Vietnam
Capital: Hanoi
Location:
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia (slightly larger than New Mexico)
Registration Embassy and Consulate:
U.S. citizens living in or visiting Vietnam are encouraged to register in person or via telephone with the consular section of the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi or the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City and to obtain updated information on travel and security within Vietnam.
The Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi is located at 6 Ngoc Khanh, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, telephone: (84-4) 831-4590; after hours emergency telephone number: (84-4) 772-1500; fax: (84-4) 831-4578, Internet home page: http://usembassy.state.gov/vietnam/. The consular section's business hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. The Embassy's Consular Section provides the full range of services for U.S. citizens (passport services, consular reports of birth abroad, notarial services) and non-immigrant visa services (except K-1 fiancee visas).
The U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City is located at 4 Le Duan, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, telephone: (84-8) 822-9433, fax: (84-8) 822-9434, Internet home page http://www.uscongenhcmc.org. The Consulate General's business hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. The Consulate General provides the full range of consular services for U.S. citizens (passport services, consular reports of birth abroad, notarial services) and the full range of immigrant and non-immigrant visa services. All immigrant visa processing in Vietnam, including visas for adopted children and fiance/e visas, is conducted solely at the Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City.
Callers from the U.S. should note that Vietnam is 12 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time and 11 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time.
A copy of the U.S. citizen registration form is on the Embassy website and may be downloaded and faxed to the Embassy's Consular Section or to the Consulate General.
VIETNAMESE CIVIL DOCUMENTS AND PROCEDURES:
U.S. citizens who plan to marry a Vietnamese national in Vietnam should contact the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington, D.C. or the Vietnamese Consulate General in San Francisco concerning documentary requirements. Several documents will require notarization at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi or the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City.
Children born in Vietnam to one or two U.S. citizen parents may apply for an adjudication of their child's claim to U.S. citizenship at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi or the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City. A U.S. citizen parent who was formerly a Vietnamese national is required by Vietnamese law to certify that the child is a Vietnamese national in order to obtain the child's Vietnamese birth certificate.
Vietnamese law requires an autopsy before a death certificate may be issued for a deceased foreigner. In some cases this requirement may be circumvented with a diplomatic note from the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi or the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, particularly if the deceased was elderly or in documented poor health and the cause of death can reasonably be ascribed to age or ill health.
INS SERVICES IN VIETNAM:
U.S. citizens who wish to file fiance/e visa petitions, immigrant visa petitions, or immigrant visa petitions for orphan children should contact the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in Ho Chi Minh City at 65 Le Loi, Saigon Center, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, telephone (84-8) 821-6237, fax (84-8) 821-6241.
Consular Access:
The 1994 Agreed Minute between the United States and Vietnam provides for reciprocal access to each other's detained nationals. Bearers of U.S. passports who enter Vietnam with a Vietnamese visa, including those of Vietnamese origin, will be regarded as U.S. citizens for purposes of access. Therefore, U.S. citizens are encouraged to carry photocopies of passport data and photo pages with them at all times so that, if questioned by Vietnamese officials, proof of U.S. citizenship is readily available.
Despite the 1994 agreement, U.S. consular officers in Vietnam are typically not notified in a timely manner when a U.S. citizen is arrested or detained. There have been very significant delays in obtaining access to incarcerated U.S. citizens. This has been particularly true when the U.S. citizen is being held during the investigatory stage that Vietnamese officials do not consider as covered by our bilateral agreement. The investigatory stage can last months or longer and often proceeds without the formal filing of any charges. The problem of access has been particularly evident when the U.S. citizen is considered by the Vietnamese government to be a citizen of Vietnam irrespective of proof of U.S. citizenship. U.S. citizens, even dual nationals, have the right to consular access and should insist upon contact with the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi or the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City. Lack of timely notification of the arrest of a U.S. citizen and lack of access to detained U.S. citizens is the single most important consular bilateral issue between the U.S. and Vietnam.
Background:
France occupied all of Vietnam by 1884. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by communist forces under Ho Chi MINH, who took control of the north. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later North Vietnamese forces overran the south. Economic reconstruction of the reunited country has proven difficult as aging Communist Party leaders have only grudgingly initiated reforms necessary for a free market.
Ethnic Groups:
Vietnamese 85%-90%, Chinese, Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, mountain groups
Language:
Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Currency:
VND
dong (VND)
dong per US dollar - 16,010 (March 2007), 14,530 (January 2001), 14,020 (January 2000), 13,900 (December 1998), 11,100 (December 1996), 11,193 (1995 average), 11,000 (October 1994)
Climate:
Tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March)
Population:
79,939,014 (July 2001 est.)
Religion:
Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestant), indigenous beliefs, Muslim
Medical:
Medical facilities in Vietnam do not meet U.S. standards and frequently lack medicines and supplies. Doctors and hospitals expect immediate cash payment for health services. Common U.S. medications are not available in Vietnam. Medical personnel may speak only halting English.
Travelers may obtain lists of local physicians from the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi or the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City. Travelers are reminded that neither office may recommend specific medical practitioners or hospitals.
Safety:
In February 2001, Daklak and Gia Lai provinces, in the Central Highlands were the scenes of ethnic minority protests. These protests stopped traffic on roads leading to Buon Ma Thuot and Pleiku. Vietnamese authorities closed hotels to foreigners and prohibited airline travel by foreigners to those regions. Yok Don National Park in Daklak province, Vietnam's largest wildlife reserve and a major tourist destination, was also closed. The situation remains fluid, and neither the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi nor the Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City are able to state when this situation will change. Official U.S. personnel are not authorized to travel to the Central Highlands areas without prior consent from the Government of Vietnam. These travel limitations hinder the ability of the U.S. government to provide assistance to private U.S. citizens in those areas.
Vietnamese security personnel may place foreign visitors under surveillance. Hotel rooms, telephone conversations, fax transmissions, and e-mail communications may be monitored, and personal possessions in hotel rooms may be searched. Large gatherings, such as those forming at the scene of traffic accidents, can become violent. Taking photographs of anything that could be perceived as being of military or security interest may result in problems with authorities. Tourists should be cautious when traveling near military bases and avoid photographing in these areas.
Traffic Safety:
While in a foreign country, U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below concerning Vietnam is provided for general reference only, and may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance.
Safety of Public Transportation:
Poor
Urban Road Conditions/Maintenance:
Poor
Rural Road Conditions/Maintenance:
Poor
Availability of Roadside/Ambulance Assistance:
Poor
Traffic in Vietnam is chaotic. Traffic moves on the right, although drivers frequently cross to the left to pass or turn. Horns are used constantly, often with no apparent reason. Traffic accidents, most involving motorcycles and resulting in traumatic head injury, are an increasingly serious hazard. At least 30 people die each day from transportation-related injuries. Traffic accident injuries are the leading cause of death, severe injury, and emergency evacuation of foreigners in Vietnam. It is the single greatest health risk that U.S. citizens will face in Vietnam.
Streets in major cities are choked with motorcycles, cars, buses, trucks, bicycles, pedestrians and pedicabs. Sudden stops by motorcycles and bicycles to purchase food from sidewalk stalls make driving a particular hazard. Nationwide, drivers do not follow basic traffic principles. There is little adherence to traffic laws or enforcement by traffic police. There are few traffic lights. Vehicles do not yield right of way. Most Vietnamese ride motorcycles and an entire family often rides on one motorcycle.
Road conditions are poor nationwide. Outside the cities, livestock compete with vehicles for road space. Exercise extra caution in the countryside and on national Routes 1 and 5, as sections of both routes are in very poor condition.
Driving at night is especially dangerous and drivers should exercise extreme caution. Roads are poorly lit and road signs are minimal. Buses and trucks often travel at high speed with bright lights that are rarely dimmed. Vehicles of all types often stop in the road without any illumination, and livestock are likely to be encountered.
Motorcyclists and bicyclists should wear helmets. Vehicle passengers should use seatbelts in cars or taxis. The Vietnamese government has mandated the use of motorcycle helmets on major roads leading to large urban centers. Enforcement of this law began in January 2001 but application has been slow and sporadic at best. New laws have been promulgated concerning the use of motorcycle helmets in urban areas as well, though they have not been enforced. Child car seats are not available.
Penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol or causing an accident resulting in injury or death can include fines, confiscation of driving permits or imprisonment. U.S. citizens involved in traffic accidents have been barred from leaving Vietnam before paying compensation (often determined arbitrarily) for property damage or injuries.
Emergency roadside help is available by dialing at nationwide telephones: 113 for police, 114 for fire brigade and 115 for an ambulance. Efficiency of these services is well below U.S. standards and locating a public telephone is often difficult. Trauma care is not widely available.
The urban speed limit ranges from 30 to 40 km/h. The rural speed limit ranges from 40 to 60 km/h. Both speed limits are routinely ignored.
International driving permits or U.S. drivers' licenses are not valid in Vietnam. Foreigners renting vehicles risk prosecution and/or imprisonment for driving without a Vietnamese license endorsed for the appropriate vehicle. Potential drivers should contact any office of the Vietnamese Department of Communications and Transport to obtain a Vietnamese driver's license.
Most Vietnamese travel within Vietnam by long-distance bus or train. Both are slow and safety conditions do not approach U.S. standards.
