Chinese laissez-passer holders will not be permitted to enter Vietnam from Thursday when new immigration regulations take effect.

According to the new regulations, foreigners must hold passports or internationally-recognized papers if they want to enter the country. The laissez-passer applied to Chinese visitors in line with Decision 849/2004/QD-BCA will no longer be accepted.

The decision permits Chinese visitors to use a laissez-passer issued by Chinese authorities to enter Vietnam.

Many Chinese have used the laissez-passer to travel to Vietnam via the border gates in the north and certain seaports in the country.

The new regulations require passengers of cruise ships to apply and pay US$45 for a visa, instead of a group visa, if they take a local tour. The fee is nine times higher than that for a group visa.

Passengers of cruise ships will have to spend more time and money completing visa procedures, a tour operator said. “The new visa rule may discourage them from taking a local tour,” it stressed.