ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VIETNAM TOURIST VISA

Tuesday, 07/05/19

Vietnam is a land of miracle that goes back a thousand of year with many cultural and historical heritages recognized by UNESCO. As a foreign traveler, you are attracted by the beauty of Vietnam, so you are planning to visit Vietnam in the holiday. However, you do know how to issue Vietnam tourist visa, which is permission for people not included in the Visa exemption list to travel around Vietnam. This visa is valid from one to three months to experience such many captivating and spectacular sights in our country. You can obtain this visa via three ways comprised of visit Vietnam Consulates or Embassies nearby your living or working place, Visa on arrival submitting by online application and E-visa. For tourism purposes, the procedure and required documents are not complicated, which means you can issue by yourself or ask the support from legal travel agencies. All you need to know about Vietnam tourist visa is mentioned as below.

CITIZENS OF THE FOLLOWING 24 COUNTRIES ARE NOT REQUIRED A VISA FOR VIETNAM

Visitors to Vietnam must obtain a visa from one of the Vietnamese Embassies/ Consulates or via agencies on arrival unless they come from one of the visa-exempting countries. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months.

Citizens of Brunei and Myanmar are granted bilateral visa-free entry no more than 14 days;
Citizens of Philippines are granted bilateral visa-free entry no more than 21 days;
Citizens of Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are granted bilateral visa-free entry no more than 30 days;
Citizens of Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Finland, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Belarus are granted unilateral visa-free entry no more than 15 days
Citizens with APEC business cards from member economies of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) are granted visa-free entry with no more than 60 days of residence;
For tourists to Phu Quoc, Vietnam: Foreigners and abroad residing Vietnamese citizens entering Vietnam through an international border and travelling to Phu Quoc island, then residing under 15 days are granted Vietnam visa free entry. Passport are required at least 45 days validity. After entering Phu Quoc, in case travelers want to have a visit to other destinations or reside in the island more than 15 days, they will be offered Vietnam visa by the Immigration department right in the island;

Note that the citizens of Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Finland, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Belarus are granted unilateral visa-free entry no more than 15 days, after 15 days visa exemption they must extend their stay or leave Vietnam for their home or another country and it takes at least 30 days since the latest exit from Vietnam to enter again without Vietnam visa.

HOW TO APPLY FOR A TOURIST VISA IN VIETNAM

If you're planning to get the tourist visa in Vietnam, you could apply yourself in person at Vietnamese Embassy/ Consulate or E-visa portal, or via a travel company in Vietnam. The whole procedure for the tourist visa must go through 2 steps: 1. The first step, have a visa Approval Letter (Pre-Visa) sponsored by the travel company in Vietnam, issued by the Ministry of Public Security in advance; 2. The second step, the applicant pick up the business visa by themselves at the overseas Embassies/ Consulates of Vietnam, or at the international border gates or at the Vietnam’s international airports.

Obtaining a tourist approval letter from Vietnam Immigration Department

For the purposes of travel, visiting relatives, friend, the applicants are required the tourist Visa Approval Letter from the Ministry of Public Security in advance obtained by a travel company in Vietnam. The Visa Approval Letter is the legal document approved by the Vietnam Immigration Department to allow foreigners enter into Vietnam and pick up visa at the overseas Embassies or Consulates of Vietnam, or at the international border gates or at the Vietnam’s international airports.

The required documents need to provide both the applicant and Vietnam’s sponsor company

A scanned copy of the applicant’s passport;
Providing the proposed date of arrival (this is the date you want your visa to start from. The start date of the visa itself will be the day you arrive - you can enter Vietnam at a later date (up to your exit date) but not before that date, so be sure to take time zone differences into account);
Providing the place of picking up the visa (the visa can be picked up at either the Vietnamese Embassies/ Consulates in your own or another country, or airports of Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang or Nha Trang);
The visa duration for tourist visa is from 1 to 3 months with single or multiple entries (Only United States nationals are able to arrange one-year visas)
Normal processing time: 4 working days

Required documents for picking up the Tourist Visa

You are able to get your visa stamped at the embassy or the airport or border crossing, to do this you must submit the following documents:

Applicant’s original passport must be valid for six months from your intended arrival date, and must have at least one blank visa page;
2 passport sized photographs (4x6 cm);
The copy of visa approval letter;
Complete the entry and exit application form;
Visa stamping fee depending on the visa single or multiple entry and visa validity (USD25 for 1 and 3 month single, USD50 for 1 and 3 month multiple, USD95 for 6 month multiple and USD135 for 1 year multiple entry) must be paid in cash at the place of visa picking up

WHERE TO PICK UP THE TOURIST VISA

There are three options to obtain Tourist Visa for those that require it

Obtain the visa at Vietnamese Embassies/ Consulates in your own or another country or
Obtain the visa at Vietnam’ international airports including Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City, Noi Bai airport in Ha Noi City, Cam Ranh airport in Nha Trang, Da Nang airport in Da Nang City or Phu Quoc airport in Kien Giang Province or
Obtain the visa at Vietnam’ international border crossings, Vietnam has over a dozen international overland border crossings. These allow overland travel to Cambodia (via five crossings), Laos (via six crossing) and China (at least two crossings)

THREE WAYS TO OBTAIN A TOURIST VISA FOR VIETNAM
All foreigners coming to Vietnam for travel, visiting relatives, friend purpose recommend to apply for a tourist visa under sponsored by a travel company in Vietnam. There are three ways of obtaining such a visa:

Apply in person or by post through your nearest Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate;
Apply for a Visa on Arrival at the Vietnam’s international airports (VOA) or;
Apply for an e-visa online

While there are advantages and disadvantages associated with each of these, we recommend the Visa on Arrival as the best option for the purposes of tourist, business and work considering a trip to Vietnam.

Option 1: Via Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate
Key Features:

Traditional approach to getting a visa
Can be done in person or by post
Can be used to apply for any type of visa
The fee is uncertain as it depends on the consulate/ embassy
Can be used for any entrance point, whether by land, air, or sea
Takes about 5 working days to process, but can be sped up to 1- 2 days for urgent service.
Visa is stamped before departure.

You can apply for a visa through the local Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate either in person or by mail. To do this, you need to fill out and sign an application form, sending it along with your passport and a passport photo.

The advantage of applying this way is that you already have the visa stamped in your passport before leaving for Vietnam, which means you do not need to queue on arrival for your passport to get stamped.

The application process is not the most convenient, however, especially for people who do not live near a Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate. Moreover, the fees vary depending on the Embassy or Consulate, and the processing time is longer.

Option 2: Visa on Arrival at any Vietnam’s international airports
Key Features:

Convenient, as it can be done by completing an online application form
Can be used to apply for any type of visa (1- 3, or 6 months, or 1 year multiple-entry visa)
You will need to pay two fees: 1. Service fee for Visa approval letter, 2. Stamping fee.
The service fee is paid online to the service provider. The amount depends on the visa type (number of months and number of entries) and service provider.
The stamping fee is paid at the arrival airport when the visa is stamped. The fee starts at USD25 for 1 month and 3 month single entry, USD50 for 1 and 3 month multiple-entry visas. The stamping fee must be paid in cash (USD or VND).
Can only be obtained at Vietnam’s international airports in Hanoi, Danang, Ho Chi Minh, Cam Ranh or Phu Quoc Airport. Hence it is only an option for air passengers.
For tourist approval letter takes about 2 working days to process and can be sped up to 1 day or 4 hours for an extra charge. While the business approval letter takes 7 working days to process

Visa on Arrival is a viable option with various advantages. With Visa on Arrival, you can apply for longer-term and multiple-entry visas, and you do not need to go in person to the Embassy, or apply by post. You just need to submit an online application and get a pre-approval letter.

Option 3: E-Visa

Key Features:

Very recent, was only launched on 1 February 2017
Convenient, as it can be done by completing an online application form
Only costs USD 25, which is non-refundable if the visa is declined.
May be used for any entrance point, whether by land, air, or sea. (there are 28 entrance points, including 8 international airports, 13 international border gates, and 7 seaports.)
Only for 1 month single-entry.
Takes about 3 working days to process, and you’ll know quickly whether the application was accepted or not.
The visa does not need to be stamped on your passport; hence there is no stamping fee and no need to queue for your passport to be stamped on arrival.
Only available to citizens of 46 countries (including the UK and the USA).

Applying for an e-visa is our recommended option for tourists as it is most convenient and cost-effective. However, please note that this visa is only for visitors visiting for less than 30 days. Longer-term visitors will need to consider the other two options.

Please Note that the arrival port must be the same on the documents issued by Immigration Department. If you are to change the arrival port after receiving your E-visa, you should contact them to amend the information on the documents to avoid any issue on the ground.

As this kind of visa is very new, we suggest that visitors contact with Vietnamese Immigration Department via electronic system before processing the visa application.

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