If you are going on a tour through Southeast Asia that involves multiple entries into Vietnam, you can make convenient use of the e-visa. Simply choose the option "Multiple entry" in the application form. You will then receive a visa that allows you to travel to Vietnam as many times as you want within the validity period.
Problems with the single entry visa
Until recently, Vietnamese authorities offered the e-visa only in a so-called Single Entry variant. The single entry visa allowed travellers to arrive in Vietnam only once. This led to inconveniences for backpackers and other travellers on tours through Asia that involved multiple entries into Vietnam. They had to apply for a second single entry visa the moment they left Vietnam. Or they had to go to the Vietnamese embassy in person to apply for a visa, which is far more complicated than applying for an e-visa.
Multiple entry visa Vietnam
The Vietnamese Immigration Department introduced and new type of e-visa in August 2023: the multiple entry visa. This visa allows travellers to travel to Vietnam as many times as they want within the validity period of up to 90 days. A surcharge of 25.00 GPB per person will be charged for the multiple entry visa.
The multiple-entry visa allows travellers to leave the country and travel back in, for example to visit Cambodia, Laos or Thailand. This offers a relief for backpackers and other travellers who tour Southeast Asia and want to make several stops in Vietnam. They can now use a multiple entry visa to easily leave the country for a few days and then travel back to Vietnam, for instance to visit the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia.
Visa application from Vietnam not accepted
If you have applied for and received a single entry visa and later decide that you want to enter Vietnam several times during your trip, the visa can be a stumbling block. If you travel to Vietnam and apply for a single entry visa for your second arrival in Vietnam while you are staying in the country, your visa application will usually not be processed. The reason is that you are not allowed to apply for a visa if you are already in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese immigration service can see in the system that you have recently entered the country and have not yet left the country. The new visa application will therefore be put on hold with the following message: You are currently staying in Vietnam. Therefore, you are requested to exit from Vietnam prior to your resubmission of documents. The only way to resolve this is to resubmit your visa application after you leave Vietnam. As visa applications for Vietnam take an average of 13 days to process, it may take a while before you receive your second visa to re-enter the country.
Flexible travelling
Backpackers and other travellers wishing to make a tour through Asia often do not have planned their complete itinerary before the start of their journey. They prefer to decide on the spot how long they will stay in a particular place and how they want to continue their trip. You usually do not need to have your entire trip mapped out before applying for a visa.
The application form for the Vietnam visa only asks for the details of the first overnight stay and not those of the entire trip. However, applicants do have to make the choice whether they want a single entry or multiple entry visa. Are you not yet sure whether you will arrive in Vietnam only once or several times during your trip? Then we recommend applying for a multiple entry visa. This will allow you to leave Vietnam between visits and travel back to the country as often as you like.