Announcement from Vietnam Immigration Department:

If you entered Vietnam with Visa Exemptions, E-Visas or Tourist Visas from March 1, 2020, you will be eligible for “automatic stay permit extension” until December 31, 2020, and are allowed to exit Vietnam at any time until December 31 without following any stay permit extension procedure. It means that if you are in Vietnam under those visa categories, you entered the country on or after March 1, 2020 and your visa becomes expired before December 31, 2020, you can leave Vietnam after your visa expiry date, but by December 31, without penalty for overstaying.

This is very important to understand that it means you don’t have to extend your visa to EXIT Vietnam by December 31, 2020. However, if you intend to stay in Vietnam after December 31, then you do need a visa extension.

If you entered BEFORE March 1, 2020, you will be eligible for the same policy if you show either of the following documents:

A certification by your diplomatic mission in Vietnam through an official Diplomatic Note stating that you are stuck in Vietnam due to Covid 19 (attached with a translation in Vietnamese);

Documents issued by the Vietnamese authorities certifying that you have undergone quarantine or treatment for COVID-19 or are stuck here due to reasons beyond your control.

You are required to show those documents when exiting Vietnam to ensure no charge for overstaying.

Again, this works only for those who will leave Vietnam by December 31, 2020.

In case you are eligible for an “automatic stay extension”, you are required to declare your temporary stay to local police and complete health declaration.

If you don’t meet the conditions in section 1 or have committed illegal actions, you shall be subject to the current laws of Vietnam.

For example, those in Vietnam under a business visa are required to extend visa before its expiry date.