Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang

Hang, who chaired a press conference on December 9, 2021, spoke about international air routes and entry of Viet Kieu (overseas Vietnamese) to return to Vietnam to celebrate Tet.

The Ministry of Transport (MOT) has submitted to the Prime Minister a plan on accepting commercial international flights from other countries, implemented in two phases beginning on December 15.

On November 30, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Ministry of Transport (MOT) and other agencies met with air carriers to discuss solutions to problems resuming international flights.

Hang said MOFA agrees with MOT’s proposed plan on reopening international commercial air routes. The operation of flights must be done in line with Vietnam’s medical requirements on people entering the country.

MOFA has discussed with about 80 partners the mutual recognition of vaccine passports. Vietnam’s agencies are urgently completing software to soon issue a vaccine passport.

As of early December, several partners, including Japan, the UK, Australia, the US and Belarus, had recognized Vietnam’s vaccination certificates with specific standards on vaccine types. India and Canada have agreed in principle, while other partners such as South Korea, the EU, ASEAN and China are waiting for Vietnam to issue its vaccine passport form with electronic authentication.

By December 8, 2021, Vietnam had recognized vaccination certificates and vaccine passport forms from 78 countries and territories. The recognition allows people who have these documents to use the documents and reduce the required quarantine time to seven days.

Viet Kieu flight demand

Hang said domestic agencies and Vietnamese representative agencies overseas have joined forces with air carriers to organize over 800 flights, carrying nearly 200,000 Vietnamese citizens from 60 countries and territories, to Vietnam safely.

According to Vietnam’s representative agencies in other countries, many Vietnamese want to fly to Vietnam to celebrate Tet. They include Viet Kieu, workers, and students whose visas are going to expire. They want to return to Vietnam to complete procedures.

Following the Government’s instructions on resuming travel across the border, MOT on December 7, 2021 submitted to the Prime Minister a plan on providing routine flights, commencing from December 15. The resumption, if it is implemented, would help recover the economy, strengthen international relations, and satisfy people’s travel demand during the Tet holiday.

MOFA is also cooperating with ministries, branches, localities and airlines to organize trips to take Vietnamese overseas to Vietnam in accordance with demand and domestic medical quarantine capability.

In Phase 1, expected to begin on December 15, 2021, MOT plans to allow to organize routine flights between Vietnam and destinations with high safety levels, such as Beijing (China), Tokyo (Japan), Seoul (South Korea), Taipei (Taiwan), Bangkok (Thailand), Singapore, Vientiane (Laos), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), San Francisco and Los Angeles (USA).

In Phase 2, to be implemented in January 2022. MOT will open more air routes to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Paris (France), Frankfurt (Germany), Sydney (Australia), Moscow (Russia) and Hong Kong.

People entering the country must be: Vietnamese citizens; people entering for the purpose of official diplomacy; experts, investors, skilled workers and their relatives; foreign students studying in Vietnam; people coming to Vietnam to learn about the market, attend conferences, seminars, or visit relatives and overseas Vietnamese with their relatives; and foreign tourists participating in tourism pilot programs in Vietnam. They have to show certificates of vaccination or certificates of full recovery from a Covid-19 infection.

The people entering Vietnam must observe medical requirements during their stay in Vietnam.

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