How to Get a Visa to Vietnam

Arrange a visa before arriving in Vietnam.

Tourists and business travelers must arrange the appropriate visa to enter Vietnam. Vietnamese embassies and general consulates issue visas in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and New York. While travel agencies and visa service companies may apply for a Vietnam visa on your behalf, you may personally apply for your visa by mailing your application or visiting a local Vietnamese embassy. The visa is pasted onto a blank page in your passport and seen by immigration authorities upon arrival in Vietnam.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Visa application form
• Passport
• 2-by-2-inch passport photo
• Visa fee

1. Download an application form from the Permanent Mission of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to the United Nations website if you are applying for a visa in New York; the Consulate General of Viet Nam in San Francisco website if you are applying for a visa in San Francisco; or the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the United States of America website if you are applying in Washington, D.C.

2. Fill out the form with your personal information. Choose multiple or single entry, and indicate your length of stay: one month, three months, less than six months or up to a year. Sign the form once completed.

3. Submit your original passport. Your passport must not expire within six months of your departure to Vietnam, and must be valid for one month before your planned return from Vietnam.

4. Staple or glue one 2-by-2-inch passport photo to your application form.

5. Prepare the visa fee by check or money order. Contact the Vietnamese embassy for pricing information. The embassy does not publish visa fees.

6. Include a prepaid envelope with your visa application if you cannot pick up your passport in person. The embassy recommends using pre-paid, self-addressed U.S. Postal Service or FedEx envelopes with tracking numbers.

7. Mail or personally deliver your application to the nearest Vietnamese embassy, whether in Washington, D.C., San Francisco or New York.

8. Examine your Vietnam visa once it is issued. Make sure your passport number and date validity are both correct.

Tips & Warnings

• Obtain visa approval if you plan to stay in Vietnam longer than three months on business. Have a Vietnamese sponsor or host contact the Ministry of Public Security or the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam. If you have no sponsor, contact the Vietnam embassy for assistance. You will also have to pay a visa approval fee. Contact your local embassy or general consulate for fee information.

• Visa processing time varies between two and five business days.

References

• Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the United States of America: Visa Information
• Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the United States of America:How to Obtain a Visa Approval Number
• Consulate General of Viet Nam in San Francisco: Instructions on Visa Application to Vietnam

Resources

• Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the United States of America: Visa Form
• Consulate General of Viet Nam in San Francisco: Consular Section
• Permanent Mission of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to the United Nations
• Viet Nam Immigration Department - Ministry of Public Security
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs Viet Nam