Vietnam and Burundi have signed an agreement on visa exemption for the two countries’ citizens holding diplomatic and official passports.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has proposed scrapping the 10,000 COVID-19 travel insurance required to enter Vietnam.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has adopted a plan to reopen the tourism sector in the new normal.

Vietnam had reached agreement on the mutual recognition of “vaccine passports” with 17 countries as of March 17, said Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Le Thi Thu Hang.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on March 17 that the e-visa system, available to citizens of 80 countries, is now in operation again as the country fully reopened to international tourists from March 15, 2022.

The Vietnamese Government on March 15 agreed to waive entry visa requirements for foreign nationals entering the country from 13 nations.

The Immigration Department of Vietnam has announced new policies on easing entry procedures for foreigners and overseas Vietnamese as well as their family members with valid visas or visa exemptions.

Freedom of movement is among the fundamental rights under the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Vietnam has been a member state since 1982. Freedom of movement not only creates the premise for an individual to enjoy civil, political, and other economic, social and cultural rights, but also as a condition to promote the development of the economy and society of countries. Nonetheless, the right to freedom of movement is not absolute and can be subjected to restrictions in certain circumstances. The following article examines the regulations on restrictions on freedom of movement following the ICCPR and Vietnam’s law, and evaluates the practical implementation as well as the shortcomings of the restrictions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens, which is the first of its kind in Vietnam, has institutionalized the 2013 Constitution regarding citizens’ right to free movement and residence within the country and their right to leave the country and return home from abroad.