First up – Do you need a Visa?

For a quick overview, covering only a small number of countries, here’s a short summary of whether you need a Vietnam visa or not*:

The best starting point: It’s safest to assume you will need a visa. You certainly do if your passport is from the USA, Australia, New Zealand and most of Europe (with the exception of a few countries – see below).

There is an exemption for some countries whereby you’re granted a ‘free’, visaless stay for a set number of days. At the time of writing, this was:

14 days visa exemption: Brunei, Myanmar

15 days visa exemption (see what I mean by complicated?): Belarus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, UK

21 days visa exemption: Philippines

30 day visa exemption: Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand

*do check these details a week or so before you travel to make sure they’re still up to date.

Should you use the visa exemption instead of applying for a visa?

Note: this article deals with tourist visas only. If you want any other visa, I would recommend working with Vietnam Visa (unless you know of a better, more reliable way).

If you do need a Vietnam visa, what are your options?

• Using an online Visa company like VisaHQ
• From a Vietnam Embassy while you’re away
• Using a travel agent while you’re in Southeast Asia
• Getting a Visa on Arrival from a company like Vietnam Visa (note: this is only available if you arrive by air)
• Getting an e-Visa (this is very new – Feb 2017)

Getting a Visa from a Vietnam Embassy in your home country

• travel to the embassy in person
• send my application off my post

• You get a choice of 1 month or 3 months entry so you don’t have to worry about extending/overstaying
• You can be 110% confident that when you turn up you have a recognised/valid visa

• It’s typically more expensive than a Visa on Arrival/eVisa (see cost comparison table above).
• Beware if you’re from a visa exempt country – there have been stories of the visa exemption stamp being applied on arrival, invalidating your visa and cutting your stay down to 15 days – point out your visa when you arrive.
• You have to part with your passport for a while.
• Beware embassy closure dates – Vietnam has different holidays e.g. Tet to work around.
• This is by far the slowest way to get a visa: it can take several days and although expedited visas are available, the costs increase. That’s all in addition to the time it takes to get your passport there by post or the time taken to travel to the embassy in person.
• It’s not going to work if you fly in a few days and have only just realised you need a visa!

Using an online Visa company like VisaHQ

• Your visa application is being handled for you by a well-know company.
• You can be almost certain that you’re getting the right visa (see my comment above about the VisaHQ website not being up to date).
• If you’re applying last minute, you can pay for a 2 working day processing (though Visa on Arrival and eVisa might still work for you).

• You still have to complete the form and do all the paperwork. So, as far as I can tell, the only difference is that you send your passport and forms on to the visa agency first (probably for checking) before it goes to the embassy.
• The fees – ouch, the fees. See the fee table above.

From a Vietnam Embassy while you’re away

• If you’re on a longer trip, you don’t have to commit to specific dates way in advance – you can just apply when you get close.
• If you don’t want to spend time at the embassy, there’s significant competition amongst local travel agents who will charge around $10 for processing the visa on your behalf.
• a next day visa might be available (depending where you apply and which agency you use).

• Not exactly a ‘con’ but the visa rates are likely to be similar to the rates you pay at home (unless you’re currency is particularly strong against the local currency when you apply).
• You may not have to put your passport in the post but you’ll still be without it for a few days – make sure you have checked into your accommodation for the duration of the process as you need your passport when you arrive at any new hotel/hostel.
• You need to think ahead – getting a Vietnam visa is going to be easy in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Phnom Penh. You’ll struggle if you’re on a tiny island. You can find a list of Vietnam’s Southeast Asia embassy’s here.

Be aware: when you apply for a Vietnam visa (no matter which way of applying) you need to commit to an entry date. This is easier if you’re on a couple of weeks’ holiday. Not so easy if you have a year-long trip and plan to get to Vietnam ‘eventually’. In the latter case, applying for a visa while you’re away might be your better bet.

Visa on Arrival

How does Visa on Arrival work?

Before you go

fill in an application form and pay the service fee online

receive a visa approval letter by email

On arrival at the airport

Present your passport, visa approval letter (best to have it printed out), 2 passport photos, a completed arrival/departure card (you’re usually handed these on your flight) and the ‘stamping fee’.

Enter Vietnam

In terms of fees, you pay two fees:

the service fee (for all Visa on Arrival applications, you need to go via an agency and pay a fee. Vietnam Visa’s fees start at $21. I trust this company but there are other agencies if you want to shop around. You pay this fee in advance.

the stamping fee – this is the fee charged by the Vietnam immigration folks and is set depending whether you want single or multiple entry ($25 and $50 respectively). The fee won’t change no matter how much you shop around between the agencies. You pay this at the airport.

The stamping fee must be paid in cash, in dollars (not the local Vietnamese Dong), on arrival.

• It’s cheaper than going via an embassy.
• You have the same choice of single/multiple 1 month/3 month visas as you do at the embassy.
• You can make the application sat in your pants in your bed i.e. it’s all online until you get to the airport
• One of the quickest ways of getting a visa – your visa approval letter arrives within 2 working days though it can be quicker (mine was within 24 hours).
• If you’re happy to pay more money (i.e. if you’re in a bind/at the airport), you can get your visa approval letter in 2 hours (though that speed will cost you an extra $50 on top of the usual service fee).
• You don’t have to part with your passport.
• You’re not tied to a location while you apply.

• It’s only available if you arrive by air.
• You have to pay a processing fee to the agency (although it’s only $21, so a lot cheaper than someone like VisaHQ).
• If you arrive on a busy day, it can take 30 minutes to an hour to get stamped at the airport. However, I was done within 10 minutes.

Getting an e-visa

• You can enter Vietnam by air as well as sea and land (though check because there are still only designated points of entry).
• You won’t have to queue for stamping on arrival (though see cons below).

• Only 40 countries are eligible for e-visa. The full list is here and includes the UK and USA but there are some notable exceptions like Australia, New Zealand and some European spots like Portugal and Switzerland.
• You can only apply for 1 month single-entry visas.
• The process takes 3 working days and there is no expedited option.
• It’s very new so there are some reports of ‘on the ground’ officials not recognising the e-visa so you could experience a hold-up in the early days.
• The Vietnam Embassy still recommends visa on arrival as the main form of visa application – does this mean they’re still testing the efficacy of the e-visa?