The process of obtaining the permit to disembark has also been simplified. Immigration officials now just issue passengers with a disembarkation slip when they receive the fee. Passengers are then free to leave the ship.
Under a recently introduced system, passengers wishing to go ashore had to pay the standard Vietnamese visa cost of US$45 and wait for immigration officers to process the application. The procedure was so laborious that many passengers stayed on board the ships and did not bother taking trips to port.
Vietnam is a stopover on the busy cruise route linking Hong Kong and Singapore. Travel agents booking passengers on ships plying the route had complained that they could not sell excursions in Vietnam due to the visa red-tape and exorbitant cost.
The agents had urged Vietnam to do something about the regulations. In response, the prime-minister requested the Public Security Ministry to work out a simpler system with the Immigration Bureau.
Vietnam slashes cruise passenger visa fee
News in Asia
Vietnam has slashed the fee that foreign cruise-ship passengers pay when they take trips ashore at the country’s ports. The national government has put into effect regulations that see passengers pay US$5 when they come ashore.