Ordering Contact lenses online

How many pairs of contact lenses did you order, and were they for different prescriptions? If you're ordering in bulk or they are not all the same prescription, it's going to indicate to them that they are being imported for re-sale and not for personal use. That would be a valid reason for them to insist upon an import license.

Cheers,
James
expat.com Experts Team

James wrote:

How many pairs of contact lenses did you order, and were they for different prescriptions? If you're ordering in bulk or they are not all the same prescription, it's going to indicate to them that they are being imported for re-sale and not for personal use. That would be a valid reason for them to insist upon an import license.

Cheers,
James
expat.com Experts Team

2mo supply daily disposables, any suggestions on what to do?

I don't know if ordering smaller quantities is going to help any. If quantity is the only issue then it might.

That said there may be other issues at play here. Most countries consider such things as contact lenses as medical supplies and as such they may be regulated by various import laws and regulations under their food and drug acts. If that's the case they may have protectionist legislation in place that will require anyone importing such items to have an import license, or seek authorization regardless of quantity. This is often done either to protect local industry, or because the originating country has posed significant problems regarding the safety of the product.

For instance, here in Brazil if you try and bring in electrical appliances with your household belongings they must be type approved by the Brazilian regulatory agency INMETRO, to get approval one must go through the exact same process as if they were the manufacturer. That effectively keeps such products out of the country thereby protecting local industries.

You can't fight that, if that's what is causing the holdup of your contact lenses. You might want to see if the agency who told you that you need an import license will give you some explanation as to WHY they feel it necessary.  If they can't or won't then it may be just a scheme to milk extra money (tea money) out of expats. After all it is Vietnam and anything is possible.

Cheers,
James
expat.com Experts Team

Hello,

I know this post is fairly old but i just wanted to know how you finally resolved your issue? Did you finaly get your contact lenses? If yes, how did you do it?
Im in the same situation at the moment but im running out of my lenses so i need them asap.
Thanks in advance for your help.

Mathilda

I would also be interested to learn whether you can't just walk into a store and buy them like a local  would? why order them into the country at all?

Jenlynn81 wrote:

I would also be interested to learn whether you can't just walk into a store and buy them like a local  would? why order them into the country at all?

That's what I'm wondering too.  Nowadays contact lenses are a normal consumer item.

I think that opticians in Vietnam have a sufficiently high standard.

And you can order practically everything online at Lazada, Sendo and Shopee.

Medically, there is actually no more need to buy contact lenses. I have never used, despite being offered.
Lense implants are a serious alternative. See a decent eye doctor to find out, if they could be option and hassle is only once or twice

Optical services are one of the great bargains of Vietnam. Not enough tourists know that.

Let's keep quiet about it 😉

Yeah, if they find out just how good it is, they'll all wanna be here...