Wednesday, 11:14 21/01/2015
Immigration procedures eased for cruise passengers
It took around one and a half hours, instead of 10 hours, to complete immigration procedures for a cruise ship carrying a thousand passengers last week thanks to the Prime Minister’s swift action to streamline immigration regulations for international cruise vessels.
According to tour operators, the duration of immigration processing for cruise passengers who want to take overland sightseeing tours during their ship’s short visits is now the same as before. Prior to December 31 last year, cruise tourists were required to obtain landing permission rather than visa to get onshore for sightseeing.
“We served around 2,000 passengers on board the cruise vessel Aida Sol on Friday but it took around one and a half hours to finish immigration procedures while this very ship spent around 10 hours a week earlier to do go through the immigration process,” said Phan Xuan Anh, advisor to the local tour firm Tan Hong, which specializes in serving cruise ships.
Immigration officers prepare documents in advance, and then board the ship off the coast of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province for passport control until the vessel arrives at Tan Cang Cai Mep port of the province. Therefore, the procedures are nearly complete when the ship drops anchor, Anh said.
Under the current regulations, tour operators must provide information about tourists to the security authorities a week before a ship’s arrival. The security department will send the approved list of passengers to border control officers and travel firms.
Immigration officers will prepare landing slips in advance. However, travelers are still required to fill in an immigration form and submit their photos.
Under the decision of the Prime Minister, the immigration fee for each cruise passenger is US$5, down from the US$45 set by the new rules.
Earlier local tour operators said the new immigration regulations, effective from January 1, forced cruise passengers to spend more time and money to join overland sightseeing tours.
“We served around 2,000 passengers on board the cruise vessel Aida Sol on Friday but it took around one and a half hours to finish immigration procedures while this very ship spent around 10 hours a week earlier to do go through the immigration process,” said Phan Xuan Anh, advisor to the local tour firm Tan Hong, which specializes in serving cruise ships.
Cruise passengers of Aida Sol arrive in Tan Cang Cai Mep port of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province last Friday
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Under the current regulations, tour operators must provide information about tourists to the security authorities a week before a ship’s arrival. The security department will send the approved list of passengers to border control officers and travel firms.
Immigration officers will prepare landing slips in advance. However, travelers are still required to fill in an immigration form and submit their photos.
Under the decision of the Prime Minister, the immigration fee for each cruise passenger is US$5, down from the US$45 set by the new rules.
Earlier local tour operators said the new immigration regulations, effective from January 1, forced cruise passengers to spend more time and money to join overland sightseeing tours.
