If you are planning to travel to Vietnam, applying for a Vietnam tourist visa is one of the important and necessary procedures to be able to enter this country. In this article, we will provide you with detailed information about Vietnam tourist visa types, visa application process and procedures so you can easily plan and prepare for your trip.
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Type of Vietnam Tourist Visas
Tourist E-visa
Vietnam Electronic visa (E-visa) is a type of visa issued to foreigners by Vietnamese Immigration Department via electronic system. After getting the evisa, applicants have to submit result at one of the international checkpoint in Vietnam to get visa stamp into the passport.
Tourist visa approval letter
This type of visa is for tourists who often participate in tours that have been organized by travel companies in Vietnam. Before Vietnam Evisa was launch in 2017, Vietnam tourist visa approval letter is one of most popular visa types.
The visa approval letter can be used to obtain Vietnam visa sticker, at one of Vietnam Embassy/Consulate aboard, in advance before coming to Vietnam.
Vietnam visa validity
Vietnam tourist visa is valid from 30 – 90 days. However, in some cases, applicants will be limited in their length of stay, especially citizens from countries in Africa and Middle East.
How to apply for a Vietnam tourist visa?
To successfully apply for a Vietnam tourist visa, you need to follow these steps:
- Prepare documents: a scan of passport data page image (valid for at least 6 months).
- Complete application forms online with details: personal information (Full name details, D.O.B, Current nationality, sex, religion…), visa request information (visa type, visa validity, entry checkpoint…)…
- Settle payment by card.
- Submit application and wait to get the result after processing time.
How long does it takes to get a Vietnam tourist visa?
Standard processing time is from 5 to 7 working days after you have submitted all of the required information and completed payment. However, applicants can pay extra to cut off processing time and get a visa result within 1 – 2 working days or just couple hours before your flight take off.
How much does it cost to get a tourist visa to Vietnam?
The Vietnam visa fees depend on the way and kind of visa that you want to get.
- Vietnam Evisa: USD 25 for single entry or USD 50 for multiple entries.
- Visa approval letter: there are 2 types of visa fees that you have to pay. Service fee (if you apply via travel agents) and stamp fee (when you submit the visa on arrival checkpoint or Vietnam Embassy office). It should be noted that each of Vietnam Embassy regulated their own stamp fee and stamp fee on arrival checkpoint in Vietnam is USD 25 for single entry or USD 50 for multiple entries for less than 90 days visa.
Incase you need a Vietnam tourist visa in urgent, the number of service fee will be add up. The fee depends on how fast do you want to get the result (1 o 2 working days or just couple working hours).
It is possible to extend Vietnam tourist visa?
As we have mention above, there are 2 kinds of tourist visa: evisa and visa approval letter. At the moment, the evisa is not allow to extended inside the country. But foreigner who use the visa approval letter to obtain tourist visa, can apply to extend the visa again.
However, dont be stress about visa extension as you can do visa run to get a new Vietnam visa. It’s very simple.
Tips to note when applying for a Tourist Visa to Vietnam
To make it easier for you to apply for a Vietnam tourist visa, we will provide you with some important notes when performing this procedure:
- Register your visa on time: You need to register your visa at least 15 days before your expected date of entry into Vietnam.
- Prepare complete documents: You need to prepare all necessary documents to register for a visa, otherwise it may lead to registration being refused or prolonging the processing process.
- Fill in the information completely and accurately: You need to fill out the information in the visa application completely and accurately to avoid refusal or additional procedures.
- Note about application processing time: standard processing time takes 5 – 7 working days. However, incase the Immigration Department of Vietnam required providing extra information from applicants, it will takes more time to get a result.
- Choose the nearest embassy or consulate: You should choose the visa application point closest to your address to save time and travel costs.
