How to Get a Visa for Vietnam
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share products and experiences I personally use or genuinely recommend. You can read my full disclosure here.
Ah! So you’re planning on traveling to one of the most amazing countries — Vietnam, BUT how do you get a visa for Vietnam?
Vietnam requires US Citizens to obtain a Visa for entry into Vietnam! As Americans, we have some serious “passport privilege.”
Meaning, that our passport gets us entry into a lot of countries fairly easily, and often we don’t even need to apply for a visa.
So, I felt a little lost when first working on my visa for Vietnam, so I thought I’d break down how to get a visa for Vietnam as a US citizen to make sure you actually get to enjoy your vacation in this beautiful country!
How do you get a visa for Vietnam?
The best way to prepare for your trip is to apply for an e-visa prior to leaving for Vietnam. You must have a visa for entry into the country.
What is an e-visa?
An e-visa is an electronic visa. This is a visa for which you complete the application and hopefully get approved prior to beginning your travel to your destination.
An e-visa for Vietnam is really a “visa upon arrival.” Which, this approval letter will be used to get a visa upon your arrival in the country.
To be eligible for applying for an e-visa via air travel into Vietnam, you need to be flying into Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, or Hanoi as these are the airports that issue the Visa on Arrival (VOA).
Where do you apply for an e-visa for Vietnam?
I used iVisa.com and I found it incredibly simple to use. They had great communication with me whenever I needed anything. And I had no issues with the paperwork when arriving in Vietnam.
There are a few different options. At the time I went to Vietnam, several sites were not issuing them due to COVID. SO it would be important to look into other websites as well for best prices and turn-around time.
Check out this website for applying for an e-visa for Vietnam!
What do you need for your Vietnamese e-visa application?
When applying, you will need:
- Your passport information
- A picture/scan of your passport
- The airport you are flying into
- The address to your initial accommodation in Vietnam
- A 6×6 passport photo
- I was able to take a picture using my phone for the application and I had no issue. Based upon my research, you are also able to take pictures at the airport, if needed.
What happens after you complete your Visa application?
Occasionally you will receive an email with notes for anything you need to update if you need to update anything. For example, the copy of my passport photo wasn’t straight enough so I had to retake that photo a few times for the application.
Once you have everything uploaded, you will be notified that your application is complete.
Then after about 3-days, I received an email notification that my e-visa was approved and it was attached to the email. I printed out a copy of my e-visa and kept the electronic version in my email as well. All that was needed after was to fly to Vietnam.
Upon arrival, border control reviewed my paperwork and approved my entry into Vietnam.
Make sure you print out a copy of the e-visa approval letter that you receive! I printed mine at the airport lounge.
How long does it take to get your e-visa?
Typically, it is 7 business days to turn around your e-visa. However, if you pay more you can get rush processing for 6 business days. And if you pay, even more, you can get it in 4 business days!
Again, there are other websites that offer it quicker, so just search around.
How long does the visa allow me entry into Vietnam?
90 days! With single or multiple entry!
What is the Vietnamese visa fee?
I paid $74 for a 7-day turnaround of my visa. However…
As I said above, at the time of applying for my e-visa, there were not many third-party websites that were processing e-visas for Vietnam because I went shortly after the borders opened. So there are other options out there that may be cheaper!
During my research, I did see the official Vietnamese website for issuing e-visas where the visas were only $25 and issued in 3-days. When I was going to Vietnam, this website was not processing due to COVID! You can apply here!
Other resources:
- Definitely check out this website that outlines tons of details as well!
- The website that I got my e-visa through for Vietnam also has tons of incredibly useful info, so make sure you check that out!
- Be sure to check out my 2-week Vietnam itinerary blog post here to help plan your trip!
