Provisional Translation

OTO No. 667 Classification MOFA-(1)
Date of Acceptance February 19, 2004 Ministry/Agency Receiving Complaint Cabinet Office
Responsible Ministries Ministry of Foreign Affairs Related Laws Law for the Establishment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Complainant The Japanese Business Association of Ho Chi Minh City Exporting Countries Vietnam
Subject Exemption of Vietnamese nationals from the obligation to obtain a temporary visa in Japan
Description of Complaint At present, Vietnamese nationals are obliged to obtain a visa even for a temporary visit for business purposes when they enter Japan. Therefore, a letter of invitation and a letter of guarantee from the inviting party as well as a written action plan are required, all of which must be with a seal of the representative director of the inviting party. However, Japan-Vietnam investment and trade have been largely growing these days due to the risk averting behavior for fear of overconcentration in Chinese economy and the increase of political/religious destabilizing factors in some Southeast Asian countries. Incidentally, the amounts of Japan's investment in and trade with Vietnam had rapidly increased as below from 1999 to 2002. Therefore, the simplification of entry procedures is considered to be an urgent necessity for the expansion of interactions between Japan and Vietnam.


 Number of cases/amount of
direct investment in
Vietnam		 Export value to
Vietnam		 Import value
  from Vietnam
1999 14 cases $62 million $1.48 billion $1.79 billion
2002 48 cases $102 million $2.51 billion $2.44 billion

In such situation, the Vietnamese Government has exempted Japanese nationals from the obligation to obtain an entry visa for temporary visit for business purposes/sightseeing since January 2004.
The complainant asks the ministry to consider the exemption of Vietnamese nationals from the obligation to obtain a temporary visa for business/training purposes in Japan.
Details of Measures 1. The ministry replied as follows:
(1) In implementing visa exemption, comprehensive consideration from the viewpoint of immigration control, security measures, etc. is required. In light of this, careful consideration is required in present circumstances before implementing visa exemption for Vietnamese nationals.
(2) On the other hand, the ministry is aware that it is necessary to facilitate visa procedures for human exchange, including sound temporary visitors for business purposes, in consideration of the progress of economic exchange between Japan and Vietnam. Therefore, the ministry intends to issue a temporary visa if a good businessman files an application for it.
(3) With respect to a seal of the representative director of the inviting party on a letter of guarantee and other documents, the ministry is now leaning in the direction of making a seal of a department head, plant manager, etc. be acceptable with a proxy from a director with the right of representation.

2. The ministry took the following actions after the reply.
As for a "proxy from a director with the right of representation," the ministry made it possible, on April 19, 2004, for a representative director or a company executive listed in the certified copy of register to entrust an appropriate managerial person, such as a general manager, department head, and plant manager, with the preparation of a letter of guarantee and a written reason for invitation by submitting a copy of proxy, with respect to invitation by a company listed in the stock exchange of Japan.

3. The complainant informed the OTO Secretariat that the ministry's position "careful consideration is required" was understandable and it believed the ministry had taken all the possible measures for the meantime. Therefore, the case was closed.
Classification of Processing Processed
(June 17, 2004)		 Directions II-a
Remarks A written reply was made on February 25, 2004.
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