Authorities urged Vietnamese to open the doors of private toilets for tourists

Vietnam announced what the Russians living in this country were waiting with bated breath: the intention to extend the period of visa-free stay for tourists. However, in reality, not everything is so rosy. What is the main problem of a long stay in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, we were told by our compatriots there.

“Since January, the free three-month visa extension, which existed only for Russians and Ukrainians due to the geopolitical situation, has been canceled, since then we have been waiting for the Vietnamese authorities to be able to extend the visa-free period for at least a month,” says a native of Chelyabinsk. – Now a tourist can stay in Vietnam without a visa, with an entry stamp, for only 15 days. And those who issued an e-visa in advance on the website, which also requires invitations, can stay in the country for only 30 days.

For comparison: in Thailand 45 days, in Goa in general 3 months. It’s still just inconvenient and expensive for us to “visit” every two weeks (leave the country and re-enter to re-obtain an entry stamp for 15 days – Auth.), But for Vietnamese tourism this is a road to nowhere! And how do they not understand this?!

But, according to the Vietnamese press, they still understood, albeit towards the end of the high tourist season (from May to October in Vietnam, the rainy season). The Ministry of Public Security of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam proposed to the government to extend the visa-free stay of tourists from 15 to 30 days.

– And then not to all countries, but only 13, – compatriots in the Vietnamese resort of Nha Trang clarify. – But at least Russia is among them, and thanks for that. But, knowing the Vietnamese “quickness”, “offered to the government” – this means that there is such a bunch of approvals ahead that, God forbid, by the next season. The country is not bad, but, of course, the sluggishness of their bureaucracy infuriates. Even in Sovka there was no such paperwork!

– This will provide us with equal competitive conditions with other promoted tourist destinations in the region, – solemnly declares the representative of the Vietnamese immigration service, refusing any clarifications – what, where, when?

Apparently, our fellow citizens are right: so far there is only an intention, while the closest competitor of Vietnam in the face of Thailand in every sense gives a “visa-free” period of 45 days from the very moment it lifted covid restrictions. Not surprisingly, its tourism industry is successfully recovering from coronavirus losses. And now that China has opened up for guests, the Vietnamese bureaucracy will have to turn around so that the tourism industry is not left behind. Statistics literally scream about this: in 2022, Vietnam received 3.66 million tourists, and in 2019 – more than 19 million.

“We are told that, at best, by October, all this will be agreed upon,” representatives of the Russian-speaking diaspora in Vietnam share. We need to help them get better! We here also regularly write to the immigrant website. It is so often expensive for us to travel to Laos or Cambodia for visarans, and it takes time. Theoretically, you can extend it at the central immigration office of Hanoi, but for those who are on the coast, the road there is also not close and not cheap.

– Oh, it’s terrible, by plane to Hanoi is fast, but expensive, it’s easier to go straight to Laos, – supports the relocant from Bryansk. – The train is not so convenient, but also not cheap. The most reasonable price is for local “slipbuses” (intercity buses with recumbents – Auth), but whoever tried it will never risk it again! We were shaking for 48 hours from Hanoi to Nha Trang with some Vietnamese who crowded into the bus so that they lay on the floor, stood and hung on the rails. And we stopped to go to the toilet right in the middle of the jungle.

However, the Russians are resilient people, so they immediately add that there is good news – you just need to read the official lines more carefully, you see, hope will flash between them.

– On the website of the immigration service, under the paragraph about the extension, it is separately mentioned about e-visas, – one of the compatriots points out the inattention of the majority. – Holders of e-visas (electronic visas – Ed.) will be able to stay in Vietnam for up to 90 days, which is three times longer than it is now with an e-visa, and six times longer than with an entry stamp. This must be demanded in advance, since it is not difficult to obtain an e-visa.

True, Vietnam does not give its e-visa to everyone, but to citizens of only 80 countries. But Russia, fortunately, is among them. And the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security is now just busy collecting opinions about the extension from both the hosts and the guests, anyone can state their position in a special section of the immigration portal.

The opinion of the majority is promised to be taken into account during the discussion of the bill at the 5th and 6th plenary sessions of the 15th National Assembly in May and October this year. The views of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry on ten-year visas to attract wealthy foreigners, following the example of the “retirement visas” of Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, will also be heard there.

In the meantime, local authorities are reporting on the latest achievements: in the city of Hue, the “My toilet is your toilet” program has been successfully operating for a month now. Due to the lack of public toilets, the city authorities urged citizens to provide tourists with access to their toilets – free of charge, of course. The program was unanimously supported by all the Huetans, unanimously opening their private toilets in front of the guests. Also in the past reporting period, Vietnam rose from 77th to 65th place in the ranking of the happiest countries in the world.