Officially, Phu Quoc island is designed to be a special economic zone from 2004. Vietnam allows all foreigners to enter the island without a visa and stay no longer than 30 days. After the lawful given time, if you want to stay longer or visit other parts of the country, you will have to apply for a visa.
For the 30 day exemption, the Vietnam government’s requirements are:
- Your passport must be remaining validity of at least 6 months
- As of 24th December 2015, you have to have a round-trip air ticket to and from Phu Quoc. The onward destination after Phu Quoc can be any other destination except Vietnam. Flights can be direct to Phu Quoc or transiting through one of the international airports in Vietnam ending up at Phu Quoc.
- Stay only for 30 days
Notes:
Visa exemption is only sufficient for those travelling by air or sea. You can fly in from another country and land at Phu Quoc International Airport. If you are transiting from Hanoi or HCMC, then you will have to board from the international terminal to receive your visa exemption.
You can take a boat from Sihanoukville to Phu Quoc without stopping at Vietnam – Cambodia border crossing. This works only when you join an organized tour. In 2015, there is only a few agencies open tours from Sihanoukville to Phu Quoc. There is a Jupiter cruise connects Sihanoukville and the island. In the upcoming years, there will be more tour and boats link directly Phu Quoc and Cambodia.
If you join an organized tour, your tour operator/agency has arranged the visa exemption for you.
Crossing border from a neighbour country (Cambodia/Laos/Thailand) is not an option for visa exemption. You have to have a Vietnam visa arranged in advance in order to enter the country through a border crossing.
Visa extension in Phu Quoc is possible. However, it will take a long time (12 business days) and quite a fee. This is due to the fact that your passport has to be transferred to HCMC to be processed for a visa extension.
Once your visa is extended, you can pick up your passport at HCMC but you have to travel there by ferry and bus or your agency can ship it back to Phu Quoc for you.
The agency that can arrange visa extension
Green Travel – Travel & Tour Agency
Add: 143 Tran Hung Dao street, Dong Duong town
Tel: 0773996642
Fiona
Hi
I am an Australian visiting Cambodia (with visa) and intending on flying from Cambodia to Phu Quoc island only.
I note from flying from Cambodia I will stop (in transit only) in Siagon before my flight to Phu Quoc.
Will I need a vietnam visa for my time in transit?
Regards
Aoife