Vietnam is extraordinary: the pho, the mountains, the coast, the chaos. Getting there, though, requires a moment with the bureaucracy. The good news: Vietnam massively simplified its entry system in 2023, and once you understand it, the whole thing takes about twenty minutes online.
Gone are the days of chasing a "visa on arrival letter" from an unknown website. These days, the eVisa is the default route for the vast majority of visitors, and it's genuinely straightforward once you know the rules. This guide covers everything: the eVisa in full, who gets in visa-free, the other visa types, and the classic mistakes that get people turned away at the airport.
| Max stay on eVisa | 90 days |
| Single-entry eVisa fee | USD $25 (government fee) |
| Border gates accepting the eVisa | 83 |
The Big Picture: Three Ways In
There are basically three tracks for entering Vietnam:
- Visa-free: if your country is on Vietnam's exempt list, you enter for up to 45 days with no paperwork at all.
- eVisa: an online visa open to a very wide range of nationalities, costing $25 to $50, allowing up to 90 days.
- Embassy or specialist visa: for people who need to work, invest, live long-term, bring dependents, or who have unusual circumstances.
For the overwhelming majority of tourists, the answer is either "you don't need a visa" or "get the 90-day eVisa." The old Visa on Arrival still technically exists, but it's more expensive, slower, and airport-only, so there's almost no reason to use it in 2026.
The Vietnam eVisa: A Full Breakdown
The eVisa is Vietnam's modern, fully online entry permit. You apply, pay a small government fee, and receive a PDF to print and carry.
What it costs
The Vietnamese government charges USD 25 for a single-entry eVisa and USD 50 for multiple entry. Those are the official, fixed government fees. If you'd rather not navigate the portal yourself, a service like ours adds a fee on top for reviewing your application, correcting errors before they cause a rejection, offering urgent processing, and giving you a real person to call. Either route is valid; the question is simply whether you want to handle the paperwork yourself or hand it off. See our full fee breakdown.
⚠️ Watch out for scam sites. Dozens of lookalike pages charge inflated fees for the same result, or worse, harvest your passport data. Use the official portal at evisa.gov.vn, or a transparent service that clearly states who operates it, shows real third-party reviews, and answers the phone. Ours is run by BDA Tech & Media JSC in Hanoi.
How long it's valid
The eVisa lets you stay up to 90 days from the entry date you specify. That date is fixed; you cannot enter before it. On a multiple-entry eVisa you can exit and re-enter as many times as you like within those 90 days. Most people set the entry date to the actual day they plan to fly in: set it too early and you lose days, too late and you can't enter early if plans change.
Who qualifies
Since August 2023 the eVisa has been open to nationals of a very wide range of countries and territories. American, Australian, Canadian, Indian, Brazilian, and most other passport holders are all welcome to apply. The one meaningful exception is emergency (12-page) passports, which Vietnam's system tends to reject, so use your regular full passport.
What the application involves
Whether you do it yourself at evisa.gov.vn or hand it to us, the steps are the same:
- Start the application and accept the declaration.
- Upload two images: a passport-style photo (white background, no glasses, no hat, JPG) and a clear scan of your passport bio-data page. These two cause the majority of rejections, so take them seriously.
- Fill in personal and travel details. Enter your name exactly as it appears on the machine-readable line of your passport, choose single or multiple entry, and pick your entry and exit gates from Vietnam's list of 83 eVisa-eligible ports.
- Pay the government fee ($25 or $50). Visa or Mastercard work most reliably; American Express often fails.
- Track, download, and print. Processing is officially 3 working days; budget 3 to 7 in practice. When approved, download the PDF, print at least two colour copies, and bring the same passport you applied with.
This is exactly the part we take off your hands: we check the photo and details, flag anything that would cause a rejection, submit on your behalf, and chase any delays. Start your application here.
Pro tip: apply 2 to 3 weeks before you travel, not 3 days before. Processing slows around Tet (Lunar New Year, usually late January or early February), the April to May holiday cluster, and peak summer in July and August.
Where can I use my eVisa?
At the end of 2025 Vietnam expanded its eVisa-eligible border gates from 42 to 83: 17 international airports, 27 land crossings, and 39 seaports. That was particularly good news for cruise passengers, who previously found most seaports wouldn't accept eVisas. The key airports (Noi Bai in Hanoi, Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Cam Ranh) are all on the list, as are the major land crossings with Cambodia, Laos, and China. Make sure the specific gate you plan to use is on the official list before you apply, and select it accurately. See the full list of entry points.
Can I extend my eVisa from inside Vietnam?
Officially, no: the eVisa is not extendable for ordinary tourists from within Vietnam. If your 90 days runs out, you exit the country (a quick trip to Cambodia, Laos, or Thailand is the classic move) and apply for a fresh eVisa. There's no mandatory waiting period; you can technically re-enter the same day.
Who Gets In Without Any Visa at All?
Twenty-four countries currently enjoy unilateral visa-free access for up to 45 days, with no application and no fee. Vietnam expanded this list in 2025, adding 12 more European nations to the original 12:
Germany · France · Italy · Spain · United Kingdom · Russia · Japan · South Korea · Denmark · Sweden · Norway · Finland · Belgium · Netherlands · Switzerland · Czech Republic · Poland · Hungary · Romania · Bulgaria · Croatia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Luxembourg.
These exemptions are renewable policy decisions, not permanent: the current batches run through March 2028 (original 12) and August 2028 (the new 12). ASEAN nationals (Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia) enter visa-free for 14 to 30 days. Chile and Panama get a generous 90-day exemption, and Belarus 30 days.
There's also a special case: Phu Quoc Island. Any foreign national can stay on Phu Quoc for up to 30 days without a visa, as long as they fly or sail directly to the island and don't head to the mainland.
The old 30-day "cooling-off" rule, which forced travellers to wait before re-entering on another visa-free stay, was abolished in 2019. You can exit to Cambodia and re-enter the same day for a fresh 45-day stint.
Your Situation, at a Glance
- 🇺🇸 Americans, eVisa required. No exemption; apply for the 90-day eVisa. Avoid emergency passports.
- 🇬🇧 British, 45 days visa-free. Regular passports enter visa-free through March 2028. BNO passport holders are not included and need an eVisa.
- 🇦🇺 Australians, eVisa required. No exemption and no visa on arrival; the eVisa is the route.
- 🇩🇪 Germans and most EU, 45 days visa-free. Germany is on the original list; most other EU nations were added in 2025. Check the full list, as not all qualify.
- 🇨🇦 Canadians, eVisa required. Standard 90-day eVisa applies.
- 🌏 ASEAN nationals, 14 to 30 days visa-free (Philippines 21 days, Brunei and Myanmar 14, most others 30).
Not sure where you stand? Check your nationality on our eligibility page.
Beyond Tourism: Other Visa Types
Most travellers only need an eVisa or their visa-free entry, but Vietnam has a full range of categories for everything else:
- Visa on Arrival (VOA), nearly obsolete. Still legal but superseded by the eVisa: it needs a pre-approval letter, works only at airports, and costs the same plus an agency fee. Little reason to use it today.
- Business visa (DN). For working with Vietnamese companies without a formal work permit. Valid up to 12 months, single or multiple entry. Does not authorise paid employment.
- Work visa (LD) and work permit. If you'll actually work for a Vietnamese employer, you need an employer-sponsored work permit (valid up to 2 years) and an LD visa tied to it. Budget 30+ days, and don't start work before the permit is in hand.
- Investor visa (DT). Vietnam's closest thing to a long-stay visa, tiered by how much you invest. DT3 (about US$122,000+) brings up to a 3-year visa and a temporary residence card; DT4 (below that) up to 12 months.
- No retirement visa. Vietnam has none. Retirees typically use rolling eVisas with the occasional visa run, the DT4 route, or, if married to a Vietnamese citizen, the 5-year Visa Exemption Certificate (up to 180 days per entry).
This is evolving: from July 1, 2026, Vietnam is introducing new "talent attraction" visas for skilled professionals and their families.
The 7 Most Common eVisa Mistakes
- Bad photo. Non-white background, shadows, glasses, a hat, the wrong file format, or uploading the same image twice. The photo is the single biggest cause of rejections.
- Name doesn't match the passport exactly. It must match the machine-readable line character for character. Swapped given name and surname, a missing middle name, or a hyphenation difference all cause problems.
- Wrong date format. Vietnam uses DD/MM/YYYY. June 3rd is 03/06, not 06/03.
- Selecting the wrong entry port. The port you choose is the one you're expected to use; land at a different one and you can be denied entry. You can't edit an issued visa, you'd reapply (and pay again).
- Trying to enter before the visa start date. The arrival date is the earliest you can enter, not a suggestion.
- Not checking the stamp. Before leaving the booth, verify the exit date stamped in your passport matches your eVisa expiry.
- Overstaying. Penalties tightened under Decree 282/2025 (effective December 2025): fines reach up to VND 40 million (about US$1,500), and longer overstays can mean deportation and a multi-year entry ban.
New in 2026: The Digital Arrival Card
From April 15, 2026, all foreign passport holders arriving at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) must complete a free Digital Arrival Card at prearrival.immigration.gov.vn within 72 hours before landing, and present the QR code at immigration. It's in addition to your visa, not a replacement. Rollout to other airports is expected but not yet formally announced. It's free, takes about 5 minutes, and the portal is in English; think of it as Vietnam's version of the US ESTA or Australia's incoming passenger card. Build it into your pre-flight checklist.
Practical Tips for Arriving
- Print your eVisa. Carry at least two colour copies. A phone PDF is technically fine, but paper saves you if a battery dies or a scanner misbehaves.
- Queue at the regular counter, not the "Landing Visa" window (that's for Visa on Arrival).
- Passport validity matters. You need at least 6 months' validity from your arrival date and at least 2 blank pages. This is strictly enforced.
- Hotel registration is handled automatically by licensed hotels when you check in, so there's nothing to stress about.
- Fast-track services (around $35 to $50 per person) can skip the main queue at busy times, useful for groups, families, or tight connections.
The Bottom Line
- Most tourists need either the 90-day eVisa ($25 to $50) or nothing at all.
- Apply yourself at evisa.gov.vn, or let us handle it for you.
- Apply 2 to 3 weeks before travel; don't leave it to the last minute.
- If you arrive at SGN from April 15, 2026, also complete the Digital Arrival Card.
- Carry a printed colour copy of your eVisa when you fly.
- Track your exit date; overstays are fined and can lead to an entry ban.
- From Germany, France, the UK, Japan, Korea, or most EU countries, you likely don't need a visa for stays under 45 days. Check the list.
Vietnam has done a remarkable job opening up to international travellers. The eVisa is fast, cheap, genuinely simple, and accepted almost everywhere, and if you'd rather not think about any of it, that's exactly what we're here for.
Information current as of May 2026. Visa policies change, so always verify at evisa.gov.vn, your nearest Vietnamese embassy, and your government's travel advisory before booking.
