Can travellers go to Vietnam by vaccine passport?

Vaccine passport in Vietnam is one of the most searched keywords among not only business travelers who are in need of a business trip to Vietnam, but also leisure ones who have been kept home for so long.

COVID-19 pandemic has no sign of ending yet, and many countries worldwide have, so far, made a lot of efforts to promote their economy in general, and tourism in particular. And Vaccine passport is one of considered the best solutions.

1. What is a Covid vaccine passport?
The Covid 19 vaccine passport is a form of documentation (likely digital) proving that you have been vaccinated against Covid-19. It is, in some countries, known as vaccine pass or “green pass”, digital green pass”, “green pass”. The idea behind a vaccine passport is that it would allow a person to resume activities that are now restricted due to Covid 19 outbreak, including freer travel, entering a restaurant, cinema, gym, or attending concerts, sporting events, theater performances, and other events that would put you in close proximity with a lot of other people.

Due to COVID 19, the Covid vaccine passport may become a required item to enter any country, in addition to a valid physical passport and visa. As such, it is also referred to as a “vaccine visa”.

2. How does a vaccine passport works?
Despite its name, a vaccine passport is actually not a paper. Through the vaccine passport currently issued by the 4 countries of China, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iceland, the vaccine passport is actually a digital passport that’s part of the mobile app that you will show to the airlines’ officials and then the immigration officials to get on board and then cross the international border respectively. This app may show details of your Covid vaccine shots, the status of your last COVID test, and possibly other information.

3. Vaccine passport program worldwide
As of March 19, 2021, there are up to 18 countries already implementing quarantine/test exemption programs for vaccinated travelers.

Antigua & Barbuda – Quarantine not required unless specifically requested by authorities with the vaccine.
Bangladesh – No quarantine required with proof of the second dose of Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine.
Belize – No quarantine or test required.
Bermuda – Test still required but no quarantine.
Estonia – No quarantine or test required.
Ghana – Test still required but no quarantine.
Guatemala – No quarantine or test required.
Iceland – No quarantine or test required if getting vaccine authorized by European Medicines Agency, or the World Health Organization.
Lebanon – Test still required but no quarantine.
Lithuania – No test or quarantine required.
Moldova – No test or quarantine required.
Poland – No quarantine required with.
Qatar – No quarantine required 14 days after the second vaccine. Test still required.
Romania – No quarantine required.
Seychelles – No quarantine with a negative test.
Slovakia – No quarantine required. Test still required.
Slovenia – No quarantine required. Test still required.
Tajikistan – No quarantine or test required.
This list will, for sure, change rapidly and will be kept updated by us regularly. However, before any trip abroad, you should check the vaccine passport program of your destination.

4. How Vaccine passport works for Vietnam?
When Vietnam opens its borders to tourists is on top concern by various travelers around the world. Whether it comes with the instruction of the COVID 19 vaccine passport? No one has the answer at the moment.

Although Vietnam has not approved any policy on entry of foreigners with Vaccine passport. But the country and its agencies, authorities have made some positive moves in this regard as follows:

As updated on VNexpress on 10th April, Vietnam readies for entry of foreigners holding vaccine passports, including tourists and investors.

At a regular meeting of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control on April 9, 2021, the related agencies and telecom providers said that the information technology infrastructure for handling Covid-19 vaccine passports was basically ready and “fully adapts to international preparations of vaccine passport deployment”.
Vietnamese stranded abroad, foreign investors, and vaccinated tourists are three groups who might be able to enter Vietnam with a vaccine passport, officials say.

With the vaccine passport, specifically, Vietnam would divide entrants into three different groups.

The first group would be Vietnamese citizens who are stranded abroad and have been administered the Covid-19 vaccine. The Ministry of Health will be in charge of providing detailed guidance on isolating and monitoring arrivals from different countries. A similar protocol would also apply for Vietnamese businesspeople returning home after going abroad in pursuit of investment and business opportunities.

The second group would be foreigners entering Vietnam to invest and do business. The Health Ministry would specify the protocol for testing, medical isolation, and medical monitoring based on the entrants’ citizenship and the vaccines they have been administered.

The third group would comprise international tourists. For this category, the health department would work with the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and submit to the committee specific plans on allowing international tourists.

It is expected that Vietnam will welcome visitors from countries that have basically brought the pandemic under control and those that have deployed vaccination programs to achieve community immunity. Such tourists would be allowed to go to Vietnamese destinations where sufficient control can be maintained in terms of Covid-19 destinations.

As updated on Dantri on April 6, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (VAAC) has made a proposal on urgent resumption of regular international flights and early application of “vaccine passport” in Vietnam in order to promote international air transport. According to the proposal, the entrants to Vietnam who have been vaccinated and have negative Covid PCR test results will be allowed to enter Vietnam with minimized centralized quarantine duration.

Before that,  the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) proposes exempting vaccinated foreigners from centralized quarantine from September when Vietnam is expected to apply the Covid Vaccine passport policy depending on Vietnam’s mass vaccination progress and its assessment. Passengers will be exempted from 14-day centralized quarantine if they show a certificate confirming they had tested negative for the novel coronavirus and an international vaccination certificate proving they had been inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine recognized by Vietnam (Vnexpress).
Lux Travel DMC will keep you update about vaccine passport to Vietnam by the following articles. Need to know any information about how to travel to Vietnam, kindly send us an email at sales@luxtraveldmc.com.

 

 

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