Vietnam visa and immigration consultant

FAQ

Where the applicants find the right answer to the frequently asked question about Vietnam visa

All about Vietnam visa on arrival

1. What is visa on arrival?

2. Is visa on arrival legitimate?

3. What is visa approval letter?

4. How long does it take to get the visa approval letter?

5. How do I receive visa approval letter?

6. How does visa approval letter look like?

7. Are there any exception with visa on arrival?

Requirements, procedures and tips

8. Is the passport copy required?

9. Do I need photos and what is the size?

10. Should I provide the exact date of entry?

11. What are procedures at Vietnam airport?

12. How long in advance should I apply for a visa?

Price and payment

13. How much does visa on arrival cost?

14. What is the stamping fee and how much is it?

15. Which credit card or debit card are accepted?

16. How safe are my credit card details?

17. Is the same cost applied to everyone?

18. When do I have to pay for visa approval letter?

Problems and concerns

19. What should I do if my passport expired?

20. What should I do if I find out that I entered wrong passport number?

21. Can I travel without visa approval letter and get visa when I arrive?

22. What is the problem if I change my flight and arrive in another Vietnam airport?

Answer

1. What is visa on arrival?

Visa on arrival is an alternative way to obtain a visa for Vietnam in addition to the traditional way of getting a visa at Vietnam Embassy.

With this kind of visa, you are required to submit an online application for a visa approval letter which functions as an official permission allowing you to board the flight and have visa stamped at the arrival airport in Vietnam. To get visa stamped, you need to submit your Vietnam approval letter together with your passport (at least 6 months validity), one passport-sized photo, entry and exit form and stamping fee to Immigration Officers at the airport.

There is a basic difference between visa on arrival and visa at Vietnam embassies. With visa on arrival, the Vietnam Immigration Department will issue a visa approval letter with your name on it stating that you are allowed to enter Vietnam on a specified date. Then, you will have the visa stamped onto your passport at the arrival airport in Vietnam. But for visa applied at the Vietnam embassies, the visa stamp will be on your passport when they send it back to you.

2. Is visa on arrival legitimate?

Yes it is. Visa on arrival is an alternative way to get your visa to Vietnam. Also the IATA (International Air Traffic Association) has recognized visa on arrival. Check out the visa information sections on the following airline websites: Sky team, Oneworld and Star Alliance.

Other governments also recognize visa on arrival as a legitimate travel document, such as the U.S. Department of State and the British Embassy in Hanoi:

"In order to enter Vietnam, you will need a valid passport with at least six months validity remaining and a Vietnamese visa, a visa exemption document, or a written approval letter for a visa upon arrival. To obtain a written approval letter to enter, you must contact a travel agency prior to departure."

3. What is visa approval letter?

“Vietnam Visa approval letter” is a document issued by Vietnam Immigration Department (Vietnam Ministry of Public Security). It functions as an official permission allowing its owner(s) to board the flight to Vietnam and get visa stamped onto the passport upon arrival at Vietnam airport.

4. How long does it take to get the visa approval letter?

The approval letter is processed and emailed you within two (02) working days (excepts Saturday, Sunday and public holiday).

In urgent cases, you are able to have the approval letter within the time frame below:

- 8 hours processing: + 15 USD/ visa
- 4 hours processing: + 30 USD/ visa
- 2 hours processing: + 70 USD/ visa

For emergency visa processing at weekend (Saturday, Sunday) or public holiday, please call us or contact email for details assistance.

Note: The above processing time does not apply for the last minute application (after 15:15 PM every day). Please consider the time difference between Vietnam and the local country.

The visa counter at Vietnam airports are 24/7 open. So if you already have the approval letter, you can still pick up your visa at Vietnam airports at night or weekend.

5. How do I receive visa approval letter?

A color scanned copy of the approval letter ( in PDF format ) will be sent to you by email, so please make sure that you have provided us with the correct email address and you have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat reader in order to open the file.

6. How does visa approval letter look like?

Please find the visa approval letter sample here.

7. Are there any exception with visa on arrival?

Visa on arrival is just valid for those who enter Vietnam by air. For land and cruise entry, please visit a Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate to get your visa stamped before you depart for Vietnam. There are three international airports in Vietnam that you can receive your visa stamp with visa approval letter including: Noi Bai International Airport (Hanoi), Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh City) and Danang Airport (Da Nang).

8. Is the passport copy required?

Normally, passport scan is not required when applying for a visa on arrival. However in some cases, the Vietnam Immigration Department may require your passport scan to verify your information before giving their approval.

9. Do I need photos and what is the size?

Photos are required upon arrival Vietnam's airports only, thus please remember to bring at least 2 photos of standard passport size (04x06 cm). If you do not have time to prepare those photos before your departure, you can also get them taken at a Vietnamese airport for about 2 USD/ photo.

10. Should I provide the exact date of entry?

The arrival date you provide should be the earliest you plan to arrive, but you can arrive after that date. Please keep in mind that a later entry is allowed but an earlier entry is not. In case you change your plan and want to enter Vietnam earlier than the granted arrival date, you are recommended to apply for a new visa approval letter. Moreover, the departure date is the last day you are permitted to be in the country, unless you get a visa extension.

11. What are procedures at Vietnam airport?

On arrival at international airport in Vietnam, you will need to prepare a printed visa approval letter (black and white or colored hard copy), your passport, two 4x6cm photos of yours and US45$ for stamping fee per person for 1 month and 3 month single entry visa (or US65$ for less than 30 days multiple entry visa, US95$ for full 1 month and 3 month multiple entry visa) to present at the Immigration Counter. You are also required to fill out the Entry and exit form for customs clearance. The procedures will take you about 15 - 20 minutes in total.

12. How long in advance should I apply for a visa?

Although it takes only one or two working days for the visa to be approved, it would be best to apply for your visa about 1 or 2 weeks before your entry date in order to avoid any unexpected incident like payment problems or typos.

13. How much does visa on arrival cost?

The visa approval fee differs based on the length of stay, type of entry and processing time. We provide here the detailed visa service fee for visa on arrival for your reference. Please kindly contact us if you may have any queries.

14. What is the stamping fee and how much is it?

Stamping fee is the fee you pay directly to the Immigration Officers upon arrival in Vietnam international airport for getting visa stamped into your passport. The stamping fee for single entry visa (1-3 months) is US45$, or US65$ for less than 1 month (29 days) multiple entry visa; US95$ for full 1 month and 3 months multiple entry which must be paid in cash in Vietnam dong (VND) or US dollars (USD).

15. Which credit card or debit card are accepted?

We accept both credit/debit cards, PayPal for payment of visa approval fee. The credit/debit cards include Visa, Master Cards, American Express or Discover. For details of payment guidelines, please kindly click here.

16. How safe are my credit card details?

For secure online payment, we use Secure Socket Layers (SSL) to keep your credit card details safe. In no cases will your debit/credit card details be transmitted unencrypted over the internet. For more details, please read through our privacy policy.

17. Is the same cost applied to everyone?

Yes, it is. Anyone who uses our service will be applied the same rate except some nations of Africa, Middle East or Muslim countries whose citizenship are subject to higher processing fee.

18. When do I have to pay for visa approval letter?

You can pay for the approval letter after you submit your application. If you have problems with payment, email us at vietnamvisabooking@gmail.com and we will send you a link to follow in order to pay. Keep in mind that no application can be processed until the full payment is made.

19. What should I do if my passport expired?

In case your passport has expired, you have to get it renewed before making visa application. The reason is that according to Vietnam regulation, the passport must be at least 6 month valid from your entry date or else you will not be allowed to enter Vietnam.

20. What should I do if I find out that I entered wrong passport number?

Once you submitted your visa application, we’ll send an email to confirm the details you submitted. Please make sure that everything is correct as it appears in your passport. If there are any mistakes, please contact us right away at vietnamvisabooking@gmail.com. In case you were unable to find out the mistake and your application is processed, you’ll have to apply for new visa with correct information and of course, pay again.

21. Can I travel without visa approval letter and get visa when I arrive?

No, you can NOT board the plane unless you present the approval letter to authorities at the airport. The letter also serves as the evidence that you’ve been approved to get your visa at Vietnam airport. Therefore you are strongly recommended that you apply for the visa well in advance to avoid any problems.

22. What is the problem if I change my flight and arrive in another Vietnam airport?

Be kindly informed that there will be no problem if you change your flight and arrival airport. Since the visa approval letter works at three international airports of Vietnam (Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City and Danang Airport in Danang City), you still get the visa stamped onto your passport at any of these three airport regardless of which you put in your visa application.