A Vietnam eVisa is valid for up to 90 days, single or multiple entry, between two dates you choose on the application, and you can stay until the end date on the eVisa. Through Vietnam Visa by BDA, that's a 1-month eVisa (30 days, from $54) or a 3-month eVisa (90 days, from $94), and Vietnam Immigration's own fee is $25 single or $50 multiple, whatever the length.
The usual mistake with Vietnam visa validity is assuming the clock starts when you land. It doesn't. Vietnam Immigration fixes the dates when it issues the eVisa, so a late flight shortens your stay instead of shifting it, and the application form won't let you ask for a 91st day. If you haven't applied before, read how the Vietnam eVisa works first.
The 90-Day Rule: What the Law and the Form Allow
Vietnam's immigration law sets the ceiling. Under Law 47/2014/QH13 as amended, the eVisa is its own visa type, coded EV, and the Immigration Department's eVisa page puts its maximum at 90 days. Inside that ceiling, the length is yours to pick. Section 2 of the eVisa application form, Requested information, asks for single or multiple entry and then two dates, "Grant e-Visa valid from" and "To". Under Article 31 of the law, an eVisa holder can stay until the eVisa's end date, so a 90-day eVisa gives you 90 days in the country if you arrive on its first day.
Getting the eVisa runs on Vietnam Immigration's clock, not ours. Under Article 16a of the immigration law, it has 3 working days to decide once it has your complete application and the fee. In practice, 3 to 5 working days is normal, and Tet and public holidays add to that.
Validity Window and Length of Stay: Two Fixed Dates, Not a Countdown
The two dates you enter are the eVisa's validity window, and the form's own rules are strict about them. The start date can't be earlier than today. The window can't run past 90 days, and the form counts both the first and the last day: June 1 to June 30 is 30 days, June 1 to August 29 is exactly 90, and the form rejects June 1 to August 30. The form then copies your start date into "Intended date of entry" and fills in "Intended length of stay in Viet Nam" from the two dates.
Once Vietnam Immigration issues the eVisa, the dates don't move. The Embassy of Vietnam in Washington says you can only enter from the date of entry printed on the visa and must leave by its expiration date, and the U.S. State Department notes that Vietnam usually gives you a visa for the exact time period you requested. Arrive on June 10 with a June 1 to June 30 eVisa and you get 21 days, not 30. Turn up on May 30 and it isn't valid yet.
Our eVisa FAQs describe the 1-month eVisa as "valid for 30 days from your stated arrival date," and stated is the word doing the work. It's the date you put on the application, not the day your plane happens to land.
⚠️ A late flight shortens your stay; it doesn't shift it. When an airline moves your flight, compare the new times with your eVisa dates before you accept the change. Land before the start date and you can't enter on it; leave after the end date and you're overstaying.
Picking Your Dates: Leave Room for Flight Changes
Because the window is fixed, set it with slack. Start it a day or two before your planned arrival and end it a day or two after your planned departure, keeping the whole thing inside 90 days. A delayed or rebooked flight then lands inside the window instead of outside it. On a 1-month eVisa the cushion comes out of the 30 days, so a trip that runs close to a month is a reason to look at the 3-month option.
You can apply early: the eVisa portal's FAQ says you may apply up to one year before your planned entry. You can't apply from inside Vietnam, because Vietnam Immigration issues eVisas to people who want to enter, not to those already there, and the UK government adds that an eVisa obtained in Vietnam only starts once you exit and re-enter.
Check your passport against the end date too. Vietnamese law says your passport has to stay valid for at least 30 days after your eVisa ends, and the form refuses a shorter gap. Six months is the legal rule only for visa-free entry. For eVisa holders it's advice: the U.S., UK and Canadian governments all advise at least six months' validity, airlines often apply that rule, and we ask for six months beyond your planned exit when we file.
1-Month or 3-Month: Our Options and What They Cost
Vietnam Immigration prices the eVisa by entries, not by days: $25 for a visa valid once and $50 for one valid multiple times, under Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC, in force since April 1, 2026. A 10-day eVisa and a 90-day eVisa cost the same on evisa.gov.vn, and you can apply there yourself and pay only that stamp fee.
We sell two lengths. Our 1-month and 3-month eVisa prices are per applicant with the stamp fee included: $54 single or $84 multiple for 30 days, and $94 single or $104 multiple for 90 days. The $40 gap between our 1-month and 3-month single-entry prices is ours, not the government's, since Vietnam Immigration's fee doesn't change with length.
If your window, cushion included, fits in 30 days, the 1-month eVisa does the job. If it runs longer, or you might stay on, buy the 3-month eVisa, because Vietnam won't extend an eVisa from inside the country.
Check the dates before you pay. If you apply through us and spot a wrong date, cancel within 5 to 10 minutes of applying for a full refund. Once the eVisa is issued, it's non-refundable and any amendment is charged separately.
The Entry Stamp: The Date That Actually Counts
Your eVisa says what you're allowed. The stamp in your passport says what you were given. The UK government tells travelers to check the visa expiry date written in the passport before leaving border control, because the entry stamp sets the date you need to leave by, and a wrong date could get you accused of overstaying. Vietnam's eVisa FAQ says the same thing its own way: check the stamp carefully and tell immigration control at the border if anything is wrong.
This matters most if your passport would also get you in visa-free. If you hold an exempt passport and bought an eVisa for a longer trip, the FAQ says you "must present valid residence documents (such as an electronic visa) to immigration officers at the border." Hand over only the passport and you can be stamped in on the exemption, with its shorter stay, and the FAQ offers no fix beyond checking the stamp on the spot.
⚠️ Hand the officer your eVisa along with your passport. If your nationality is visa-exempt, the officer has two ways to admit you, and only the eVisa gets you the dates you paid for.
Visa-Free Stays: How Long You Get Without an eVisa
Passports from 24 countries get 45 days visa-free: 12 under Resolution 44/NQ-CP for any purpose, and 12 under Resolution 229/NQ-CP for tourism only. Another 15 countries have bilateral agreements with limits from 14 days (Brunei) to 90 days (Chile and Panama). Phu Quoc is its own case: anyone arriving from abroad can stay on the island visa-free for up to 30 days, flying in direct or staying airside at another Vietnamese airport, and the exemption covers the island only. Vietnam's visa policy sets out who qualifies.
Visitors on a 45-day exemption who want to stay longer need a visa or an extension through a sponsor in Vietnam, and switching to an eVisa means leaving Vietnam and re-entering on the eVisa. If your trip will run past your exemption, get the eVisa before you fly and use it from the first day.
Longer Than 90 Days: What Exists and What Doesn't
No tourist visa runs past 90 days. Under Vietnam's immigration law, the eVisa (EV) and the tourist visa (DL) both cap at 90 days. A DL visa, issued by an embassy or at the border, has a further catch: if it's valid for more than 30 days, it still gives you 30 days on arrival, and you'd need an extension for the rest. That rule doesn't touch the eVisa, which runs to its end date, so for a stay of 31 to 90 days the eVisa is the simpler tool.
Longer visas exist, but each needs a sponsor in Vietnam and a reason that fits its category. Under the same law, business visas for working with a Vietnamese company (DN1) and TT visas for parents, spouses and children of Vietnamese citizens run up to one year, and VR visas for visiting relatives or other purposes up to 180 days. Vietnam doesn't have a retirement visa. We don't arrange any of these; the eVisa covers tourism, family visits, conferences and short-term business.
Two other routes are worth knowing. The Embassy of Vietnam in Washington's visa page says U.S. citizens can be granted multiple-entry visas of up to one year, but it doesn't name the category, so ask one of the Vietnamese embassies and consulates before you plan around one. And if you're an overseas Vietnamese, or the foreign spouse or child of a Vietnamese citizen or overseas Vietnamese, look at a visa exemption certificate. It lasts up to five years, and each entry gives you up to six months.
Extensions and Overstays: What Happens After the End Date
An eVisa can't be extended. The U.S. State Department puts it plainly: Vietnam doesn't allow you to renew or extend an eVisa while you're in the country. What exists instead goes through a sponsor, meaning a company, organization or person in Vietnam. The sponsor can apply for an extension of stay, which Vietnam Immigration decides within 5 working days for a government fee of $10, or for a new visa. We don't handle extensions, so line up a sponsor well before your end date.
Stay past the end date without one and you're overstaying. Decree 282/2025/ND-CP, in force since December 15, 2025, sets the fines, and they climb with each band:
| Overstay | Fine | Decree 282 Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Under 16 days | VND 500,000 to 2,000,000 | Art. 21(2)(đ) |
| 16 to under 30 days | VND 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 | Art. 21(4)(b) |
| 30 to under 60 days | VND 10,000,000 to 15,000,000 | Art. 21(5)(b) |
| 60 to under 90 days | VND 15,000,000 to 20,000,000 | Art. 21(6)(b) |
| 90 to under 180 days | VND 20,000,000 to 25,000,000 | Art. 21(7)(d) |
| 180 days to under 1 year | VND 25,000,000 to 30,000,000 | Art. 21(8) |
| 1 year or more | VND 30,000,000 to 40,000,000 | Art. 21(9)(e) |
From 16 days, you can also be deported, and a deportation bars you from Vietnam for three years.
⚠️ A single extra day is still an overstay. The under-16-day band starts with the first extra day, and the UK government warns that overstayers can be kept from leaving Vietnam until they pay the fine.
A Few Parting Notes
Before you fly, check three dates: the eVisa's start date against your arrival, its end date against your departure, and your passport's expiry against the end date plus 30 days. Then print the eVisa and keep a copy on your phone. Vietnam's immigration law describes printing the eVisa from the portal, and paper is the safe choice at the desk.
Vietnam Visa by BDA is a private company. We're not affiliated with the Vietnamese government. Vietnam Immigration issues the eVisa and sets the processing time; we prepare, check and file the application, and we can't speed up an approval. Our terms recommend applying at least one to two weeks before you travel.