Hello everyone, I’m Linh – an international student in Japan who just returned to Vietnam in July. I returned to Vietnam on a commercial flight, and today I want to share some experiences during my repatriation to Vietnam.
At first, I applied for a repatriation flight from the embassy, but I didn’t get approval; then, I searched for information about commercial flights. However, there was so much information that I didn’t know what to do. I asked my friends and relatives for recommendations, and I was recommended to a reputable travel agency in Hanoi. My friend had previously used their service and was very satisfied, so I asked for information and contacted them.
Condition for applying for repatriation to Vietnam
- Have documents proving that the person holds Vietnamese nationality or dual nationality (2 nationalities including Vietnamese nationality);
- Have relatives in Vietnam who agree to sponsor;
- Have a detailed quarantine plan;
- Have a passport must be valid for six months;
- Have a negative RT-PCR test result within 72 hours before entering Vietnam. The RT-PCR template must be in English;
- Fill in and submit an online health declaration form within 24 hours before entering Vietnam;
- Commitment to comply with Vietnam’s entry and quarantine requirements.
Repatriation procedure to Vietnam on the commercial flight
Step 1: Find a commercial flight to Vietnam.
Step 2: Relatives in Vietnam make a sponsor statement for overseas Vietnamese to repatriate. The sponsor form must be certified by a commune-level People’s Committee.
Step 3: Submit the application for repatriation to The National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.
Step 4: Book flights, quarantine hotels, and arrange domestic transportation from airport to quarantine hotel.
Step 5: Test COVID-19 within 72 hours in the host country before flight time.
This is the repatriation procedure for those of you who want to find a commercial flight to Vietnam on your own; I used the travel agency’s repatriation service, so they did these procedures for me.
Quarantine period
After landing in Vietnam, I was taken to a hotel for a quarantine period of seven days according to quarantine regulations. The following conditions must be quarantined for seven days:
- Have a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test (by RT-PCR/RT-LAMP method) issued within 72 hours before arrival to Vietnam.
- Entrants who have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine (the last dose must be taken at least 14 days and no more than 12 months before the entry time). Or entrants who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 (must present certificates of the positive test for SAR-COV-2 by RT-PCR method of single sample no more than 6 months from the time of entry) are required to present certificates of recovery from SARS-CoV-2.
All entrants who do not meet these conditions will have to quarantine for 14 days at a concentrated quarantine facility.
Package repatriation service fee
- Repatriation approval letter;
- Air ticket;
- A 14 – day quarantine at a 3 – 5 star hotel according to the Government of Vietnam’s regulations (in my case, I was quarantined for seven days at the quarantine hotel because I met the requirements according to the government regulations);
- Three meals/day during the quarantine period;
- Test for COVID-19 on the first and the seventh day of the quarantine period (counting from the entry date);
- Shuttle bus from the airport to the quarantine hotel in Vietnam.
Fortunately, my repatriation to Vietnam went smoothly; I hope the information I share is useful to you and hope you will find a reputable travel agency like me.
