Visa Issues

Visas are still an expensive and rather tiresome aspect of traveling to Vietnam. Do ensure that you apply for a visa well in advance. And if you do so from outside Asia, it may take even longer…
Visas are still an expensive and rather tiresome aspect of traveling to Vietnam. Do ensure that you apply for a visa well in advance. And if you do so from outside Asia, it may take even longer. Ask for a multiple entry visa (same price, but not always granted) or at least a double entry visa. Don’t forget to arm yourself with a sheaf of passport photos: vital for visa applications and useful for other official dealings within Vietnam, where the photo booth is still a convenience of the future. Do check for up-to-date information: regulations change frequently, as do visa lengths and prices. For example, there is talk of tourist visas being issued on arrival in Vietnam, falling in line with Cambodia and Laos, but at the time of writing, there is only an emergency possibility of having a visa delivered to the airport in Vietnam where you arrive. If avoidable, this is not recommended, as it is expensive and risky: many airlines refuse to fly passengers without valid papers, because they will be held responsible for flying you out again if there is a hitch and you don’t get your visa. Once you’re on your way to Vietnam, usually on the flight or when you arrive at the airport, you will be asked to fill in an entry/ exit form and to keep a (yellow) copy.

Don’t lose this form, you may need it to open a bank account or show an officious hotel receptionist and if you do mislay it, you may have to fill out another one before you can leave the country. Do beware of the double dating system. Your visa will contain a termination date and your passport will most likely be stamped with a permitted to stay until date. These two dates are rarely identical! And, of course, the earliest of the two is the one that counts.