If you are desiring to travel around the world some day and Vietnam - with all its beautiful places and wonderful people - appears in your list, then, it should be high time for you to start discover needed requirements to arrive Vietnam. Of the most crucial and indispensable documents that you need to prepare for your entry into Vietnam is Vietnam visa. So how to get one?
What is Vietnam visa?
Vietnam visa is a certificate issued by Vietnamese government to its foreign travellers to grant that the foreigners have legal right to enter Vietnam and take some specific activities within the national border. Traditionally, you must get a Vietnam visa online before your actual travel at Vietnam Embassy, however, with newly enacted policy, you now can get a visa in a much easier way which is getting visa when arrived at the airport. Just see how these two methods of applying for a visa work.
How to get Vietnam visa?
1. Get visa at Vietnam Embassy
Vietnam Embassies are located in different countries worldwide. Nationals from a country that has a Vietnam Embassy can apply in person there. The procedure before the visa is issued can take from 3-6 working days, depending on different Embassies. Documents to be presented as prerequisite for a visa consist of valid original passport, visa application form to be fully filled at the Embassy, passport-sized photos and visa fee. With this method of applying a visa, applicants will get the visa stamp endorsed into their original passports.
2. Get visa on arrival
In case your country does not have a Vietnam Embassy or your residence is too far away from the embassy, you can think of applying online for a visa to save time and travel expenses. For online application, you pay service fee online to the agent providing the visa service and get visa approval letter with a reference number and your entry details on it. This letter certifies your official right to be issued visa on arrival at any of Vietnam international airports. However, visa on arrival is only applicable when you travel to Vietnam by air. At the airport, you will be required to present your original passport, fully filled entry and exit form, passport-sized photos and visa approval letter to get visa stamped into your passport. Here, you need to pay visa stamping fee to Vietnam Immigration Department.
Both visa on arrival and visa at Vietnam Embassy are legitimate and guarantee your legal entry to Vietnam. However, it is recommended that you apply online before your travel if you are in an urgent need for a visa or you feel traveling a long journey to Vietnam Embassy and accomplishing all lengthy bureaucratic procedures there hassling.
Read more: What to bear in mind before applying for a Vietnam visa on arrival?