Vietnam is known as a promising country not only for traveler enthusiasts but also for foreign businessmen. Every year, there are thousands of visitors travelling to Vietnam for different purposes such as learning, doing business or exploring Vietnamese unique culture. Therefore, we were writing this article to help you obtain Vietnam visa with minimum stress.
As you have known, visitors must show passport or passport substitutes and visas issued by Vietnam’s authorities, except in case of visa exemption before being allowed into the country. Vietnam visas are issued by Vietnamese Embassies and Consulates or Vietnam Department of Immigration. Some abroad offices of Vietnam Tourism and Vietnam Airlines are able to issue tourist visas. The rules and costs to getting visas to Vietnam are different depending on the issuing embassy or consulate.
VIETNAM VISA EXEMPTIONS
People of some countries may visit Vietnam without visa for a period of time. Citizens from Asean countries are permitted to enter without applying for a visa, and other countries have made similar arrangements for their citizens.
Citizens of Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia are permitted to stay for less than 30 days. For citizens of the Philippines, they may stay, visa-free, for no more than 21 days. Citizens of Brunei are permitted to stay for less than 14 days. And citizens of Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain are exempted a Vietnam visa for 15 days.
In addition, people hold APEC Business Travel Card from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies can stay for less than 60 days.
HOW TO APPLY FOR A VISA TO VIETNAM
If you are not from any of these nations or you want to visit Vietnam longer than permitted period of stay, there are two options for you: apply in person/by post at Vietnam Embassy in the country where you are living, or apply online through travel agents to be issued a visa on arrival at the airport.
Visiting Vietnam Embassies
Regarding applying for a visa at Vietnam Embassies, the processing time may be 3 or 5 working days. If you want to get your visa faster, select expedited service to speed up the processing. The processing gets started when the embassy/consulate receives your application. And a visa application provided to the Vietnamese Mission outside Vietnam shall include the following documents:
– 01 application form with an attached photo.
– Original Passport or passport substitute: valid for at least 06 months prior to travel date.
– Visa approval from Immigration Department: is asked for business visa by some embassies. The letter will be obtained by your business cooperators in Vietnam. If you have no partner or sponsor, it is recommended to contact with the consular office for assistance. Some embassies, such as Vietnam embassy in Bangkok, ask for visa approval for tourist visa.
– Vietnam visa fee: depending on type of visa you select. It may be different slightly from embassy to embassy.
All of the above is general requirements to apply for a Vietnam visa. Each embassy may require some other documents. Therefore, you should contact with embassy you will apply at to know details about the requirements and fees to avoid unexpected delays.
Vietnam visa on arrival
For some foreigners, applying for Vietnam visa by contacting to Vietnam Embassy has some disadvantages when they must go through complex process, and it is really time consuming (it takes from 5 to 7 working days) and expensive. It is when they choose Vietnam visa on arrival. Vietnam visa on arrival is considered to be the legally easiest and fastest way to obtain Vietnam entry visa.
When applying for a visa on arrival at the border, applicants must apply for a visa approval for picking up visa at the border checkpoint issued by the Immigration Department, the Consular Department or the Department of External Affairs of Ho Chi Minh city.
You need to submit your passports or international travel documents and fill in the visa application form with an attached photo at the Viet Nam’s border control authority. Over-14-year-old children sharing passport with family’s members will be required to fill in a separate visa application form. The visa on arrival shall be given when the Vietnam’s border control authority completes checking applicant’s information and the visa approval.
For applying for a visa on arrival at airport, the process is straightforward: you fill out an online application form and pay the fee (about USD 20). Then, by email, you’ll receive a VOA approval letter signed by Vietnamese immigration which you print out and show when you arrive, then you will pay your visa stamping fee in USD, cash only. The single-entry stamping fee costs USD 25, a multiple-entry stamping fee costs USD 50. It would takes you about 15 minutes for the stamping process.
It is recommended to check visa requirements regularly before you travel to Vietnam or arrive at Vietnam border to avoid the unexpected situations as policies change regularly. When you’ve known all necessary information about How to get a Vietnam visa, the upcoming journey to explore the stunning attractions, unique culture and history will bring you memorable experiences and once-in-life-time memories.
