VIETNAM – TOURIST VISA REQUIREMENTS
Most tourists visiting Vietnam require a Tourist Visa to enter the country and all travelers must have a passport valid for 6 months after their planned exit from Vietnam. Asia Paradise Travel can assist and facilitate applications for Tourist visas; for other types of visas , please consult the official representations of Vietnam.
COUNTRIES EXEMPT
Nationals from Russia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland traveling to Vietnam and staying for 15 days or less do not need to apply for a tourist visa, provided that their passport is valid for at least three months and they can show their return ticket. Those who wish to stay longer than 15 days will need to apply for a tourist visa.
Tourists holding Thai, Indonesian, Lao, Malaysian and Singaporean passports also do not need a visa for a visit up to 30 days.
Philippines passport holders do not need a visa for a visit up to 21 days.
Japanese and South Korean passport holders do not need a visa for a visit up to 15 days.
TYPES OF TOURIST VISAS AND VALIDITY
A tourist visa is normally a Single Entry Visa, which means that if you exit Vietnam (for example for a side trip to Cambodia); you will require a new visa to re-enter.
There is also a Multiple-Entry Visa which has to be specifically applied for.
The Single entry visa is valid for 30 days.
The Multiple entry visa is valid either 28 or 45 days (see details below)
HOW TO OBTAIN A TOURIST VISA
Case 1: Visa application in your country before departure
In case there is a Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate in your home town.
Apply directly at the Vietnamese embassy or consulate. The length of the process can vary and each Embassy/Consulate publishes the application procedures online.
Exotissimo can assist by applying for the approval locally in Vietnam and sending you a copy of this “Approval letter” done by us (see below). With this + your passport + 2 recent passport-sized photos and the required forms your visa can be delivered much faster and there is generally no need to leave the passport at the Embassy/Consulate. The visa stamping fee will be charged locally when you hand in the passport. Fees vary from one country to another.
Note: A visa requested as a multi-entry at embassies abroad is often issued as a single entry; it is recommended to double-check your visa stamp in passport when collecting your passport and insist on changing it .
Case 2: Pre-arranged “Visa on arrival” at International entry points
In case there is NO Vietnamese embassy or consulate in your home town.
Send us all passport details as required below and we will process a pre-approval here from Vietnam and send you back an official paper stating your visa has been approved and will be delivered on arrival in Vietnam. Print out (Important!) and bring this “Visa pick-up upon arrival approval letter” to the airline check-in counter. Without this letter the airline will refuse you boarding.
On arrival in Vietnam, before going through passport control proceed to the Visa on Arrival (VOA) counter with your letter. You will then be asked to fill one more form, give 2 photos and pay USD 45/person (Single entry), USD 65/person (multi-entry until 28 days) or USD 95/person (multi-entry until 45 days) in cash before the visa is stamped into your passport and handed back.
Depending on the amount of people applying for the same procedure, the wait can take from 10 mins to 1 hr.
Such a VOA (Visa-On-Arrival) procedure is possible ONLY at the international airports in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Danang and at the land border of Moc Bai (coming from Cambodia tor Ho Cho Minh City). Please note that at Moc Bai border you need the ORIGINAL paper and a copy will not be accepted; please allow for extra 3 days to have original sent to you by DHL.
Before departure, prepare some bank notes in US Dollars to pay the visa fee on arrival.
For both cases mentioned above, Asia Paradise Travel will facilitate the visa application procedure and obtain the necessary visa pre-approval from the Vietnamese Immigration Department in advance.
We need the following details from applicants:
Full name as it appears in your passport
Date of birth DD/MM/YY
Gender
Passport number
Issue date and expiry date of your passport
Place of issue (e.g. Paris, France)
Case 1: Location where you collect the visa, e.g. Vietnam embassy in Paris.
Case 2: Arrival date and city and flight number (e.g. Hanoi, 24th of March 2023 on VN532)
Once approved we will send you the official document issued by the Vietnamese Immigration department (which is valid for all Embassies and must be recognised).
In Case 1 it is called an “Approval letter”, in Case 2 it is a “Visa pick-up upon arrival approval letter”.
The approval process usually takes 5-7 working days and a processing fee of USD 10 per passport is charged .
In urgent cases (less than 5 working days) an express surcharge of USD 20 will be charged.
A supplement for DHL fees will be charged in case you need the original document (land crossing Moc Bai from Cambodia to Vietnam)
NOTE: All the above information is provided to the best knowledge of Asia Paradise and will be updated regularly on our Agent site. Should you have specific questions for special cases, please do ask your Asia paradiseTravel Consultant.
