COVID-19: Vietnam allows visitors travel with negative test

Vietnam is allowing foreign arrivals with proof of a negative COVID-19 test to travel freely in the country upon entry.

International tourists are only required to have negative PCR tests within 72 hours or negative quick tests within 24 hours before their arrival, the Health Ministry said.

With a negative result in hand, no period of self-isolation is required.

Visitors who have arrived without one must take one within 24 hours after entering and can then leave their accommodation in case they were not infected, the ministry said.

They are not required to have a double-vaccinated certificate but must use an approved COVID app during their stay in Vietnam.

Children under two years are not required to have a COVID test.

On Tuesday, the Vietnamese government reinstated a visa exemption rule – introduced before the pandemic that would allow citizens from 13 countries to stay in the South-East Asian nation for 15 days without a visa.

Vietnam’s international border slammed shut to tourists in March 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe.

For a long time, only Vietnamese nationals and international experts working in the country were able to board flights to Vietnam.