One of the biggest, and I would say only gripes about being a nomadic expat in foreign countries is that the struggle to maintain a visa is something that always weighs very heavily on your mind. Some countries are different than others and Vietnam, for the most part, has been very "cool" about letting you stay as long as you want to provided you jump through the various visa hoops they have in place.
This was all fine and dandy back when I moved here in 2020, and their very lax visa rules was instrumental in my decision to move here in the first place. You see, Thailand is a wonderful place and I really enjoyed living there but the government seems to have a love/hate relationship with people who are trying to stay there long-term. Every year I had to come up with some sort of new scheme in order to be able to stay and this included signing up for language courses that I didn't want or need to attend and another time I was involved in a Krav Maga class that was kind of fun but mostly it was pretty clear that this place was a "visa mill" and the instructors didn't really ever try to teach you anything meaningful. They were very aware of the fact that most of the students were there simply for the visa and therefore the classes were bullshit.
Eventually, I got tired of duping the government and I was being warned by Immigration officials that they were not going to give me any more stamps so I moved over to what was at that time, a country that was welcoming basically anyone with open arms
I'm quite certain that this shot has been heavily Photoshopped but that is where I call home now. My condo is somewhere in the middle of that and I wish it was as lovely as it appears from that drone. It's pretty nice, I complain too much. I am aware of this.
During Covid times we locked down just like the rest of the world did and it did suck having to do all the mask bullcrap and being unable for a certain period of time to even leave your condo, but during all of that time Vietnam also suspended the need for anyone to even get a visa at all. There is a silver lining on every cloud I guess. That was the first and only time in my life that I was never constantly worrying about what the date on the stamp in my passport was and it was a huge load off my mind.
Then in January of 2022, right around when the world started to cool it as far as travel was concerned, Vietnam abruptly overhauled their visa policies. Prior to that time most nationalities were entitled to 3-month visas and Americans were entitled (for reasons that I do not know) to one-year visas. Vietnam changed the policy so that nobody was entitled to any visas longer than 30 days and this was about to become a huge thorn in the side of anyone that was trying to live here in the long term. This now meant that every 30 days the people trying to live here had to get on a plane or even worse, a bus to Laos and spend an entire day leaving the country only to turn right back around and come straight back in.
I have never understood why any country would make people do this and the only thing I can think of is that they are attempting to curb the amount of people living here without outright banning doing so. They are just trying to inconvenience enough folks so that they choose on their own to no longer attempt to stay long-term.
I was not thwarted by this and I cheated a little bit. It's an interesting story with lots of twists and turns but I want to save that debacle for another blog entry (stay tuned!)
Getting back to the point: These visa runs every 30 days are a pain in the ass but in the grand scheme of things they aren't really that expensive. If you plan ahead you can get a flight round trip to Bangkok for around $100, which might sound like a lot to other people but you need to keep in mind that at least in my past experience in Thailand, maintaining a visa year round was costing me around $1200-$1500 a year anyway, so financially speaking, nothing had really changed for me.
The problem for me wasn't the money, it was the fact that flying anywhere sucks just as bad now as it ever has and I can't think of anything I would rather not do with my day than spend it in airports and on planes. I like overpriced Burger King as much as the next guy, but honestly, I would gladly pay extra to not have to do that at all.
There have been rumors for quite some time about Vietnam bringing back the 90-day visas that existed pre-covid and this would really change a lot of people's lives for the better. The process will still be the same as far as the rather senseless flying out of the country just to sit in Bangkok airport for 3 hours and come back straight away, but at least it only has to happen 4 times a year rather than 12.
Other news that has recently come to light is that the US Secretary of State recently visited Vietnam and while they are just rumors, it is being said that one of the reasons for this visit was the reinstating of the 1-year visa programs for Americans. I think the guy's name is Blinkin, I don't really care, I don't follow politics.
So if this happens it is going to be absolutely awesome because we won't have to do this anytime soon.
This was one of the most terrifying days of Nadi's life and something I hope to never have to put her through ever again. I don't know who was more worried, me or the dog. I know that I will do everything that I can to ensure that this doesn't ever have to happen again and if the good news comes through and that 1-year visas have been reinstated for Americans, I am 90% certain that I am just going to decide to park our butts right here in Da Nang for the foreseeable future.
I wouldn't say that I love it here, but since it is so affordable here and Vietnam doesn't really seem to care how long you stay (as opposed to Thailand who seems to be actively working to get everyone out) I believe it just makes sense to stay put.
So my fingers are definitely super-crossed right now that this actually goes through and if it does, you are going to see one very happy American and his dog!