Visas for Hanoi Vietnam
Get your visas well in advance
Most people who visit Vietnam do so on a one-month, single-entry tourist visa obtained from the Vietnamese embassy or consulate in their own country. However, nationals of ASEAN countries like Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia are exempt from visas for stays up to 30 days, while citizens of Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway are exempt for 15 days.
In order to apply for a visa, you must complete a visa application form, provide photographs and pay the fee, which varies between US$30 and US$80 depending how fast you want it. It’s best to allow at least a week to make sure there are no last-minute hold-ups.
Recently the government has been trying to make the process easier, and these days it is possible to by-pass the visit to the embassy by applying for a visa on arrival from a tour operator who is organizing your stay, or throught he website www.visaforvietnam.org.
If you organize your trip through a tour operator, they may offer this service for free, while the website charges a service fee of US$20 on top of the visa cost (usually US$20 for a one-month, single entry).
Tourist visas are valid for visitors arriving at the airports in Ho Chi Minh City, Danang and Hanoi. If you plan on arriving in the country overland via China, Laos or Cambodia, you will need to specify the border crossing on your application.
If you plan on staying longer, it’s worth applying for a three-month visa (US$30) to avoid the inconvenience of applying for an extension in the country. Business and student visas are also available, but you will need documentation from your employer or educational establishment to support your application.
There are, of course, penalties for overstaying a visa, but exactly what these fines are is never made clear. In practice, this means it depends on the mood of the particular official who catches a transgressor. So to avoid getting stung or locked up in a Vietnamese prison, make sure you don’t overstay your visa.
