A Vietnam eVisa is a one-page PDF headed THỊ THỰC ĐIỆN TỬ / ELECTRONIC VISA, and your visa number is the Số / No. line printed right under that title. The next line down, Mã / Code, holds the application code, not the visa number, and a QR code sits in the bottom-left corner of the page.
This Vietnam eVisa sample is built from a redacted eVisa issued in September 2023, the only issued one we found published. That was before Vietnam Immigration moved its portal to evisa.gov.vn, so a newer PDF can differ in layout. Portal labels quoted here were last checked October 15, 2026. If you're still planning, start with our eVisa basics.
What It Looks Like: One Page, Two Languages, No Photo
Every line on the eVisa appears twice, Vietnamese first and English underneath, with the English field labels in italics. The top of the 2023 sample carries the country's name, SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM, with the national emblem in the top-left corner and the title ELECTRONIC VISA beneath. There's no photo of the holder, no signature and no stamp. Plain is normal.
Near the bottom, the GHI CHÚ / Annotation line sits empty, the issuing body's name (CỤC QUẢN LÝ XUẤT NHẬP CẢNH / Vietnam Immigration Department) is printed on the right, and a square QR code fills the bottom-left corner. There's no barcode anywhere on the page. We haven't found a Vietnamese authority explaining what the code holds, so scanning it with a phone app isn't a way to tell whether the visa is genuine.
Vietnam Immigration's portal says it will send the result of your application to your email, but the eVisa itself is a PDF you download from evisa.gov.vn once the status reads Acceptance. The Immigration Department describes the whole process as electronic, with no collection step at an embassy or border gate. You print it yourself.
The status page also offers Download Receipt, a payment record, not your visa. The 2023 sample prints dates day first (day/month/year), so if you're used to month-first dates, read every date on the page twice.
Field by Field: The eVisa From Top to Bottom
Here's every line on the 2023 sample, top to bottom. What appears on your own PDF comes from the application form on evisa.gov.vn, where Vietnam Immigration's system fills the passport fields from your scanned data page and tells you to double-check them. A typo that got past that step shows up here too.
| Line on the eVisa | What it means | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Số / No. | Your visa number, a run of digits ending in /EV | Give it when asked for a visa number |
| Mã / Code | The application code, a long string starting with E | Don't give it as your visa number |
| THỊ THỰC CÓ GIÁ TRỊ TỪ NGÀY / Good for entry valid from, then ĐẾN NGÀY / until | When the eVisa can be used | Your arrival and departure both fall inside it |
| SỬ DỤNG MỘT/NHIỀU LẦN / Good for single/multiple entries | Single or multiple entry | Multiple if you'll leave and come back on it |
| HỌ TÊN / Full name, NGÀY THÁNG NĂM SINH / Date of birth, GIỚI TÍNH / Sex | Your personal details | Every letter and digit against your passport |
| MANG HỘ CHIẾU CỦA NƯỚC/LÃNH THỔ / Holding passport of country/territory | The country that issued your passport | It's the passport you're traveling on |
| SỐ HỘ CHIẾU / Passport number, THỜI HẠN ĐẾN / Date of expiry | Your passport's number and its expiry date | The number character by character |
| MỤC ĐÍCH NHẬP CẢNH / Purpose of entry | Why you're visiting (the sample reads tourism) | It matches your actual trip |
| TÊN CƠ QUAN, TỔ CHỨC MỜI, BẢO LÃNH (NẾU CÓ) / Inviting/guaranteeing agency/organization (if any), ĐỊA CHỈ / Address | A sponsor and its address, if you have one | Both are blank on the tourist sample |
| THỜI HẠN TẠM TRÚ THEO PHÉP CỦA CƠ QUAN QUẢN LÝ XUẤT NHẬP CẢNH / Length of stay is subject to permission by Immigration Authority | Your permitted stay is set at the border | The date in your entry stamp |
| GHI CHÚ / Annotation, CỤC QUẢN LÝ XUẤT NHẬP CẢNH / Vietnam Immigration Department, QR code | Notes, the issuer and a scannable code | The QR code is there, bottom left |
One line is easy to misread: THỜI HẠN ĐẾN / Date of expiry. It sits beside SỐ HỘ CHIẾU / Passport number, and it's your passport's expiry date, not the eVisa's. The eVisa's last day is the ĐẾN NGÀY / until date on the validity line near the top.
The Visa Number: Top of the Page, Not the Code
Your visa number sits on the Số / No. line directly under ELECTRONIC VISA, above every other number on the page. On the 2023 sample it's a run of digits followed by /EV. EV is the code Vietnam's immigration law gives the eVisa as its own visa type, which is a handy way to spot the right line.
The line beneath it, Mã / Code, is the application code, a long string starting with E. Keep both apart from the "e-Visa app no." that Vietnam Immigration's portal tells you to note when you apply, which is what the status check asks for. Each number has one job:
- Visa number (Số / No.): what a form wants when it asks for your visa number.
- Application code (Mã / Code): printed on the eVisa, and it identifies the application.
- App no.: what the portal's status check asks for, with your email and date of birth.
- Passport number (SỐ HỘ CHIẾU): your passport's number, printed further down the page.
Validity Dates: A Window for Entry, Not a Promise of Stay
The validity line reads "Good for entry valid from" one date "until" another. You chose those dates on the form, under "Grant e-Visa valid from" and "To", and the form won't accept a window longer than 90 days. Start it on or before the day you land, not the day you booked.
The Embassy of Vietnam in Washington, D.C., puts the rule plainly: you can only enter from the date of entry printed on the visa and must leave by the expiry date. Inside that window, Article 31 of Vietnam's Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners lets you stay until the end date on the eVisa. For how long a stay each option gives you, see our Vietnam visa guide.
Then there's the fixed line: "Length of stay is subject to permission by Immigration Authority". Your eVisa sets the outer limits, and the date written in your passport at the border is the one that counts.
⚠️ Check the stamp before you walk away from the counter. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office advises you to check the expiry date written in your passport before leaving border control, because a wrong date can get you accused of overstaying. Compare it with the until date on your eVisa while you're still at the desk.
Your Passport: One eVisa, One Passport Book
The passport number ties the eVisa to one passport book. The UK government says Vietnamese authorities require you to enter and leave Vietnam on the same passport. Canada's advice covers renewal: Vietnamese visas in expired passports aren't valid, and the visa needs to be transferred to the new passport. If a renewal is coming up, do it before you apply, not after.
On Vietnam Immigration's form, children under 14 who share a parent's passport can be added to the parent's eVisa application with their own portrait. A child with their own passport needs a separate application and gets a separate eVisa with its own visa number.
⚠️ An emergency passport won't carry an eVisa. Vietnam Immigration's instruction page lists temporary, emergency and BNO passports among those that can't be issued a visa. If you've lost your passport abroad and are traveling on an emergency document, an eVisa isn't an option on it.
Five Checks Before You Fly
Do these the day the PDF arrives, passport and flight confirmation in hand.
- Name. The form asks for your name exactly as on your passport's ICAO lines, in capital letters, the machine-readable lines on the data page, so match it letter for letter.
- Passport number. Every character, including the letter O against a zero.
- Dates. Your arrival falls on or after the first date and your departure on or before the until date.
- Entries. Single entry is used up when you leave. If you'll pop out to a neighboring country and come back, you need multiple.
- Passport expiry gap. The Date of expiry beside your passport number is at least 30 days after the eVisa's until date, as Vietnamese law requires.
We haven't found a published government procedure for correcting an issued eVisa, so raise any problem before you travel. If you applied yourself, Vietnam Immigration's support form lists "Wrong application information" as an issue type. If you applied through us, call +84 832 320 320 straight away. We charge separately for amending an eVisa that's already issued.
Real or Fake: Check It Against the Portal Record
A PDF is easy to edit, so the PDF alone proves very little. What counts is the record behind it, and anyone can check it on Vietnam Immigration's search page, labeled "Check application status and download e-Visa", with the app no., the application email and the date of birth. An accepted application shows the visa number, the dates you're allowed to enter Vietnam and a Get e-Visa button.
The visa number and entry dates on the portal should match the Số / No. line and the validity line on your PDF exactly. If someone else filed the application, this check needs the app no. and the email they registered with it.
⚠️ A look-alike site can show you a look-alike result. A Ministry of Public Security cybersecurity officer told VietnamPlus that fraudsters build look-alike sites, register misleading domains and buy ads. Run the check only at evisa.gov.vn or its Vietnamese-language alias, thithucdientu.gov.vn, the two addresses the Immigration Department names, and type the address yourself rather than following a link.
Printing It and Picking a Border Gate
Article 16a of Vietnam's immigration law describes printing the eVisa from the portal, so carry a printed copy and keep one on your phone. Print it at full size so the QR code comes out sharp. If Vietnam Visa by BDA filed the application for you, here's how you receive your eVisa.
The 2023 sample doesn't print a border gate, even though the form asks for your intended border gates of entry and exit. The rule lives on Vietnam Immigration's portal instead: an eVisa only works at border gates on the government's list. Since Resolution 389/NQ-CP, that list runs to 83 crossings: 17 airports, 27 land border gates and 39 seaports, though Long Thanh and Gia Binh airports are on it before they've opened. Use one of the gates on the list to enter and leave, and pick the gate you actually plan to use when you apply.
A Few Parting Notes
Keep the app no., the email you applied with and your date of birth somewhere other than your inbox. If the PDF goes missing mid-trip, they're what you need to download it again with Get e-Visa.
Vietnam Visa by BDA is a private company. We're not affiliated with the Vietnamese government, and you can apply for the eVisa yourself at evisa.gov.vn and pay only the $25 single / $50 multiple stamp fee. If you'd rather have a second set of eyes first, we review every application and email you to fix any typo or mismatch before submitting, at no extra cost. Prices start at $54 per applicant for a 1-month single-entry eVisa, with the Vietnam Immigration stamp fee included.