How to get a visa for Vietnam – Visa approval letter or Visa stamp at an Embassy?
When I first visited Vietnam, I was extremely nervous then, I found a company online after searching for hours and hours, going through forums and the endless websites offering “help”. Not many sites were able to give me a clear run down on the process, what options there were, and most importantly, which companies can you trust!?
Now that I have been through this process more times than I’d care to admit, I can share my experience, thoughts, and advice with you!
How long can you stay in Vietnam?
For most nationalities, you can get a 1-month visa or a 3-month tourist/business visa. For the lucky people with USA passports, they can get much longer tourist visas and also the 6-month and 12-month business visas. There is also a 12-month tourist visa that Americans can get, and it is very cheap!
For just US $35.00 (plus US $135 stamping fee) US passport holders can get a 12-month ‘multiple-entry‘ tourist visa. Pretty good deal considering it is only available for US citizens.
There isn’t a huge price difference between 1 and 3 months tourist visas so I always go with the 3-month visa. If you plan on staying a while or you’re not sure, it can’t hurt and it’s best to avoid overstays as they can get you in a bit of trouble and you will most likely have to cough up the $$$.
What type of Visas can you get for Vietnam?
You get the option of a ‘single-entry‘ visa or a ‘multiple-entry‘ visa. If you plan to only enter Vietnam once then the best option is the ‘single-entry‘ visa as this is the cheapest option. Your other option is the ‘multiple-entry‘ visa, I have only used this a few times when I was jumping to and from Cambodia and Vietnam.
With both the tourist and business visas you can choose from ‘single-entry’ and ‘multiple-entry’.
How much does a Vietnam visa cost?
Depending which third party company you go through for your Visa-approval-letter, the cost of your Visa-approval-letter will range from US $21.00 (1-month ‘single-entry’) to US $55.00 (3-month ‘multiple-entry’). Then you need to pay the stamping fee when you arrive at the border. We have prices listed below…
| Type of visa (tourist visa) | 1 pax | 2 pax | 3+ pax | Stamping fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month single entry | $21 | $18.25 | $17.25 | $25 |
| 3 months single entry | $34 | $30.25 | $28.25 | $25 |
| 1 month multiple entry | $26 | $23.25 | $22.25 | $50 |
| 3 months multiple entry | $55 | $52.25 | $46.75 | $50 |
| Type of visa (business visa) | 1 pax | 2 pax | 3+ pax | Stamping fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month single entry | $119 | $114 | $108 | $25 |
| 3 months single entry | $140 | $133 | $126 | $25 |
| 1 month multiple entry | $119 | $114 | $108 | $50 |
| 3 months multiple entry | $146 | $139 | $135 | $50 |
| 6 months multiple entry | $361 | $344 | $333 | $95 |
The 12-month ‘business-visa‘ (only available for US citizens) will set you back US $506 plus the US $135 stamping fee.
Is it hard to get a visa for Vietnam?
The short answer is no, getting a visa for Vietnam is quite easy (unless you have been blacklisted due to previous visa violations in Vietnam).
I always suggest that anyone looking to visit Vietnam, follows the visa-approval-letter route, this in the most popular and simplest way to get your visa for Vietnam. Some people do prefer to contact their local Vietnamese embassy and get a stamp on their passport before getting to Vietnam, but unless you are near a Vietnamese embassy (there aren’t too many around) then the visa-approval-letter is a much faster (and cheaper) method.
How do you get a Visa to enter Vietnam?
For some, the first visa application may seem confusing as Vietnam operates differently to most countries. By including third-party companies to market the visa-approval-letters, Vietnam promotes tourism and saves plenty of money on administration costs.
Keep in mind that even though you apply through a third-party company, that company does not have the final say… The Vietnamese immigration department is responsible for issuing the letter, the third-party companies like www.vietnam-visa.com simply act as the go-between.
Step 1. Find a trusted visa company.
The first step is to visit a trusted Vietnam visa company like vietnam-visa.com. It is important to use only trusted companies, as there are a few fakes out there who will charge extremely high prices for visa-approval-letters. Some don’t even send a visa-approval-letter.
Step 2. Check the visa requirements for your nationality!
Most of the time there is no difference, for some nationalities like the US for example, you get some special options, some nationalities are eligible for up to 15 days ‘visa-fee‘ provided they meet the following conditions:
- Passport is valid for at least 6 months following arrival date in Vietnam;
- Passport has at least 2 blank pages;
- Citizens either have never been in Vietnam or return to Vietnam after 30 days from the first visit with visa exemption.
After checking the requirements for your nationality you can ‘click’ Apply online.
Step 3. Fill in the application form CORRECTLY!
Fill in your details and select which visa you want and the duration of your visa, make sure that you enter in all details correctly as mistakes made on this form will affect you at the border.
Step 4. Pay for your visa approval letter
After filling in all your travel details and personal details you will need to pay for your visa-approval-letter. After payment is cleared it can take a few days before your visa-approval-letter is sent to your email.
Remember this payment is for the approval letter ONLY, you still need to pay the stamping fee to the immigration officers once you have landed.
Step 5. Get some Passport Photos
At this time you should visit a post office or other business that can take and print a few passport-sized photos (white background only), these will be needed when you land in Vietnam and they are very useful in South East Asia.
**IMPORTANT**
Once you receive your visa-approval-letter make sure you print it in colour along with all other documents. Check your personal details (name, passport number, entry date etc) and make sure they are correct.
You might notice that there are other people on the approval letter, this is just the way that the Vietnamese immigration processes visas.
Step 6. Board your flight to Vietnam
Now that you have your visa-approval-letter (it is always fun typing that out), you will be able to show your airline that you have permission to enter Vietnam and get on the plane to Vietnam.
Step 7. Get your Vietnam Visa stamped into your passport
Once you arrive in Vietnam, you’ll notice that there is a long stretch of booths with different signs above, you don’t go here YET. Find the area that has lots of people standing around, in Ho Chi Minh City it is to the left and the immigration officers are sitting behind a large glass wall.
You will need to fill in your visa application form and attach your two passport-sized photos (they usually only take one but give them two anyway just in case), and hand it to the immigration officer behind the glass wall.
It will take a little while for them to check and stamp your visa, in the meantime, you can use the free Wi-Fi at the airport, 9 times out of 10 it won’t work… So it is a good idea to have something to do in the meantime, depending on how many people are there it can take 5 minutes to 1 hour to get your visa stamped.
So it has been an hour and you’re well and truly ready to go, one of the immigration officers will call out your name (don’t expect them to say it perfectly), make your way to the counter to pay for your visa. The stamping fee for ‘single-entry‘ visas is US $25 and US $50 for ‘multiple-entry‘ visas.
Note: I always take at least US $150 with me, that way you know that when you pay for your visa if there was a price jump for whatever reason you are covered and once you have picked up your bags there will be a few currency exchanges kiosks, I always change my USD for VND here as the rate is often quite good and 100% of the time better than what I get in my home country.
Step 8. Check your VISA! CHECK IT PLEASE!!!!
Now you have your visa stamp in your passport, CHECK IT! If there are any mistakes and you leave the country and try to enter Vietnam, it will cause a headache. Learn from my mistakes and ALWAYS check documents when traveling South East Asia.
Provided that all is well and there are no mistakes on your visa stamp, make your way to one of the kiosks where everyone is lining up. Wait your turn, be patient and smile. Hand your passport to the immigration officer (good idea to have it opened to the page where your visa was stamped) and wait for him/her to give you an entry stamp.
Step 9. Leave the airport and enjoy Vietnam!
Once you have your entry stamp you have officially entered Vietnam and can now collect your bags and get a taxi/grab to your hotel.
**IMPORTANT**
At all times when you are dealing with Immigration officers, be polite and don’t ask them to “hurry up”. I have seen it many times, there is always one person (usually from the States) after a long flight, who asks the immigration officers to “hurry up” or ask “when will my visa be ready?”… Big mistake, this will often add an extra hour to your wait time.
So just smile, relax and enjoy the AC, you’ll be outside in the 34+ degree heat soon and face the notorious sea of scooters, as patience is key in Vietnam and keeping a friendly face always makes interactions smoother.
I won’t go into how to get out of the airport, getting a taxi in this post but I will post about that soon.
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