Specific application of the policy to the Vietnamese market is as follows:
- Applicable subjects: Tourist groups (applicable to groups of 5 or more) organizing tours through travel companies designated by the Consulate Office - Korean Embassy and Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City with round-trip flights from Vietnam to Yangyang International Airport - Korea (detailed list, see appendix).
- Applicable period: from January 22, 2018 – April 30, 2018
- Length of stay: maximum 15 days
- Type of visa issued: PyeongChang Olympic No Visa B-2-94
- Airport of entry and exit: Yangyang International Airport – South Korea
In the announcement, the Korean Ministry of Justice also officially announced the method of registering the list of tourist groups for designated travel companies. Specifically as follows:
- Step 1: The designated Vietnamese travel company registers information and group list through the Korean visa portal at www.visa.go.kr and applies for approval for PyeongChang Olympic visa No. Visa B-2-94.
- Step 2: The Korean Ministry of Justice and the Korean Immigration Service review and approve group visas in the form of electronic visas.
- Step 3: Korean landtour company and Vietnamese tourism company receive approval information and issue Entry Permit for registered group of guests.
In the context that the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are approaching and all preparations for the Games are almost complete, the visa relaxation policy for citizens of the three countries Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia is one of the policies to promote the number of visitors to Korea in general and Gangwon Province in particular during the Olympics. The application of this visa exemption policy is also a new step in the visa approval process for Vietnamese tourists to Korea, aiming towards other visa policies in the future.
“In 2017, Korea welcomed more than 323,000 Vietnamese tourists to visit and travel to Korea, an increase of 28.8% compared to the same period last year and is one of the markets with the largest growth in the world in terms of the number of tourists to Korea. With this policy, we hope that more Vietnamese tourists will come to Korea and especially experience the Korean winter on the occasion of this Olympics. We will also support designated travel companies to bring more incentives to tourists on this occasion” – Mr. Jung Chang Wook, Chief Representative of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said.
Ngoc Anh - Linh
