Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who does not need Vietnam visa before departure?

A valid visa is required for almost foreigners all over the world to enter Vietnam, excepting for passengers whose nationality are included in the Vietnam visa exemption list that has been approved by Vietnam Government.

Most residents of ASEAN namely Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Laos do not necessarily obtain a visa to Vietnam if they just visit Vietnam within 30 days. Likewise, the Philippine passport holders do not need to get visa for Vietnam in case they intend to stay in Vietnam within 21 days, while citizens of Timor-Leste are all required to have Vietnam visa if they want to visit the country.

What’s more, Brunei and Myanmar are also included in this list, amounting to around 14 days. Similarly, citizens of Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, and Finland can pay a visit to Vietnam without having to apply for visa within 15 days.

Another key thing to remember is that Vietnam Government has issued a document concerning a visa exemption for 5 western European countries including Germany, France, United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy from July, 1st 2015 to next June 2017. Therefore, they can come to Vietnam less than 15 days no matter what their purpose or visa type is.

Residents of France and Chile who hold valid diplomatic or official passports do not need Vietnam visa if they stay in Vietnam for less than 90 days or several visits within 6 months.

APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) owners from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies can have a 60-day free visa.

Foreign travelers and Vietnamese holding foreign passport and coming to Phu Quoc Island directly or via an international border gate will also be exempted from the process of getting Vietnam visa if they stay there for less than 30 days. Please keep in mind that their passport must be valid for at least 45 days as well as they must ensure that Phu Quoc Island is their last destination.

2. What is Vietnam visa on arrival?

Visa for Vietnam on arrival (Vietnam visa online) is an alternative solution for travelers to take a Vietnam visa if they do not have enough time to apply for a visa at the Vietnam Embassy. In other words, people who want to obtain Vietnam visa will be required to apply for a Vietnamese visa application online to get a pre-arranged visa (visa approval letter). This document is known as an official document from the Vietnam Immigration Department allowing you not only to get on the plane but also to obtain the Vietnam visa stamp at the airport. In fact, using the Vietnam visa VOA can help you save your time because its processing time is fast, within about 1 or 2 working days.

In order to obtain Vietnam visa stamp, you need to submit your Vietnam approval letter along with your original passport which is valid for more than six months, two pictures (4x6cm), Vietnam visa application form, as well as money in cash to pay for the stamping fee.

A closer look into the distinctions between visa on arrival and visa at the Embassy of Vietnam can give a far different picture. The Vietnam Immigration Department, with visa on arrival, will issue an approval letter and you will get the stamp of visa on your passport at Vietnam international airports, whereas applying at the Vietnam Embassy, you will have the visa stamped on your passport when it is sent back to you.

The Vietnam Immigration Department, in recent time, has been receiving many applications for visa on arrival, and the number of applicants is increasing significantly as many get to know this visa option.

3. How to apply for Vietnam visa on arrival

Applying for visa Vietnam on arrival now is extremely straightforward with only three main steps:

Firstly, you need to fill out the form online with your personal details. This information must be the same with what is written on your passport. To be more specific, some details could be number of the applicant(s), full name, purpose of travel, type of visa, proposed time of visiting, and arrival airport.

Secondly, settle the payment online and receive the Vietnam approval letter through your email. Online payment can be charged by Mastercard or Visa credit/debit card, and we only charge for the successful application. 100% risk-free.

And the last step is receive your visa stamp by presenting your Vietnam letter of approval and other necessary documents to Immigration Department officers.

4. What is VOA letter of approval Vietnam?

VOA Vietnam letter of approval is a certificate issued by the Vietnam Immigration Department, and its function is an official permit allowing its owner(s) to board the plane to Vietnam and get the visa stamped in their passport upon arrival at Vietnam airport. The Vietnam VOA letter is a pre-approved statement you need before traveling to Vietnam.

Visa applicants are required to submit a Vietnam visa application online for an agency in Vietnam to get a visa approval letter which will be processed within two working days, and then re-sent to the applicants by email.

If you do not have enough time or live far away from the local Vietnam Embassy, our service – Processing Vietnam visa online – can be your best choice because it is fast, straightforward, and convenient.

The illustration in the picture below is an example of an approval letter issued by the Vietnam Immigration Department:

5. How long can the Vietnam approval letter be processed after submitting the service?

Normally, after receiving an email with a title “Confirm payment success for using our service.”, your Vietnam visa approval letter will be sent to you via your email within two working days. In urgent case, the approval letter will be forwarded directly to your email within one working day and four working hours in super urgent case.

6. Will the applicants be allowed to visit Vietnam earlier than granted arrival date in the Vietnam VOA approval letter?

The answer is NO. If you make any change to your plan and would like to travel to Vietnam earlier than the granted arrival date, you are recommended to request a new visa approval letter, whereas a later entry is allowed.

7. Can travelers exit Vietnam later than the exit date granted in the approval letter for Vietnam visa?

No, they cannot. In case you wish to stay longer than your visa expiry date, a visa extension is recommended in order to assist you with this, and Greenvisa.io also provides Vietnam visa extension service. For further information, please feel free to contact us.

8. What is the difference between a single entry visa and multiple entry visas?

There is a huge difference between a single entry visa and multiple entry visa to Vietnam, which lies in a dozen of entries. In particular, using single entry visa, you are allowed to arrive Vietnam only once during your visa validity. After exiting Vietnam, your visa will automatically become invalid. In contrast, you can enter and exit Vietnam many times as you wish during your visa validity with multiple entry visas.

9. Why is visa on arrival more accessible than requesting a visa at the Consulate/ Embassy?

There are various reasons why most of the travelers all around the world choose visa on arrival, and it might come from some ideas below:

• Dodging a dozen of complicated procedures at the Consulate/ Embassy, which seems to be a genuine way to obtain Vietnam visa.
• The processing time never passes two working days, which is faster than getting visa at the embassy.
• There are numerous payment methods to accept such as PayPal, Gate 2 shop, Western Union, OnePay or Bank Transfer.
• Sending your passport or any document are not necessary (except for particular nationality).
• Receiving visa approval letter through a computer with internet access or electronic devices which have Wi-Fi or 3G such as iPhone or IPad to save time and money rather than moving to the Consulate/ Embassy.
• Your personal information is secured by one of the best-secured systems 128/256 bit SSL encryption, so you can rest assured that your private information is not revealed to anybody.

10. How much is the total cost for a Vietnam on arrival visa?

There are two kinds of fee that visitors applying for a visa on arrival have to pay. They are categorized as the Vietnam visa service fee and the Vietnam visa stamp fee.

The service charge is the fee you pay directly to Greenvisa.io for managing all processes with the Vietnam Immigration Department to receive the visa approval letter. What’s more, this fee changes not only by the number of candidates in your visa application but also by the type of service you wish to use (Standard service, Urgent Service or Royal processing). Our Online Payment System – which is available with Onepay, Gate2Shop, PayPal or Banking transfer service – will help you meet the service.

On the other hand, the Vietnam visa stamping fee is the payment that you have to pay directly in cash to the Immigration officers at the Vietnam airport to get visa stamped onto your passport. The stamping fee should be paid in USD or VND. However, USD unit is highly recommended because visitors can avoid the unbalanced exchange rate. The current applicable stamping fee is:

11. May I pay for the stamping fee Vietnam visa in VND cash to get Vietnam visa stamped on arrival?

The answer is Yes. Paying for the stamping fee in VND or USD is accepted; whereas USD unit is advised to avoid any crazy exchange rate at the airport.

12. I am a Vietnamese, currently living abroad with a foreign nationality, how can I gain a Vietnam visa?

As overseas Vietnamese, we kindly advise you to choose either of two following choices. The first option is to apply for a visa exemption by visiting Vietnam Embassy/Consulate to gain the Vietnam Visa, whereas the second one is to apply online with us.

13. Where is the place to gain Vietnam visa stamp?

If you do NOT enter Vietnam by aircraft, you should contact the nearest Vietnam Embassy to get the visa. You will be arranged visa on arrival stamp at the Immigration Department in the airport if you travel to Vietnam by airplane. To avoid wasting your time at the arrival airport, please kindly follow a few instructions below:

• Print out the visa approval letter and remember to put it in your luggage.
• Prepare two Vietnam visa passport photo size (4×6 cm), or you can take pictures at the airport.
• Print and fill out an application form for entry and exit Vietnam.
• Prepare the visa stamping fee.

Remember that you cannot board the flight and get your visa stamp without the Vietnam approval letter.

14. Where can I get Vietnam visa on arrival at the international airport?

At the entry hall inside the airports, there is a Visa Landing Counter in front of the check-in desk. To obtain the visa stamp, please provide necessary papers, two Vietnam visa photo, and stamping fee in cash to get the visa stamped at Vietnam visa landing counter.

The visa Vietnam photo size you prepared must be in 4×6 cm (but the color is not crucial). If you don’t have visa photo for Vietnam on your hand, you can take the it when coming and you have to pay 5 USD for this case. In addition, remember to prepare cash in USD, check the cost of Vietnam visa below:

15. What are visa photo requirements for Vietnam?

One of the crucial parts when applying for Vietnam visa is photos. Since a lot of travel agencies told that you need to prepare passport-sized photo, you may feel a little confused because each country will have its own photo specification. So, right now we will show you some requirements about visa photo for Vietnam regarding Vietnam tourist visa photo size  to help you enter the country without any hassle.

Generally, Vietnam visa photo requirements are not too strict, but you still need to remember these rules:

Basic requirements:

• Background: White or off-white background.
• Face: Must keep a neutral expression without smiling and face the camera.
• Eyes: Your eyes must be visible and looking at the camera.
• Glasses: Not acceptable except prescription glasses (if the frames are not thick)
• Clothing: Do not wear any hats, scarf or anything that cover your foreheads or ears.
• Color: No filters or black and white, just RGB.
• Regency: Photo for Vietnam visa must be taken no older than 6 months of the application date.

Vietnam visa photo size requirements:

Different from the passport size photos which must be strictly 4 x 6 cm, the size of Vietnam visa photo (including embassy visa photo and Vietnam visa on arrival photo) will depend on each country, but it must be 2 x 2 inches or 4 x 6 cm.

For those who enter Vietnam with visa on arrival, if you haven’t prepared visa photo for Vietnam before the flight, you can also take it at the arrival airport in Vietnam for about $5 each photo.

16. What should you do if your passport expires?

If your passport is expired, you cannot apply for your Vietnam visa or other kinds of visa. In this case, please make a new passport before applying for the visa to Vietnam. For instance, your passport is about to expired at the end of August, and you are going to travel at the same time. We particularly recommend that your passport should be renewed at least two months in advance so as to avoid any unexpected problem. Needless to say that you need to check your passport carefully to make sure it is valid at least six months since your date of entry in Vietnam before deciding to apply for a visa.

Should you have any further information, please let us know, solving your problems always be our priority.