Last Spring, 2300 potential students and parents attended the fair in Ho Chi Minh City. The majority of students interested in studying abroad are seeking an undergraduate education, or graduate study in the fields of business and information technology. They are mostly self-sponsored, but seeking financial aid.

Market for international higher education
The main markets for international students are the major cities, mainly Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and, increasingly, Danang. Greatest demand has been for business/management and finance. Tourism, IT, applied/life sciences, and engineering, are also popular. Given Vietnam's development priorities and job market predictions, these trends should continue.

Vietnamese Students in the US
Vietnam ranks 13th among places of origin for international students in the US. The number of Vietnamese students enrolled in US colleges and universities soared from 6,036 to 8,769 , a 45.3% increase over the 2006/07 academic year. From October 1st, 2007 to  September 30th , 2008 the US mission issued 9,054 visas for Vietnamese students to study in the US, a 50% increase from previous year.
Over two thirds of all students visas issued by the US Consulate were for community colleges.
Vast majority of undergraduate are self-financing
Undergraduate: 67.8%
Graduate students: 18.8%
IEP/non-degree: 10.5%
Occupational Training: 2.9%

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OCS will be working with IIE again in 2009 as the official shipper of exhibitor materials to the IIE fair series.

As the IIE fair official shipper, OCS will keep track of all exhibitors’ materials, store all exhibitors’ materials in OCS overseas stations, and deliver all exhibitors’ materials to the fair venue one day prior to the event day.

IIE strongly recommends using OCS as your courier to ensure customs clearance and safe arrival directly to the IIE fair venue. Using OCS allows OCS, IIE and you to track your materials and ensure safe delivery directly to the venue.

If you decide to use another carrier to ship directly overseas, your ship-to address should be the OCS agency address in each destination country.

Note that neither OCS nor IIE will be able to assist exhibitors to track or to locate or to assist delivery of shipping materials if the exhibitor chooses another courier or does not follow OCS shipping instructions.

Participating institutions shipping with OCS will not need to make any international shipments. Instead, you can forward all your boxes to the OCS trade fair hub in Boston.

From its Boston trade fair hub, OCS will take care of the rest, including address labeling and export documentation.

OCS will pay all duties and taxes on your behalf overseas and will oversee customs clearance for you in the receiving country.

According to the long experience of IIE/Hong Kong, OCS performs all of these services seamlessly and automatically, for all exhibitors who choose to ship with OCS.

Complete shipping instructions will be emailed to all registered participants.
You can always contact OCS at fairs@shipOCS.com or call toll-free in the U.S. 1-877-2222-OCS.
(Please keep this contact info for your reference.)

Note: for participants NOT using OCS.

If you decide to use another carrier to ship directly overseas, your ship-to address should be the OCS agency address in each destination country. IIE has requested that OCS in each Fair city receive this type of “direct” freight.

After you register for the fair and complete the proper OCS forms, we will send you instructions on where to send boxes for each IIE fair city, and what the charges will be.

Please do NOT ship any materials to the offices of IIE or the fair organizers.

It is the responsibility of your carrier to deliver your materials “door-to-door” overseas to OCS.
Alternatively, you may ship your fair materials to the hotel in which you would stay. Note that you are responsible for contacting your hotel to arrange and confirm shipment.

Please make sure your carrier is able to clear customs in the countries you ship to, and make sure they can take care of duty and taxes for you. Please do NOT ship your materials as “cargo” or “door-to-airport”, because these services generally do NOT include customs clearance.

Again, if you choose to directly ship to your hotel, neither OCS nor IIE will be able to assist you to track or locate or assist delivery of your shipment. Neither OCS nor IIE will be able to assist if your packages are delayed in customs or undeliverable due to improper labeling or other error. Again, IIE strongly recommends shipping through OCS.

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A tourist visa is required. Please contact the Vietnam Embassy in Washington, DC (202-861-0737) or the Vietnamese consulate in San Francisco, and allow at least one week for processing. You may also download the information that you will need for your visa from the Embassy webpage at www.vietnamembassy-usa.org. Generally, you will need to provide the Embassy/Consulate with a completed application form, two passport photos, a check for the visa fee, your passport, and a return express mail envelope. Visas are normally good for 30 days from the date you specify that you will enter the country. You must also decide your port of entry because this will be written on your visa and cannot be changed later. If you indicate that you will be traveling for tourist purposes and arriving by air, your visa will usually permit you to enter and exit by Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City.

Because you will be in Vietnam for a short visit, even if you extend for a few days to visit local institutions, please apply for a tourist visa. List the hotel where you will be staying as your contact. It is not appropriate to list IIE because as a foreign organization, we have no authority over you and are unable to sponsor visas. If you list the Ministry of Education and Training or a university, you will be required to have them sponsor your visa, delaying your application.

When you arrive in Vietnam, you will first go through immigration where your passport and entry-exit card are carefully checked. Next you will pick up your luggage and clear it through customs. Do not bring videos, or lots of bulk materials for fair distribution as this may cause delays. If something is held at customs for review, ask for a receipt and pick up the materials later (most often it is more trouble for the customs officer to issue the receipt than it is to clear the materials). Also, make sure to keep your entry-exit card and customs form together with your passport as they will be checked when you leave Vietnam.

After clearing customs, follow the flow of passengers out of the airport. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have done a good job of clearing the immediate area outside the airport of independent taxi drivers and hotel agents so you can get into the city hassle-free. In Hanoi: If you do not have a hotel car waiting for you, cross to the transit island directly across from the exit and take either a Noi Bai or Airport taxi desk. The standard fare into the city is $15. They will assign a car and driver to you. In Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, if you have not already made other arrangements, there will be metered taxis lined up outside the airport. You need only tell the driver where you want to go. Please make sure that they turn on the meter and do not accept "quoted" prices.  

Leaving Vietnam
Vietnamese visas specify from which point(s) you are permitted to leave the country - usually Hanoi Noi Bai Airport or Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat Airport. If you indicated that you will arrive and depart by air, then your visa should automatically reflect your ability to depart from either airport. If you intend to exit from a place not specified on your visa, make sure to have the immigration office adjust your visa accordingly. It is essential to reconfirm your departing flight as soon as you arrive in Vietnam. The hotels can assist you.

Traveling inside Vietnam
If you have already booked in-country flights, it is essential that you reconfirm them upon arrival. Vietnam Airlines, the main carrier, has been known to delay, reroute or even cancel local flights with little or no warning. It is recommended that early morning flights be used if at all possible. Departure tax at domestic airports has now been folded into the price of the ticket.

Money
The currency of Vietnam is the "dong" (abbreviated as VND or "d" with a vertical line through the stem), and can easily be changed at the hotel, gold shops and of course banks. US dollars are also acceptable, but shops will only accept clean, whole bills. USD notes with tears, writing on them, or older notes (i.e., not the newly issued versions) may not be accepted even by the hotel or banks. Credit cards can be used at most hotels and up-scale shops and restaurants, however a 3% commission is usually passed onto the customer. Traveller's Cheques can also be used, but it is best to cash them at the State Bank of Vietnam to avoid all kinds of additional fees and commissions.

Health
Various health authorities recommend travelers to Vietnam get a slew of vaccines including rabies, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, BCG (tuberculosis), Japanese encephalitis, polio, typhoid, tetanus and diphtheria. Yellow fever is not endemic to Vietnam, but you are required to have it if you are traveling from a yellow fever area. If you are only planning to stay in Vietnam a few days and are not leaving the major urban areas, it is probably only necessary to make sure your regular inoculations are up to date (measles, tetanus, hepatitis A and B). There are very good international hospitals and evacuation services in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The hotels will be able to assist you in case of emergency.

Climate and Clothing
Vietnam has a remarkably diverse climate as a result of its wide range of altitudes and latitudes. In October, Ho Chi Minh City will be extremely hot and humid, while Hanoi will be slightly cooler, and less humid, although it may rain. However the tropical storm season will be over for both cities. Dress in Vietnam is more casual than in other Asian cities, skirts or slacks for women and short-sleeve dress shirts with ties for men are considered appropriate.

Warning
Be especially careful of pickpockets in the urban areas (particularly downtown Ho Chi Minh City and any market area). In Ho Chi Minh City, it is often better not to carry a wallet and simply carry your i.d., credit cards, and other money that you believe you will need on that particular trip out. Also please beware of drive-by-snatchings as you cross the street or stand at corners waiting to cross. The most common theft in Vietnam is by motorcyclists snatching bags of unsuspecting tourists. If you must carry a bag, please walk with it carried away from the flow of street traffic. Do not wear the strap across your body as it could cause injury during a drive-by-snatching if it does not disengage and you are pulled into traffic. In any event, avoid keeping anything of great value in your bags when walking on the street. During the fair, please keep any valuables in your room or the hotel safe as there have been instances of pickpocketing at past events.

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Hotel Equatorial Ho Chi Minh City
242 Tran Binh Trong Street,
District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tel: +84-8-3839 7777
Fax: +84-8-3830 3708/+84-8-3835 9969
Website: www.equatorial.com

Guestrooms at a special rate have been pre-blocked for the IIE fair participants. Please make the room reservation by 15 August and let the hotel know that you are booking as IIE fair participants.

BPlease complete and return this reservation form on or before 15 August 2009 to:-

Hotel Equatorial Ho Chi Minh City
242 Tran Binh Trong Street,
District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tel: +84-8-3839 7777
Fax: +84-8-3830 3708/+84-8-3835 9969
Email: reservations@hcm.equatorial.com or alicenguyen@hcm.equatorial.com

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• US Embassy in Hanoi
  
• US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City
  
• Vietnam National Administration of Tourism
  
• Lonely Planet World Guide, Destination Vietnam
  

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Dr. Mark A. Ashwill
Country Director
Institute of International Education - Vietnam
C9 Giang Vo, Ba Dinh District
Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: (84-4) 3726-2524
Fax: (84-4) 3726-2523
Email: mashwill@iievn.org