Travel question information news i got from my family here

vietnam nguyen wrote:

my family and girlfriend in vietnam got told me that i can get in to vietnam on janurary 1th 2022 with no visa no documents no papers no id im a american married to veitnam lady is this true i can fly to vietnam or not i hope the questions make sense i not good at ask questions here thank you sorry again jon?

Yes and no, of course you need a passport but then that's just common sense.

Flying in you might be asked for a return ticket to provide you are not going to overstay, some get asked this and some don't. But typically your entitled to stay visa free depending on your nationality and you should check before you leave. For example if you were from the UK you are entitled to stay upto 15 days.

Once you're here, if you have a copy of your wedding / marriage certificate (assume married in VN) then you can apply for a spousal TRC allowing you to stay and as of January 2021 to work here legally.

vietnam nguyen wrote:

my family and girlfriend in vietnam got told me that i can get in to vietnam on janurary 1th 2022 with no visa no documents no papers no id im a american married to veitnam lady is this true i can fly to vietnam or not i hope the questions make sense i not good at ask questions here thank you sorry again jon?

You wrote that you are American therefore if you have American passport you must get a visa. Currently the Vietnamese embassy in USA is NOT issuing visas.
If you have a Vietnamese passport then this might be true that you don't need paperwork.
Call or go to the Vietnam embassy to get the official answer.

vietnam nguyen wrote:

my family and girlfriend in vietnam got told me that i can get in to vietnam on janurary 1th 2022 with no visa no documents no papers no id im a american married to veitnam lady is this true i can fly to vietnam or not i hope the questions make sense i not good at ask questions here thank you sorry again jon?

If you are an American citizen without a Vietnamese passport, you should be able to get a Visa Exemption Certificate based on your relationship to others in Vietnam other than your girlfriend, as you say that you are not yet married.  I don't know if those are being issued at this time at the Embassy or Consulates in the US.   They may be, even if they are not issuing tourist visas.

pogiwayne wrote:

You wrote that you are American therefore if you have American passport you must get a visa. Currently the Vietnamese embassy in USA is NOT issuing visas.
If you have a Vietnamese passport then this might be true that you don't need paperwork.
Call or go to the Vietnam embassy to get the official answer.

The last is a good answer with one modification.   Let me add what seems to be the consensus here.  Unless you live within an hours drive of the Embassy in DC and you can walk in the door, don't deal with them.   Work with the  San Francisco Consulate instead.

One other area where your relatives may be incorrect is that you can enter "no documents, no papers."   Regardless of your passport there are several COVID related issues so you really can't say "no papers" are needed   It is posted HERE.  I thought there was also a link to the original Vietnamese version of this but I can't seem to find it now.

I arrived two days ago at TSN airport. Of course you cannot enter without proper papers, like passport and visa, clearance by the immigration department etc. 
They check all, the procedure took more than two hours for a single flight.
Good news is, that the quarantine (in a special hotel, for which you must submit a quarantine plan) is now only three days, and I saw, the counter for visa on arrival was opened.

vietnam nguyen wrote:

my family and girlfriend in vietnam got told me that i can get in to vietnam on janurary 1th 2022 with...no id...

You can't even get through airport security without an ID, so that should really cause you to question the information you're being given.

There is no way you will be allowed to enter Vietnam without an ID (passport)

vietnam nguyen wrote:

...im a american married to veitnam lady...

Apply for a Certificate of Visa Exemption online or in person with the Consulate General of Vietnam in San Francisco, California

vietnamconsulate-sf.org/en/2017/05/11/certificate-of-visa-exemption-for-vietnamese-and-family-members/

Based on the news reports that have been posted here, it does seem that if you have all of your proper documentation, you can now fly to Vietnam and quarantine for 3 days in a hotel or for 3 days at a private residence IF the private residence meets all the requirements of the government for your private quarantine AND IF your "vietnam lady" is currently a citizen resident in Vietnam OR is authorized to travel to Vietnam as a citizen OR "Vietnamese Overseas" (Việt kiều).

Good luck!

Hi Martin9000, thanks for sharing.  Can you help to confirm the following questions:
Before departure:
-    1 Covid-19 test (RT-PCR) to be done within 72 hours prior to arrival Viet Nam
-    1 extra Covid-19 rapid test within 24 hours before departure

Upon arrival HCM Airport: 
-    1 rapid test taken by HCM CDC under passenger expenses

Thanks in advance.

What would be sweet is a Central Government 'Vietnam' visa/covid/etc. information website similar to Singapore's and Thailand. Vietnam's information and the information sources are all over the place. As OB mentioned, 'Central and Provincial' requirements often differ. However, central and provincial requirements could be posted and updated on the same website.
I'm still holding a non-refundable R/T air flight ticket from Danang to HCMC, soon to expire. Fortunately, I discovered the HCMC US Embassy had closed its doors to all except emergencies before arriving all dressed up to a scheduled appointment and closed doors.

River Frogs wrote:

What would be sweet is a Central Government 'Vietnam' visa/covid/etc. information website similar to Singapore's and Thailand. Vietnam's information and the information sources are all over the place. As OB mentioned, 'Central and Provincial' requirements often differ. However, central and provincial requirements could be posted and updated on the same website.
I'm still holding a non-refundable R/T air flight ticket from Danang to HCMC, soon to expire. Fortunately, I discovered the HCMC US Embassy had closed its doors to all except emergencies before arriving all dressed up to a scheduled appointment and closed doors.

I once had a non-refundable ticket on Vietnam airlines that I thought I couldn't use, but I found out later that by paying a fee I could simply apply the value to a different flight at a different time/date.

If you haven't done so already you might want to check with customer service at your airline.

You make a good point about the differences between information websites from country to country.

Formal information on Vietnam government websites is really inferior to other national models.

But this is where I (usually) speak up for the Vietnamese system of authorized agents who are able to arrange such things as Visa on Arrival.

I know a lot of people think it's bizarre that a national government would trust individual citizens to take care of such a responsibility, but all the VOA agents do is basically communicate government policy and process paperwork.

They themselves don't approve anything.

I think the government of Vietnam prefers it this way so that the central government doesn't have to be dealing with foreigners contacting it all the time and risking miscommunication if a government employee doesn't properly communicate something in a foreign language.

So under normal circumstances, we would all be referring each other to the major VOA agents to find out about current policy.

Unfortunately we are discovering during the lockdowns that the VOA agents are clueless until the government develops new policy and then fully implements it.

Bottom line - continuous information moving target. I must admit I have come across a few capable and in the know visa agents.
Following your once rescheduling a non-refundable ticket success. I'll take a few deep breaths, work up my courage, and visit the local Airline's ticket office. Thanks

pppham40 wrote:

Hi Martin9000, thanks for sharing.  Can you help to confirm the following questions:
Before departure:
-    1 Covid-19 test (RT-PCR) to be done within 72 hours prior to arrival Viet Nam
-    1 extra Covid-19 rapid test within 24 hours before departure

Upon arrival HCM Airport: 
-    1 rapid test taken by HCM CDC under passenger expenses

Thanks in advance.

Hello,
I presented the RT-PCR test, to be done within 72 hours prior to arrival in VN, the ONLY rapid test was done at the airport during the immigration procedure (anything else would not make sense, because a trip can easily take more than 24 hourse, like mine).

Thanks again.

vietnam nguyen wrote:

hi how can i get a visa appications card to get to the country vietnam from american usa here im i still have trouble this thats here im not get a visa looks like this is not going go for me here if there someone ot help with this please im disability person i dont what to do now im sorry im crying aboujt im sad here no help in usa for me poor me thank you for you helping here friends .

Contact the VN embassy or a consulate close to you. Phone numbers are listed on their website.