Vietnam visa guide

A Vietnamese Entry Visa is required for most foreigners. It allows Vietnam visa holders to enter and exit Vietnam at Hanoi, HCMC and Danang airports or at any of its twelve land borders, three each with Cambodia and China, and six with Laos.

1. For those who are required entry visa to Vietnam, they need to arrange Vietnam visa before their departure by applying for a visa approval letter online to get the visa stamp at Vietnam International Airports (visa on arrival) through such travel agency service as govietnamvisa.org OR applying at local Vietnam Embassies or Consulates to get visa stamped.

2. Tourist visas are valid for a single 30-day stay. The government often talks about issuing visas on arrival to certain favoured nationalities, but as yet this sensible scheme has failed to materialise. Arranging the paperwork for a Vietnamese visa has become fairly straightforward, but it remains expensive and unnecessarily time-consuming.

3. It is possible to arrange a visa on arrival through Vietnamese travel agencies. They will need visa applicants’ passport details in advance and will send a visa approval letter to the visa applicants to confirm the visa to be issued at the Vietnam international airport of arrival. In Asia the best place to pick up a Vietnamese visa is Cambodia, where it cost around USD30 and can be arranged within the applying date. Bangkok is also a popular place as many agencies offer cheap packages with an air ticket and visa thrown in. See visa to Vietnam application for detailed process.

4. If you plan to spend more than a month in Vietnam, or if you plan to exit Vietnam and enter again from Cambodia or Laos, arrange a three-month multiple-entry visa. It costs around USD95 in Cambodia, but is not available from all Vietnamese Embassies. Our clients’ feedbacks indicate that personal appearance partly influences the reception you receive from the Airport Immigration Points. For instance, if you wear shorts or scruffy clothing, look untidy or unshaven, you can be in some problems. Therefore, the Vietnam visa applicants are advised to try the best to look ‘respectable’.