Visa to Vietnam

1. General about Visa to Vietnam

Tourist visas allow visitors to enter and exit Vietnam at Hanoi, HCMC and Danang airports or at any of its twelve land borders, three each with Cambodia and China, and six with Laos.

Tourist visas are valid for a single 30-day stay. The government often talks about issuing visas on arrival to certain favoured nationalities, but as yet this sensible scheme has failed to materialise. Arranging the paperwork for a Vietnamese visa has become fairly straightforward, but it remains expensive and unnecessarily time-consuming. Processing a tourist-visa application typically takes four or five working days in countries in the West.

It is possible to arrange a visa on arrival through a Vietnamese travel agent. They will need passport details in advance and will send a confirmation for the visa to be issued at your airport of arrival.

2. Kinds of visa:

- Business visas

Business visas are usually valid for three or six months, allow multiple entries and the right to work. Getting a business visa has now become cheap and easy, although prices are about double those of a tourist visa. It is generally easier to apply for a business visa once in Vietnam, after having arrived on a tourist visa.

- Student visas

A student visa is usually arranged after your arrival. It’s acceptable to enter Vietnam on a tourist visa, enrol in a Vietnamese language course and then apply at the immigration police for a change in status. In reality, the easiest way to do it is to contact a travel company and have them help you make the application.

- Visa extensions

If you have got the dollars, they have got the rubber stamp. Tourist- visa extensions cost

as little US$10, but it is easier to pay more and sort this out through a travel agency. Getting the stamp yourself can be a bureaucratic nightmare. The procedure takes two or three days and you can only extend one time for 30 days.

In theory you should be able to extend your visa in any provincial capital. In practice it goes smoothest in major cities, such as HCMC, Hanoi, Danang and Hué, which cater to mass tourism.

- Re-entry visas

It is possible to enter Cambodia, Laos or any other country from Vietnam and then re-enter without having to apply for another visa. However, you must apply for a re-entry visa before you leave Vietnam. If you do not have a re-entry visa, you will have to go through the whole Vietnamese visa nonsense again.

Re-entry visas are easiest to arrange in Hanoi or HCMC, but you will almost certainly have to ask a travel agent to do the paperwork for you. Travel agents charge about US$25 for this service and can complete the procedure in a day or two.

3. How to get visa in Vietnam:

There are 2 ways to get your visa to Vietnam:
- Get your visa at the country you are living

Please contact the visa section at the Vietnam Embassies and Consulates in the country you are living. Documents: Passport of 6 months’ validity; visa application forms; and probably some others required by the embassy or consulate. Visa forms are available by getting directly at the Vietnamese embassy or consulate in your country or by sending there, a stamped, self-addressed envelope addressed.

Fees: vary from embassy to embassy.

Duration: It will take between 4 to 10 days depending on your country of origin.

- Get your visa upon arrival in Vietnam

Just relax and we will do(*) all here for you, Footprint Vietnam Travel, as your sponsor, we will send you the letter of visa Approval by Vietnam Immigration Office here, and when you enter Vietnam by air(*) you will be given a stamp on your passport – it is all done, fast and easy.

How long: Normally it takes 2 days to complete from when we receive your information.

How much: This depends on number of people you are traveling together, please get this from our travel consultant when you are booking tours with us.

How long of stay: 30 days to stay in Vietnam, you can extend once you are here.

Document: Please send us a complete copy of your passport via email of Full name; Date of birth; Gender; Nationality; Passport numbers; Passport Expired date; Your arrival day to Vietnam.

Attention please;

(*) We can only obtain the visa for you once you are booking tours with us - set by Vietnam Immigration Department.

(*) Visa upon arrival can only be arranged when you enter Vietnam by air (Hanoi, Danang, Saigon).

Sources: www.lonelyplanet.com, www.footprintsvietnam.com