Vietnam Covid Vaccine Passport – All you need to know

This policy was released by the Ministry of Health of Vietnam on August 4, 2021. Accordingly, the entrants meeting the following conditions shall be entitled to 7-day concentrated quarantine at designated facility upon arrival and then 7-day follow-up monitoring at home/place of residence:

• having proof of negative RT-PCR tests for SARS-CoV-2 72 hours prior to departure for Vietnam,
• having been fully vaccinated with the last dose at least 14 days but no more than 12 months before the entry time (with vaccination certificates); OR infected with SARS-CoV-2 (with documents proving the positive status using RT-PCR method no more than 06 months prior to the entry date), and proof showing they have recovered from the disease or hospital discharge or equivalent documents issued by competent authorities in the country where they have been treated.

It is firstly available for international visitors:

• having been fully vaccinated with the last dose at least 14 days but no more than 12 months before the entry time (with vaccination certificates); OR
• having been infected with SARS-CoV-2 (with documents proving the positive status using RT-PCR method no more than 06 months prior to the entry date), and proof showing they have recovered from the disease or hospital discharge or equivalent documents issued by competent authorities in the country where they have been treated.

In the 6 months of pilot, starting from October 2021, the island is expected to receive between 2,000 and 3,000 tourists each month in the opening three months through charter flights, and between 5,000 and 10,000 guests per month in the next three months via commercial flights.

Khanh Hoa, home to tourist hotspot Nha Trang, plans to trial a program to welcome vaccinated foreign tourists later this year with several restrictions.

Authorities of this province have assigned the Department of Tourism to prepare a detailed roadmap for the program and submit it to the government for approval. They have said that the pilot vaccine passport program will be only carried out on a small scale, with little impact on local socio-economic activities and people’s lives around.

The provincial tourism department has proposed that in the first phase of the program, starting at the end of this year, foreign tourists would arrive in chartered flights, stay in sequestered beach resorts on Long Beach in Cam Ranh Peninsula, around 45 kilometers from Nha Trang.

They will be securely escorted and only allowed to play golf and visit tourist destinations around the peninsula.

The department is eyeing Russia and South Korea, the biggest feeder markets for Khanh Hoa tourism, and some other countries that have successfully contained the Covid-19 pandemic.

Foreign tourists would need to furnish a certificate showing they are fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved by Vietnam. For a double shot vaccine, the second one must have been taken between 12 months and 14 days before the date of entry.

Those who’ve been infected and have recovered must furnish a certificate from the country of treatment. The discharge date must fall within the previous 12 months.

Visitors must also present a negative result in a PCR test done within 72 hours before departure.

Conditions of eligibility:

This pilot program is applicable to foreign entrants (who are experts and their family members, foreign students) meeting the following requirements:

• having:
  • having certificate of full inoculation with Covid vaccines approved either by the World Health Organization, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the European Medicines Agency, or Vietnamese authorities; OR
  • have recovered from COVID-19 with discharge date within 12 months prior to the date of entry into Vietnam,
• Negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR test results on the 1st and 6th days of quarantine, and
• Positive test results for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody,
• Entering Vietnam via Van Don International Airport, Quang Ninh province.

► Those people, after concentrated quarantine, shall be subject to 7-day home-based isolation and 14-day follow-up health observation.

► The entrants who have not fully vaccinated will be subject to 14-day concentrated quarantine, and follow-up health observation for 14 days.

► Pilot duration: 1 month, from July 1, 2021

► Place of pilot: Quang Ninh province

In case their SARS-CoV-2 test upon arrival in Vietnam is confirmed negative, they may be entitled to a shorter quarantine period (perhaps 01 week when everything is in perfect condition).