The visa application is a process that is long and tedious, and sometimes it can be very exhaustive too. But Vietnam Government has made this protracted process a straightforward and easy one for many nationals. There are many ways one can enter Vietnam. The famous of all the Vietnam e-visa and the Vietnam visa on arrival. The only difference between the before mentioned visa types is that the e-visa for Vietnam applies to only 81 countries. List Of Countries That Allowed For Vietnam E-Visa.
In contrast, the Vietnam visa on arrival allows all the nationals to travel to Vietnam. Not only that, but the Vietnam visas on arrival can be applied for multiple or single entries. One can also come for any purpose; whether it’s for business, summit, or tour, one can easily travel to Vietnam via the visa on arrival process.
As the name suggests, a visa on arrival is a travel document called visa approval letter that allows you to board the airplane for flying to Vietnam then pick up the visa when landing in Vietnam at the international airports. You should apply online to request for the visa approval letter, after which you can collect the visa upon arriving the country once you arrive at Vietnam international airports. But there few things that the traveler should always know before opting for a Vietnam visa on arrival.
Options You Have To Travel To Vietnam
There are various options one can have while they apply for a visa for Vietnam.
Option 1: Vietnam e-visa
The Vietnam E-Visa is a computerized authorization of traveling to Vietnam from the Vietnamese government Authorities. The e-visa is issued in PDF format and is valid for 30 days only after the initial date of entry. It is the same as a visa but has no label or stamp in the passport. One can apply for e-visa for tourism, business, summit Etc.
Vietnam e-visa is applied online where the applicant enters personal information such as name, birth date, and address. Given that, the applicant requires to give a photo in PDF, JPG or PNG format and a scan of at least six months valid passport. The whole procedure ends in a few minutes, and then the applicant waits for the visa approval. Usually, the visa approval takes three days, but it may extend to seven days in exceptional situations. The applicant should, therefore, apply for the e-visa at least a week before planning the trip.
Option 2: Vietnam Visa on Arrival
The option highlighted here has a lot of limits. The traveler has to travel only by air to avail of the Vietnam visa on arrival, and there are only seven airports that entertain the traveler with a Vietnam visa on arrival. The applicant has to apply online for the approval letter and fill in the details with his personal, travel, and passport information. The traveler can stay for thirty or ninety days in Vietnam. However, if the traveler is a US citizen, then he can have the opportunity to avail of the visa for one year to stay in Vietnam. The whole process takes two business days to end, and the applicant receives the approval letter via the email he mentioned in the application form.
Once the traveler gets the approval letter, he can board the plane and present the approval letter to the immigration officer at the Vietnam International Airport. The approval letter is needed together with two passport size photos of the traveler for the Vietnamese-visa-application-form (Form NA1). The traveler has to show the passport to the immigration officer too. Once every document is reviewed, the officers put a stamp on the passport to allow the traveler to enter Vietnam. Not to mention, the traveler has to pay the fee for the postage at the airport, too, where he gets the visa stamp. It is advised to the applicants to take the amount to be paid at the counter in advance with them.
Flaws of the Visa on Arrival for Vietnam
Vietnam visa on arrival is an easy and straightforward process, but there are some limitations to it too. The first disadvantage of the visa on arrival is that it requires a lot more paperwork than the Vietnam e-visa.
Then the traveler is only allowed to travel via air. The other ports of entry are not an option for them. Limited airports in Vietnam accept the Vietnam visa on arrival, the applicant has to make sure he lands on one of the airports of Vietnam that accepts visa on arrival for travelers.
The fee for a visa stamp is the additional charge that the traveler has to pay once they arrive at the immigration counter at the Vietnam International Airport. Not to mention, this fee is only accepted in cash. A credit or debit card is not allowed.
The travel has to wait in a queue to get a visa stamp on the passport. The time it takes depends on the crowd at the airport. It is a tiring process.
Though it has few limitations, the Vietnam visa on arrival allows the traveler to stay for thirty or ninety days in Vietnam. And if the traveler is a US citizen, he has the option to stay for up to one year on that visa in Vietnam.
