Changing visa regime for tourists, the first opening point will lead to many more openings

DNHN - According to Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cung, the government has recently made a decision that is unprecedented and has been heavily debated for many years. That is the tourist visa policy. This is the first opening, which will hopefully lead to many more.

The Government Office has just announced the conclusion of the Government Standing meeting regarding Vietnam's unilateral visa exemption for citizens of other nations and several new policies in the field of immigration and transit management, the residence of foreigners in Vietnam.

Accordingly, the Government Standing Committee requires agencies to submit the following information for consideration by the National Assembly: First, to increase the maximum validity period of e-visas from 30 to 90 days, valid once or multiple times.

The second objective is to issue electronic visas to all nationalities and territories.

The third is to increase the time limit for issuing temporary residence certificates at the border gate from 15 days to 45 days for those entering under the visa exemption category. After one year of opening after COVID-19, the story of Vietnam visa for international visitors remains of particular interest to several experts and businesses.

If approved by the National Assembly at its upcoming session in May, the Government's proposal to relax visa requirements will stimulate the tourism industry.

Sharing this remarkable information with Enterprise & Integration Magazine, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cung, former director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, said that the Vietnamese economy is seeing the first opportunity as tourism.

The government has taken an unprecedented decision and has discussed it for many years. That is the visa regime for tourists. This is the first opening and hopefully, this will lead to many more openings.

“We are always in a situation where we are cornered to run. I also hope that the prolonged difficulty will also corner us to have breakthroughs in the policy. The first breakthrough in the short term, apart from tourism, I hope and see the possibility of a breakthrough in public investment," Cung said.

According to Mr. Cung, open public investment will increase domestic demand, increase capital for businesses, and maintain the growth target that we have set ambitiously. Public investment will open business opportunities for related industries, especially industries such as construction, which are currently very secretive and closed. Capital flow for this sector may be opened.

However, Mr. Cung forecast that the economic difficulties could continue until next year.

One of the bright spots that people talk about is China's reopening. However, for Vietnam, the domestic market only benefits from tourism. The other sectors will not benefit much because when Vietnam has difficulties in exporting to the US and Europe, it will not import much from China. Thus, production activities are still facing difficulties, and along with that, procedures for exporting Vietnamese goods to foreign countries have not been improved.

Assessing business capital, Mr. Cung stated that the situation will not improve significantly. Even though the interest rate has decreased, it is still difficult for businesses to gain access to capital, and the interest rate remains high in comparison to the current state of businesses. As a result of low consumer demand, capital flow for businesses is already challenging; it is now even more challenging. The production and business situation of businesses are at "rock bottom," but "rock bottom" may last a few months or 1.2 quarters and will not stop increasing at this time.

Mr. Cung remarked that after many years of pent-up tension, the business environment faces numerous challenges and obstacles, particularly in terms of institutions. Consequently, comprehensive reform is required. This comprehensive reform cannot rely on one or two ministries; rather, it must establish a national reform team, conduct research simultaneously, and be implemented all at once.

"Otherwise, the business environment will continue to be congested because we recognize that we cannot do anything if we merely follow the prescribed rules. Incorrect here will be correct there. Correct one law is incorrect another. It's legal, but it's wrong," Cung said.

Hoai Anh