In the border-gate dropdown on Vietnam's eVisa form, Hanoi's airport is "Noi Bai Int Airport" and Ho Chi Minh City's is "Tan Son Nhat Int Airport (Ho Chi Minh City)," and you don't have to leave by the gate you came in through. The intended expenses box on a Vietnam visa application takes digits only (type 1500, not $1,500) and, like occupation, ID card and insurance, it's optional for most nationalities: only fields marked with an asterisk stop you from submitting.
Every label below is quoted exactly as the form at evisa.gov.vn served it on October 15, 2026. If you're still deciding whether to do it yourself, our Vietnam visa guide covers the bigger picture.
How the Form Works: Two Uploads, Then Nine Sections
The form opens with two uploads, a portrait and your passport's data page. The system reads the passport and fills in your details, and the portal's instructions tell you to check and fix anything it gets wrong. The portrait must be a recent 4x6 cm JPG or JPEG under 2MB on a white background, with no hat and no glasses.
"No MRZ detected in the passport image" means the system couldn't read your passport's machine-readable zone, and a "low match rate" warning means your portrait and passport photo don't look enough alike. Neither blocks you, but both say "Your application may be rejected," so upload a sharper image rather than clicking past.
Then come nine numbered sections, from "1. PERSONAL INFORMATION" to "9. ATTACHED IMAGE (IF ANY)." One line on the form governs them all: "Fulfill required information (*) and others (if any)." An empty field with an asterisk blocks submission. Everything else is optional, which is why several boxes people agonize over need no answer at all.
Personal Information: Names, Birthplace and the ID Card Box
Section 1 has two name boxes, "Surname (Last name)" and "Middle and given name (First name)," each up to 50 characters. The note says to "Enter name as on the ICAO line in the passport," meaning the machine-readable lines at the bottom of the photo page, and the official FAQ wants capitals and your full name, middle name included. Middle names go in the given-name box. A passport with a single name leaves the surname box empty (it's optional for most nationalities) and puts the name in the given-name box.
⚠️ The name boxes take A to Z and spaces, nothing else. The validator says "Only Latin characters allowed, no special characters," so a hyphen or apostrophe can't be typed: copy your name from the machine-readable lines, not the printed one. Canada's travel advice warns that details which don't match your passport exactly, name order included, can mean extra fees, denied boarding or refused entry.
"Date of birth" offers "Full" or "Only year is known," for passports that print just a year. "Place of birth" is required, up to 255 characters; copy it from your passport. "Identity Card" means a national ID number (the Vietnamese label reads "Số CMND/CCCD/ID"), optional for most nationalities and capped at 20 characters, so leave it empty if your country doesn't issue one. Religion is required too, a typed answer of up to 50 characters with no list to pick from; we cover what to write in a separate guide.
Then the history questions. "Do you have multiple nationalities?" and "Have you ever used any other passports to enter into Viet Nam?" are yes or no. "Violation of the Vietnamese laws/regulations (if any)" asks for the act, when it happened, the sanction and the authority. The FAQ is blunt about leaving out an old one: "you may be denied an electronic visa." Declare it.
Requested Information: Entry Type and Two Dates
Section 2 is short. "To issue e-Visa for" offers "Single-entry" or "Multiple-entry," and "Grant e-Visa valid from" and "To" set your eVisa's two dates. The form caps that window at 90 days counting both ends, so June 1 to June 30 is 30 days, not 29, and a 91-day window is rejected.
The start date can't be in the past, and it isn't your flight. The form copies it into "Intended date of entry" and fills "Intended length of stay in Viet Nam" from your two dates. Leave a day or two either side of your flights, inside the 90-day cap, so a delay doesn't strand you outside your own window.
Passport Information: Number, Type and the 30-Day Rule
Section 3 asks for the passport number: capitals and digits only, up to 20 characters. "Issuing Authority/Place of issue" is optional, up to 100 characters; if you fill it in, copy the authority line from your data page. You'll also answer "Do you hold any other valid passports," yes or no.
"Passport type" is a dropdown with four choices: "Ordinary passport," "Diplomatic passport," "Official passport" and "Other," which makes you specify. Almost every tourist picks "Ordinary passport." The other choices are for people who actually hold those passports.
The validity check is the one to watch. The form refuses a passport that expires less than 30 days after the eVisa ends. That's Vietnamese law, and it's only the floor: the UK and Canada advise at least 6 months' validity, and airlines often apply that rule.
⚠️ Temporary and emergency passports can't get an eVisa. The portal's instructions rule out four types: temporary, emergency and BNO passports, and diplomatic passports used for diplomatic entry. If that's what you hold, talk to a Vietnamese embassy or consulate before you book.
Contact and Occupation: Where Your Hotel Doesn't Go
Section 4 asks for "Permanent residential address," "Contact address" and "Telephone number," plus an "Emergency contact" (full name, current residential address, telephone number and relationship), all required. None of them is labeled as an address in Vietnam.
Your Vietnam address has its own block in section 6: "Residential address in Viet Nam" (required, up to 500 characters), whose tooltip uses a hotel as its example, then two required dropdowns, "Province/city" and "Ward / commune." There's no district field. If you're staying in several places, the FAQ says to declare the first address only. A required checkbox commits you to declaring temporary residence, which you do after arrival through whoever runs each place you stay.
Section 5, occupation, opens with a dropdown: Businessman, Student, Employee, Official, Retired, Unemployed or Others. "Occupation Info," "Name of Company/Agency/School," "Position/Course of study" and the workplace's address and phone follow. For most nationalities none of section 5 is mandatory, so a retiree can pick Retired and move on. Whatever you do enter must be true, because the declaration you sign covers every field.
Trip Information: Purpose, Phone and Past Visits
Section 6 asks for your purpose of entry: "Tourist," "Visiting relatives," "Business," "Working" or "Other." The section's note says employment needs a work permit or proof of exemption, and that religious activities, journalism, healthcare or education need permission from the competent authority. A holiday is "Tourist," and none of that applies.
"Intended date of entry" and "Intended length of stay in Viet Nam" arrive filled from section 2, and a phone number in Vietnam is optional for most nationalities. Two required yes-or-no questions follow: "Have you been to Viet Nam in the last 01 year?" and "Do you have relatives who currently reside in Viet Nam?" A yes to the first means listing each trip's dates and purpose, counted, says the FAQ, "from the date of entry to the date of departure."
Border Gates: The Exact Names in the Dropdown
Section 6 also asks for your intended border gates of entry and exit, both from one list. In the form's dropdown, Hanoi's airport is "Noi Bai Int Airport." The labels aren't consistent ("Int Airport," "International Airport," "Airport Border Gate"), so look for the airport's own name, not the word International.
| Airport | Exact Label in the Dropdown |
|---|---|
| Noi Bai, Hanoi | Noi Bai Int Airport |
| Tan Son Nhat, Ho Chi Minh City | Tan Son Nhat Int Airport (Ho Chi Minh City) |
| Da Nang | Da Nang International Airport |
| Cam Ranh | Cam Ranh Int Airport (Khanh Hoa) |
| Phu Quoc | Phu Quoc International Airport |
| Cat Bi, Hai Phong | Cat Bi Int Airport (Hai Phong) |
| Phu Bai | Phu Bai Int Airport |
| Van Don | Van Don Int Airport |
| Can Tho | Can Tho International Airport |
| Lien Khuong | Lien Khuong International Airport |
| Dong Hoi | Dong Hoi Int Airport (Quang Binh) |
The other three airports are "Phu Cat Int Airport," "Chu Lai Airport Border Gate" and "Vinh Airport Border Gate." Land crossings read like "Moc Bai Landport," and seaports like "Chan May Seaport" or "An Thoi Port Border Gate, An Giang province."
Your exit needn't match your entry. The official FAQ uses Noi Bai as its example: eVisa holders "are not required to exit Vietnam through the same border gate where they entered." Into Hanoi and home from Ho Chi Minh City is normal, so put Tan Son Nhat as your exit. For entry, pick the gate you'll actually use: an eVisa only works at gates on the government's list, and no Vietnamese authority says in writing whether you can switch from the one you named.
The government has approved eVisa entry at 83 border crossings: 17 airports, 27 land border gates and 39 seaports. On October 15, 2026 the dropdown offered 79, 14 of them airports. Long Thanh and Gia Binh airports aren't open yet, and Tho Xuan airport and Vung Ang port couldn't be selected.
⚠️ If your gate isn't in the dropdown, ask before you pay. Tho Xuan is on the portal's own printed list of air border gates but wasn't selectable on October 15, 2026. Don't pick a nearby gate and hope; email support@vietnamvisa.govt.vn or call +84 832 320 320 first.
Children Under 14: One Passport, One eVisa
Section 7 is for children under 14 who share a parent's passport. Its label reads "Accompany child(ren) under 14 years old who are issued with the same passport request to be issued the same e-Visa (if any)," and the form rejects children older than 14 here.
A child with their own passport needs their own application, and the note is explicit: "Do not request an electronic visa for a child issued with a shared passport if that child has been issued a separate passport." If every child in your group holds a passport, leave section 7 empty.
Intended Expenses and Insurance: Digits Only, Usually Optional
Section 8 covers money. "Intended expenses (in USD)" wants a number and nothing else: type 1500, not $1,500 or 1500.00. Anything else gets the error "must be number," and the box holds up to 20 characters. It asks what you intend to spend in US dollars, doesn't say what to count, and for most nationalities can be left blank.
"Did you buy insurance?" is Yes or No, with a box to specify. "Who will cover the trip's expenses of the applicant" offers "The applicant" or "Other agency/organization/individual," and payment method offers "Cash," "Credit card" or "Traveller's cheques." For most nationalities, every one of these is optional.
Some nationalities see more asterisks. For those flagged in the portal's nationality list (Congo, Ghana and Nigeria on October 15, 2026), the form requires the expense, insurance and who-pays answers, plus occupation, a phone in Vietnam, the ID card and the surname, and a contact in Vietnam on non-tourist trips or tourist stays over 30 days. If you see asterisks this guide calls optional, that's why.
Declaration and Payment: Read the Refund Line
Vietnam Immigration's fee is $25 for a single-entry eVisa or $50 for multiple entry, set by Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC and paid at the end. Through us, prices start at $54 per applicant for a 1-month single-entry eVisa, with the Vietnam Immigration stamp fee included; see our eVisa prices and what the service fee covers.
⚠️ The declaration includes a refund waiver. Before paying, you confirm your answers are true and that "the application fee is not refunded if the application for e-Visa of Viet Nam is denied." The instructions add that answers must be in English and that dishonest information means denial.
After paying you get an e-Visa application number. Write it down, because status checks need it, your email and your date of birth. The status list runs Unpaid, Processing, Acceptance, Denial, Amendment required and Cancel, and Acceptance is the one you want.
After You Submit: Three Working Days and a PDF
The legal clock is short. Under Vietnam's entry and exit law, Immigration has 3 working days to answer once it holds the complete application and the fee. Weekends and public holidays don't count as working days, so the wait stretches around Tet.
An approved eVisa comes as a PDF that you collect from evisa.gov.vn yourself. Open it and check four things against your passport: name, date of birth, passport number and the two dates. Then print it, since Vietnam's immigration law talks about printing the eVisa from the portal, and keep a second copy on your phone.
Pre-arrival Information (PAI) isn't part of this form. It's Vietnam Immigration's separate online declaration at prearrival.immigration.gov.vn, it's optional, and it isn't a visa.
A Few Parting Notes
Fill in the form only at evisa.gov.vn or thithucdientu.gov.vn, its Vietnamese-language alias; both have been live since November 11, 2024. Vietnam Visa by BDA is a private company. We aren't affiliated with the Vietnamese government.
Applying with us skips the government form entirely. Our checkout is four steps (Applicant Info, Trip Detail, Review, Payment), and our team transfers your details to these fields and files them; here's how our eVisa application works. Processing times are still set by Vietnam Immigration. We can file, chase and correct; we can't move an approval up the line.
If the form freezes, logs you out or rejects your payment partway through, see what to do when the e-visa website is not working.