I get regular emails from our readers asking questions about Vietnam Visa. So I thought I should write a post hoping to help. I must state upfront that I’m not writing from experience. I’m a Singaporean and by default we get 30 days free entry into Vietnam. Still, I did a little research and these are some general information about getting a Vietnam Visa.

 

1) If you are a citizen of the following countries, you don’t need a tourist visa to enter Vietnam:

- Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Laos for a stay lasting not more than thirty days

- Japan, South Korea, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden for a stay lasting not more than fifteen days

 

2) If you are not from any of those listed above, one way to get a Vietnam Visa is to apply it yourself at a Vietnamese embassy/consulate in your country.

 

3) Another way is to get a local travel agent (in your own country) to take care of the business. You pay a small fee for the service rendered.

 

4) But the easiest procedure seems to be a ‘Visa on arrival’. This means you are traveling by air and you pick up a visa at the airport. You’ll need:

• ‘Visa approval letter’ – this is a letter approved by the Vietnam Immigration Department (Vietnam Government) that allow you to enter and exit Vietnam for a given period. To get the ‘Visa approval letter’, google ‘Vietnam Visa’ and you’ll find many online portals that provide this service. From here, fill up an online form, pay the portal a fee and wait about 2 days to get an approved letter send back to you by email. Print that out and bring along with you when flying into Vietnam.
• 2 photos measuring 4cm by 6cm.
• USD to pay for the stamping fee at the airport. Usually it’s US$25 for 1 month.

 

Points to note:

-> Make sure the fellow at the Vietnam airport stamp the correct amount of time you are allowed into Vietnam.

-> Have good clean bills to pay for the stamping fee.

-> Make sure you have enough space in your passport as the Vietnam visa is a full page sticker.

-> You can only get a ‘Visa on arrival’ at the 3 Vietnam international airport- Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) or Danang.

 

You have any experience to share? Drop us a comment below. Also, if you find these Vietnam travel tips useful, kindly share it with all your friends.