Nationals of Poland, Czechia & Switzerland Eligible for Visa-Free Travel to Vietnam Starting March 1

Citizens of Poland, Czechia, and Switzerland will be permitted to visit Vietnam without applying for a visa before travelling to the Southeast Asian country. This measure will enter into force on March 1, 2025, and will be effective until December 31, 2025.

Nationals of Switzerland, Czechia, and Poland will be able to stay in Vietnam for up to 45 days, as long as their main purpose of visit is tourism, which the country is determined to promote, Schengen.News reports. 

The new changes also apply to those travelling with the Vietnamese International Tour operator, who must meet the country’s legal entry requirements. 

Vietnam Already Permits Visa-Free Entry for Nationals of These 8 EU Countries 
On top of Switzerland, Poland, and Czechia, Vietnam already permit visa-free entry to eight other EU countries and the other three that are on the European continent. 

Nationals of Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden are eligible to visit Vietnam without applying for a visa prior to their travel, provided that their stay does not exceed 45 days. Unrestricted travel for these countries is offered as part of the Vietnamese government’s efforts to promote tourism. 

Brits, Russians and Belarusians also enjoy visa-free entry to Vietnam for short stays. 

Vietnamese Still Subject to Schengen Visa Requirements 
While Vietnam has facilitated its visa travel rules for nationals of 11 European countries, the Schengen Area’s efforts to streamline travel requirements for Vietnamese nationals are little to nonexistent. 

Vietnamese nationals are required to file a Schengen Visa application ahead of time if they want to travel to the zone – a process that can be both lengthy and expensive. 

According to statistics published by SchengenVisaInfo, the number of visa applicants from Vietnam in 2023 reached 103,501. Approval rates for Vietnamese applicants were 88 per cent, and 27.8 per cent of applications were for multiple entry visas (MEVs). 

France is the Schengen country that receives the highest number of Schengen visa applications from Vietnamese. In 2023, 36 per cent of all visa applications, accounting for 37,319 requests, were received by France. 

The second country with the highest number of applications filed from Vietnamese applicants was Germany (28,570 or 27.6 per cent of the total), and Italy is third with 10,253 applications. 

On the other hand, countries with the fewest applications were Sweden (six applications), Slovakia (142) and Poland (686).

Source: https://schengen.news/nationals-of-poland-czechia-switzerland-eligible-for-visa-free-travel-to-vietnam-starting-march-1/