Tourist visa (symbol: DL) is one of the most popular types of Vietnam visa. LVN Groupording to current regulations, it is valid for a maximum stay of 3 months (single/multiple entry) and can be extended/renewed only once after arriving in Vietnam. However, lvnording to the new regulations in Law 51/2019/QH14 effective from July 1, 2020, the temporary stay period of tourist visas is slightly changed. Tourist visas are currently valid for a maximum stay of 30 days. In case the tourist visa (DL) is valid for more than 30 days, the visa holder is granted a temporary stay of 30 days and is considered for an extension if he wants to continue to stay in Vietnam.
Simply put, Vietnam tourist visa is a type of visa issued to foreigners entering Vietnam for tourism purposes and does not apply to foreigners who intend to work during their stay in Vietnam. The following article will talk about the issue of Vietnam tourist visa:
Vietnam tourist visa
1. What are the general rules for tourist visas?
Vietnam tourist visa is not required for some nationalities on the list of countries exempted from Vietnam visa.
In case you are required to have a visa to enter Vietnam, you need to meet the below criteria:
- Current passport valid for at least 6 months from the date of your arrival in Vietnam (temporary passports are not lvnepted)
- Passport with at least 2 blank pages for visa and immigration stamps;
- 02 valid passport photos
2. Vietnam tourist visa classification
Currently, you can apply for a tourist visa of the following categories:
- 1 month of single entry (valid for 1 month with only 1 entry);
- 1 month of multiple entry (valid for 1 month with multiple entries)
- 3 months single entry (valid for 3 months with only 1 entry)
- 3 months of multiple entries (valid for 3 months with multiple entries)
Note: American citizens have another option when applying for a tourist visa to Vietnam, which is a 1-year multiple entry.
3. How to apply for Vietnam tourist visa?
Normally, you have 2 ways to apply for a Vietnam tourist visa, including:
- Apply for visa to enter Vietnam airport. You can apply online in advance to get visa approval letter and get visa after arriving at Vietnam airport
- Apply for a visa at Vietnamese embassies abroad.
4. The cost of applying for a tourist visa to Vietnam
The cost of applying for a visa will depend on the method you choose to obtain your visa.
- Get a visa at the embassy: the cost will vary by Embassy
- Get Vietnam airport entry visa: you need to pay 2 types of fees: (1) service fee – to be paid online to us. We will work with the Vietnam Immigration Department to get a visa approval letter for you and then send it to you via email, (2) stamping fee – to be paid in cash to the Immigration Department staff at Vietnam airport. The service fee will be fixed lvnording to the type of visa, the number of applicants and the processing time, and the stamping fee will be fixed lvnording to the type of visa.
For example, you need to pay about $46 to apply for a 1-month entry tourist visa (including $21 service fee to pay us and $25 stamp fee to pay at the airport).
The above service fee applies to the normal dispatch processing time of 2 working days. If you want to make an urgent visa, you need to pay more:
- 10 USD/person to receive dispatch in 1 working day;
- 25 USD/person if you want to receive dispatch in 4 working hours
- 50 USD/person if you want to receive dispatch in 2 working hours.
5. Processing Time
Total processing time for Vietnam tourist visa will depend on how you apply for your visa and also on Vietnamese and international holidays.
- Visa on arrival at the airport: it takes 2-4 working days to process the visa approval letter. If you want to apply for an urgent visa, you can get the dispatch in 2-4 working hours.
- Visa obtained at the Embassy: it takes about 5 working days to receive the official letter and other documents by post.
6. Frequently asked questions
6.1. Is the procedure to apply for a Vietnam tourist visa at Vietnamese embassies abroad the same?
No. Procedures, regulations on documents, processing time and cost of tourist visa application will be different between Embassies. If you want to apply for a visa at the nearest Vietnamese Embassy, please contact us directly for more details.
6.2. What information do I need to provide when applying for a tourist visa on arrival at Vietnam airport?
To process Vietnam tourist visa approval letter, you need to provide the following information:
- Full name on passport
- Date of birth
- Nationality by passport
- Passport
- Departure date: does not have to be exact, it can be the expected departure date.
6.3. Tourist visa extension
Because Vietnam tourist visa can only be extended once, to stay for an extra month in Vietnam, you need to exit Vietnam and then apply for a new 1-month visa to re-enter Vietnam.
6.4. I am Canadian and my husband is British. Can we apply for 1 year tourist visa to Vietnam?
No. The 1-year tourist visa is currently only applicable to US citizens. Citizens of other nationalities are only allowed to apply for a tourist visa with a duration of 01 and 03 months.
So, A Vietnam visa is part of the required immigration process for all travelers to the country. Depending on the purpose of an applicant’s visit, a Tourist or Business visa will be required for entry.
The most popular type of visa for Vietnam is Tourist Visa which is normally valid for 15-30 days. Tourist visa can be extended once you are arriving to Vietnam.
In some cases, you can apply for a 3 month visa for tourism purpose; the procedure will be the same with 1 month visa. In other words, Vietnamese tourist visa’s validity can be from 15 days to 3 months. Procedures:In order to apply for a tourist visa online and pick up your visa at Vietnam airports, the following information is required:
- Your name as per passport: it is your full name appears on your passport, name order is not important, so you can place either surname first or first name first.
- Your date of birth: in Vietnam, the date format will be DD/MM/YYYY
- Your Nationality or passport: the passport you are using to enter Vietnam.
- Your passport number: as shown on your passport and should be valid for 6 months at least from the date of arrival.
- Date of arrival: applicants must fill exactly Date of Arrival. Please be advised that you can just enter Vietnam later not earlier than the proposed date.
Photos: photos are required at Vietnam airport only.You can use our secure online form to submit your application or find all the download forms hereinstead.Tourism & Business purposes: On the approval letter, 3 month, 6 month visa is listed for business purposes by default, however, as the above statement, there is no difference and you can enter Vietnam for any purposes.