August 23, 2020
Visa tips

Different Types of Vietnam Tourist Visa [Tourist Visa On Arrival; Tourist E-visa; Embassy Tourist Visa]

If you are traveling to Vietnam as a tourist, it’s important that you apply for your tourist visa ahead. Although Vietnam offers visa exemption to tourists of certain nationalities, most nationalities that are entering Vietnam as a tourist would require a visa before they can enter the country.

Thankfully, applying for a Vietnam tourist visa these days is pretty easy. In fact, there are several different types of Vietnam tourist visas that you can apply. They all have a different validity period, so you can choose according to your preferred length of stay in the country.

Vietnam Tourist Visa on Arrival

The Visa on Arrival is a popular option for tourists visiting Vietnam for a much longer time. That’s because this visa will give them the option to apply for multiple entries with a maximum stay of 3 months or 90 days. As the name suggests, this visa can be obtained upon arrival in Vietnam. However, this visa can only be claimed at the airports of Vietnam. Therefore, it is not applicable to tourists who oar entering through the seaports and land border entry points of Vietnam.

Even though the visa can only be claimed on arrival, tourists who need to use this type of Vietnam tourist visa must apply for it online in advance. There’s an online application form that tourists need to fill out. In exchange, they will be issued with a pre-approval letter, which they need to show at the airport along with their passports and other requirements in order to claim their visa.

When applying for the visa online, tourists must indicate whether they need a single entry or multiple entries. They also need to choose the validity period, which is 1 month to 3 months. At the airport, tourists can claim the visa at the Visa Landing Counter. The visa will be attached to their passport in the form of a sticker.

Vietnam Tourist E-visa

A more convenient way of applying for a Vietnam tourist visa is to choose an electronic visa. Also known as the e-visa, this visa can be obtained online and will be issued online as well. Unlike the visa on arrival where tourists have to claim the visa at the airport, the e-visa will no longer require that. Tourists can just print the visa and show it at the border.

The best part about the Vietnam e-visa is that it can be used at land border entry points and seaports. Thus, it’s applicable to tourists who are going on a cruise and those who are entering Vietnam through land borders. But take note that this visa will only let you apply for a single entry visa. Also, the maximum validity period is only 30 days or 1 month. So if you plan on staying in Vietnam for more than a month, this visa will not be suitable for you.

To apply for the Vietnam e-visa, you just need to fill out the E-visa application form online. You need to provide your complete name, passport number, nationality, and other important details about your trip. It will roughly take 7 business days for this visa to be processed. When the Vietnam Immigration approves your e-visa application, they will send you an email for a copy of the visa. Make sure you print the visa because this is what you will show at the border in order to be allowed entry into the country.

Vietnam Tourist Visa from the Embassy

Another option to apply for the Vietnam tourist visa is to go to the Vietnam embassy near you. This is the standard way of applying for a Vietnam visa. Several years ago when the visa on arrival and e-visa is not yet introduced, tourists who plan on visiting Vietnam will have to go to the embassy to send in their application.

When applying for a tourist visa at a Vietnam embassy, you will have to go personally and fill out a visa application form. You will also be required to submit some other requirements. It will usually take up to two weeks for the visa to be processed. Once they approve your visa application, they will attach a visa sticker on your passport. This is what you need to show on arrival in Vietnam in order to enter the country.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many ways in which you can apply for a Vietnam tourist visa these days. If you find it a hassle to apply at the embassy, then choose the Vietnam e-visa, since it’s very convenient. But for tourists who wanted to stay in Vietnam for up to three months for their holiday, the Visa on Arrival is highly recommended. The Visa on Arrival is also applicable to tourists who needed to enter the country several times since it offers an option for multiple entries

PERHAPS YOU ARE INTERESTED IN

The online tourist visa that you can get for Vietnam is valid for only one entry into the country and you can stay for up to thirty days during this time.  The same tourist e-visa cannot be used for leaving and coming to the country one more time.

The usual processing time for Vietnam e-visa for tourist takes anywhere between 24 hours to 72 hours. Only in rare scenarios it can take longer than that.

Vietnam e-visa is available only for the citizens of 81 countries depending on the country they are travelling from. This allows eligible travellers to enjoy a short stay in Vietnam for 30 days with a single entry for tourist purpose.

Under tourist class, the visas on arrival visa types consist of both multi-entry and single entry visa types. If you choose the visa type 3 months multiple entries, you can visit Vietnam and extend the stay till the third month.