The Prime Minister has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to draw up plans to bring home Vietnamese nationals stranded abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with priority given to the elderly, the sick and people under 18.

All Vietnamese citizens are placed in quarantine as soon as they land in the home country to prevent the spread of the coronavirus

The repatriation will be done taking into account the concentrated isolation capacity in the country. All the returnees must be placed in quarantine for medical supervision as soon as they land in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was requested to instruct its representative agencies abroad to take citizen protection measures, encourage Vietnamese citizens to stay and strictly follow epidemic prevention regulations as well as laws of the host countries.

The PM suggested that foreign diplomats in Vietnam who have left for home should temporarily not come back during the epidemic.

The Ministry of Public Security will coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to examine foreigners with expiring residence permits, creating conditions for those who wish to return to their home countries, while deporting those who intentionally violate Vietnam’s immigration laws.

The Ministry of Transport will be responsible for transporting foreigners back to their countries.

On March 3, the Vietnam Aviation Administration asked domestic and foreign airlines to stop transporting passengers to Vietnam from 00.00hrs April 1 to April 15. The suspension of international flights to Vietnam does not apply to passengers entering the country for diplomatic and official affairs purposes or to foreigners participating in important diplomatic events. It also does not apply to experts, business managers, highly-qualified workers, and several special cases approved by the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control.