Nguyen Quoc Hung, former deputy chief of the National Administration of Tourism, said this while taking part in a debate on the Vietnamese Immigration Bill in the National Assembly on Wednesday.

The money could be used by diplomatic agencies to support Vietnamese citizens abroad, adopt new technologies to help people enter and exit the country and promote Vietnam’s tourism image abroad, he said.

Hung noted some countries have this fee, including Japan, which decided last year that citizens must pay Y1,000 ($9.23) every time they leave the country.

"The Japanese government expects to get $400 million a year to invest in tourism development and help improve immigration."

Ten million Vietnamese went abroad last year, with an annual growth of 20 percent, according to the Vietnam Society of Travel Agents.