Last 15 March, the Vietnamese government officially reopened its doors to tourism with quarantine-free entry and resumed its visa exemptions. Officials have also issued directives to suspend the declaration of health requirements for all international arrivals at all border gates since 27 April, when Covid-19 cases began to decline significantly after the most recent surge. Domestic tourism was restarted since November 2021 but initially limited it to travellers from locations where Covid-19 cases are under control, with strict adherence to pandemic preventive measures.

Requirements for international travellers

With borders reopening and the easing of travel and quarantine restrictions, the government’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has issued the following guidelines that international travellers are required to comply. These are the current regulations, as of this writing:

• Must have a negative result from SARS-CoV-2 test using RT-PCR/RT-LAMP within 72 hours before entry or have a negative rapid test result within 24 hours before departure. This should be certified by a legitimate agency from the country where the test will be performed.
• If you have no proof of negative test results and you are entering at the land, rail or sea border gates, you should undergo a SARS-CoV-2 test at the border before entry.
• Children under 2 years of age are not required to be tested for SARS-CoV-2.
• You should have medical or travel insurance with Covid-19 treatment coverage and a minimum liability of USD10,000.
• Install and use PC-Covid application when necessary.
• Inform health authorities immediately if you have symptoms of Covid-19.

Visa policy requirements

As of this writing, the Vietnamese government has also resumed their visa-free entry policies, continuing from pre-pandemic times. The following European countries have visa exemptions from 15 March 2022 to 14 March 2025: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK and Northern Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia and Belarus. Citizens from those countries are allowed to visit Vietnam visa-free for up to 15 days.

Visitors from the following Asian countries may enter Vietnam without visa and are allowed to stay according to the indicated number of days:

• Brunei, Myanmar: 14 days
• Japan, South Korea (ROK): 15 days
• The Philippines: 21 days
• Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand: 30 days

Foreigners who are not from the abovementioned countries may apply for a tourist e-visa, which is available to citizens from 80 countries. More details about visa requirements can be found here.

Growth in inbound tourism

Recent reports based on Google searches have indicated a “moderate” recovery in inbound tourism since the government eased up on travel restrictions.

Between 27 March and 2 April, tourism-related searches for Vietnam on Google grew by 84%, compared to 2019 during that same period. Results have also indicated that 40% of the shared inbound tourism for Vietnam and Philippines came from the US and Canada.

The most searched tourist destinations were Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s prime megacities.

IT opportunities for business

As Vietnam prepares to welcome more tourists, this is also a positive indication for boosting business opportunities in the outsourcing industry, particularly in the IT sector. Vietnam remains among the top 10 best countries for outsourcing software development and information technology services. Vietnam has also maintained its position as Japan’s second-largest offshore partner. In 2021, there were 300,000 workers in the IT industry, which earned revenue of over USD3 billion.

To further drive the economy in this post-pandemic environment, Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh established the National Strategy for Digital Economy and Digital Society Development last 31 March. The initiative’s goal is to create a “digital platform ecosystem” to assemble companies with the capacity and capability to compete on a global level and are looking to invest in the development of national digital platforms.

The Talent Consultants: industry-leading Vietnam recruitment agency

With a more optimistic outlook for travelling to Vietnam, The Talent Consultants would like to invite our current, new, and prospective clients to visit our Ho Chi Minh office to get acquainted with our offshore staff and workforce management services.

As a premier headhunter company in Vietnam, The Talent Consultants is highly regarded for its talent acquisition sourcing in Ho Chi Minh City. We provide access to a wider pool of top-tier talent from across Southeast Asia. This makes us the recommended choice for multinational businesses based in Vietnam who are looking for the best candidates to join their organisation, from junior-level to c-suite job roles.

If you’re looking for employment opportunities, feel free to browse our job vacancies page or send your resume at our candidates page. If you’re interested in learning more about our recruitment services, visit our clients page, call us on +84 28 7309 7991 or book your free consultation here for more details.