The two crossings that matter when you're entering Vietnam from Cambodia overland are Moc Bai, at the end of the 240 km bus road from Phnom Penh, and Vinh Xuong, where boats come down the Mekong. Both are on Vietnam's eVisa gate list, neither has a walk-up visa counter, and Giant Ibis, the Phnom Penh bus company, won't let you board without a printed eVisa.
So pick the crossing first, because the eVisa form asks for it, then apply (or confirm your passport is exempt) while you're still in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap or Kampot. If you're still weighing land against air, here's every way to get to Vietnam.
Cambodia-Facing eVisa Gates: All Ten, and the One That Isn't
Vietnam accepts eVisa holders at 83 border crossings, 27 of them land gates, and 10 of the land gates face Cambodia. Five are on the original 2023 list: Moc Bai, Xa Mat, Tinh Bien, Vinh Xuong and Ha Tien. The other five came with Resolution 389/NQ-CP of December 2, 2025, so older guides show half the list.
| Vietnamese Gate | Cambodian Side | What to Know |
|---|---|---|
| Moc Bai | Bavet (Svay Rieng) | The Phnom Penh bus road |
| Vinh Xuong | Kaam Samnor (Kandal) | Road and river gate for Mekong boats |
| Ha Tien (Xa Xia) | Prek Chak (Kampot) | The coast road from Kampot |
| Tinh Bien | Phnom Den (Takeo) | Road crossing |
| Xa Mat | Trapeang Phlong | Road crossing |
| Le Thanh | Oyadav (Ratanakiri) | Added 2025; Oyadav is on Cambodia's list |
| Tan Nam | Meun Chey (Prey Veng) | Added 2025; confirm the Cambodian side |
| Thuong Phuoc | Kaoh Roka (Prey Veng) | Added 2025; confirm the Cambodian side |
| Binh Hiep | Svay Rieng and Prey Veng border | Added 2025; confirm the Cambodian side |
| Dinh Ba | Prey Veng border | Added 2025; confirm the Cambodian side |
Hoa Lu is the gate that looks right on a map and isn't. It's an international crossing opposite Trapeang Sre, on the road from Kratie, but neither eVisa resolution lists it, and an eVisa only works at border gates on the government's list.
The newer gates have a catch on Cambodia's side. Cambodia's own list of international checkpoints includes Oyadav but not Meun Chey or Kaoh Roka, even though Tan Nam and Meun Chey were inaugurated as a pair on December 8, 2025. Plan on Moc Bai, Vinh Xuong, Ha Tien, Tinh Bien or Xa Mat, and confirm Tan Nam, Thuong Phuoc, Binh Hiep or Dinh Ba before you build a day around one.
Moc Bai: The Phnom Penh Bus, Step by Step
Giant Ibis runs the Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City route in a scheduled 6 hours for 240 km, crossing at Bavet and Moc Bai. From Siem Reap, its sleeper bus covers 550 km in 12 hours through the same gate. On the Phnom Penh bus, the border goes like this:
- Print your eVisa before boarding. No paper, no seat, but the company prints eVisas free at its offices.
- At Bavet, everyone gets off for the Cambodian exit stamp.
- The crew hands passports back as you leave the bus, collects them when you reboard, and takes them through Vietnamese immigration.
- The bus finishes on Pham Ngu Lao Street, District 1.
The third step is the one that surprises people. Your passport spends part of the crossing in the crew's hands, so keep a photo of its data page and your eVisa on your phone.
⚠️ The paper rule belongs to the bus company. Vietnam's immigration law describes printing the eVisa from the portal, so carry a printed copy and keep one on your phone. Giant Ibis simply won't let you on without the paper.
Vinh Xuong: Into Vietnam by Mekong Boat
On the river, Cambodia's Kaam Samnor faces Vietnam's Vinh Xuong, a road and river gate on the eVisa list since 2023. One Mekong cruise operator tells passengers to enter "Vinh Xuong international land and river border gate, An Giang province" in the section headed "Allowed to entry through checkpoint".
The same page says there's no visa on arrival at the river border, so you need your eVisa, or an exemption, before the boat arrives. Leaving Cambodia is the easy half: you can exit through any official Cambodian checkpoint, whatever visa you came in on. If you're lingering in the Delta, our Can Tho travel guide picks up where the boat leaves off.
⚠️ On a downstream cruise, your eVisa starts at the river. That operator puts its passengers' Vietnam entry date 3 days before the scheduled arrival in Ho Chi Minh City. Date the eVisa from the crossing day, or you'll reach the gate 3 days before it starts.
Ha Tien: The Kampot Road and the Phu Quoc Trap
From Kampot, the road crossing is Prek Chak on the Cambodian side and Xa Xia, the Ha Tien gate, on the Vietnamese side. Ha Tien has been on the eVisa list since 2023, so an eVisa naming it works like any other land entry.
The trap is the island offshore. You can visit Phu Quoc island visa-free for up to 30 days if you fly there direct, or connect through another Vietnamese international airport and stay in the transit area. Walk across at Ha Tien and you've entered mainland Vietnam, so you need an eVisa or a nationality exemption at the gate, even if the island is your only stop.
⚠️ Phu Quoc's visa-free stay doesn't start at a land border. The exemption covers the island only. Going on to the mainland without a visa breaks the rules and can bring a fine of VND 3 to 5 million. From Kampot you hit the mainland first, so get the eVisa before Prek Chak.
No Visa at the Barrier: Apply Before You Leave Cambodia
Getting a Vietnam visa in Cambodia means applying online, not queuing at the border. Visa on arrival survives in Vietnamese law, but only in specific cases, with a pre-approval letter that a sponsor in Vietnam gets from Vietnam Immigration first. Turn up at Moc Bai without that letter and there's no visa to buy. We don't process visa-on-arrival letters, and for a land crossing the eVisa is simpler anyway.
Citizens of every country and territory can apply for a Vietnam eVisa. It can be valid for up to 90 days, and you choose single or multiple entry. It's issued to people outside Vietnam, so Phnom Penh is exactly where to apply. Vietnam's immigration law sets the deadline: Immigration has 3 working days to decide once it has the complete application and the fee. In practice, 3 to 5 working days is what usually happens.
You can apply yourself at evisa.gov.vn, the government's own eVisa site, and pay only the $25 single-entry or $50 multiple-entry stamp fee. Vietnam Visa by BDA is a private company, not affiliated with the Vietnamese government; we review, correct, submit and follow up. Prices start at $54 per applicant for a 1-month single-entry eVisa, with the Vietnam Immigration stamp fee included; Urgent (2 business days) adds $45 and Super Urgent (1 business day) adds $85. The clock starts when your application reaches Vietnam Immigration, normally within 2 business hours of payment, not at checkout. Vietnam Immigration issues the visa and sets the timing: we can file, chase and correct, but we can't move an approval up the line.
The eVisa Form: Naming the Crossing You'll Use
Vietnam's rule is short: use one of the border gates on the government's eVisa list to enter and leave. Foreign governments read it more strictly. The UK says eVisas restrict you to the entry and exit points you select, and Canada says you can enter only via the port of entry shown in the approval notice. Vietnamese law says neither that you're bound nor that you can switch, so pick the gate you actually plan to use: Moc Bai for the bus, Vinh Xuong for the boat.
On October 15, 2026, the application form's border-gate dropdown offered 79 of the 83 listed gates. The four missing were three airports and one seaport, so all 10 Cambodia-facing land gates could be selected. Pick by the Vietnamese name ("Moc Bai Landport", not Bavet), because the form lists only Vietnam's side. Our guide to how to apply for the eVisa covers the other fields.
Two passport rules catch people mid-trip. Under Vietnam's immigration law, your passport has to stay valid for at least 30 days after your eVisa ends; the UK and Canada advise at least 6 months' validity, and airlines often apply that rule. If yours was lost in Cambodia, know that the eVisa portal doesn't issue visas for emergency or temporary passports.
⚠️ Cross into Vietnam on the passport you'll leave on. The UK notes that Vietnamese authorities require visitors to enter and exit on the same passport. Dual nationals should apply on the passport they'll show at the gate and leave Vietnam on that one too.
Who Can Cross Without an eVisa
Some passports cross without one. These are the visa-free stays that matter on this border:
- Cambodia, Laos and Thailand: up to 30 days each, under bilateral arrangements. Cambodian travelers will find more in our Vietnam visa rules for Cambodian citizens.
- Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the UK: up to 45 days, for any purpose, as the UK's advice confirms.
- Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland: up to 45 days, for tourism only.
For visa-free entry, your passport needs at least 6 months of validity left when you arrive, a rule the UK's advice repeats. Staying past your visa-free days means applying for a visa or an extension through a sponsor in Vietnam. If you came into Vietnam visa-free earlier and want a longer second stay, you have to leave Vietnam and re-enter on the eVisa to switch, so apply from Cambodia and cross back on it.
Flying From Phnom Penh: The Airport Option
To travel from Cambodia to Vietnam by air, start with the airport's new name. Techo International (KTI) replaced Phnom Penh International (PNH) on September 9, 2025, and Cambodia asks you to select KTI on visa applications. It's 198 km in a straight line from KTI to Ho Chi Minh City, close enough that the bus stays a real alternative.
Air Cambodia's direct Phnom Penh to Da Nang flights resumed on January 15, 2026, three times a week, with a flight time of about 2 hours, and several other airlines link the two countries, so check current schedules. Flying changes one field on the eVisa: the checkpoint becomes your arrival airport, such as Tan Son Nhat or Da Nang, not a land gate.
Border Day: Stamps, Photos and the Fighting in the News
Leave the camera in your bag. Canada's advice lists border crossings among the sensitive installations Vietnam prohibits photographing. And get your Cambodian exit stamp before you walk into Vietnam; on the bus, that's the stop at Bavet.
The fighting that turns up in searches was on Cambodia's border with Thailand, not Vietnam's. A ceasefire was signed on December 27, 2025, and the UK still advises against all but essential travel within 20 km of Cambodia's land border with Thailand. Land crossings between Thailand and Cambodia remain suspended, so a trip from Bangkok reaches Cambodia by air. None of that touches the Vietnam border, where the Phnom Penh bus is selling seats as usual.
A Few Parting Notes
Give yourself one to two weeks and the speed tiers stop mattering. Tet and public holidays push processing further, and the public-sector Tet break runs February 4 to 10, 2027. If you're crossing in early February, apply before the break, not during it.
If your bus leaves within 24 hours, phone +84 832 320 320 before paying so we can tell you whether it's doable. And your eVisa is a PDF file, so save it to your phone before you leave the hotel Wi-Fi.