Documents are required for entry into Vietnam

When travelling overseas, it is compulsory that foreigners obey the requirements for entry from the country of destination. For that, a comprehensive understanding before departure is highly recommended. In Vietnam, visa and passport of the foreign visitors are the most fundamental papers required in order for the approval of entry. Below are some information that you need to bear in mind about these two papers:

1. Passport

Passport is needed when travelling overseas

Passport is a legal paper that a country issues to its citizens for the purpose of international travel. The function of this paper is to identify its bearer regarding nationality and other personal information. Passport is considered the first and foremost paper needed when a plan of travelling overseas is made. In Vietnam, it is required by Vietnam Immigration Department that an eligible passport must have a validity of at least 6 months beyond the date of entry into Vietnam. In addition, an effective visa must be attached to the passport to prove the legitimate right of the bearer in terms of entering, staying and exiting Vietnam after a certain length of time. For this purpose to be achieve, the passport must contain no less than 02 blank pages, one for visa sticker and the other for visa stamp. Your application for Vietnam visa may face the high chance of rejection unless these criteria are satisfied.

2. Visa

Vietnam visa sticker and stamp must be ready for a granted entry

If the passport is issued by the country of citizenship, then a visa is issued by the country of destination, or in this case for particularity, Vietnam. Vietnam visa is issued by Vietnam Immigration Department or its missions to its foreigners as a permit of entry and participation of some specific activities within the national border. Normally, a visa sticker will be attached to a blank page of the passport while visa stamp is endorsed into another page on or before the actual date of arrival, depending on the method of getting them (at Vietnam Embassy or on arrival). A visa comprises of details about the purpose of entry (tourism/business/working/…), granted number of entries (single/multiple) and length of stay (effective period of visa). Upon arrival when being checked by the Immigration Officer, foreigners must present their visa-endorsed passports or fill in an entry and exit form (visa application form) to get visa stamp so that they can be granted to pass by.

3. Other papers

In some cases when an entry into Vietnam is granted without a requirement for visa, some other relevant documents may be asked to be presented for the check-in.

- For nationals of countries that are in the list of Vietnam’s visa exemption, there will be a limit on the granted length of their stay in Vietnam (14 days, 21 days,... depending on nationalities). In this case, a proof to show that they will exit Vietnam in or before the required date is compulsory. To serve this purpose, a round-trip flight booking can be asked to present.

- For overseas Vietnamese and their family members, a certificate of Vietnam visa exemption will be needed as a replacement of visa. A person in request can apply for this certificate from a Vietnamese competent authority in his/her country of residence.

- In some special cases of suspicion, the Immigration Officers can also require you to show vaccination certificate or HIV examination certificate.