Travel in the time of Coronavirus
Coronavirus and travel visa updates are changing constantly. Vietnam visa regulations are updated as new outbreaks are identified, so stay informed!
If you are travelling to Vietnam, you must stay up-to-date with what’s going on here, particularly around the visa situation, and specifically who is and is not allowed to enter the country. The situation is constantly changing as new countries with high contagion are identified, and visa regulations are updated accordingly.
Certain nationalities are banned from entering Vietnam in an attempt to contain the outbreak, and in Hanoi — where I live — whole neighbourhoods have been blocked off, and some travellers are being quarantined for 14 days when they arrive, depending on the circumstances. Some travellers are being turned away at the visa processing stage and given refunds.
In my opinion, the Vietnamese government are responding in a proactive manner, although some Vietnamese in the local community are now unfortunately fearful of foreigners. There is a lot of finger-pointing about who should and should not be wearing masks (foreigners yes, Vietnamese not so much) and there is a lot of misinformation flying around social media about their efficacy and this also plays into the panic. I prefer to get my health information from reliable sources, like the WHO.
If you travel to Vietnam now, you will find it much quieter — even deserted in some places. Many tourist destinations like Cat Ba Island and Bai Tu Long Bay have been closed temporarily. Popular tourist destinations like the Temple of Literature and Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum are also closed. You may find that normally kind and friendly Vietnamese may not be so embracing of foreign travellers, again because of fear.
You can stay across the situation in Vietnam here — this briefing is updated regularly.
Vietnam Coronavirus travel visa update
In an email I received this morning, iVisa advises the following for Coronavirus travel in Vietnam:
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Vietnam has temporarily suspended visa exemptions for citizens of these countries: South Korea, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Norway.
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Countries with more than 500 confirmed cases of COVID-19, or more than 50 new cases per day, can also expect to have visa exemptions to Vietnam suspended at this time.
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Vietnam may refuse to grant visas to travellers showing symptoms of COVID-19.Temporarily stop issuing e-Visa for foreigners who are in or have recently visited areas where Covid-19 is spreading.
India Corononavirus travel visa update
iVisa also advise there are entry bans in place in India, and visas for certain nationalities may be difficult:
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For all French, German and Spanish passport holders, who have been granted an India e-Visa on or before 11/3/2020 and have not entered the country yet, their visas are suspended.
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For all Italian, Iraqi, South Korean and Japanese passport holders, who have been granted an India e-Visa on or before 3/3/2020 and have not entered the country yet, their visas are suspended.
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For all Chinese passport holders, who have been granted an e-Visa on or before 5/2/2020 and have not entered the country yet, their visas are suspended.
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For all travellers who have visited China, Iran, Italy, South Korea, Japan, France, Germany and Spain and who have been granted an India e-Visa on or before 1/2/2020 and have not entered the country yet, their visas are suspended.
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Visas of all foreigners already in India remain valid.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact iVisa — they will get back to you super quickly with an answer to your questions or concerns.
Image by Sharon Ang from Pixabay
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