Does the Phu Quoc visa exemption allow travel to mainland Vietnam?

If you already entered Vietnam under the regular nationwide visa-free regime on the mainland, moving to Phu Quoc does not start a separate 30-day island allowance. Your original permitted stay continues, and the date in your passport stamp remains the deadline for leaving Vietnam.

The 30-day Phu Quoc regime is mainly for travelers who do not have regular visa-free entry by nationality, and it requires arrival on a direct international flight to Phu Quoc. If a traveler already has nationwide visa-free entry to Vietnam, that general regime applies instead of a separate Phu Quoc-only period.

Important change: the unified 60-day visa-free regime for 93 countries is being abolished. A new system is introduced: 30 days visa-free for 54 countries (including Russia, USA, Canada, most of Europe, Japan, Singapore), 15 days for Maldives, Mauritius, and Seychelles. Russia also retains 30 days under a bilateral agreement. South Korea keeps 90 days under a separate arrangement.

The Phu Quoc 30-day visa exemption is island-only. If your passport was stamped for 30 days upon arrival at Phu Quoc, you cannot fly to another Vietnamese province and return — even if your total stay is under 30 days.

Russian citizens benefit from a separate arrangement: 45 days visa-free across all of Vietnam, regardless of which airport they entered through — Phu Quoc, Hanoi, or Ho Chi Minh City. Domestic flights between provinces are permitted.

The key is to check which stamp is in your passport. A 30-day Phu Quoc stamp means island-only access with no mainland travel allowed. A 45-day stamp means nationwide visa-free entry with freedom to travel domestically.