa requirements upon entry into Phu Quoc for foreigners
- Double the length of visa-free stay for up to 30 days
- Foreigners can take a connecting flight, but must not leave the transit area & have to take a flight to Phu Quoc on the same day
1. Unilateral Visa Exemption
Foreigners are exempt from visas while accessing coastal economic zones, according to Law No. 51/2019/QH14, which went into effect on July 1, 2020:
- Having international airports
- Having private space
- Having defined geographical borders and separate from inland
- Conformity with socio-economic development policies and not harming national defense and security, social safety, and order of Vietnam
The law also stipulates that foreigners entering coastal economic zones who are exempt from visas are allowed 30-day temporary residence.
30-Day Visa Exemption To Phu Quoc
Phu Quoc (Kien Giang province) is a coastal economic zone that is entitled to apply a visa exemption policy for foreigners entering the island.
According to this, the Government enacted Resolution No. 80/NQ-CP on visa exemption for foreign visitors to Phu Quoc:
“Vietnam exempts visas for foreigners entering Phu Quoc from abroad with a residence period of 30 days; applies to the case of staying in transit areas at an international border gate of Vietnam (including air and sea), and then continuing to Phu Quoc island.”
The visa exemption policy with a maximum temporary stay of 30 days would create more advantageous conditions to attract international tourists to travel and relax.
2. Phu Quoc Free-visa Requirement
All visitors from other countries won’t be required to have a visa if they stay in Phu Quoc for less than 30 days. Visitors who want to enter Phu Quoc without a visa must fulfill the following requirements:
- Your passport must be valid for 6 months from the date of departure and have 2 blank pages for visa stamping.
- You have to fly from an international airport to Phu Quoc International Airport. This applies to direct and indirect flights where your final destination along the route is Phu Quoc. The onward destination can be any country, except Vietnam.
- Your stay on the island must be less than 30 days. You must provide proof (round-trip airfare, cruise ship departure date, etc.) that you will leave Phu Quoc Island within 30 days to be issued a visa-free stamp.
- Have not been extradited from Vietnam in the past.
- Not on Interpol's list of wanted persons.
- Travel to Phu Quoc by sea (ship or cruise) or by air (plane), not by land border.
3. Travel To Phu Quoc With Visa Exemption
If you are permitted to visit Phu Quoc without a visa, you can begin your journey in two ways below:
Direct flight to Phu Quoc International Airport
The most convenient way is to fly directly to Phu Quoc International Airport. There are some airlines that offer direct flights to Phu Quoc International Airport:
| Airline | Departure Airport |
| AirAsia | Kuala Lumpur International Airport (Malaysia) |
| Bangkok Airways | Suvarnabhumi Airport (Bangkok - Thailand) |
| China Southern Airlines | Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (China) |
| Okay Airways | Nanning Wuxu International Airport (China) |
| Qingdao Airlines | Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport (China) |
| VietJet Air | Hong Kong International Airport (Hongkong) |
| Incheon International Airport (Seoul - Korea South) | |
| Vietnam Airlines | Shanghai Pudong International Airport (China) |
| Wenzhou Longwan International Airport (China) |
Connecting flight to Phu Quoc
If you don’t want to choose a direct flight, you can also take a connecting flight:
- Connecting flight to Phu Quoc International Airport Transit
- Connecting flight to Phu Quoc Airport from any international airport in Vietnam, and you must depart on the same day (you have to stay in the transit area for connecting flight to Phu Quoc)
You can choose one of these airlines in Vietnam providing flights to Phu Quoc from a domestic terminal:
| Airline | Departure Airport |
| Bamboo Airways | Noi Bai International Airport (Hanoi) |
| Pacific Airlines | Noi Bai International Airport (Hanoi) |
| Da Nang International Airport (Danang) | |
| Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh) | |
| Vietjet Air | Noi Bai International Airport (Hanoi) |
| Cat Bi International Airport (Hai Phong) | |
| Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh) | |
| Vietnam Airlines | Noi Bai International Airport (Hanoi) |
| Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh) | |
| Can Tho International Airport (Can Tho) | |
| Vietravel Airlines | Noi Bai International Airport (Hanoi) |
| Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh) |
Read more: Find your lowest fares for Vietnam domestic flights
4. Ways To Have Visa For More Than 30-Day Stay
In case you plan to go to other destinations in Vietnam after Phu Quoc Island or want to stay there for more than 30 days, applying for a Vietnam visa is a must. There are three ways to apply for a visa to Vietnam:
If you intend to visit other places in Vietnam after Phu Quoc Island or stay longer than 30 days, you must apply for a Vietnam visa. There are three options to apply for a Vietnam visa:
Embassy visa
Tourists will apply for a Vietnam visa at the Vietnam embassy/consulate for their entire trip before departure.
| Step 1: Contact the nearest embassy for the procedure Step 2: Prepare the necessary documents and deliver them to the embassy for submission Step 3: Pay the fee and get an appointment Step 4: Go back to the embassy to obtain your visa |
This option is suitable for those who live near the embassy/consulate. But if your residence is far from the embassy, use the following option.
Visa on arrival in Vietnam
It is convenient to get a Phu Quoc visa on arrival as it takes no document preparation to apply for a visa, and only needs a device can access the internet. Tourists merely need to complete an online form with their personal information.
| Step 1: Provide information according to the registration form via the website of the VOA visa service provider Step 2: Pay the service fee Step 3: Receive visa approval letter via email Step 4: Bring the approval letter, passport, and photo to Vietnam airport for procedures Step 5: Pay the stamping fee to finish the procedure |
Extend visa in Phu Quoc
The two ways above are suitable for those who are planning a trip to Phu Quoc and have not yet entered the island. After arrival, you come directly to Vietnam Immigration Department to process the visa application as below:
| Step 1: Prepare the necessary documents Step 2: Submit the dossiers to the immigration authority on Phu Quoc island Step 3: Wait for the authority’s examining the legality and content of the dossier Step 4: Get results |
Note: The person who comes to receive the results shall give the receipt, identity card, or passport to the officials who return the results of the examination and comparison, and if the results are available, request the person who receives the results to pay fees.
You can also use travel agencies to do it for you with a certain fee. The process will take about one week since Your passport must be delivered to Ho Chi Minh City for processing.
Once your visa has been extended, you can get your passport in Ho Chi Minh City from the travel agent - they will send it back to you in Phu Quoc.
5. Visa Extend In Vietnam
Requirements for extending Vietnam visa
To extend a visa in Vietnam, travelers must meet all of the following requirements::
- Valid passport to carry out procedures for Vietnam visa extension for foreigners
- Foreigners staying in Vietnam must have a register of temporary residence from the police of the area where the foreigner resides
- The Vietnam visa individual is still valid
- There is a company in Vietnam that guarantees to carry out procedures to extend Vietnam visas for foreigners for business, work, and investment visa
- Foreigners have not committed crimes during their stay in Vietnam
Required documents to extend Vietnam visa
Documents that are required:
- Declaration form for issuance, supplement, amendment of visa, and extension of temporary residence (form NA5)
- Passport or valuable papers of international travel of foreigners
- Furthermore, depending on the kind of visa, the Vietnamese visa agency will ask you to prepare additional documents. To be more specific:
| For tourist visa |
|
| For work/business visa |
|
| For investment visa |
|
| For a visa to visit relatives |
|
Where to extend Vietnam visa
Vietnam visa extension can be carried out at the Immigration Management Department in the cities and provinces where the foreigners live and work. These are the precise addresses in Vietnam's three largest cities:
- Hanoi: 44 - 46 Tran Phu Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
- Danang: 78 Le Loi Street, Thach Thang Ward, Hai Chau District Da Nang
- Ho Chi Minh City: 333 - 335 - 337 Nguyen Trai Street, Nguyen Cu Trinh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
How to extend Vietnam visa
Step 1: Prepare the necessary documents
Step 2: Submit the document directly at the office of the Immigration Department – Ministry of Public Security
- Vietnamese agencies, organizations, Vietnamese citizens, and foreigners legally residing in Vietnam submit the documents to one of the working offices of the Immigration Department – Ministry of Public Security.
- Officers will receive documents examining the legality and content:
- If the document is complete and valid, the officer will receive the document, print it, and give a receipt, and an appointment to return the results.
- If the application document is not yet valid, the officer will instruct the applicant to complete the document.
Note: The application time is from Monday to Saturday morning (except on New Year, holidays, and Sundays).
Step 3: Receive the result
Individuals who come to receive the results have to show the receipt to the officer for comparison, if there is a visa extension result, individuals will receive the result, pay the fee and sign the receipt.
Note:
- The time for processing a Vietnam visa extension is from 7 to 10 working days from the day when all the documents are completed.
- A Vietnam visa validity can be extended for 15 days, 1 month, 3 months, or 6 months depending on its original validity.
Phu Quoc is one of the most beautiful destinations with gorgeous white-sand beaches and various types of fresh seafood that you should not miss when traveling to Vietnam. Do not hesitate to find your suitable tour on our website!
Camellia Mie
(Image source: Internet)
Questions & Answers (3)
Hello. I am a US passport holder traveling from Incheon airport (Korea) directly into phu quoc. Does the visa exemption apply to me? I am only staying for 6 days total
Hi, yes, if you also directly depart from Phu Quoc to another country after your stay.
Hi, we intend to fly into HCM and stay on mainland Vietnam for 13 days. On day 14 we fly to Phu Quoc, where we stay for 5 days, before leaving for Kuala Lumpur. We will travel on a British passport so we get a 15 day visa free stay in Vietnam. As we travel to Phu Quoc on day 14, do we get the 30 day visa free extension?
Hi! In that case, you should have a Vietnam E-visa before arriving in Vietnam. The visa exemption in Phu Quoc is only for tourists who fly to Phu Quoc from an international airport outside Vietnam, travel only in Phu Quoc, and leave from Phu Quoc to another country right after the trip (not allow to get to other destinations in Vietnam from Phu Quoc).
i am in laos right now and want to go to phu o quoc can i go there without an electronic visas and get one on arrival by plane? and if i want to visit other areas after phuo quoc can i apply for a visa while ii am still in phuo quoc?
Hi! The visa exemption can apply only when Phu Quoc is the only destination that you visit in Vietnam. Also, on arrival, you must provide documents to proove that you'll leave Phu Quoc and get to other country within 30 days.
If you want to travel other areas in Vietnam after Phu Quoc, you must have a Vietnam Visa before getting to Phu Quoc.
On the other hand, many airlines don't recognize about the Visa Exemption to Phu Quoc. You must contact with your airlines in advance before your trip about whether you need a visa to board on the plane or not.
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