HOW DO I GET VIETNAM VISA ON ARRIVAL AT AIRPORT

Monday, 22/04/19

Visa on arrival is a legal document authorized by Department of Immigration that permits foreigners to enter and remain in Vietnam during a given period of time.We strongly recommended you to use this service to issue your visa with traveling, visiting family or friends, business purpose due to its convenient and cost-effective. You will get your visa on arrival at any international airports you have decided based on your flight ticket. Visa on arrival can be issued for any kind of visa (1 month, 3 months or one years with a single or multiple entries). In addition, while tourist approval letter takes about 2 working days to process, the business one takes 7 business days. Despite of any purpose, you should issue your air flight ticket after receiving your visa result because you are not allowed to enter Vietnam before the entry date on the approval letter. The guideline below may help you during getting Vietnam Visa at the airport.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE APPROVAL LETTER ON ARRIVAL

What is Vietnam Visa on Arrival

Visa on Arrival (VOA) is a legal document approved by the Department of Immigration. Some of the benefits outlined in a VOA are as follows:

Legitimate: VOA is granted and approved by the Vietnam Department of Immigration;
Convenient: Involves an easy online application and doesn’t require you to send a passport or photos. It often doesn’t require waiting or have delays in the process;
Cheap: Is often the lowest fee and best service afforded;
Fast: A Visa on Arrival application can be completed within two business days. Often if there is an emergency, a Vietnam visa may be given within two to three hours.

Is the “Visa on Arrival” legitimate?

Yes, it is! Vietnam Visa on Arrival is another way you are able to receive an authorized visa to visit Vietnam. Known for being a convenient way to obtain a visa in a short amount of time, a VOA has been mentioned in various news outlets, some of which include The New York Times, USA Today, Trip Advisor, and CNN. VOAs are granted by the Vietnam Department of Immigration, which arranges for documents to be picked up upon arrival at one of Vietnam’s international airports.

What is the Approval Letter?

The Visa Approval Letter is a letter issued by the Immigration Department of Vietnam allowing you to enter and exit Vietnam for a given period of time. With your Approval Letter, you can pick up your Visa on Arrival at one of five international airports in Vietnam. These international airports include:

Hanoi
Da Nang
Ho Chi Minh City
Nha Trang
Phu Quoc

At the airport, the entry authority will verify the details of the Approval Letter based on your passport and travel documents. As long as you have entered the correct information on your visa application, you should have no problems being granted entry into Vietnam with your Approval Letter.

KEY FEATURES OF VIETNAM VISA ON ARRIVAL
Most people need a visa in order to enter Vietnam, unless they are coming from one of the visa-exempt countries. There are three ways of obtaining such a visa:

Apply in person or by post through your nearest Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate;
Apply for a Visa on Arrival (VOA) or;
Apply for an e-visa online

While there are advantages and disadvantages associated with each of these, we recommend the Visa on Arrival as the best option for the purposes of tourist, business and work considering a trip to Vietnam.

Below are more details about the Vietnam Visa on Arrival:

Vietnam Visa on Arrival

Key Features:

Convenient, as it can be done by completing an online application form
Can be used to apply for any type of visa (1- 3, or 6 months, or 1 year multiple-entry visa)
You will need to pay two fees: 1. Service fee for approval letter, 2. Stamping fee.
The service fee is paid online to the service provider. The amount depends on the visa type (number of months and number of entries) and service provider.
The stamping fee is paid at the arrival airport when the visa is stamped. The fee starts at USD25 for 1 month and 3 month single entry, USD50 for 1 and 3 month multiple-entry visas. The stamping fee must be paid in cash (USD or VND).
Can only be obtained at Vietnam’s international airports in Hanoi, Danang, Ho Chi Minh, Cam Ranh or Phu Quoc Airport. Hence it is only an option for air passengers.
For tourist approval letter takes about 2 working days to process and can be sped up to 1 day or 4 hours for an extra charge. While the business approval letter takes 5 working days to process

Visa on Arrival is a viable option with various advantages. With Visa on Arrival, you can apply for longer-term and multiple-entry visas, and you do not need to go in person to the Embassy, or apply by post. You just need to submit an online application and get a pre-approval letter.

HOW TO OBTAIN A VIETNAM VISA ON ARRIVAL

If you're planning to get a business, working, investment visa in Vietnam, you need to have a sponsored company has been registered and operating in Vietnam. The whole procedure for the business visa must go through 2 steps: 1- The first step, have a visa Approval Letter (Pre-Visa) sponsored by a company in Vietnam, issued by the Ministry of Public Security in advance; 2- The second step, the applicant pick up the business visa by themselves at the Vietnam’s international airports include: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang or Nha Trang.

Step 1: Obtaining a business approval letter on arrival from Vietnam Immigration Department

For the purposes of business, work or investment, the applicants are required a Visa Approval Letter from the Ministry of Public Security in advance obtained by a company in Vietnam. The Visa Approval Letter is the legal document approved by the Vietnam Immigration Department to allow foreigners enter into Vietnam and pick up visa at all Vietnam’s international airports upon arrival: the international airports include Noi Bai International Airport (Hanoi); Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh City); Da Nang International Airport (Da Nang); Cam Ranh International Airport (Nha Trang); Phu Quoc International Airport (Kien Giang)

The required documents need to provide both the applicant and Vietnam’s sponsor company

A notary certified copy of sponsor company’s business or investment or representative license in Vietnam, tax and stamp registration certificate;
Visa application forms must be signed and sealed by a legal representative of the company;
Scanning the applicant’s passport;
Providing the proposed date of arrival (this is the date you want your visa to start from. The start date of the visa itself will be the day you arrive - you can enter Vietnam at a later date (up to your exit date) but not before that date, so be sure to take time zone differences into account);
The place of picking up the visa at any Vietnam international airports: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Cam Ranh, or Phu Quoc

* The visa duration is from 1 to 12 months with single or multiple entries

* Normal processing time: 7 working days

Step 2: Preparing required documents for picking up the Visa on arrival

You are able to get your visa stamped at the embassy or the airport or border crossing, to do this you must submit the following documents:

Applicant’s original passport must be valid for six months from your intended arrival date, and must have at least one blank visa page;
2 passport sized photographs (4x6 cm);
The copy of visa approval letter;
Complete the entry and exit application form;
Visa stamping fee depending on the visa single or multiple entry and visa validity (USD25 for 1 and 3 month single, USD50 for 1 and 3 month multiple, USD95 for 6 month multiple and USD135 for 1 year multiple entry) must be paid in cash at the place of visa picking up

WHERE TO PICK UP THE VISA

There are three options to obtain Business Visa for those that require it

Obtain the visa at Vietnamese Embassies/ Consulates in your own or another country or
Obtain the visa at Vietnam’ international airports including Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City, Noi Bai airport in Ha Noi City, Cam Ranh airport in Nha Trang, Da Nang airport in Da Nang City or Phu Quoc airport in Kien Giang Province or
Obtain the visa at Vietnam’ international border crossings, Vietnam has over a dozen international overland border crossings. These allow overland travel to Cambodia (via five crossings), Laos (via six crossing) and China (at least two crossings)

CITIZENS OF THE FOLLOWING 24 COUNTRIES ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HOLD A VISA FOR VIETNAM

Visitors to Vietnam must obtain a visa from one of the Vietnamese Embassies/ Consulates or via agencies on arrival unless they come from one of the visa-exempting countries. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months.

Citizens of Brunei and Myanmar are granted bilateral visa-free entry no more than 14 days;
Citizens of Philippines are granted bilateral visa-free entry no more than 21 days;
Citizens of Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are granted bilateral visa-free entry no more than 30 days;
Citizens of Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Finland, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Belarus are granted unilateral visa-free entry no more than 15 days
Citizens with APEC business cards from member economies of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) are granted visa-free entry with no more than 60 days of residence;
For tourists to Phu Quoc, Vietnam: Foreigners and abroad residing Vietnamese citizens entering Vietnam through an international border and travelling to Phu Quoc island, then residing under 15 days are granted Vietnam visa free entry. Passport are required at least 45 days validity. After entering Phu Quoc, in case travelers want to have a visit to other destinations or reside in the island more than 15 days, they will be offered Vietnam visa by the Immigration department right in the island;

Note that the citizens of Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Finland, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Belarus are granted unilateral visa-free entry no more than 15 days, after 15 days visa exemption they must leave Vietnam for their home or another country and it takes at least 30 days since the latest exit from Vietnam to enter again without Vietnam visa.

OTHER INFORMATION RELATED TO VIETNAM'S WORK PERMIT, VISAS AND TEMPORARY RESIDENCE CARD

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HOW DO I GET VIETNAM VISA ON ARRIVAL AT AIRPORT

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