All about filming in Vietnam & how fixer in Vietnam facilitates your filming?
Vietnam film permit application
Why need a Vietnam film permit?
It is regulated by Vietnam law that all foreign production companies, movie studios, TV channels, or independent filmmaker who wish to film in Vietnam must apply for film permit to Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) or Vietnam Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST).
A film permit benefits you. MoFA or MoCST will assign at least one film officer to process the application. The film officer will work closely with a local fixer in Vietnam to prepare for your filming in Vietnam. Vietnam film fixer can approach an individual, a private company, an independent activist, an economist, an analyst by himself. But for state-owned company, organization, contributors who are governmental official, film officer needs to send them an official letter to ask for their permission to be filmed.
Processing time and fee to obtain a Vietnam film permit?
The standard processing time for the Vietnam film permit is 7 to 10 working days from the day of submitting all needed documents. As mentioned above, MoFA will assign at least one film officer to process the application. It depends on the overall scale of the production (number of crew members, shoot days, locations...). You are required to include the salary and expenses of travel, accommodation, and meal for the film officer(s) into your budget.
The fee for Vietnam film permit is charged on daily basis. But for large-scale projects, which include a large number of crews, many days of shooting, and a lot of filming equipment, the fee will be charged on a package basis.
Before MoFA issues the film permit, they will first request Dept. of Immigration (under Ministry of Public Security) to process and issue a journalist visa for all members of the film crew. Once the journalist visa approval letter is released by the Vietnam Dept. of Immigration, the fixer in Vietnam will send a copy to your crew by email. Your crew prints and presents the letter at Vietnam airport upon arrival to pick up the visa. The other option is to claim a journalist visa at the Vietnam embassy in your country to avoid queuing up for hour(s) at a busy airport.
The fee for visa stamping is around 25US$/person. Each member of the film crew is required to bring two passport-sized photos with him or her. Otherwise, you will have to pay 2US$ for your photograph to be taken at the airport’s visa counter.
Vietnam is not a carnet country. So before you arrive, the film officer will work with airport customs to arrange equipment clearance for your crew.
The film officer also informs local authorities of all shooting locations about your filming in Vietnam.
On behalf of the crew, the film officer applies for a drone permit to the Ministry of Defense. Fixer in Vietnam needs to provide film officer with information about locations (latitude, longitude) where you want to have drone flight and date of flying.
Can Vietnam fixer facilitate permits for filming in Vietnam?
Vietnam fixer can definitely facilitate a film permit. I will work closely with your film crew and film officer to finalize the filming plan and submit the application to the film officer. We will work together closely to prepare the following documents for submission: Completely filled out Press Request Form, purpose or synopsis of the shoot, daily shooting schedule, list of equipment, and copy of passport.
After the submission, we can change the filming plan slightly. For a major change, we need to discuss carefully with the film officer because the change may result in resending documents to local authorities. We may not have enough time to do this.
Vietnam fixer offers the following services
Local fixer is the extended part of the film crew and has extensive local knowledge. We’re glad to facilitate your filming in Vietnam with the following fixer services.
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Research prior to the shoot & content suggestion & find local contributors with unique stories, talents & model casting
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Location scout & management
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Vietnam film permit & entry through customs and immigration arrangements
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Equipment & props supply & local crew sourcing
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Support on set, translation & transcription
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Transport & accommodation arrangements
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Breaking news coverage
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The live production of sport, political and music events
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Supply of camera crew in Vietnam, camera crew in Ho Chi Minh city, and camera crew in Hanoi.
What client said about Vietnam fixer?
Anna Bates - UK Producer
Andy is quite simply the best fixer in Vietnam - if you’re filming in the country, he is the guy you need! We worked together on a BBC documentary series and he organized so much for us, from finding local, hard to find contributors to communicating with top officials, and from helping with transport/logistics to local restaurant recommendations - no job was too big or too small. He knows everybody! Wonderful to work with on location too, he is proactive, dedicated, creative, and has a can-do attitude. As well as being super friendly and a general joy to be around!
What makes fixer in Vietnam different?
Hiring the right Vietnam film fixer is critical to the success of your production. I am confident that I can make your filming in Vietnam goes smoothly. So what makes our team different?
15 – year experience in video production and journalist background
Fixer in Vietnam was started and managed by a professional film & TV producer who has more than 15 - years of experience in video production and has a journalist background. So we fully understand what you need to prepare. We not only need beautiful film locations, but we also need to interact with local people and explore the culture. For covering instant/breaking news, our producers with journalist backgrounds are fast-paced, responsive, and comfortable to work under pressure. We can film independently, do the interview, and then send footage to editorial desks.
Our Vietnam film fixer is experienced and professional
Our local fixer team is proactive, dedicated, creative, and has a can-do attitude.
We know everybody. What your team can not bring to Vietnam, we can source, and provide.
Vietnam fixer offers services at an affordable rate
I charge the rate of a single Vietnam film fixer - myself only. But in reality, my whole dedicated team of local fixer will support your film crew. My greatest happiness is to promote the beauty of Vietnam to the whole world.