Vietnam Visa - Things you should know

Most visitors still need to apply for a Vietnamese visa in advance to enter the country. Vietnam visa is inexpensive in comparision to any other countries' visa fees ranging from US$45 - 85 if application is sent directly to the Embassy or US$25-55 if your visa has been pre-approved. A fairly convenient visa on arrival process has recently been introduced, but this requires a pre-arranged application to Hanoi Immigration Department and is generally helpful to nationals of countries without Vietnamese embassies. 

 Application to travel vietnam 

Read who need visa for the visa exemption information. 

Who need Visa to Vietnam? 
Only citizens of certain countries can visit Vietnam without an entry visa (valid for visit within 30 days). Those countries include: most Asean countries, Korea, Japan & Scandinavians (2005). All other citizens are required to get an entry visa before departure (visa issued prior to departure by Vietnamese consulates or embassies) or a pre-approved entry visa (visa is issued on arrival at Vietnam’s International Airports) supplied before arrival in Vietnam. 

VISA EXEMPTION INFORMATION 
- No visa required for travel less than 30 days: Citizens of Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Laos. 
- No visa required for travel less than 15 days: Citizens of Japan and South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland. 
- No visa required for travel less than 90 days or several visits within 6 months: Citizens of France holding valid diplomatic or official passports 

- No visa required for travel less than 60 days: Citizens of [updating] holding valid diplomatic or official passports. 
- No visa required for travel less than 60 days: APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) Holders from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies 
- Special Phu Quoc Exception: Foreigners and Vietnamese nationals bearing foreign passports who enter Vietnam through an international border gate and then travel to Phu Quoc Island and stay in Phu Quoc less than 15 days will also be exempt from visa application. Passports must be valid for at least 45 days. After arriving in Phu Quoc Island, if visitors want to travel other localities or stay in the island for more than 15 days, the immigration department will be responsible for issuing visas right on the spot.
- No visa required for Japanese citizens who hold valid diplomatic or official passports 
When entering Vietnam to implement diplomatic or Government’s official tasks without concerning about the time of stay. For those who entering Vietnam not for the diplomatic tasks but hold valid diplomatic or official passports can be exempted from entry visa and permitted to stay within 90 days.using an international or local mobile phone. 
The cheapest way to make international phone calls is at any of the various Internet cafes around Vietnam, although the quality varies. Two options to save money when calling from a land line (for example, in your hotel) are to either dial 171 or 178 (and then 00) before the country code or to buy a prepaid 1719 phone cards from the post office (prices between 30,000 VND to 500,000 VND). 

Overseas Vietnamese visa exemption begins next month 

The certificate will be valid five years. 
To obtain the certificates, overseas Vietnamese are required to submit one of the three following documents at an official representative office in their country of residence: 
• a document (such as a birth certificate) from a Vietnamese agency that proves they are ethnically Vietnamese; 
• a guarantee by an overseas Vietnamese association based in the country in which they reside or by a Vietnamese citizen; or 
• a document from an authorized foreign agency certifying that they are ethnically Vietnamese. 
Husbands, wives and children of Vietnamese people living abroad will also need to submit documents that prove their relationship to the Vietnamese member of their immediate family. 
Expecting a rush on representative offices abroad, the government’s Committee for Overseas Vietnamese has sent 200,000 visa exemption certificates to Vietnamese embassies overseas. 
The move to exempt visas for overseas Vietnamese was announced by President Nguyen Minh Triet during his visit to the US in June. 
According to the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, there are currently close to three million overseas Vietnamese, most of whom have settled in the US, France, Australia and Canada. Around 500,000 overseas Vietnamese visit Vietnam each year.