How and when can Foreigners return to Vn to be with their famiy.

Indeed, Visa exemptions were suspended back in March, it was widely published. Also there are currently no regular flights to Vietnam, except from 4 or 5 other countries with very low contamination rates. A Vietnamese friend has told me that there was talk on Vietnamese TV about opening the borders in December, but there’s nothing official yet. And frankly, I wouldn’t hold my breath, unfortunately...

patmcgin2001 wrote:

Dear friends. my name is Patrick 
I am a foreigner with a Vietnam wife and we live in district 7 Ho Chi Minh. Due to marriage in Vietnam i already hold a visa exemption waiver in my passport. My work takes me around Asia and currently I have been stranded in Sri Lanka for last 8 months  as with some  of you there in Vietnam with no obvious way to  get home to Vietnam to be with my family . I have visited the Vietnam consulate 3 times here and all I get from them is Gov not allowing foreigner husbands  entry to Vn even with a visa exemption in passport .

It took you three visits to the embassy to decide that they are not your first best source of information?

Just a little editorializing on my part but it is really unfortunate that spouses of Vietnamese holding VEC (or even TRC I believe) are unable to reenter Vietnam.  This is particularly true while foreign corporations are able to sponsor their employees as so called "experts."  If such persons are willing to undergo the 14 day quarantine and testing, particularly if they are willing to pay for the service, why should they be treated worse than foreign employees?  I suppose this may become a moot issue after there is widespread use of a vaccine some time during 2021.

A question I have is are all holders of Vietnamese passports eligible for entry, again subject to quarantine, or is this only for certain categories of Vietnamese expatriate like students?  My wife who still holds her VN passport is often worried about her mother's health and would want to travel to Vietnam if things took a turn for the worse.

THIGV wrote:

Just a little editorializing on my part but it is really unfortunate that spouses of Vietnamese holding VEC (or even TRC I believe) are unable to reenter Vietnam.  This is particularly true while foreign corporations are able to sponsor their employees as so called "experts."  If such persons are willing to undergo the 14 day quarantine and testing, particularly if they are willing to pay for the service, why should they be treated worse than foreign employees?  I suppose this may become a moot issue after there is widespread use of a vaccine some time during 2021.

A question I have is are all holders of Vietnamese passports eligible for entry, again subject to quarantine, or is this only for certain categories of Vietnamese expatriate like students?  My wife who still holds her VN passport is often worried about her mother's health and would want to travel to Vietnam if things took a turn for the worse.

Even though I agree, getting an entry permit wouldn’t change much for most people, since there are no regular flights from Europe or the USA.

From the US Consulate in VN website:

As of today, Nov 2, 20202, the Vietnamese government continues to suspend entry into Vietnam to all foreigners, including people with a Vietnamese visa exemption certificate.  This policy has very limited exemptions for diplomatic, official duty, and special cases, including experts, business managers, foreign investors, and high-tech workers of businesses involved in important projects as determined by the Government of Vietnam.  Family reunification is not one of the exemptions. 

Please note that although Vietnam recently decided to resume commercial air routes to Guangzhou (China), Taiwan (China), Seoul (the Republic of Korea), Tokyo (Japan), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), and Vientiane (Laos), only Vietnamese nationals and individuals in the aforementioned exempted categories and their family members may enter Vietnam.  Individuals in these categories will have to present a certificate of negative COVID-19 RT-PCR testing report issued within the three days prior to departure.  After landing, a follow-up RT-PCR test will be conducted.  U.S. citizens who have further questions about these policies should contact their employer or sponsoring organization directly.

All entrants into Vietnam will be placed under medical surveillance for at least 28 days."

Note on the 28 day medical surveillance: The first 14 days are in a quarantine site, the second 14 days are at home with visits from the local health department or UBND.

Ciambella wrote:

From the US Consulate in VN website:

As of today, Nov 2, 20202, the Vietnamese government continues to suspend entry into Vietnam to all foreigners, including people with a Vietnamese visa exemption certificate.  This policy has very limited exemptions for diplomatic, official duty, and special cases, including experts, business managers, foreign investors, and high-tech workers of businesses involved in important projects as determined by the Government of Vietnam.  Family reunification is not one of the exemptions. 

Please note that although Vietnam recently decided to resume commercial air routes to Guangzhou (China), Taiwan (China), Seoul (the Republic of Korea), Tokyo (Japan), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), and Vientiane (Laos), only Vietnamese nationals and individuals in the aforementioned exempted categories and their family members may enter Vietnam.  Individuals in these categories will have to present a certificate of negative COVID-19 RT-PCR testing report issued within the three days prior to departure.  After landing, a follow-up RT-PCR test will be conducted.  U.S. citizens who have further questions about these policies should contact their employer or sponsoring organization directly.

All entrants into Vietnam will be placed under medical surveillance for at least 28 days."

Note on the 28 day medical surveillance: The first 14 days are in a quarantine site, the second 14 days are at home with visits from the local health department or UBND.

Yeah but can you tell us what the real policy is?

😉😉😉

many thanks Kurt
I am currently stuck in a country ( not my own Uk , if  I  return  to Uk. I  would have zero chance of ever leaving as its  already on melt down  ) with also a  low virus impact  rate . I have very very  limited flights leaving here but still believe can get to Vietnam. If my only option is to  wait  and  in knowing that most countries are running the exact same narrative and same  time frame . To quote "this is the new norm" 
we are not ever going back to normal . So for me I would rather  have a plane b, c and d because i will find a way home to my family.
I was hoping on this platform to seek alternate options which I could look into more and or someone in same situation as I who managed to find a way home to their VN spouse.
But I appreciate your comments .

patmcgin2001 wrote:

many thanks Kurt
I am currently stuck in a country ( not my own Uk , if  I  return  to Uk. I  would have zero chance of ever leaving as its  already on melt down  ) with also a  low virus impact  rate . I have very very  limited flights leaving here but still believe can get to Vietnam. If my only option is to  wait  and  in knowing that most countries are running the exact same narrative and same  time frame . To quote "this is the new norm" 
we are not ever going back to normal . So for me I would rather  have a plane b, c and d because i will find a way home to my family.
I was hoping on this platform to seek alternate options which I could look into more and or someone in same situation as I who managed to find a way home to their VN spouse.
But I appreciate your comments .

In case you haven't been able to read between the lines of the official pronouncements, the only way that you can re-enter Vietnam at this time is if you have a sponsor the government agrees to honor.

At this point your only sponsor is your wife, and wives are not allowed to be sponsors of husbands returning to Vietnam at this time.

So the best way to create a different option for yourself is to seek out employment opportunities as an expert.

Or to pull a lot of money out of your pocket and become a foreign investor.

So go ahead and try one of those optional ways.

I truly do hope you are successful.

Any other ideas that someone has for you are almost certainly illegal.

Your main argument seems to be that you are a member of a family that has been separated from one another, and that you should be able to reunite with your family.

Unfortunately for you and others in your situation, There's really no interest on the part of the Vietnamese government in simply reuniting people when both members of the marriage are not Vietnamese citizens.

So you have to show that you have value to Vietnamese Society separate from the fact that you are a highly devoted husband.

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

patmcgin2001 wrote:

Dear friends. my name is Patrick 
I am a foreigner with a Vietnam wife and we live in district 7 Ho Chi Minh. Due to marriage in Vietnam i already hold a visa exemption waiver in my passport. My work takes me around Asia and currently I have been stranded in Sri Lanka for last 8 months  as with some  of you there in Vietnam with no obvious way to  get home to Vietnam to be with my family . I have visited the Vietnam consulate 3 times here and all I get from them is Gov not allowing foreigner husbands  entry to Vn even with a visa exemption in passport .

It took you three visits to the embassy to decide that they are not your first best source of information?

As  someone  who has resided and had employment  in 14 countries  and one who has conducted multi additional sourcing trips  around the globe and in acquiring visas for my Vn wife to accompany me on many trips . I am very familiar to visa sections embassies and consulates.
So in answering your question.
1st trip : was to ask if my visa exemption would get me back home
2nd trip under their request to come back for a status.
3rd trip was a show and tell, I stuck a video chat in the consulates face to chat with my wife and son. that was an exercise on sewing seeds. So I now have confidence if anything opens up he will call me personally.
I used to check daily updates on  Vn corona status for month after month. But here is my reality after  the monthly Gov BS we will open up. My  real window of opportunity to seeing my family is closing down with only a very slim chance of being achieved if I put all my hope on the monthly lies being spouted by everyone's gov.
As I mentioned in another chat line. I  reached out to this platform with a hope that someone may have  already found their way home to their family.  What I need now is a plan, b, c and d . I am looking into setting up a rep office in HCM  to compliment my own consultancy company In HK.  And I was thinking about the foreign student route , ok, I am a real old  mature student ha ha ,  but maybe this is a great   opportunity to  improve my Vn language which my wife never stops reminding me or maybe I will find something to add to my current skill set, but everything on media covering this subject matter, leaves me just vague. Yes foreign students can get in but under what regime and what  Vn universities or colleges are supporting this. I see talk about this, but I see zero substance.

You make light of my plight  but its ok,   I am sure your looking forward to going home tonight , put  your feet  up while the wife prepares  a meal  for you. I  am sure your comfortable with  all your familiar things around you. Then after, spend time with your kids or dogs  or meet your friends. Hug and hold your  wife or girlfriend or boyfriend  and to sleep with them. Must be great in your world .
I don't understand why there seems to be an issue with me also enjoying what you  have but  with my own family.
thank  you for your comments made .

patmcgin2001 wrote:

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

patmcgin2001 wrote:

Dear friends. my name is Patrick 
I am a foreigner with a Vietnam wife and we live in district 7 Ho Chi Minh. Due to marriage in Vietnam i already hold a visa exemption waiver in my passport. My work takes me around Asia and currently I have been stranded in Sri Lanka for last 8 months  as with some  of you there in Vietnam with no obvious way to  get home to Vietnam to be with my family . I have visited the Vietnam consulate 3 times here and all I get from them is Gov not allowing foreigner husbands  entry to Vn even with a visa exemption in passport .

It took you three visits to the embassy to decide that they are not your first best source of information?

As  someone  who has resided and had employment  in 14 countries  and one who has conducted multi additional sourcing trips  around the globe and in acquiring visas for my Vn wife to accompany me on many trips . I am very familiar to visa sections embassies and consulates.
So in answering your question.
1st trip : was to ask if my visa exemption would get me back home
2nd trip under their request to come back for a status.
3rd trip was a show and tell, I stuck a video chat in the consulates face to chat with my wife and son. that was an exercise on sewing seeds. So I now have confidence if anything opens up he will call me personally.
I used to check daily updates on  Vn corona status for month after month. But here is my reality after  the monthly Gov BS we will open up. My  real window of opportunity to seeing my family is closing down with only a very slim chance of being achieved if I put all my hope on the monthly lies being spouted by everyone's gov.
As I mentioned in another chat line. I  reached out to this platform with a hope that someone may have  already found their way home to their family.  What I need now is a plan, b, c and d . I am looking into setting up a rep office in HCM  to compliment my own consultancy company In HK.  And I was thinking about the foreign student route , ok, I am a real old  mature student ha ha ,  but maybe this is a great   opportunity to  improve my Vn language which my wife never stops reminding me or maybe I will find something to add to my current skill set, but everything on media covering this subject matter, leaves me just vague. Yes foreign students can get in but under what regime and what  Vn universities or colleges are supporting this. I see talk about this, but I see zero substance.

You make light of my plight  but its ok,   I am sure your looking forward to going home tonight , put  your feet  up while the wife prepares  a meal  for you. I  am sure your comfortable with  all your familiar things around you. Then after, spend time with your kids or dogs  or meet your friends. Hug and hold your  wife or girlfriend or boyfriend  and to sleep with them. Must be great in your world .
I don't understand why there seems to be an issue with me also enjoying what you  have but  with my own family.
thank  you for your comments made .

I do apologize if I spoke out of turn. I am not a rude person nor do I want to be one. I spoke from frustration and  after sending , I knew it was wrong to send my last comments . Pls accept  my apologizes . I am better than this . thank you

patmcgin2001 wrote:

patmcgin2001 wrote:

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

It took you three visits to the embassy to decide that they are not your first best source of information?

As  someone  who has resided and had employment  in 14 countries  and one who has conducted multi additional sourcing trips  around the globe and in acquiring visas for my Vn wife to accompany me on many trips . I am very familiar to visa sections embassies and consulates.
So in answering your question.
1st trip : was to ask if my visa exemption would get me back home
2nd trip under their request to come back for a status.
3rd trip was a show and tell, I stuck a video chat in the consulates face to chat with my wife and son. that was an exercise on sewing seeds. So I now have confidence if anything opens up he will call me personally.
I used to check daily updates on  Vn corona status for month after month. But here is my reality after  the monthly Gov BS we will open up. My  real window of opportunity to seeing my family is closing down with only a very slim chance of being achieved if I put all my hope on the monthly lies being spouted by everyone's gov.
As I mentioned in another chat line. I  reached out to this platform with a hope that someone may have  already found their way home to their family.  What I need now is a plan, b, c and d . I am looking into setting up a rep office in HCM  to compliment my own consultancy company In HK.  And I was thinking about the foreign student route , ok, I am a real old  mature student ha ha ,  but maybe this is a great   opportunity to  improve my Vn language which my wife never stops reminding me or maybe I will find something to add to my current skill set, but everything on media covering this subject matter, leaves me just vague. Yes foreign students can get in but under what regime and what  Vn universities or colleges are supporting this. I see talk about this, but I see zero substance.

You make light of my plight  but its ok,   I am sure your looking forward to going home tonight , put  your feet  up while the wife prepares  a meal  for you. I  am sure your comfortable with  all your familiar things around you. Then after, spend time with your kids or dogs  or meet your friends. Hug and hold your  wife or girlfriend or boyfriend  and to sleep with them. Must be great in your world .
I don't understand why there seems to be an issue with me also enjoying what you  have but  with my own family.
thank  you for your comments made .

I do apologize if I spoke out of turn. I am not a rude person nor do I want to be one. I spoke from frustration and  after sending , I knew it was wrong to send my last comments . Pls accept  my apologizes . I am better than this . thank you

No apology necessary. I admit there was a certain amount of snark in my comment. So your response is understandable.

But as I stated in my follow-up comment, as much as you are an admirable husband to your Vietnamese wife, it didn't seem as if you were asking for sympathy. It seemed as if you were asking for concrete options. So I just went straight to the options that are available.

It's interesting on this forum we often get threads started that basically say this isn't the way something should be.

That's usually a dead-end thread from the start. My concept of what should be done and your concept of what should be done really is not something that the Vietnamese government cares about.

So I fully get it that your situation seems very unfair, and ideally I would personally say that it would be cool if everybody could be reunited with everyone.

Unfortunately the government's not listening to me

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

patmcgin2001 wrote:

patmcgin2001 wrote:

As  someone  who has resided and had employment  in 14 countries  and one who has conducted multi additional sourcing trips  around the globe and in acquiring visas for my Vn wife to accompany me on many trips . I am very familiar to visa sections embassies and consulates.
So in answering your question.
1st trip : was to ask if my visa exemption would get me back home
2nd trip under their request to come back for a status.
3rd trip was a show and tell, I stuck a video chat in the consulates face to chat with my wife and son. that was an exercise on sewing seeds. So I now have confidence if anything opens up he will call me personally.
I used to check daily updates on  Vn corona status for month after month. But here is my reality after  the monthly Gov BS we will open up. My  real window of opportunity to seeing my family is closing down with only a very slim chance of being achieved if I put all my hope on the monthly lies being spouted by everyone's gov.
As I mentioned in another chat line. I  reached out to this platform with a hope that someone may have  already found their way home to their family.  What I need now is a plan, b, c and d . I am looking into setting up a rep office in HCM  to compliment my own consultancy company In HK.  And I was thinking about the foreign student route , ok, I am a real old  mature student ha ha ,  but maybe this is a great   opportunity to  improve my Vn language which my wife never stops reminding me or maybe I will find something to add to my current skill set, but everything on media covering this subject matter, leaves me just vague. Yes foreign students can get in but under what regime and what  Vn universities or colleges are supporting this. I see talk about this, but I see zero substance.

You make light of my plight  but its ok,   I am sure your looking forward to going home tonight , put  your feet  up while the wife prepares  a meal  for you. I  am sure your comfortable with  all your familiar things around you. Then after, spend time with your kids or dogs  or meet your friends. Hug and hold your  wife or girlfriend or boyfriend  and to sleep with them. Must be great in your world .
I don't understand why there seems to be an issue with me also enjoying what you  have but  with my own family.
thank  you for your comments made .

I do apologize if I spoke out of turn. I am not a rude person nor do I want to be one. I spoke from frustration and  after sending , I knew it was wrong to send my last comments . Pls accept  my apologizes . I am better than this . thank you

No apology necessary. I admit there was a certain amount of snark in my comment. So your response is understandable.

But as I stated in my follow-up comment, as much as you are an admirable husband to your Vietnamese wife, it didn't seem as if you were asking for sympathy. It seemed as if you were asking for concrete options. So I just went straight to the options that are available.

It's interesting on this forum we often get threads started that basically say this isn't the way something should be.

That's usually a dead-end thread from the start. My concept of what should be done and your concept of what should be done really is not something that the Vietnamese government cares about.

So I fully get it that your situation seems very unfair, and ideally I would personally say that it would be cool if everybody could be reunited with everyone.

Unfortunately the government's not listening to me

I actually agree with you too mate . There is something big and horrible coming down the line very soon  and I am trying to get in front of it , because my family will need me to be there. Sorry this statement is vague. There will  be no escape  for any country. I have a belief there is another agenda as to measures being implemented to stop movement of people all together, the virus  reason is smoke and mirrors. Older people with some knowledge of their govs know when  they show their right hand and tell tell its all for  your safety , you better have a look on their left hand because , that's the one with the real agenda and normally its not a good thing for us.  Ok, will cut this chat off, have a great week  ahead.

Kurterino wrote:

Indeed, Visa exemptions were suspended back in March, it was widely published. Also there are currently no regular flights to Vietnam, except from 4 or 5 other countries with very low contamination rates. A Vietnamese friend has told me that there was talk on Vietnamese TV about opening the borders in December, but there’s nothing official yet. And frankly, I wouldn’t hold my breath, unfortunately...

I would like to add something I’ve mentioned in another thread: Do not trust any news other than what has been confirmed through the official channels. As an example for what I mean, it may be possible to purchase tickets for flights to Vietnam even though there’s no date set for the reopening of the country. Once booked (and later cancelled), it will be up to you to try and get a refund...

patmcgin2001 wrote:

Dear friends. my name is Patrick 
I am a foreigner with a Vietnam wife and we live in district 7 Ho Chi Minh. Due to marriage in Vietnam i already hold a visa exemption waiver in my passport. My work takes me around Asia and currently I have been stranded in Sri Lanka for last 8 months  as with some  of you there in Vietnam with no obvious way to  get home to Vietnam to be with my family . I have visited the Vietnam consulate 3 times here and all I get from them is Gov not allowing foreigner husbands  entry to Vn even with a visa exemption in passport .
Can anyone give me advice on how I can get back into Vietnam so that I  can be with my family there. or  if anyone has any idea when an opportunity will arise that will allow me to travel home.
many thanks .

Howdy Patrick -


I'm just tossing this idea out there. I'm not in your unfortunate situation and am not an expert of any kind.

Have you considered meeting your family in a third country?

According to this website:

https://www.skyscanner.net/travel-restrictions

there a number of countries that will accept passengers arriving from Vietnam and from Sri Lanka
with "moderate restrictions" including those with "No quarantine required", such as Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, UAE, Cuba, etc.


Anyway, it's something you might want to have a look at. There's a box to choose your current location at the top, then you can click on each country for details. Of course, you'll need to confirm the info provided.

johnross23 wrote:

patmcgin2001 wrote:

Dear friends. my name is Patrick 
I am a foreigner with a Vietnam wife and we live in district 7 Ho Chi Minh. Due to marriage in Vietnam i already hold a visa exemption waiver in my passport. My work takes me around Asia and currently I have been stranded in Sri Lanka for last 8 months  as with some  of you there in Vietnam with no obvious way to  get home to Vietnam to be with my family . I have visited the Vietnam consulate 3 times here and all I get from them is Gov not allowing foreigner husbands  entry to Vn even with a visa exemption in passport .
Can anyone give me advice on how I can get back into Vietnam so that I  can be with my family there. or  if anyone has any idea when an opportunity will arise that will allow me to travel home.
many thanks .

Howdy Patrick -


I'm just tossing this idea out there. I'm not in your unfortunate situation and am not an expert of any kind.

Have you considered meeting your family in a third country?

According to this website:

https://www.skyscanner.net/travel-restrictions

there a number of countries that will accept passengers arriving from Vietnam and from Sri Lanka
with "moderate restrictions" including those with "No quarantine required", such as Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, UAE, Cuba, etc.


Anyway, it's something you might want to have a look at. There's a box to choose your current location at the top, then you can click on each country for details. Of course, you'll need to confirm the info provided.

Thanks John , yes that option  has been sitting on the back burner for a while. If  Srilanka really opens up their borders  I  would have her here in a blink, but a more convenient option for us both is Hong Kong , we both still have our residence cards so we can still enter. It's looking like the only practical option open to us at this time.

patmcgin2001 wrote:

Thanks John , yes that option  has been sitting on the back burner for a while. If  Srilanka really opens up their borders  I  would have her here in a blink, but a more convenient option for us both is Hong Kong , we both still have our residence cards so we can still enter. It's looking like the only practical option open to us at this time.

Don’t forget that if you do that, if your wife wants to return to Vietnam, she will have to go through the 14 day quarantine.

johnross23 wrote:

patmcgin2001 wrote:

Dear friends. my name is Patrick 
I am a foreigner with a Vietnam wife and we live in district 7 Ho Chi Minh. Due to marriage in Vietnam i already hold a visa exemption waiver in my passport. My work takes me around Asia and currently I have been stranded in Sri Lanka for last 8 months  as with some  of you there in Vietnam with no obvious way to  get home to Vietnam to be with my family . I have visited the Vietnam consulate 3 times here and all I get from them is Gov not allowing foreigner husbands  entry to Vn even with a visa exemption in passport .
Can anyone give me advice on how I can get back into Vietnam so that I  can be with my family there. or  if anyone has any idea when an opportunity will arise that will allow me to travel home.
many thanks .

Howdy Patrick -


I'm just tossing this idea out there. I'm not in your unfortunate situation and am not an expert of any kind.

Have you considered meeting your family in a third country?

According to this website:

https://www.skyscanner.net/travel-restrictions

there a number of countries that will accept passengers arriving from Vietnam and from Sri Lanka
with "moderate restrictions" including those with "No quarantine required", such as Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, UAE, Cuba, etc.


Anyway, it's something you might want to have a look at. There's a box to choose your current location at the top, then you can click on each country for details. Of course, you'll need to confirm the info provided.

OK , I finally made the decision to open my own company in Vietnam, as I feel time is against me and this may be my one  and only shot  to get there, as I only see more  stricter lock downs and stricter conditions being put in place to even get my butt on a plane seat.

patmcgin2001 wrote:

johnross23 wrote:

patmcgin2001 wrote:

Dear friends. my name is Patrick 
I am a foreigner with a Vietnam wife and we live in district 7 Ho Chi Minh. Due to marriage in Vietnam i already hold a visa exemption waiver in my passport. My work takes me around Asia and currently I have been stranded in Sri Lanka for last 8 months  as with some  of you there in Vietnam with no obvious way to  get home to Vietnam to be with my family . I have visited the Vietnam consulate 3 times here and all I get from them is Gov not allowing foreigner husbands  entry to Vn even with a visa exemption in passport .
Can anyone give me advice on how I can get back into Vietnam so that I  can be with my family there. or  if anyone has any idea when an opportunity will arise that will allow me to travel home.
many thanks .

Howdy Patrick -


I'm just tossing this idea out there. I'm not in your unfortunate situation and am not an expert of any kind.

Have you considered meeting your family in a third country?

According to this website:

https://www.skyscanner.net/travel-restrictions

there a number of countries that will accept passengers arriving from Vietnam and from Sri Lanka
with "moderate restrictions" including those with "No quarantine required", such as Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, UAE, Cuba, etc.


Anyway, it's something you might want to have a look at. There's a box to choose your current location at the top, then you can click on each country for details. Of course, you'll need to confirm the info provided.

OK , I finally made the decision to open my own company in Vietnam, as I feel time is against me and this may be my one  and only shot  to get there, as I only see more  stricter lock downs and stricter conditions being put in place to even get my butt on a plane seat.

That's a great idea.

You should probably immediately send your wife all of the money required and have her get the ball rolling for you

***

danfolambert wrote:

***

Thanks for the advise mate ,I have always had that route in my pkt and I have conducted lots of home work on this routing .This was going to be my Hail Mary plan .  In a very worst case scenario  nothing no gov , no person , no situation will stop me getting home to my family.  No locals would be needed as well .
But the good news is I have already started the process to enter Vn, happy to say legally and under the current gov restrictions . I am positive of have in early Jan a visa on my passport that will allow me to legally enter Vn.

I talked to my local agent to get back in since my wife leaves in Hanoi and I am stranded also in canada since March. To try to get in you have to go thru an agency that charges $3000 to make papers and get approval from 4 different ministries,  after that u need to get a visa after that u need to get hotel reservation for your 14 days quarantine and tests after that u need to find flights. To come to vietnam.... There is no guarantee that the 4 ministries will approve your return.anyone of them can refuse and bybye the $3000.... I abandon the idea of coming back to vietnam until next year maybe .... Good luck..m

Please don't make things worse by spreading crazy conspiracy theories.  There is NO agenda to prevent international movement, beyond obvious safeguards against the spread of this very real virus.  Reality is bad enough, no need to make it worse.

AlmostDunRoamin wrote:

Please don't make things worse by spreading crazy conspiracy theories.  There is NO agenda to prevent international movement, beyond obvious safeguards against the spread of this very real virus.  Reality is bad enough, no need to make it worse.

I am not as adamant about the quote function as some people, but to whom are you addressing your comment? 

(To any grammar experts:  Is it "to who" or "to whom?"  )

If u are addressing your comments to me , my comments wEre not crazy rumors but fact from my company agent in HCMC...

THIGV wrote:

AlmostDunRoamin wrote:

Please don't make things worse by spreading crazy conspiracy theories.  There is NO agenda to prevent international movement, beyond obvious safeguards against the spread of this very real virus.  Reality is bad enough, no need to make it worse.

I am not as adamant about the quote function as some people, but to whom are you addressing your comment? 

(To any grammar experts:  Is it "to who" or "to whom?"  )

The rule is :-
"Whom should be used to refer to the object of a verb or preposition. When in doubt, try this simple trick: If you can replace the word with “he”' or “'she,” use who. If you can replace it with “him” or “her,” use whom. Who should be used to refer to the subject of a sentence."

Andybris2020 wrote:

THIGV wrote:

AlmostDunRoamin wrote:

Please don't make things worse by spreading crazy conspiracy theories.  There is NO agenda to prevent international movement, beyond obvious safeguards against the spread of this very real virus.  Reality is bad enough, no need to make it worse.

I am not as adamant about the quote function as some people, but to whom are you addressing your comment? 

(To any grammar experts:  Is it "to who" or "to whom?"  )

The rule is :-
"Whom should be used to refer to the object of a verb or preposition. When in doubt, try this simple trick: If you can replace the word with “he”' or “'she,” use who. If you can replace it with “him” or “her,” use whom. Who should be used to refer to the subject of a sentence."

Look who's talking..only kidding..'he is talking'...not 'him is talking'. The rule you mention works perfectly. 

To be fair, i've had to look this up so many times. Let's see if I can remember it next time I encounter it. Have a feeling it can be - now that it's been discussed.

(Grammer boffs: is it best to use '-' for punctuation here or is it a semicolon?

My reasoning for using a dash was that the second sentence backs up the first. However, feel a semicolon would work just as well as the sentences are related yet Independent. Are there any examples where either would work or is it always (or pretty much always) one is right the other is wrong?)

Hi,
It was a joke, sorry

THIGV wrote:

(To any grammar experts:  Is it "to who" or "to whom?"  )

I'm not a grammar expert, but I do know for certain that it's "to whom".  "Who" is a subjective pronoun while "whom" is the object form of who. 

Incorrect: "To who are you addressing the comment?" because it's equal to "Are you addressing the comment to I?"

Correct:  "To whom are you addressing the comment?" because it's equal to "Are you addressing the comment to me?"

And no, the excuse of "that's only in formal writing, people do not speak that way in casual conversation" just doesn't wash because people do use correct grammar in everyday conversation. 

That particular excuse can only be justified for the incorrect sentence "If I was in your situation" because the subjunctive tense is rather formal for ESL students (although it shouldn't be for native speakers or someone who has been speaking the language for more than a few years).

While we're at it, folks, it's "between you and me", not "between you and I".  Same rule as above.

Being a bookworm, I've left many, many books unfinished when the basic rules of grammar -- me/I, it's/its ("The dog wags its tail", not "The dog wags it's tail"), who/that ("The girl who got away", not "The girl that got away"), who's/whose ("Whose book is this?", not "Who's book is this?"), who/whom, your/you're, could/couldn't ("I couldn't care less", not "I could care less")  -- were ignored.  IMO, it's a sign of sloppy writing and disrespect to the readers when a writer doesn't bother with proper grammar.

Not to you, SergG., - to whomever (not whoever ) was writing to the effect that governments who show us something with one hand and claim that it's for our safety always have something much worse in the other hand.  It's sometimes true, and more often true about some governments than others, but in this instance I'm sure it's not true.  Conspiracy theories about this very real virus have needlessly cost lives already.

The info from my wife is similar to that from SergGugu's agent and the UK /  US gov't web sites: the only legal way back, unless you have lots of money to invest, is if a VN company will make an application on the grounds that they need your special skills; this has to be done by them locally, it's likely to be expensive and there's no guarantee of success.  If there is another way, I'd love to know about it.

My wife and our young son live near HCMC; I've been stuck in Europe since Jan so have seen them only on Skype since then.  I've given up hope of getting back for Xmas: I don't think that this will change until a vaccine is available.  As for flights, well, the airlines will start to fly there again when more people are allowed to go there but, probably, not until then (why should they?).  As I remind my wife regularly, the best plan for folks like us is probably to be patient and strong while we wait.  We'll all get home to our families eventually, as long as Covid doesn't get us first.

That said, I think the VN gov't's refusal to except spouses from the entry ban cannot be justified by the amount of risk that we'd present, allowing for testing and quarantine, and is unreasonable and inhumane to the point of cruelty.

AlmostDunRoamin wrote:

...the only legal way back, unless you have lots of money to invest, is if a VN company will make an application on the grounds that they need your special skills; this has to be done by them locally, it's likely to be expensive and there's no guarantee of success.

That's it in a nutshell.

Other comments in this thread which imply there is some other little-known way to accomplish this (to be revealed in private messages and secret phone conversations) smack of trolls attempting to separate desperate people from their financial resources.

it does not seem that there is any other way . the $3000 fee is supposed to cover the local agency  applying for you  plus his special expenses dealing with those 4 government agencies people..........
i have resigned myself to hope to get home by april,not before..... 14 months from home and my businesses.... thanks God someone invented Zoom...hahahah

SergGugu wrote:

it does not seem that there is any other way . the $3000 fee is supposed to cover the local agency  applying for you  plus his special expenses dealing with those 4 government agencies people..........
i have resigned myself to hope to get home by april,not before..... 14 months from home and my businesses.... thanks God someone invented Zoom...hahahah

It sounds as if you are describing a Headhunter or someone who is going to find you the job based on your qualifications, and then kickstart the applications for expert status?

If so that's a lot different from someone who has the promise of employment and now needs the employer to get them certified with the government

Has anyone in the Forum heard about special agents who can find and secure employment for people which will then lead to expert status and a valid entry visa?

This situation has taken on a new urgency in my family.  My mother-in-law fell and broke her hip.  This can be life threatening at her age.  She is scheduled to have a pin put in today.  As my wife still holds her Vietnamese passport, we suppose that she could travel home by jumping through several hoops including contacts with her consulate in SF, travel to a third country such as Japan or Korea, and a 14 day quarantine on arrival.  By that time, it would be well over a month or maybe two.   Of course we would not even consider attempting to have me go with her.  There is little or nothing that we can do but it is still very frustrating.

No I am referring to an agency that just do the paper work for those 4 ministries to let u in as an expert to support my local distributor to install equipment vietnamese companies bought..

SergGugu wrote:

No I am referring to an agency that just do the paper work for those 4 ministries to let u in as an expert to support my local distributor to install equipment vietnamese companies bought..

That makes sense and the expert status would be all but guaranteed since nobody here would have the experience and knowledge to complete the installation.  Also it is a case where the expert would be truly supporting a Vietnamese company and I do think that was the true intent of the exemption.  Let's face it, it was put into place to serve the Samsung and Sony type of  companies of the world that have a presence here because Vietnam knows where their bread is buttered.  How far that trickles down has yet to be seen but the bigger the company the more likely it is to be approved.

Exactly Samsung LG have leverage
For all other companies we have to go to that intermediary that pockets a lot of $$$$ With no guarantee....

Hello OceanB, there are some agencies that can help with all the process, prices from 3000 to 5000. there is a Vietnam travel community in booking dot com talking about it with some recommendations, myself just waiting for a suitable flight to finally return home. please send me a private message if you need any other details I'm not sure how much info I'm allowed to share here.

Vmex wrote:

Hello OceanB, there are some agencies that can help with all the process, prices from 3000 to 5000. there is a Vietnam travel community in booking dot com talking about it with some recommendations, myself just waiting for a suitable flight to finally return home. please send me a private message if you need any other details I'm not sure how much info I'm allowed to share here.

If you’re waiting for a flight, look up which airlines arrive internationally (Saigon airport arrivals board can be viewed online) and contact these airlines by phone or email. These flights can’t be booked on their websites, but maybe there’s a possibility if you contact them.

Vmex wrote:

Hello OceanB, there are some agencies that can help with all the process, prices from 3000 to 5000. there is a Vietnam travel community in booking dot com talking about it with some recommendations, myself just waiting for a suitable flight to finally return home. please send me a private message if you need any other details I'm not sure how much info I'm allowed to share here.

It's just a really crooked system when the employee has to pay all of that upfront to get a job.

We often get reports on here about schools trying to hire teachers that way.

Even if the job is legal it's a bad deal.

Really, the employer should pay.

It seems to me that a legitimate Headhunter would find the qualified employees and then match them with an employer who is willing to pay the expenses to get the employee.

Also, from a previous post, it sounds as if they want this money up front, with no absolute guarantee that the government is going to approve them, which opens this method up to great scam possibilities.

I would think that anybody reading this thread right now from a country outside Vietnam, wanting to come here and get a job, should be really, really, really careful about trying to get in the country this way