The visa landscape for Vietnamese passport holders

In the Henley Passport Index update published on 9 March 2026, the Vietnamese passport ranked 84th in the world, two places higher than in January. Henley counted 48 destinations that Vietnamese citizens could enter without obtaining a visa in advance: visa-free, with a visa on arrival, or with an electronic travel authorisation. The passport's highest position in the index's history was 78th, in 2006 and 2007. In the same update it ranked above the passports of Cambodia (85th), Laos (87th) and Myanmar (90th).

For scale, the Singapore passport, at the top of the index, gave access to 192 destinations. The index is built from IATA data together with Henley & Partners' own research, and it counts destinations, not the effort or cost of the visas that remain.

Several of the destinations that receive the most Vietnamese travellers, and many that would like more, are not named in Tuoi Tre's summary (whose e-visa group is only a selection): among them Japan, the Republic of Korea, mainland China, Australia, the United States, Canada and the Schengen countries. For most of them, expect a visa application in advance, with the documents and waiting that implies; VOV confirms the visa requirement for Korea. Check each with its consular authority.

Absence from a list is not a full description of a country's policy. Some offer simplified routes to certain applicants, and VOV described Taiwan as pursuing the Vietnamese market with "visa-friendly policies". The point for a tourism board is simpler: if your destination is not on the lists above, assume your Vietnamese visitors face a process, and plan your communication around it.

Where a visa is needed, Vietnamese travellers lean on tour operators. The Tet 2025 survey by The Outbox Company found that 44% of outbound travellers preferred all-inclusive tours. A tour operator that knows your visa process, collects documents and books appointments takes the risk off the traveller.

• Give Vietnamese tour operators a written checklist of documents, in Vietnamese, reviewed by your consulate.
• Tell the trade, early, about processing times in peak periods before Tet and the April and September breaks.
• If your country offers group visas, tour-operator schemes or multiple-entry visas for repeat visitors, explain them clearly; these are what the trade sells around.
• Publish refusal reasons in general terms so that agents can prepare applicants better.

• Rankings move when other countries change rules, not only when Vietnam's access changes.
• An e-visa is still a visa: it needs an application, a fee and approval before travel.
• Visa on arrival can carry conditions, such as return tickets or proof of funds, that an index does not show.
• Some exemptions cover only certain passports, purposes or lengths of stay. Read the destination's own rules.

The figures on this page are dated March 2026. Henley publishes updates during the year; when a newer count is confirmed from a source we can check, the page will be updated.