Visas for Vietnam
A Vietnam visa is required for most nationalities. Note: Passport holders of Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain are exempted from Vietnamese visa from 01st July 2017 to 30th June 2018. For the rest of us, please read for more info on the visa process below.
1. You have two main methods of obtaining your visa, depending on how you enter the country:
- Vietnam Visa on Arrival (VOA) is recommended for those of you who will be arriving to Vietnam via air.
- Vietnam Visa at the Embassy is recommended for those of you who will be arriving to Vietnam by car, train, boat, but or air.
2. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time before you travel to organize your visa. You do not want to leave it to the last minute. I would recommend you do it around 1 month before your departure date.
3. Make sure to print out the letter of approval as you will have to show it before boarding the plane, as well as at the VOA counter on arrival to Vietnam.
We chose to use the VOA option:
1. You need to obtain a letter of approval, you can do this through your hotel, through your travel tour agency or through VOA focused agency.
An easy option is to simply use an online VOA agency to complete your online Vietnam Visa application.
4. Cost of visa for Vietnam: At the VOA counter in Vietnam, you will have to pay a visa processing fee of $25 US per person (for a 1-month visa, if you wish to stay longer, it will cost more money). You need to have this money in US currency and in the exact amount.
5. And the last important thing, you must provide 2 photos each to complete the paperwork.
Other options for obtaining a Vietnam Visa are:
- through the Vietnamese embassy in your country
- or at the local flight agency where you might be organizing your tickets.
Those choices, however, will be a more costly and you will be expected to hand over your passport as it needs to be couriered to the embassy.