Any Updates on the newly passed 12 month tourist visa for US citizens

13POSTS

9 years ago

I paid to get a 1 year business visa, I paid the $135 stamping fee at the airport and my visa says type DN, 1 year, multiple entries, so I thought everything was correct.

But the guy stamped my passport with a "permitted to remain until" and put the date as for 3 months later. Why is this? did he just make a mistake?

Guest2023 Guest

0POSTS

9 years ago

#282

Is it a DN visa or the 1 year visa for Americans.

daveycrockett9000 Member

13POSTS

9 years ago

#283

colinoscapee wrote:
Is it a DN visa or the 1 year visa for Americans.

It's definitely a type DN visa. This was what I checked when I got the visa so I left the airport thinking everything was ok. And my visa on arrival invitation letter said I was invited by a vietnamese business.

Guest2023 Guest

0POSTS

9 years ago

#284

It should be written on the actual visa if you need to exit.

daveycrockett9000 Member

13POSTS

9 years ago

#285

colinoscapee wrote:
It should be written on the actual visa if you need to exit.

As you can see it says DN but there is also a stamp which read "permitted to remain until 27/04/2017" which is 3 months after I entered.

Guest2023 Guest

0POSTS

9 years ago

#286

Best to go and ask at immigration as to why. The price of 135 is very cheap for a 1 year visa, that was the cost they were advertising for the USA 1 year visa.

1 member reacted to this post

-JohnD- Serial expat

257POSTS

9 years ago

#287

Is the need to leave at 3 months marked on the one-year tourist visas? That would help end the confusion.

-JohnD- Serial expat

257POSTS

9 years ago

#288

daveycrockett9000 wrote:
colinoscapee wrote:
It should be written on the actual visa if you need to exit.

[img align=c]http://i.imgur.com/4CNBfkk.jpg[/url]

As you can see it says DN but there is also a stamp which read "permitted to remain until 27/04/2017" which is 3 months after I entered.

I think it's a mistake. If you take it to immigration, as colinoscapee suggested, they should be able to straighten it out... if they want to do so.

THIGV ViP

4427POSTS

9 years ago

#289

It is worth considering that if the TPP had been ratified by the US, there was a specific section on business visa reciprocity. (One year tourist visas were negotiated concurrently but separately.) In that case the US Embassy could rightfully have been approached to help rectify this situation. Of course there is no requirement that Vietnamese in the US on business visas make 90 day border runs to Canada or Mexico so reciprocity would have required the same in Vietnam. Without TPP, the Vietnamese are essentially free to do as they wish.

-JohnD- Serial expat

257POSTS

9 years ago

#290

THIGV wrote:
It is worth considering that if the TPP had been ratified by the US, there was a specific section on business visa reciprocity. (One year tourist visas were negotiated concurrently but separately.) In that case the US Embassy could rightfully have been approached to help rectify this situation. Of course there is no requirement that Vietnamese in the US on business visas make 90 day border runs to Canada or Mexico so reciprocity would have required the same in Vietnam. Without TPP, the Vietnamese are essentially free to do as they wish.

With this one exception for expats living in Vietnam, the TPP was a nightmare corporate giveaway that would have been bad for the people of the U.S. I am unsure how, overall, it would have affected the people of Vietnam, but if something is good for corporations, it almost always sucks for people.

THIGV ViP

4427POSTS

9 years ago

#291

-JohnD- wrote:
With this one exception for expats living in Vietnam, the TPP was a nightmare corporate giveaway that would have been bad for the people of the U.S. I am unsure how, overall, it would have affected the people of Vietnam, but if something is good for corporations, it almost always sucks for people.

Regardless of how the TPP might have effected the US economy and citizens, there seems to be a general consensus in the US press that it would have been good for Vietnam. In fact, I read one commentator say that Vietnam was possibly the biggest potential beneficiary among the Asian signatories. Also think of the benefits to the Vietnamese workers if there had eventually been true minimum wage enforcement and true independent trade unions as a result. I am not saying that those things would have happened right away but now there is no pressure on the government for them to happen at all. Still, as you seem to concede, what is good for Vietnam inevitably filters through to expats, even if it is only better visa policies.

-JohnD- Serial expat

257POSTS

9 years ago

#292

We're way off topic here, so this will be my final reply.

The TPP was put together by multinational corporations and in the U.S., neither the people, nor the elected U.S. Congress, was allowed to know the results of the negotiations until they were final--which they never were. Without transparency, it never ends well for the general population.

I cannot see any possible world where multinational corporations allow "true independent trade unions" to develop anywhere. Over the last 35 years, they and their lackeys in the Congress have all but destroyed trade unions in the U.S.

"[b]etter visa policies" may have been a result, if by better you mean more transparent and easier to figure out. We will now never know.

THIGV ViP

4427POSTS

9 years ago

#293

-JohnD- wrote:
We're way off topic here,

Not really sure about that except to the extent that this thread is supposed to be about the 1 yr Tourist visa and not 1 yr business, but it does seem to be a similar problem.

-JohnD- wrote:
We will now never know.

Of that much we can all be sure.

Wxx3 Serial expat

409POSTS

9 years ago

#294

I just want to say Thanks for those you have contributed to this thread. I found it very informative, while at the same time, it confirms, pretty much what I have learned on my own in every country I have lived: the rules are only what that current official, office thinks they are.

Virtually every complaint about Vietnam can be experienced in Europe, only far more expensively.

You think western countries are more consistant, maybe in some things, but as you go from office to office, when it come to customs and immigration, every office is different.

The only real difference is in the West, every office is 100% convinced that everyone does it exactly like they do, when in fact, NOBODY does.

It's almost comical, but if you take it too seriously, you are bound to be disappointed.

Just saying

3 members reacted to this post

Anthony64 Contributor

173POSTS

9 years ago

#295

I did not read further...but the Visa is good for one year...the stamp date is for 3 months...according to their laws, we are only allowed to remain for 89 days...a couple days prior to the date stamped go back to immigration and have it updated. There is a form to fill out so I'd head to Immigration's and ask for one in advance and you will also need the local police to sign and stamp the form. It will perhaps cost you another $10.00 at Immigration's to do so. If you go out and back for any reason before the stamp date, it will be stamped for another 3 months from the time you enter.
This is how things work in DaNang...god only knows elsewhere in Vietnam...hope this helps you to understand a bit better.
Anthony

1 member reacted to this post

Anthony64 Contributor

173POSTS

9 years ago

#296

And add on...it is not noted on the Visa itself...but in most cases if you travel by foot, car, bus...outside the country it is usually only stamped for 3 months.
With this '89 days' not written on the Visa, I'd ask when you go back why...when it is a 1 yr Visa with no 'exit' date other than the end of entitlement.
Good luck,
Anthony

Wxx3 Serial expat

409POSTS

9 years ago

#297

Thanks to the information here, I was able to ask an intelligent question when I got my One Year Visa a dew days ago in the Consulate in NYC.
The Visa is for ayear, but as other's have stated, one must exit and return every 90 days.

Thus on the facing page of my visa I have a 90 day stamp.
Since I am leaving in a month, that works for me and when I return this fall, I will not have to get another visa.

Thanks all.

Richard

1 member reacted to this post

Guest2023 Guest

0POSTS

9 years ago

#298

What is the difference between a DL and a DN Visa - I just got mine in Bangkok 'one year multiple entry' and it is marked DL - I notice all my other visa's were DN. This thread answers my previous question, I suppose I must depart every 90 days anyway, but that's not a problem.

Guest2023 Guest

0POSTS

9 years ago

#299

Hi, this is a long thread, so hoping I'm not repeating. Came into Vietnam from the US with a one-year, multiple entry tourist visa. I thought this meant I could go out and back into Vietnam for one year without additional fees. Apparently NOT. It seems that after trvaelling to Thailand, they stamped me with a 3 month visa and now I still need to make a 3 month run to Cambodia.

Can anyone clarify what the one-year, multiple entry tourist visa actually is?

Thanks,

Albert

THIGV ViP

4427POSTS

9 years ago

#300

AlbertD827 wrote:
Can anyone clarify what the one-year, multiple entry tourist visa actually is?

Apparently not. It seems that if there are 5000 employees in Vietnamese immigration, there are 5000 answers.

More seriously, did you get this stamp at the airport or a land crossing which might be more "wild west"? Perhaps a trip to the immigration office downtown could rectify the problem.

Wxx3 Serial expat

409POSTS

9 years ago

#301

Did you pay a fee? Your post is not clear.

Wxx3 Serial expat

409POSTS

9 years ago

#302

AlbertD827 wrote:
Hi, this is a long thread, so hoping I'm not repeating. Came into Vietnam from the US with a one-year, multiple entry tourist visa. I thought this meant I could go out and back into Vietnam for one year without additional fees. Apparently NOT. It seems that after trvaelling to Thailand, they stamped me with a 3 month visa and now I still need to make a 3 month run to Cambodia.

Can anyone clarify what the one-year, multiple entry tourist visa actually is?

Thanks,

Albert

Did you pay a fee coming back from Thailand?

Guest2023 Guest

0POSTS

9 years ago

#303

Update - The agency that arranged the one-year multiple-entry visa did not inform me that I still needed to go out of the country every three months.
So, on the one-hand, it means not having to pay additional money for visa extensions during that one-year period BUT the leaving and returning expenses still apply.
I have decided to get a business visa which costs that same and does NOT require leaving and re-entry for that one-year period.

ALSO - this can all be completed online through various companies. For additional fees, they will also be at the airport to 'fast track' (10 minutes rather than an hour) the procurement of this visa. I even paid for a driver to pick me up and take me to my hotel - worth not hassling in the heat with a taxi or waiting for an Uber or Grab driver.

Concerning a work permit, forget doing this on your own; it is difficult and time-consuming even with
Vietnamese agency assistance.

Hope this helps,

Albert.

1 member reacted to this post

Guest2023 Guest

0POSTS

9 years ago

#304

No, because it was with a 3-month period of first coming toVietnam with the one-year visa.

Wxx3 Serial expat

409POSTS

9 years ago

#305

Thanks Albert for the clarification.

Yes, that's what i was told when i got my year visa, I still must leave every 90 days.

I know many complain about this process, but this system is far less onerous than many.

And don't even think about staying in Europe past 90 days, and you can't return for another 90 days.

Richard

Guest2023 Guest

0POSTS

8 years ago

#306

I realize this thread is a year old, but I just got my 1 year multiple entry Tourist visa in Bangkok - cost a little more than what the original announcement said, but hey, I got the Visa. Immigration allows you to stay 3 months, then you have to leave and can return the next day or get an extension at immigration. It does save money in the long run. When I asked about the difference in price, I was told it would cost $135 (USD) in my home country at the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington, overseas locations are allowed to charge more for processing due to salary f=differences etc etc etc.

Tipp Member

20POSTS

8 years ago

#307

So you still must leave the country every three months ??
And can I ask how much the 1 year cost ..Total US $ ...
Thanks ...

H_M Active member

25POSTS

8 years ago

#308

Hi,

Thank you for detailed information and experience. For clarity, with 1 year business visa multiple entry , exit every 90 days is not mandated? Thanks

Guest2023 Guest

0POSTS

8 years ago

#309

In the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok it cost me $175.00, equivelant in Thai Baht - $40 more than it would have in Washington DC.

jkelly5762 Active member

47POSTS

8 years ago

#310

Just arrived back in Saigon from the USA with my five-year, multiple-entry tourist visa in hand. There's still the caveat of leaving the country, but it only has to be done every six months. When I first got it through my travel agent back home, I was concerned that it was for Overseas Vietnamese only, but I was able to get one being a non-Vietnamese. The cost was about the same as the three month, multiple entry visa that I've been purchasing for the past six years or so. There were no questions upon entering the country, so I'm assuming it is all straight up.

1 member reacted to this post

Nguyen Thao Hien Active member

25POSTS

8 years ago

#311

US citizens have been making a one-time multi-year tourist visa in vietnam.
You can now apply for a one-time visa multiple times, for only $ 50
When in Vietnam, if you have problems with visa or extension, overdue, business visa call me. I'll help you

Nguyen Thao Hien Active member

25POSTS

8 years ago

#312

Hello
A one-year visa for US citizens is still available, but it is annoying that you have to leave the country every three months and return.
You can replace that discomfort with a one-time business visa several times. You stay for 1 year and do not exit without problems

Wxx3 Serial expat

409POSTS

8 years ago

#313

An interesting note. I have a 1 year multiple entry tourist visa.
On my last entry to Vietnam in SGN, the immigration officer did NOT stamp my passport with the three month date.
Since I was leaving within three months anyway, I decided to go back (I was just down in baggage claim) and have him stamp it.
After a moments confusion, he did.

With all that, I was still out of the airport in less than 15 minutes with my 2 checked bags.

I LOVE SGN

Nguyen Thao Hien Active member

25POSTS

8 years ago

#314

A one-time business visa does not require you to leave the country every three months. If a multiple-year tourist visa to the United States, the new exit visa 3 months

elleepiphany Member

1POSTS

8 years ago

#315

Grrrr! I wish I'd seen this beforehand. I just got my multiple entry visa a few weeks ago and it's definitely stamped with a must leave by date of 90 days. What are the requirements for the one year business visa? It cost me $180 for the one year multiple entry visa at the Vietnam Consulate in NYC.

New and improved Contributor

157POSTS

8 years ago

#316

You all sound like you did better than me, so pat yourselves on the back about that at least. I paid $220 not including the round trip fed ex to the Vietnamese Embassy in DC for a 12 month tourist visa which requires cross-border expeditions every 90 days. This seemed to be the going rate in DC, NY, and San Francisco.

anonymous1911 New member

6POSTS

8 years ago

#317

If your wife is Vietnamese, why don't you try applying for nationality so that you don't have to worry about visa

senwl Serial expat

820POSTS

8 years ago

#318

anonymous1911 wrote:
If your wife is Vietnamese, why don't you try applying for nationality so that you don't have to worry about visa

FYI,
Getting married to a Vietnamese national doesn't automatically make a foreigner eligible to apply for Vietnamese citizenship.
Conditions For Foreigners To Apply For Vietnamese Citizenship
All the conditions listed there are subject to Govt,'s interpretation of the law on a case by case basis and need approval from the highest level.

2 members reacted to this post

Riverlea New member

7POSTS

8 years ago

#319

I have had a 12 month Vietnamese multiple entry Visa since this past July and it expires
in July 2018.

mcharters New member

6POSTS

8 years ago

#320

I re-entered HCMC on a 1-year tourist visa, back in March, 2016. When I went through customs they stamped my passport with the date I entered but did not write the date that I had to leave (every 3 months - which I didn't know at the time) in my passport. So 6-months later, thinking that a 1-year visa meant I could come and go (or stay) as much as I wanted to in a 1-year period. When I tried to re-apply for another 1-year tourist visa, at the Vietnamese consulate, I was taken off to a small, isolated room, as was told that I violated the 3-month stay policy and they wanted to imprison me, which the later let me off with a warning, charged me over 5,000,000 VND in penalty fees and gave me 10 days to get my affairs in order and leave the country. I took the weekend and went to Cambodia and returned and received another 1-year visa. After stamping my passport with the date of my arrival, the customs officer wrote, 1-year later for my departure date. As to not want to lose another 5 mil in penalty fees, I took my passport to the VN consulate and they informed me that the customs officer at the airport made a mistake, AGAIN, and the law states that visitors have to leave every 90 days and can return on the same 1-year visa.
The big problem I see is that different people, in authority - the consulate & the customs officers at the airport - have different interpretations of the law.