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If I compare how this year has turned out for me relative to my peers in a similar situation, I'd say generally not panicking has served me very well. I entered
by yakshaving_jgt 6y ago
If I compare how this year has turned out for me relative to my peers in a similar situation, I'd say generally not panicking has served me very well. I entered Vietnam a couple of days before they closed their borders. I ended up staying for four months, and then flew back to Europe in July.
Vietnam's government handled the situation rather well, so by pure luck I ended up being in one of the safest countries in the world through the Spring. When it came time to leave, a border guard tried to scam me into paying some fine or bribe by suggesting that my visa had expired. It didn't wash because I had done my homework and I had prepared to have on-hand the government's official website which explains in Vietnamese that all tourist visa are automatically extended for free.
Travel is still possible, but you need to be well-prepared, and you need a certain level of financial and temporal freedom.
If you are unsure (and asking questions here would suggest that) then do yourself (and everyone else) a favour and just stay home.
- moltar 6y agoHey there ;)
- _-___________-_ 6y ago> which explains in Vietnamese that all tourist visa are automatically extended for free Just to avoid the proliferation of misinformation about this: the government is not punishing overstayers upon exit if they entered the country after a certain date (March iirc). Visas are not being automatically extended.
- yakshaving_jgt 6y agoAccording to every news outlet I have read which has reported on this topic, you are wrong. Here is one source in English: https://vietnamnews.vn/society/748936/free-visa-waivers-extended-until-july-31.html https://vietnamnews.vn/society/748936/free-visa-waivers-exte... Another source in English: https://vn.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/covid-19-information/ https://vn.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/covid-19-infor... Another source in English, this time from the official Vietnamese government website: https://xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/en/tin-tuc/notice-“automatic-stay-extension”-0 https://xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/en/tin-tuc/notice-“automatic-sta...
- _-___________-_ 6y agoNote the careful use of language. All of the sources you quote refer to your “stay permit” or your “stay” being automatically extended. Your permission to stay is indeed extended, since they are promising not to fine you for overstaying (which is what the law that was passed to enable this actually says). This is not the same thing as your visa being automatically extended. To understand why the distinction matters, see the reply I’m about to write to your sibling comment.
- tsjq 6y agoEffectively aren't both the same?
- _-___________-_ 6y agoIf you plan to leave Vietnam as soon as you are able to, then it’s the same. If you don’t, it can be problematic to incorrectly believe that your visa has been extended. The law that was passed to enable the “automatic stay extension” refers to overstay fines being waived when the tourist subsequently leaves VN. If you instead don’t leave, you may face difficulties or costs to legalise your status. In the meantime, you can’t do many things like open a bank account or get a drivers license, since those things require valid visas and you don’t have one. (I’m currently in VN, working closely with an immigration lawyer, and have seen first-hand the issues caused by people not understanding their status while they are on this “automatic stay extension”.)
- tsjq 6y agoOh. Thanks