Vietnam gave the Russians a two-month visa-free regime: who can afford local life

“We are visa-free for two months, and with an e-visa – for all three,” compatriots in Vietnam rejoice, because now long-steers (long-term tourists) will not have to leave the country every two weeks to extend their visas, as is happening now. Direct flights to the Vietnamese from the Russian Federation fly, however, so far only from Siberia, but for the sake of a visa-free regime even Thai tolerances can be expanded. It remains to find out what is there with the prices for life and rest – and you can start to want.

Whether we want to go to Vietnam, we found out from fellow citizens who are already there.

“The main problem for us was visa-free travel for only 15 days,” shares the mother of a family of ex-Muscovites who have now settled in the Vietnamese resort of Nha Trang. — This means that each time a day before the expiration of the term, you need to get together in Laos or Cambodia only in order to enter back and legalize for the next 2 weeks. We have two children, remote work, and such vizarans are both dreary and expensive for us.

According to the Russian-speaking diaspora in Vietnam, this is why many compatriots who arrived for geopolitical reasons have not yet stayed in Vietnam for a long time, moving to Thailand or Bali.

“And now we will have even more visa-free travel than in Thailand with its 45 days,” says a Russian woman from the Far East who has been living in Vietnam for more than 10 years. – People like me and my husband, and there are a lot of us here, who arrived a long time ago, and not in connection with recent events, and who chose Vietnam specifically for life, and not “some warm place”, of course, they are already settled here, we have our own housing and residence permit. But for those who are just settling in, the need to check in twice a month spoiled everything. So the Vietnamese are great, as soon as they introduce 60 days, they will immediately surpass Tai. And on an e-visa, I don’t want to walk at all!

An electronic visa, according to Russian Vietnamese, is requested via the Internet based on an invitation from the “Vietnamese side”, which can be a company registered in Vietnam by citizens of the Russian Federation, and individuals with any citizenship permanently residing in the territory of Vietnam.

– The main thing is not to apply for an invitation for advertising in thematic chats, there are completely scammers. Only through people you know personally. Then they will do it, it’s a maximum of $40, one invitation is enough for a family. In addition to the already promised visa-free regime, the Vietnamese “state Duma” has become generous with the promise to issue electronic visas upon arrival at the airport, and not in advance, as it is now.

“If you just flew in from Russia, then you can safely walk for 2 months without a visa,” our relocators in Vietnam explain the difference. – And if on an e-visa received on the basis of an invitation, then 3 months. Only now it must be booked online in advance, and they promise to spank right at the airport. Showed the invitation and everything.

A direct flight from Irkutsk to the Vietnamese capital Hanoi departs weekly on Sunday evenings, the journey takes 6 hours and 20 minutes and costs 23,000 rubles. from a person. At the same time, an air ticket to Irkutsk, for example, from Moscow can be found within 8 thousand rubles. (but if you don’t specifically track it, then it’s possible for 17 thousand rubles), in flight 5 hours with a small tail. Compared to the exorbitant prices and confusing logistics that lie in wait for today’s Russian vacationer literally on every corner, Vietnam is directly calling. But there are discrepancies in prices for living in the ranks of compatriots: in Vietnam, some cabbage soup is empty, while others have small pearls. For example, one Russian family, speaking of “Vietnamese high cost”, means $1,000 per month for an international school that their child attends. And others are unsettled by the recent increase in the price of electricity by 3 rubles. in terms of our money. For the second month now, a Russian family, consisting of a husband, wife and a cat, has been experimenting on themselves, sharing the results with Russian-speaking lovers of Vietnam. Our diaspora, who knows Vietnamese prices and tricks firsthand, believes that the calculations of these guys just reflect the needs of the average Russian relocant. A couple with a cat rents a “studio” (an apartment with one bedroom and a kitchen combined with a dining room) overlooking the sea right on the embankment of the Nha Trang resort, in terms of rubles for 28 thousand rubles. per month.

“Consider that this is the golden mean,” comments in the Russian diaspora. – In the same place you can find it cheaper, if not on the 1st line, but on the 2nd or 3rd. And it can be much more expensive if there is not a studio, but a penthouse with Sea View.

Before the rise in electricity prices, the family of relocants was satisfied: they had enough for rent, a communal apartment, food, food for a cat, and even for the notorious “visaran”, devouring 8–10 thousand rubles. monthly. But the bill for the “communal apartment” that came in May unsettled the guys:

– The price of electricity in May rose to 13.8 rubles per kilowatt (it was 10.4 rubles). Together with him, the “communal” for the studio amounted to 7200 rubles, Internet – 690 rubles. (in Moscow, a communal apartment for a odnushka came out to us within 5 thousand rubles).

Considering that everyone in the family, except for the cat, works remotely, they cannot cut down on electricity and Internet costs. Then the guys calculated the average monthly expense (out of 127 thousand rubles, 62 thousand were spent on food, while only 12 thousand rubles were spent on household needs, clothes, cat food, etc.) and tried to replace the vaunted Vietnamese cafes, where ate twice a day, for cooking at home. When cooking at home, the family spent only 28,600 rubles on food per month, which is 2.15 times cheaper than with two meals a day in a cafe. When asked about the price of products, the hostess calculated Russian borscht as an example, because both in the supermarket and in the market you can buy expensive, or you can buy the necessary. 5 liters of Russian borscht in Vietnam will cost you less than 800 rubles if you buy at the local market: cabbage for 28 rubles/kg, beets for 36 rubles/kg, potatoes and onions for 70 rubles/kg, carrots for 54 rubles/kg and beef tenderloin for 540 rubles. for 350 g. Sour cream 20% fat in a Russian store – 130 rubles, bottled water for cooking – 143 rubles. for 20 l.

But it seems that one should not expect price concessions from the “holiday” Vietnam, although our tour operators have already been inspired by visa concessions:

– What are you, how can Vietnam be cheaper than Egypt and Turkey ?! – they are indignant at an inappropriate question in a domestic travel agency. – This is an expensive route. Both a long-distance flight and a luxury segment. Have you been to the Vietnamese Riviera?! Yes, there are even toilets free of charge and they themselves call you through the phone!

This is probably why the cheapest week for two in Nha Trang on a tour today is from 190 thousand rubles, and taking into account small requisitions – from 200 thousand.