Effective May 1, 2005, Vietnam skips the visa requirement for all citizens holding passports from the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
All travelers from those countries may now enter Vietnam without a visa as long as they stay no longer than 15 days. Visa extensions may be granted while in Vietnam.
Only three conditions need to be fulfilled for visa free travel: your passport must be valid 90 days or longer after entry, your stay will not exceed 15 days and you need a ticket showing your onward travel to another country.
For longer stays than 15 days you need to apply for a Vietnam visa before entry. Travellers that refer to ‘good reasons’ may also apply for a visa extension while in Vietnam.
“The Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the honour to request the Embassy to inform the authorised agencies and citizens of Sweden of this decision of the Vietnamese Government and at the same time request the Swedish side to further facilitate the granting of visas for Vietnamese citizens who enter, exit and transit Sweden,” writes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Socialist Republic of Vietnam in its letter to the Swedish Embassy in Hanoi where the decision to grant visa exemptions for Swedish citizens is made official.
Voices to grant visa exemption to Sweden for nationals from Asean, other than those from Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore – who already enjoy visa free travel to Sweden, have been raised from several parties, Swedish as well as nationals from the affected countries, the last few months.
“We would love to see reciprocity!” said Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathienthai, then Foreign Minister, to Scandasia 18 February when asked how he views the fact that Thais need visa from day one to Sweden while Swedes get 30 days on arrival.
The Swedish government has so far not taken any public action to reciprocate the favors granted by Vietnam and Thailand.
