Southeast Asia Information Port (www.dnyxxg.com) – Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Binh Hoa recently signed Decision No. 161/QĐ-TTg, formally promulgating the implementation plan for the "Regulations on Time-Limited Visa-Free Visas for Foreigners Required Special Treatment to Serve Economic and Social Development." The plan clarifies the responsibilities, implementation standards, and time requirements of relevant units, ensuring the orderly implementation of the visa-free policy.
According to the implementation plan, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and related institutions and organizations, when recommending the issuance of special visa-free visas to foreigners, must strictly ensure that the visa-free recipients and standards comply with the relevant provisions of Agreement No. 221 and are consistent with their functions, tasks, scope of work, and areas of activity, preventing any irregularities in approval.
Simultaneously, relevant units must regularly conduct verification of visa-free recipients. For foreigners holding valid special visa-free visas but no longer requiring visa-free treatment or no longer meeting the standards of Agreement No. 221, they must promptly notify the Ministry of Public Security in writing and actively cooperate in the subsequent handling of such foreigners to ensure a closed-loop policy implementation.
Regarding the timeline, before March 1, 2026, all ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and provincial and municipal governments must, in accordance with their respective functions and tasks, comprehensively organize and conduct inspections and verifications of the relevant normative legal document system; for normative legal documents that need to be revised, supplemented, replaced, repealed, or newly formulated, relevant suggestions must be promptly put forward to provide institutional guarantees for the effective implementation of Protocol No. 221.
In 2026 and subsequent stages, the determination of relevant standards and lists for visa-free preferential treatment will be carried out in stages: the Ministry of Education will take the lead in proposing and determining the standards and lists for inviting foreigners to enter the country through research institutes, universities, and other types of higher education institutions; the Ministry of Finance will take the lead in proposing and determining the standards and lists for inviting foreigners to enter the country through large enterprises. All relevant ministries and agencies must participate in the review and research of the above standards and lists and provide their opinions.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance are required to summarize and incorporate opinions from all parties within 30 days of the promulgation of this implementation plan, and submit relevant standards and list recommendations to the Ministry of Public Security. The Ministry of Public Security will then compile these recommendations and submit them to the government, recommending that the government issue a resolution to clarify the matter. The resolution will authorize the Minister of Public Security to revise and supplement the relevant lists within 30 days of receiving the reports and recommendations from the two ministries, based on the standards determined by the government.
Regarding publicity and dissemination, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will take the lead, in coordination with the Ministry of Public Security and relevant departments and organizations, to comprehensively publicize and interpret the content of Agreement No. 221 to foreign businesses, investors, and foreigners eligible for visa-free privileges through various platforms such as overseas media, international media, and overseas tourism and investment forums, thereby enhancing policy awareness. (End)
