VietNamNet Bridge – It will be easier for foreign people to travel to Vietnam by up-to-nine-seat cars and motorbikes if a draft decree on managing foreign visitors’ vehicles of the Ministry of Transport is approved by the Government.

According to the draft posted on the ministry’s web portal, foreign travelers may bring cars and motorbikes into Vietnam but their vehicles will be only allowed for circulation in Vietnam for a maximum of 30 days. Besides, they will have to move in groups arranged by local tour operators with the guiding of tour operators’ cars.

Foreign visitor’s vehicles will have to be equipped with technical safety and environmental protection certificates, vehicle registration papers, temporary import documents and civil responsibility insurance certificates in Vietnam.

Drivers of the vehicles will have to show their driving licenses as well.

Tour operators will be responsible for seeking permission from the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for such vehicles traveling to the nation. The new law will take effect from early next month if approved by the Government.

Tran Xuan Hung, director of Viking Travel and Media Company, noticed the good point of the tentative rule is that visitors and travel agencies do not have to apply for diplomatic notes of embassies of nations having tourists bringing vehicles to Vietnam.

At the moment, both travelers and tourism firms are required to ask embassies of their resident nations to send diplomatic notes to the Ministry of Transport for getting approval on a one-by-one basis.

“We have a group of 11 vehicles from Malaysia that will enter the country via Moc Bai border gate to travel to Phan Thiet City on December 27,” Hung said.

“We will have to ask for a diplomatic note for the trip and it always takes us about one week to do the procedure but the new rule will help shorten the time when coming into force,” he stated

Hung, however, said the conditions allowing foreigners to bring vehicles into the country are still stricter than in other neighboring nations.

“In Thailand, we don’t have to ask for permission from many authorities and we just need to fill up forms at the nation’s border gate,” Hung said. He stressed that Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore and Malaysia do not even request tourism groups to have a guiding car.

Source: SGT