Vietnam Visa and key information for visitors to Vietnam

If you are not Vietnamese and you are planning on going to Vietnam for some purpose such as: tourism, visiting relatives, working or investment, you need to complete all the procedures relating to Vietnam visa application (except for visa exemption case) at the Embassy/Consulate of Vietnam overseas, or at an international airport or a border gate of Vietnam. Here is some key information for visitors to understand about the procedures of entry and exit in Vietnam:

1. For citizens of the countries that have not signed visa waiver agreement with Vietnam:

• Foreigners who are citizens of the countries and territories that have not signed visa waiver agreement with Vietnam need to be granted Vietnam visa or Vietnam visa approval letter before entry.  

Note: Vietnam visa approval letter must be issued by the Immigration Management Department and guaranteed by one of the following companies, organizations or persons:

• A Vietnamese citizen who is a relative of the foreigner;
• A company or organization in Vietnam may guarantee the entry for the purpose of work, commerce, business, investment, etc.  
• A company guarantees the entry for tourism purpose.
• In case a foreign visitor has got Vietnam visa, he/she will have to do some procedures at the areas for foreigner’s entry at Vietnamese border gates.

When doing the procedures, you should follow the instructions of the staff at the border gate; those who have already had Vietnam visa won’t be charged any related fees.

• In case a foreign visitor has got Vietnam visa approval letter, he/she need to fill in a Vietnam visa application form, and bring along with the visa approval letter and passport, and pay the fee for visa application as prescribed.

Note: when paying the fee for visa application, foreign visitors should use USD to make the payment. At the airport or road border gates, Vietnamese immigration police will give specific instructions on each step to go.

Vietnam visa

2. For citizens of the countries entitled to Vietnamm visa exemption:

• Brunei, Myanmar:14-day stay 
• Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos : 30-day stay
• The Philippines : 21-day stay
• Japan, Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Finland, Belarus and 5 Western European countries: the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy: 15- day stay
• Foreign visitors who are citizens of the mentioned countries are exempt from Vietnam visa, so they do not need Vietnam visa when doing entry procedures at international airports or road border gates of Vietnam.
• However, visitors need to show a valid passport granted by a competent agency; the passport’s remaining validity must be at least 3 months from the date of entry. Besides, visitors need to have a round-trip ticket or ticket to travel to another country. And another important thing is visitors are not in the current list of entry ban of Vietnam.
• After entering Vietnam, if a foreign visitor wishes to stay in Vietnam for  more than 15 days with justifiable reasons, at the request of a Vietnamese organization, agency or citizen, Ministry of Public Security (Immigration Management Department) or Ministry of Foreign Affairs may consider granting a visa and extending the sojourn period.