How to Apply for a Vietnam E-Visa

Plenty of visitors to Vietnam never need an e-visa at all, so start by checking whether your passport is already exempt. If it is not, the e-visa is applied for online in advance. The process is straightforward, but it is unforgiving about detail.

First: do you even need one?

More than 30 nationalities — including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and South Korea — can currently enter visa-free for 30 or 45 days. Check your own entitlement before you pay for anything, because a short trip may need no e-visa whatsoever. Phu Quoc also has its own separate 30-day exemption for all nationalities arriving on a direct international flight to the island.

The e-visa, in brief

• Open to all nationalities since 2023.
• Valid for up to 90 days, single or multiple entry.
• Official fee US$25 single entry or US$50 multiple entry.
• Usually approved in around three working days.
• The fee is not refunded if your application is refused — which is why the detail below matters.

What you need before you start

• A passport valid well beyond your intended stay, with blank pages.
• A digital scan of your passport data page — flat, in focus, all four corners visible.
• A passport-style photograph on a plain background, with no glasses.
• Your intended entry and exit dates.
• Your intended port of entry, and your first accommodation address.

The application, step by step

1. Complete the form on the official portal, checking every field against your passport character by character.
2. Upload the photo and passport scan in the required format.
3. Pay the fee and save the registration code — you cannot check your status without it.
4. Wait, then download and print the approved visa.

The mistakes that cause rejections

• A name entered in the wrong order, or missing a middle name that appears in the passport.
• A date of birth or passport number with a single transposed digit.
• A photo with a shadow, a background that isn't plain, or glasses.
• Choosing the wrong port of entry — the visa is tied to it, and arriving elsewhere can mean being refused.

Processing time

Allow about a week to be safe, and considerably longer around Tết and other public holidays. Do not book non-refundable flights on the assumption of a fast turnaround.

On arrival

Print your approval and keep a digital copy. Immigration will want the printed page. Keep it with your passport for the whole trip — you may need it again on departure.