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General Questions about the Vietnam visa

  • Do I need a visa for my holiday or business trip to Vietnam?

    Do you have the nationality of Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria or Switzerland? In that case, you always need to have a visa for a holiday or business trip to Vietnam.

    Do you have the nationality of the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany or Spain? In that case, you only need a visa for a holiday or a business trip to Vietnam if you intend to stay in Vietnam for longer than 45 days.

    Are you only travelling to Vietnam for a transit? If you do not leave the airport transit area in Vietnam in between, are staying there for less than 24 hours, and if your luggage is already checked in on your first flight to your final destination, you do not need a visa. Do you want to access your luggage in between flights, or leave the airport? Then you need to apply for a visa.

    You can easily apply for your Vietnam visa online using your phone, tablet, laptop or computer. This so-called e-visa allows you to stay in Vietnam for up to 90 days.

    Apply for the Vietnam visa now

  • What kind of visa do I need for my trip to Vietnam?

    Are you travelling to Vietnam for a holiday or business trip and are you not intending to stay for longer than 90 days? In that case, you can use the so-called Vietnam e-visa. You can easily apply for this particular visa online. It is suitable for arrival by plane (cruise) ship, train or for other arrivals by land. You will receive this visa by e-mail as a PDF document. You therefore do not need to visit the consulate or an embassy for your visa.

    Apply online for the Vietnam e-visa now

    Do you want to stay in Vietnam for more than 90 days, or do you wish to live, study or work in Vietnam? If so, schedule an appointment at a consulate or embassy. There you can apply for a physical visa, which will be affixed to your passport by a consular officer once the visa is granted. When doing so, keep in mind that the costs will be higher and the delivery times will be longer in comparison to the online e-visa application process. A few years ago, you could also apply for a visa on arrival in Vietnam (VOA). The VOA has since been phased out and so can no longer be applied for. As a substitute, the electronic Vietnam visa is now available instead.

  • How long is my Vietnam visa valid for?

    With an electronic Vietnam visa, you can enter the country once for a holiday or business trip. This business or tourist visa has a validity period of 90 days. When completing the application form, enter the date on which the validity period should start. Both your arrival date and departure date must fall within this validity period.

    After applying for the Vietnam visa, you cannot change the starting date of the validity period. However, you may still change your arrival and departure dates, as long as they both fall within the validity period, which is also stated on your visa.

    Do you wish to stay in Vietnam for more than 90 days? You can extend your e-visa after arriving in Vietnam, but this process is quite complicated and costly. It is easier to leave Vietnam for a short time and apply for a new e-visa in a neighbouring country. If you are not comfortable with that, apply for another visa type before departure. You can do that by making an appointment at a Vietnam consulate or embassy.

  • What requirements must I meet?

    To be able to use the online application process of the Vietnam visa, you need to meet a few requirements:

    • You are a national of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland or any (other) country in the European Union.

    • You have a passport that is valid for at least 6 more months from the date you arrive in Vietnam. An emergency passport or a German child passport will not be accepted, but a diplomatic passport is accepted. Do you only possess an identity card, residence permit, child passport or emergency passport, or is your passport no longer valid long enough? Then it is recommended applying for a new passport first. A visa that has been applied for with a document other than the passport you are travelling with is not valid.

    • You have a business or tourist travel purpose. You are allowed to travel to Vietnam for a holiday, a visit to friends or family, a business trip conference or any other type of business meeting.

    • You will only travel in and out of Vietnam through:
    - International airports: Cat Bi (HPH), Cam Ranh (CXR), Can Tho (VCA), Da Nang (DAD), Noi Bai (HAN), Phu Bai (HUI), Phu Quoc (PQC) or Tan Son Nhat (SGN)
    - Border crossings: Bo Y, Cha Lo, Cau Treo, Huu Nghi, Ha Tien, Lao Bao, Lao Cai, La Lay, Moc Bai, Mong Cai, Nam Can, Na Meo, Song Tien, Tinh Bien, Tay Trang or Xa Mat
    - Seaports: Chan May, Da Nang, Duong Dong, Hon Gai, Hai Phong, Nha Trang, Quy Nhon, Ho Chi Minh City or Vung Tau

    • You do not pose a risk to the security of Vietnam and its citizens, for example because of a serious communicable disease or mental illness. You have also not been deported from the country by the Vietnamese immigration authorities in the past three years.

    Apply for your Vietnam visa now

    In addition to the aforementioned requirements of the Vietnam visa, keep in mind the validity period and maximum duration of stay in Vietnam.

  • Can I travel to Vietnam with a criminal record?

    The Vietnamese immigration service does not ask about possible offences or crimes that travellers have committed in the past. The form only requires you to indicate whether you have been deported from Vietnam in the past 3 years. This means you can apply for the Vietnam visa even if you have a criminal record. The application does have a higher chance of being rejected if you have committed a criminal offence in the past that the Vietnamese immigration service is aware of.

  • Do I need to go to the Vietnamese embassy to apply for the visa?

    Is your purpose of travel tourist or business, and will you stay in Vietnam for no more than 90 days? Then you do not need to visit an embassy, consulate or other visa agency for your visa application. Simply apply for the visa online using the digital application form on this website.

    To complete the application process, all you need to do is pay the fee and provide a photograph and passport scan. You can do that too easily through the website.

  • Do I still need to take the coronavirus into account?

    The coronavirus measures have been changed a lot over time. That is why it is highly recommended to check the page with the recent coronavirus measures in Vietnam well before departure, and just before departure.

    Check what coronavirus rules you need to keep in mind

Questions about the online application process

  • How do I apply for the Vietnam visa?

    You can easily apply for the Vietnam visa online. To do so, you can use a smartphone, tablet, or computer. First, open the application form of the Vietnam visa. The application form will ask for your contact details, travel plans and some personal details of each traveller. Fill in all the details carefully, paying particular attention to the passport details of each traveller in your application. Completing the form will take five to ten minutes.

    Open the Vietnam visa application form

    After submitting all required details through the form, you will be redirected to the payment page. On this page, you can make the payment for the Vietnam visa easily and securely by Visa, Mastercard, American Express or PayPal. Once the payment is made, you will receive an email confirmation.

    To complete the application process, you need to provide two more documents for each traveller: a photograph and a scan or photo of the passport. Once these documents are submitted, the visa specialists at e-Visa.co.uk will check whether your documents meet all the requirements. You will receive an email stating whether your documents are in order. If your documents are not approved, you can submit them again. Once you receive confirmation that your documents have been approved, you do not need to do anything more. Your application will then be processed. On average, the visa is granted after 13 days. In the case of an urgent application, it is granted after 5 days on average.

  • Should I have already planned my trip before applying for the visa?

    It is not necessary to have planned the entire trip before applying for your Vietnam visa, nor do you need to have made any bookings yet. However, it is important that you know when you are travelling to Vietnam. In the application form, you need to indicate a starting date of the Vietnam visa and the date of your last day in Vietnam after which an issued visa would already expire. The validity of your visa only starts and lasts up to and including these respective dates. If you arrive in Vietnam later than this starting date or if you have entered an earlier end date, you will not be allowed to stay in Vietnam for the full 90 days or even a shorter period of stay after visa expiry. You may not arrive in Vietnam earlier than the starting date of your visa.

    In the Vietnam visa application form , you must also indicate where you are entering and leaving the country. You do not have to leave Vietnam through the same location you entered the country. Officially, you are not allowed to enter or exit Vietnam through any location other than the location listed in the application form. Many stories circulate of travellers who have done so anyway and encountered no problems. However, no one can guarantee that a Vietnam immigration officer will allow you to do so. In addition, some airlines will only take you if the actual arrival and/or departure location is listed on your visa. Please check the list of all arrival and departure locations in Vietnam where you are welcome with an e-visa on the Vietnam visa requirements page.

    In the form, you should also indicate an initial overnight address. Have your plans changed at a later date, and will you spend the night somewhere else? This is not an issue, and you do not need to inform the Vietnamese immigration service.

  • When should I submit my visa application?

    You can submit the visa application as soon as you know when you will be travelling to Vietnam, at which locations you will arrive and depart, and have found a first place to stay. You are advised to submit the application well in advance so that you can plan your stay in Vietnam hassle-free. Your application will be processed immediately once submitted. The validity of the visa starts from the date you specify as your arrival date in Vietnam.

  • Can I submit an application for another person?

    Yes, you can submit an application for someone else, but you will need the consent of that traveller. Once the application form is filled in, all details must be read out to the traveller for whom you are filling in the application. This person must confirm that all details are complete and correct. Do you want to submit an application for a minor child? In this case, one of the parents must confirm that all details are complete and correct.

    Alternatively, you can submit a group application for several travellers at the same time. To do this, you can click the ‘Add a travellerʼ button in the application form. This avoids the need to fill in all contact and travel details again.

  • Can I also apply for the visa on arrival?

    No, that is no longer possible. Apply for your e-visa well before departure, to travel to Vietnam without any problems. You do not need an invitation letter or approval letter to do so.

    A few years ago, it was still possible to obtain a visa on arrival in Vietnam (VOA). To obtain a VOA in Vietnam, you had to apply for a so-called “approval letter” even before you left for Vietnam. Both applying for the approval letter and obtaining the actual visa on arrival required payment. On arrival in Vietnam, it was also necessary to join a long queue to pay the so-called “stamping fee”. The total cost of obtaining a VOA was higher than the cost of the Vietnam e-visa. As a result of the introduction of the e-visa Vietnam, you will not only save the higher cost of the VOA, but also the long queue on arrival in Vietnam.

  • What details and documents do I need to provide?

    The application form consists of three parts. The first section asks for your contact details, i.e. your e-mail address, phone number and residential address. In the second part, you need to provide some travel details. To complete this part, you must have already made some travel plans. You need to know when you will arrive in Vietnam, where you will arrive, where you will leave the country, and you need to provide the address of your first accommodation. You do not need to arrive in Vietnam on the starting date of your visa. You may also arrive a few days later, but it is not possible to arrive in Vietnam earlier than the date you filled in. Read more about the validity period of your visa here.

    The last section requires you to provide the passport details of each traveller in your application. This is the most important part of the application form, so make sure all information is 100% correct. It is best to keep the passports of all travellers at hand in advance so that you can go through the application form quickly and carefully.

    Open the application form

    Once the form has been completed, you will be redirected to the payment page to pay the cost of the visa. This can be done safely and easily via Visa, MasterCard, American Express or PayPal.

    As soon as the payment has been made, you will need to provide two more documents for each traveller: a photograph and a photo or scan of the passport. The photograph may also be a selfie, as long as it is sharp, the traveller looks straight into the camera with a serious expression and the background is light and even. Moreover, the photograph should not be older than 6 months. For the digital copy of your passport provided, all data must be clearly legible and no part should be covered, e.g. by a finger. You may also submit these documents at a later date. Keep in mind that your application cannot be processed until all documents have been submitted in good order.

  • What is my passport number?

    A UK passport number consists of 9 digits and no letters. The letter o never appears in the British passport number. So it always involves the number 0. An Irish passport number always starts with the letter P and then followed by another letter and 7 digits.

    Are you applying for a visa through e-Visa.co.uk? Then we will always check that you have not swapped the letter O and number 0. If this mistake is detected, it will always be corrected immediately, so you can still travel without any problems.

    Have you submitted a visa application through another website? If so, in most cases this error will not be corrected and your visa may be invalid. It is not possible to still change a passport number; you will have to apply for a completely new visa.

  • What does a Vietnam visa cost?

    The Vietnam visa costs £54.95 per traveller. This is the total price of the visa, made up of the consular fee for the approval of the application by the Vietnam Immigration Department, the service fee charged by e-Visa.co.uk for processing the application and VAT. For urgent applications, a surcharge of £17.50 per traveller is charged. The cost per traveller always remains the same, even if you submit a group application.

    In the application form, you are given the option to offset the carbon emissions of your trip and/or register your trip with the embassy. These are voluntary options that can be booked for a surcharge. The exact price for this depends on your travel destination and nationality and is clearly indicated in the application form. This article provides further explanation on CO2 offsetting through e-Visa.co.uk.

  • What is the delivery time of the Vietnam visa?

    The average delivery time for the Vietnam visa is 13 days. If you need the visa at short notice, you can also submit an urgent application. These are issued after 5 days on average. The delivery time only starts when all required documents are received in good order.

    The times mentioned are not maximum delivery times or guarantees, but averages. In many cases, applications are approved faster, but sometimes delays in processing visa applications occur. This can happen, for example, when the Vietnamese immigration service is busy, when there is a technical glitch or during Vietnamese holidays. As a result, it is not possible to guarantee a delivery time. You are advised to submit your application as early as possible, preferably several weeks before your planned departure to Vietnam.

    Have you chosen for an urgent application? In that case, your Vietnam visa application will be processed faster. A visa specialist at e-Visa.co.uk always processes your urgent application within 24 hours, checking for the most common entry and submission errors. This happens even outside office hours and usually within one hour. If an error is discovered, you will be contacted immediately so that the necessary adjustments can be made and the application can still be processed quickly. If everything is in order with your application, it will be handed over to the Vietnam Immigration Department immediately. A surcharge of £17.50 applies to urgent deliveries.

    Apply for your Vietnam visa now

After submitting your visa application

  • How do I receive my visa and should I print it?

    After your visa application and required documents have been submitted, you will receive a confirmation email. This email will contain a link to your personal status page, where you can view the status of your application at any time. Once your application has been approved, you can view and download your visa in PDF format from the status page. At the same time, you will also receive an email and text message confirming that your application has been processed. The visa is an official travel permit for Vietnam that has been prepared and vetted by the Vietnam Immigration Department.

    Print each visa twice. You do not have to do this in colour. On arrival in Vietnam, you must hand in one copy. You must hand in the other copy when you leave Vietnam again. Keep the printed documents in your hand luggage, so you can show them even if you do not have access to your checked-in luggage.

    It is recommended to check that the details in your visa are correct after receiving it. It is particularly important that each travellerʼs passport details are error-free. Carefully check that the passport number, issue and expiry dates, full names, sex and date of birth are 100% correct. Is there an error in these details? Then your visa is invalid. It is no longer possible to change the details once the Vietnamese immigration service has started processing your application. If you discover an error at a later date, you will have to apply for a completely new Vietnam visa.

  • My visa application has been pending for a very long time, what should I do now?

    Once you have made the payment for your visa application for Vietnam, you will receive a confirmation email. This email will contain a link to your personal status page. On that page, you can see the status of your visa application for Vietnam at any time. Each time there is an update on your personal status page, you will also receive an email.

    The average Vietnam visa delivery time is 13 days. Please note that this delivery time only starts once you have provided all the necessary details and documents in good order. Also keep in mind that this refers to average delivery times, these are explicitly not maximum delivery times.

    Have you been waiting for your visa for longer than the average delivery time? Be sure to check your personal status page first, as it will state whether it is wise to contact us about this. Delivery can sometimes be delayed, for example due to random checks or public holidays in Vietnam. An above-average processing time does not mean it is more likely for your visa to be rejected.

    Take note: applications within a group application are always inspected individually. As a result, there are sometimes several days between the assessment of different applications within a group application.

    Have you not received any emails yet? Sometimes emails end up in the unwanted messages folder, often called spam box or junk folder. First check this folder if you can find an email with the subject “Visa application Vietnam received” or “Documents required for visa application Vietnam”. Cannot find an email there either? You can also look up the status of your application on this page.

  • Can I still amend my application?

    e-Visa.co.uk processes visa application almost immediately after the documents have been submitted. From the moment your application is processed, it cannot be changed. In many cases, changes are not necessary at all.

    In these cases, your visa remains valid, and you do not need to apply for a new visa:
    • You are planning to travel to Vietnam on a later date than the starting date of your visa
    • You intend to leave Vietnam earlier than the date you entered under "Last day in Vietnam" • Your accommodation address has changed/is not correct
    • Your home address or other contact information are not correct

    Has your arrival or departure location changed? There have been cases where travellers arrived at a different airport in Vietnam than indicated in the visa and did not experience any problems. The same applies to travellers who entered an incorrect departure location. However, this is no guarantee that an incorrect arrival or departure location will never cause issues. Do you want to be sure you can travel to Vietnam without issues if your arrival or departure location has changed? In that case, the advice is to submit a new application with the correct details.

    Some mistakes are always problematic and will make your visa invalid. In that case, you will have to submit a new application for the Vietnam visa.

    In these cases, your visa is invalid:
    • You want to travel to Vietnam earlier than the validity period of your visa.
    • You want to leave Vietnam later than the date entered under 'Last day in Vietnam'
    • Your name is misspelled (see also the question “My name is misspelled on the visa, what should I do?”)
    • Your passport number, nationality or the country code of your passport is incorrect
    • The date of issue and/or expiry of the passport are incorrect
    • The gender on the visa does not match the gender on your passport
    • Your date of birth is incorrect

    Apply for a new Vietnam visa now

  • My name is misspelled on the visa, what can I do?

    Do you have an accent or punctuation mark in your name, such as an ü, ä, ö, ç, é, è, ê, ñ of ß? These letters are changed automatically. Special characters in the name, such as umlauts and diaeresis, are not accepted by the immigration serviceʼs system. The name is therefore converted as it appears in the machine-readable part of the passport. These are the two lines containing many “<<<��” characters at the bottom of the plastic or laminated page in your passport. The top of these two lines contains your name (right after the country code). Is your name there spelled the same as on your visa? Then everything is in order and you can travel to Vietnam without any problems.

    Does the misspelling have nothing to do with an accent or punctuation mark? Then you probably misspelled your name yourself and the visa is invalid. Is someone elseʼs name on your visa, or is part of your name missing? This may be a consequence of your browserʼs autocomplete function. It is your responsibility to submit the correct data. On the verification page, just before paying, you still had the chance to check all the details. The only way to correct this is to apply for a completely new Vietnam visa.

  • My application has been rejected, what should I do now?

    In most cases, visa applications for Vietnam are approved. In the extremely rare case where your application does get rejected, it is very difficult to find out the reason for the rejection. The Vietnamese immigration service never gives an exact reason why a visa application is rejected. Usually, the rejection is due to one of the following reasons:

    • You do not meet the requirements for the Vietnam e-visa
    • You (knowingly or unknowingly) did not fill in the application form correctly
    • You have not completed the application form in full
    • The documents do not meet the requirements

    After your application has been rejected
    First, check whether you filled in the application form correctly. Most of the details can be found in the first confirmation email you received from e-Visa.co.uk. Check that all the details are 100% correct. Did you spot a mistake? Then submit a new visa application with the correct details. Cannot find any mistakes? Then do not submit a new application. Chances are that a second application will also be rejected.

    Your visa application has been rejected for an unknown reason
    If you do not know why your application was rejected, but still want to travel to Vietnam, you are advised to apply for a physical visa for Vietnam at the Vietnam embassy, which in most cases will still allow you to travel to Vietnam.

    You will be refunded the full purchase cost of your visa if your visa application is rejected through e-Visa.co.uk This does not apply to applications from travellers whose visa application for Vietnam has previously been rejected. e-Visa.co.uk cannot be held responsible for any damage caused by a delayed or rejected visa application. Read more about this in the terms and conditions.

  • Can I extend my Vietnam visa?

    It is not possible to extend a visa for Vietnam through e-Visa.co.uk However, you can extend the visa in Vietnam. To do so, you must submit an application to an office of the Vietnamese immigration service. This application must be made in Vietnamese, which sometimes makes it very difficult to arrange. There are also a number of travel agencies in the country that can extend the visa for you for a surcharge. As this is a complicated and costly process, visa extensions are generally not advised.

    In most cases, it is easier to leave the country within the validity period of your visa and reapply for the e-visa from abroad.

    Apply for your Vietnam e-visa now

  • Can I still cancel my application?

    Your visa application can still be cancelled until it is processed by the Vietnamese immigration service. This happens almost immediately after the passport scans and passport photos are provided. After this, you cannot cancel the application.

    Most travellers want to receive their visa as soon as possible, so there is no reflection period or withdrawal period in force. This is also stated in the terms and conditions that you agreed to by ticking a box while filling in your application.

Other/other questions

  • I am travelling with children, what do I need to take into consideration?

    A visa and passport are also required for children to travel to Vietnam. All information on this page also applies to minors.

    Is your child travelling without one or more of the parents/guardians?
    To prevent child abduction, special rules are in force for minors travelling abroad without one or more of their parents/legal guardians. In this case, the child must carry a written consent signed by both parents/all legal custodians. Furthermore, minors are advised to always carry a copy of the ID card or passport of each person with custody. For more information, visit the government page on this subject.

  • What vaccinations are recommended for Vietnam?

    The information on this page is not from a doctor, so no medical advice can be given. For information on recommended vaccinations for your stay in Vietnam, please contact your doctor.

  • Is a granted visa a guarantee that I will be allowed to travel to Vietnam?

    No. The Vietnamese immigration service always has the right to refuse you entry or deport you from the country. This may happen if the immigration service suspects you are travelling to Vietnam for a reason other than what you stated during the visa application. It is also possible that the immigration service decides that you pose a potential risk to the country and therefore does not allow you to travel into the country. In the vast majority of cases, however, entry to Vietnam should be without any problems.

  • I am taking medication with me, what do I need to take into account?

    You are allowed to take medication on your trip, but you should be aware of some rules. In many cases, you may need a declaration from your doctor. You can find out how to obtain this declaration and which medication this concerns on the NHS website.

  • How can I offset the CO2 emissions from my trip?

    After the application form is completed and before you are redirected to the payment page, you will be given the option to offset the CO2 emissions of your trip. By choosing this option, you pay a small surcharge that is fully invested in VCS-certified projects. VCS is one of the worldʼs best-known and most reliable certifiers of climate projects. Projects with this seal of approval are rigorously checked, so you can be sure that your contribution will actually have a positive climate effect. Some examples of projects this supports are reforestation campaigns in Zimbabwe, the development of renewable energy sources in Uganda or the installation of more energy-efficient cook tops in India.

    The amount of the contribution for CO₂ compensation depends on your destination. The contribution is calculated based on the CO2 emissions of your outbound and return flights. By selecting the CO₂ compensation option, you can easily ensure that you fly completely CO₂-neutral. You can read more about CO₂ compensation through e-Visa.co.uk in this article.

  • How will my personal data be stored and used?

    This website processes a lot of personal details. These include sensitive personal data, such as passport numbers, citizen service numbers and passport photos. You can expect it to be handled with care.

    e-Visa.co.uk ensures that your data is protected in accordance with the applicable privacy regulations (GDPR). To this end, both technical and organisational precautions have been taken. Your data is only processed via secure connections and stored encrypted. Your data is also deleted immediately if its storage is no longer necessary. e-Visa.co.uk has designed and reviewed its privacy policy in cooperation with Taylor Wessing, an internationally renowned law firm.

    Your personal details will only be processed in the execution of your order; applying for a visa for Vietnam. Your data will not be sold or used for other commercial purposes. Nevertheless, processing personal details always involves risks. Even if all precautions are followed. To obtain a Vietnam visa, your personal data may need to be shared with various government agencies. They assess whether you pose a security risk and whether your application will be approved. e-Visa.co.uk cannot influence these government bodies and what they do with your personal details. You can read more about this in the privacy policy.

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e-Visa.co.uk is a commercial and professional visa agency, and supports travellers in obtaining, among others, the Vietnam visa. e-Visa.co.uk is an official partner of the International Air Transport Association, IATA, with membership number 57231226, acts as an intermediary, is no law firm, nor does it employ lawyers, does not provide legal advice, and is in no way part of any government. You can also apply for a visa directly with the immigration service (640,352 VND per visa, via evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn). However, not with our level of support. If you submit your application via e-Visa.co.uk, our support centre is available to you 24/7. In addition, we manually check your application and all the documents you provide before submitting it to the immigration authorities on your behalf. If we suspect any errors or omissions while doing so, we will personally contact you to ensure that your application can still be processed quickly and correctly. To use our services, you pay us 640,352 VND in consular fees, which we pay to the immigration service on your behalf, as well as £34.97 in service fees as compensation for our services, including VAT. Our services have saved many travellers from major problems during their trip. Should an application be rejected despite our support and verification, we will refund the full purchase price (unless an application for a previous Vietnam visa was rejected for the same traveller). Read more about our services here.