Visa on arrival is an alternative way to obtain a visa for Vietnam in addition to the traditional way of getting a visa at Vietnam Embassy.

With this kind of visa, you – the visa applicant is required to submit an online application for a visa approval letter which functions as an official permission allowing you to board the flight and have visa stamped at the arrival airport in Vietnam. To get visa stamped, you need to submit your Vietnam approval letter together with your passport (at least 6 months validity), two passport-sized photos, Vietnamese visa application form and stamping fee to Immigration Officers at the airport.

There is a basic difference between visa on arrival and visa at Vietnam embassies. With visa on arrival, the Vietnam Immigration Department will issue a visa approval letter with your name on it stating that you are allowed to enter Vietnam on a specified date. Then, you will have the visa stamped onto your passport at the arrival airport in Vietnam. But for visa applied at the Vietnam embassies, the visa stamp will be on your passport when they send it back to you.

Apply Vietnam Visa on Arrival

“Vietnam Visa approval letter” is a document issued by Vietnam Immigration Department (Vietnam Ministry of Public Security). It functions as an official permission allowing its owner(s) to board the flight to Vietnam and get visa stamped onto the passport upon arrival at Vietnam airport.

Following is the sample of a visa approval letter:

To get this approval letter, the visa applicant is required to submit an application online to a travel agency which will then work with the Vietnam Immigration Department to return the visa approval letter via email.

Please be also informed that the visa approval letter may contain names of some others whose visa requests are processed at the same time as yours.

Apply Vietnam Visa on Arrival

To complete the online application for a Vietnam visa approval letter, the visa applicants need to provide the following information exactly as shown in their passports (as once issued, the approval letter could not be amended in any way).

• Full name (exactly as in your passport)
• Date of birth (DOB)
• Nationality
• Passport Number
• Proposed arrival date
• Proposed exit date
• Purpose of visit

For further information, please see full Vietnam visa application form.

“No, you cannot. A later entry is allowed but an earlier entry is not. In case you change your plan and want to enter Vietnam earlier than the granted arrival date, you are recommended to apply for a new visa approval letter.

“No, you cannot. An earlier exit is allowed but a later exit is not. In case you wish to stay longer than your visa expiry date, you are recommended to apply for a visa extension.

In order to assist you at the best, Vietnam-visa.com also provides Vietnam visa extension service. For more information, please access to https://www.vietnam-visa.com/extra-services/.

“No, you cannot. Vietnam visa on arrival is applicable to air travel only since the visa applicants must get visa stamped at the arrival airport in Vietnam. If this is the case, you are recommended to contact the most convenient Vietnam Embassy/Consulate to apply for a visa.

“Be kindly informed that there will be no problem if you change your arrival airport. Since the visa approval letter works at three international airports of Vietnam (Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City and Danang Airport in Danang City), you still get the visa stamped onto your passport at any of these three airport regardless of which you put in your visa application.

“There is a big difference between a single entry visa and a multiple entry visa to Vietnam which lies in number of entries:

• Single entry visa: You are permitted to enter Vietnam ONCE during your visa validity. After you exit Vietnam, you visa will automatically become invalid. If you would like to re-enter you need to apply for multiple entry visa.
• Multiple entry visa: You can enter and exit Vietnam many times as you want during your visa validity.

Apply Vietnam Visa on Arrival

There are two kinds of fee to be paid by anyone who use a visa on arrival to Vietnam, which are:

• Service fee: is the fee you pay directly to Vietnam-visa.com for handling all procedures with the Vietnam Immigration Department to return the visa approval letter to your registered email. This fee varies depending on the number of applicants in your visa application as well as which kind of service you wish to use (normal, urgent or super-urgent processing). Please see our Visa Fees page for detailed prices for each type of visa.
• Stamping fee: is the fee you pay directly in cash to the Immigration Officer at the Vietnam airport to get visa stamped onto your passport. Stamping fee can be paid in USD, AUD, VND, etc. but USD is highly recommended to avoid any unbalanced exchange rate. The current applicable stamping fee is:
  • 25 USD for one 1 month or 3 month single entry visa;
  • 50 USD for one multiple entry visa valid for up to 3 months;

For detail information, please access to https://www.vietnam-visa.com/vietnam-visa-fees/.

Apply Vietnam Visa on Arrival

“Yes, you can. You can pay for stamping fee in VND or AUD, SGD, etc. but USD is highly recommended to avoid any unbalanced exchange rate at the airport.

A valid visa is required for almost foreigners to enter Vietnam, except for those whose nationalities are included in the Vietnam visa exemption list approved by Vietnam Government. The Vietnam visa exemption is granted to the followings:

1. Citizens of Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Laos for visits of 30 days at the maximum.
2. Citizens of Phillippines for visits of 21 days at the maximum.
3. Citizens of Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia and Finland for visits of 15 days at the maximum.
4. Citizens of Brunei, Myanmar for visits of 14 days at the maximum.
5. Citizens of France holding valid diplomatic or official passports for visits of 90 days at the maximum or several visits of 6 months at the maximum.
6. Citizens of Chile holding valid diplomatic or official passports for visits of 90 days at the maximum.
7. APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) Holders from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies for visits of 60 days at the maximum.
8. For those who travel to Phu Quoc Island – Vietnam : Foreigners and Vietnamese nationals bearing foreign passports who enter Vietnam through an international border gate and then travel to Phu Quoc Island and stay in Phu Quoc less than 30 days will also be granted Vietnam visa exemption. Passports must be valid for at least 45 days. After arriving in Phu Quoc Island, if visitors want to travel to other localities or stay in the island for more than 30 days, the immigration department will be responsible for issuing visas right on the spot.

Here, Vietnam visa is classified in two ways:

• Regarding traveling purposes, Vietnam visa is classified into two types:
  • Tourist Visa: applied for visa of up to 3 months
  • Visa for other purposes: applied for 3 months visa
• But regarding length of stay and number of entries, Vietnam visa is classified into four types:
  • 1 month single entry visa
  • 1 month multiple entry visa
  • 3 months single entry visa
  • 3 months multiple entry visa

With Vietnam visa on arrival, the visa applicants must prepare two photos to get visa stamped at the arrival airport in Vietnam. Following is the list of regulations regarding photos for visa on arrival:

• The photograph must be passport-sized, identical, taken within the past 6 months.
• The image size from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head should be between 1 inch and 13/8 inches.
• The photograph may be in color or black and white. They must be full face, front view with a plain white or off-white background.
• The photograph should be taken in normal street attire, without a hat or headgear that obscures the hair or hairline.
• Uniforms should not be worn in the photograph with the exception of religious attire which is worn daily.
• If prescription glasses, a hearing device, wig or similar articles are normally and consistently worn, they should be worn when the picture is taken.
• Dark glasses or nonprescription glasses with tinted lenses are not acceptable unless required for medical reasons. A medical certificate may be required to support the wearing of such glasses in the photograph.

If your passport is expired, you cannot apply for your Vietnam visa. In this case, please renew your passport before applying for visa to Vietnam.

So, before applying for a visa, you need to check your passport to make sure it is valid at least 6 months since your date of arrival in Vietnam.

As Vietnamese overseas, you are kindly advised to choose either of two following options:

1. Apply for a visa exemption by visiting Vietnam Embassy/Consulate. Further information about Vietnam visa exemption for Vietnamese overseas, please read this link http://mienthithucvk.mofa.gov.vn/.
2. If you would like to save time, you could apply for Vietnam visa online with Vietnam-visa.com.