Previously I had written about how the visas returning to 90-days instead of the abruptly changed 30-day visas that we have been subjected to in the past 1 year plus. At that time I was operating off of rumors from an agent that I felt confident stood to gain nothing from lying to me since this change was actually going to result in less money for him.
I was hoping to get my hands on something a bit more official and that's exactly what ended up happening a few days ago when a friend forwarded me a press release of sorts.
So now you don't have to just take my word for it, or my agent's word for it even. These are translated excerpts the from the press and carry a bit more weight than an informed rumor.
Considering that a Committee head is the one giving this information says a lot because the politicians in a communist country like Vietnam don't just go around spewing information to the press willy nilly. There isn't a great deal of infighting with the politicians here since they are all basically in the same party. They claim minor differences but according to my Vietnamese friends, this country doesn't have the backstabbing aspects of politics like the west with our 2 parties constantly vying for power. That's a political discussion for another day because I am sure there are a lot of downsides to only having one party as well.
The fact remains though that the 22nd of May is going to be a big day not just because of the near guarantee of the return to the 90-day tourist visa, but also because of the fact that they are speaking about tripling the visa exemption stamp's duration as well as the amount of countries that it is offered to. Also on the table is talk about the 1-year visa being offered to French and Americans. This too would be wonderful and would certainly make the lives of thousands of expats a lot easier. I think if they did this correctly that a lot of the people that are struggling to maintain their visas in neighboring countries might consider relocating to Vietnam.
Vietnam seems to have a very welcoming stance as far as Immigration is concerned and it still remains a mystery why it is that they ever did away with the 90-day visa to begin with. I think it was just all a part of the Covid madness that was sweeping the world and now they regret ever having done it.
Let's just stay hopeful about the 22nd because all will be revealed on that date!