Registration of an invitation to Vietnam for a visa. How to get a visa to Vietnam on your own: our experience Apply for visa support in Vietnam

There is a lot of information on the Internet that if you are flying to Vietnam for up to 15 days, then Russian citizens do not need to apply for a visa. What should those who fly to Vietnam for a longer period of time do?

I traveled around Vietnam twice a month and I had to face this problem. I scoured many websites, forums, corresponded with Russian and Vietnamese travel agencies, tortured a couple of Vietnamese...

This article is about how to proceed to obtain a long-term visa to Vietnam. I hope that my experience will help someone and save a lot of time and nerves.

So, to stay in Vietnam for more than 15 days in a row, you NEED a visa. You can apply for it with visa support in hand. That is, an invitation from our friendly Vietnam, like “we’re definitely waiting, dear, come to us”! And then either at the consulate on the basis of this note, or at the airport upon arrival in Vietnam (in a SPECIAL window), you can apply for the visa itself, and this process is called “visa on arrival”.

I ordered an invitation for a Vietnam visa via the Internet. If you do this through the consulate, you will have to pay consular fees.

Here is the resource through which I prepared the documents:

Payment is made from a card. Straightaway. Processing time: 3 working days.

For those who do not know either Vietnamese or English, the resource suggests switching to the Russian version of the site:

After payment and registration of visa support, you will receive a letter to the email specified when filling out the form thanking you for using the resource and asking you to check the entered data.

A letter with visa support will arrive later, within three days; I received it the next day.

This is what a visa support letter looks like:

The visa itself, which will be issued to you at the airport in Vietnam on the basis of this letter and pasted into the foreign document, looks like this:

What else do you need to know:

1. You will receive a copy of the visa support by email. It must be printed and carried with you to present at the check-in counters upon arrival at the airport. Employees must have the original of this document and you must already be entered into the database.

We never had any problems.

2. Cost. It cost me $28 for two. The cost for a visa is 15 dollars from the nose (it all depends on the type and duration of the visa, and there are also discounts depending on the number of visas issued).

In the process of my search before my first trip to Vietnam, I found several domestic offices that offered to provide me with visa support for $40 per person with a receipt period of from a week to 3 times. At the same time, based on the results of their work, you will receive everything the same as if you ordered through Vietnamese operators.

3. In addition to you, there may be other names and surnames on the list, and not necessarily from Russia. This is fine. Well, why waste paper on you to draw up a separate sheet for everyone?! Reasonable. So don’t be scared, look for yourself among the names and go!

4. Along with the visa, they also sent me a form, which must be submitted upon registration. Fill it out at home or on the plane, so that upon arrival you don’t waste time doing it at the airport surrounded by many people who want to do the same. The application form can be downloaded here:

A visa to Vietnam is not required for Russians if their stay in the country is no more than 15 days.

A visa to Vietnam for Russians in 2019 is needed if they plan to stay in this country for a long time. The policy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) is flexible; it softens the visiting regime for citizens of those countries with which cooperation is of economic and political interest.

How long can you stay in Vietnam without a visa?

A Vietnamese visa for Russians is not required in the following cases:

  1. Tourist trip for a period of no more than 15 days;
  2. Visit to Phu Quoc Island for a period of 30 days.

Taking this into account, you can independently regulate how long you can stay in Vietnam without a visa. In the first case you need to have:

  1. A foreign passport, the validity of which expires no later than six months after the date of entry into Vietnam;
  2. Return air ticket (optional);
  3. A note in the passport about leaving the republic no later than 30 days before the new arrival.

In the second case you need:

  1. Fly using direct airlines to Phu Quoc;
  2. Do not leave the island for other regions of Vietnam during the entire period of your stay;
  3. Leave the country directly from Phu Quoc;
  4. Have air tickets in the opposite direction or to a third country;
  5. A valid passport for six months from the date of entry into the country.

Therefore, you can visit Vietnam without a visa; how many days a Russian tourist can stay like this depends on the place of stay in the country.

Types of visas to Vietnam

The length of stay in Vietnam without a visa is short; not all tourists are satisfied with a 15-day stay. In this case, all that remains is to obtain a visa - permission to stay in the country for a longer period.

Vietnam visa for Russians varies:

  1. Duration: 1, 3, 6 and 12 months;
  2. For entries into Vietnam - single and multiple entry.

The peculiarity of a Vietnam visa for Russians in 2019 is the cost. It is free, unlike other CIS citizens.

There are also work visas to Vietnam, but Vietnam is reluctant to issue them; they can only be obtained by highly specialized specialists who are needed by the economy of this state. The exception is persons who are invited to work by an enterprise. But even in this case, we are most likely talking about employees with a narrow profile.

Simple and unskilled work is carried out by the local population, of whom there are more than 92 million people in the country.

How to apply for a visa to Vietnam?

A multiple-entry visa to Vietnam or a single-entry visa - all of them are issued either at one of the consulates in the Russian Federation, or upon arrival at the airport. The latter must be international, located in the following cities:

  • Hanoi;
  • Ho Chi Minh City;
  • Da Nang;
  • Nha Trang.

A Vietnam visa on arrival is issued with an Invitation letter, which is obtained only at these airports.

Vietnamese embassies are located in Moscow, Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg. It is not necessary to travel; you can apply for an electronic visa to Vietnam. It is issued:

  1. Citizens of any of 40 countries, including Russians;
  2. For a period of 30 days;
  3. For single entry;

You can get to Vietnam with a visa through the specified international airports, seaports or land crossings. To apply, you must provide a passport and a color photograph 40×60 mm. Cost – $25.

It is important to know! If a multiple-entry visa to Vietnam allows an unlimited number of exits and entries into the country for the entire period of its validity, with a single-entry permit this is done once.

What documents are needed for a Vietnam visa?

A regular visa to Vietnam for Russians in 2019, the price of which is determined only by travel costs and copies of documents, is issued if you have:

  1. A foreign passport valid for at least 6 months;
  2. Photos 30×40 mm or 40×60 mm – 2 pcs.;
  3. Completed application form;
  4. Invitations to Vietnam, another name for Approval Letter.

Additionally, insurance can be provided. It is not included in the list of mandatory documents, but belongs to the category of recommended ones.

The absence of acquaintances in Vietnam does not deprive you of the opportunity to issue an Approval Letter. It can be ordered through online services. The service is paid, it is precisely the answer to the question of how much a visa to Vietnam costs for Russians.

The amount of payment depends on the length of stay, the minimum you will have to pay is $8, the maximum is $25.

How to fill out an application for a Vietnam visa?

This is not difficult, it is done by answering questions at each point. There are 13 of them in total, passport details are indicated exactly as in the document, their discrepancy will be grounds for refusal of a visa.

In the 10th paragraph you need to indicate the purpose of the trip, and if it is business or related to study, work, you need to attach documentary evidence (call, agreement, letter, contract, etc.) In the 11th paragraph you enter the period on which it depends type of visa.

Download the Vietnam visa application form and sample form

Instructions for filling out the application form for Vietnam

Detailed description of the questionnaire items:

  • Paragraph 1Full name (in capital letters)- last name and first name in CAPITAL letters as in the international passport.
  • Point 2Sex/Male/Female- gender/male/female.
  • Point 3Date of birth (Day, Month, Year)— date of birth (DD.MM.YYYY).
  • Point 4Place of birth— place of birth, you can specify a city or country.
  • Point 5Nationality at birth— citizenship at birth, you can indicate USSR (USSR).
  • Point 6Current nationality- current citizenship.
  • Point 7Religion- religion (CHRISTIAN - Christian; ATHEIST - atheist; CATHOLIC - Catholic; PROTESTANT - Protestant; MUSLIM - Muslim; BUDDHIST - Buddhist).
  • Clause 8Occupation- profession or current position.
  • Clause 9Employer and business address- work address, if you do not work, then the address of permanent residence, if a student - the address of the educational institution.
  • Clause 10Permanent residential address/Telephone/Email- permanent residence address (registration), telephone number and email address.
  • Clause 11Family members (Relationship / Full name (in capital letters) / Sex / Date of birth (Day, Month, Year) / Nationality / Permanent residential address)— Family members (degree of relationship / first and last name in CAPITAL letters / gender / date of birth (DD.MM.YYYY) / citizenship / residential address). Here you can specify family members: wife (WIFE), husband (HUSBAND), father (FATHER), mother (MOTHER), son (SON) or daughter (DAUGHTER).
  • Clause 12Passport or International Travel Document number / Type / Issuing authority: / Expiry date (Day, Month, Year)— international passport number / type of document, indicate PASSPORT / issued by whom, as in the international passport / expiration date of the international passport.
  • Clause 13Date of the previous entry into Viet Nam (if any)— date of previous entry into Vietnam (indicate when visiting again; if it’s your first visit, indicate NO).
  • Clause 14Intended date of entry (Day, Month, Year) / Intended length of stay in Viet Nam days— expected date of visit to Vietnam / duration of stay in days.
  • Clause 15Purpose of entry— purpose of the visit: TOURISM — tourism; TRANSIT - transit; BUSINESS - business, work; DIPLOMATIC - diplomacy: OFFICIAL - service.
  • Clause 16Intended temporary residential address in Viet Nam— residential address in Vietnam (if available), you can specify the hotel address.
  • Clause 17Hosting organization/individual in Viet Nam / Name of hosting organization / Address / Hosting individual (full name) / Address / Relationship to the applicant— the host party in Vietnam (if there is an invitation from an organization or individual in Vietnam, fill it out, if not, skip it) / name of the host organization / address of the organization / name of the host person / address of the host person / relationship to the applicant. If the host country is a hotel, then fill in the Name of hosting organization / Address, and enter HOTEL in the Relationship to the applicant section. If the receiving party is a person, then fill in Hosting individual (full name) / Address, and enter FRIEND in the Relationship to the applicant item.
  • Clause 18Accompanying child(ren) under 14 years old included in your passport (if any) / No / Full name (in capital letters) / (Sex) / Date of birth— Children under 14 years old, entered in the international passport (if any) / No. / last name and first name in CAPITAL letters / gender / date of birth.
  • Clause 19Applying for a visa / Single / Multiple / valid from (Day, Month, Year) to (Day, Month, Year)— type of visa requested / single / multi / visa start date and expiration date.
  • Clause 20Other requests (if any)— other questions (if any).
  • I declare to the best of my knowledge that all the above particulars are correct— I declare that all the above information is correct.
  • Done at date (Day, Month, Year) / The applicant’s signature and full name— date of completion / signature, first and last name.

Medical insurance

To obtain medical insurance in Vietnam, we recommend using the service

You can find out prices for travel insurance for Vietnam for 2 people using the form below:

Visa run to Cambodia from Vietnam

Since you can stay in Vietnam for 15 days without a visa, some resort to the so-called visa-run to Cambodia from Vietnam.

That is, it is enough from Vietnam to go through one of the checkpoints to a neighboring state for a few hours (or minutes). After this, you need to return back, and you can stay in Vietnam again for 15 days.

The method is legal, but the country’s authorities are wary of such foreigners who can easily obtain a regular visa, but for some reason avoid the established procedures.

It is easy for Russians to come to Vietnam; the trip does not require overcoming bureaucratic obstacles. If the purpose of the trip is vacation for 10-15 days, then the tourist will not face the need to obtain permits. Otherwise, you need a visa, which is easy to obtain.

Where to apply for a visa to Vietnam?

A Vietnam visa can be obtained from embassies, consulates or visa centers.

We inform you that in the period from 02/02/2019 to 02/11/2019, New Year is celebrated in Vietnam. In this regard, it will be impossible to issue a visa invitation during this period.

When entering Vietnam, citizens of Kyrgyzstan are allowed visa-free entry for up to 15 days of stay, including the day of entry and the day of departure.

We inform you that from October 14, 2016, those citizens who must have a visa invitation (or, what is the same thing, visa support) to enter Vietnam will not be allowed into the country without the specified document. The only possible option in this case is deportation! Please take care in a timely manner, if necessary, to complete this document!

We inform you about changes in the rules of entry into Vietnam for those citizens of the Russian Federation who are planning to leave Vietnam on excursions to neighboring countries.

If a tourist is planning excursions to other countries, then he needs to arrange visa support in advance, since a second entry into Vietnam is possible only if a visa is issued. That is, the tourist enters the country for the first time without a visa (for a period of no more than 15 days), and for the second entry it is necessary to obtain visa support (the start date is the date of the second entry into Vietnam) with all the ensuing formalities (such as payment for consular collection, provision of photos).

Repeated visa-free entry into Vietnam is possible only after 30 days from the date of your last departure!

We inform you that from 01/01/2015, the validity of passports of all tourists entering Vietnam must be at least 6 months from the end date of the tour! This resolution was adopted by the Vietnamese authorities on December 16, 2014. But with a visa invitation issued in advance through our Company, the entry of tourists - citizens of the Russian Federation with a passport validity period of less than 6, but more than one and a half months from the end date of the trip is possible.

  • general information

    For citizens of the Russian Federation upon entering Vietnam, visa-free entry is allowed for a period of up to 15 days of stay, including the day of entry and day of departure (according to the decision of the head of the government of Vietnam, from January 1, 2009)

    Conditions for visa-free visits to Vietnam:

    • A citizen of the Russian Federation is not on the list of persons prohibited from entering Vietnam.
    • A citizen of the Russian Federation must have a valid international passport, valid for at least 6 months from the date of completion of the trip.
    • A citizen of the Russian Federation must have a return ticket to Russia or a third country.

    If a tourist plans to stay in Vietnam for more than 15 days, he needs to pre-issue a visa invitation (see the section below - Issuing a visa invitation through ANEX Tour) with all the ensuing formalities (such as providing a photo, etc.).

    Please note that for citizens of the Russian Federation the consular fee of $45 per visa, which was previously paid at the border upon entry by invitation, has been waived!

  • general information

    When entering Vietnam, citizens of Belarus are allowed visa-free entry for up to 15 days of stay, including the day of entry and day of departure.

    This means that upon arrival in the country at any passport control point (both at airports and at land crossings from neighboring countries), only an entry stamp is placed in the passport.

    Conditions for visa-free visits to Vietnam

    • A citizen of Belarus is not on the list of persons prohibited from entering Vietnam.
    • A citizen of Belarus must have a valid international passport, which is valid for at least 6 months from the date of completion of the trip.
    • A citizen of Belarus must have a return ticket to Russia or a third country.

    Visiting excursions (travel from Vietnam to other countries)

    If a tourist is planning excursions to other countries, then he needs to arrange visa support in advance (see the section below - Issuing a visa invitation through ANEX Tour), since a second entry into Vietnam is possible only if a visa is issued. That is, a tourist enters the country for the first time without a visa (for a period of no more than 15 days), and for the second entry it is necessary to obtain visa support (the start date is the date of the second entry into Vietnam) with all the ensuing formalities (such as providing a photo And so on).

    Stay in Vietnam for more than 15 days.

    If a tourist plans to stay in Vietnam for more than 15 days, he needs to pre-issue a visa invitation (see the section below - Issuing a visa invitation through ANEX Tour) with all the ensuing formalities (such as providing a photo, paying a consular fee, etc.).

    Penalties for violating the visa regime in Vietnam

    For exceeding the period of stay of 15 days without a visa or the validity period of a visa, Vietnamese laws provide for a fine.

  • In case of foreign citizens traveling to Vietnam, they must obtain a visa upon arrival based on strictly pre-arranged visa support!

    Rules for obtaining visa support can be found in the section Issuing a visa invitation through ANEX Tour.

  • For foreign citizens Entry to Phu Quoc Island is free for up to 30 days. Visa support is required in the following cases:

    • If a tourist plans to visit any other region of Vietnam.
    • If the period of stay is more than 30 days.

    For citizens of the Russian Federation, entry to Phu Quoc Island is free for up to 15 days.

    If the period of stay is from 15 to 30 days, then you should send a letter to the visa department, indicating the application number, departure date, citizenship of the tourist, and the total number of days of stay. Once received, in response to your message, the Visa Department employee will send a confirmation letter.

    We inform you that if the letter is not sent by you, then upon entering Phu Quoc Island the tourist will be required to pay a fine!

    If you are planning an excursion to Cambodia, Malaysia, etc., you must issue a multiple-entry visa invitation.

  • If an applicant applies for a visa on arrival, he must receive visa support while still abroad in Vietnam.

    In order to receive visa support for Vietnam, you need:

      Contact the Reservation department (strictly in writing) with a request to add the “Visa support” service for tourists upon application (indicate the application number)

      After the payment mark appears in the booking system, we will automatically launch documents for visa support to Vietnam; you do not need to send us any additional letters.

      We draw your attention to the correctness of entering your passport information when booking a tour, since it is for this that visa support will be requested. If there are errors in the data, correction of visa support is not possible, you can only apply for a new one on a general basis with the appropriate payment!

      When visa support is ready, it will be available for uploading in your personal account in the Documents - Visa support section. This visa support must be printed (black and white is acceptable) and given to the tourist

    Cost of visa support for citizens of the Russian Federation and the CIS

    • Single-entry visa support – 25 USD per person (processing time – 5 working days).
    • Multiple entry visa support – 60 USD per person (processing time – 5 working days).
    • Urgent visa support – 55 USD per person (processing time – 2 working days).
    • The cost of visa support for foreign citizens and the possibility of urgent registration for them must be clarified separately!

    Visa support is required in the following cases:

    1. If the tourist is a foreign citizen.
    2. If the tourist is a citizen of the Russian Federation, but the period of stay is more than 15 days.
    3. If the tourist is a citizen of the Russian Federation, but the validity of the passport is less than 6 months, but more than one and a half months from the end of the tour.

    After receiving visa support (invitation), you need to check whether your data is entered correctly.

    A visa on arrival (on arrival), if you have visa support in hand (sometimes called an invitation), can be obtained at international airports in the cities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Nha Trang and about. Phu Quoc.

    To obtain a visa, you must go to the counter marked “Visas upon arrival,” which is located in front of passport control at the airport, and submit the following documents to the visa service officer:

    • Visa support from the Vietnamese Immigration Department, which was mentioned above;
    • Valid passport (valid for at least 6 months from the end of the trip);
    • 2 color photos 4x6;
    • Payment of the consular fee (stamping fee) in cash US dollars (currently $45).
    • Note: for Russian citizens entering Vietnam with a visa invitation, the consular fee is waived!

    At border crossings that are not equipped with passport scanning devices, you will still need to fill out an immigration form.

  • A visa to Vietnam is issued only if you are traveling there for a period of more than 15 days. One of the documents submitted for obtaining a visa is an application form.

    Different points on the visa application form have different importance. Particular attention should be paid to those points of the questionnaire in which data is entered from a foreign passport or from other documents.

      Points 1 of the questionnaire (last name and first name), as well as 2nd (date of birth), 3rd (place of birth), 4th (gender) are filled out exactly as written in the passport.

      Point 5 (previous citizenship) is less important than the previous points, but it must be filled out, that is, indicate which country you previously had citizenship of (or did not have at all).

      Point 6 (passport number, date of issue, type of passport, who issued it, expiration date) must be filled out exactly as written in the passport. The passport type is indicated by a letter, for example, P, and is located to the left of the country code.

      Points 7 (profession, place of work and telephone), as well as 8 (permanent residence address and telephone) are less important points, but necessary to fill out.

      Point 9 (with children under 16 years of age) - indicate first and last name, date of birth and family or other relationships (son, daughter, etc.).

      Point 10 (purpose of trip). Most often tourism. An invitation is required from a Vietnamese organization, agreed with the Vietnamese immigration authorities (so-called visa support).

      Clause 11 (length of stay). Indicate the planned length of stay in Vietnam. If you have a one-way or both-way ticket, you must adhere to the dates indicated on it.

      Point 12 (previous trips to Vietnam). Indicate years.

      Point 13 (border points). Indicate the planned border crossing point in Vietnam. For example, Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, etc.

    1. Embassy in Russia. The embassy was opened in the mid-50s, when diplomatic relations were established between the USSR and Vietnam. There is a consular section

      Address: Moscow, Bolshaya Pirogovskaya st., 13

      Phone: +7 095 245-09-25 / +7 095 247-02-12

      Consular Section of the Embassy: +7 095 246-06-87 (telephone), +7 095 246-68-07 (fax)

      Consulate General in Yekaterinburg. Opened in 2007. Located in the city center

      Address: Karl Liebknecht str., 22, of. 411

      Phone: +7 343 253-02-80, +7 343 253-02-81, +7 343 253-02-82, +7 343 253-02-83, +7 343 253-02-84

      Consulate General in Vladivostok. It was opened in 1989. Located in the central part of the city

      Address: st. Pushkinskaya, 107/1

      Phone: +7 4232 226-948

      Embassy in Ukraine. It was opened after Ukraine became an independent state.

      Phone: 044 294-80-87, 044 295-28-37

      Consular section phone number: 044 294-80-87

      Embassy in Kazakhstan. Opened in 2010

      Address: Astana, Saryarka Ave., 6

      Phone: +7 7172 660-375

      Embassy in Uzbekistan

      Address: Tashkent, st. Rashidova, 100

      Phone: 998 7 1134-0393, 998 7 1134-4541

      Embassy in Belarus. It was opened after Belarus became an independent state. There are close political and economic ties between Vietnam and Belarus.

      Visa office opening hours:
      Monday – Friday From 10:00 to 19:00 Saturday From 10:00 to 17:00 Sunday Closed
      Schedule for receiving and issuing documents:
      Monday - Friday From 10:00 to 18:00 (unless there is a deadline for submitting documents) Saturday From 10:00 to 16:00 Sunday Closed

      Addresses of ANEX Tour offices for submitting documents when ordering the “Visa” service

      Moscow, Leningradsky Prospekt, 80/66 (Baltiyskaya St., 15)

      Dear tourists, we inform you that:

      The tour operator is not responsible for the actions of institutions authorized to issue visas (refusal/delay in issuing a visa, delay in issuing tourist passports after reviewing documents, changing the rules for issuing entry visas, including increasing the period for reviewing documents, etc.)

      In addition to having a visa, which is not always a guarantee of crossing the border, you must go through the necessary procedures to cross the border.

      Refusal to cross the border may be due to debt; restriction of travel for certain categories of citizens; non-compliance of documents with the rules for crossing the border, including violation of the requirements of the country of temporary residence for the validity period of a foreign passport, lack of documents for the departure of a minor citizen, etc.

  • For a short visit to Vietnam (up to 15 days) you do not need a visa, but sometimes you want to stay for a longer period. We fly to Vietnam for the winter and have helped hundreds of people prepare documents and obtain a Vietnam visa upon arrival. In this article I will tell you in detail how to independently obtain a visa to Vietnam and Phu Quoc Island as well. Also, do you need a visa for your trip? For those who don’t like a lot of letters, at the end there is a short video review about the Vietnam visa and how to obtain it.

    There are a number of cases when a visa to Vietnam is not needed at all. Most often, this happens for tourists from Russia or Belarus flying for a short period of up to 15 days, as well as for citizens of most countries who decide to spend. However, there are opposite situations when you cannot do without a visa to Vietnam. How to independently obtain a visa to Vietnam for citizens of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other countries of the former Soviet Union, let’s look a little further below.

    And a few words about the sore point.

    Safety and travel insurance for Vietnam (very important)

    Many countries require an insurance policy to obtain a visa and people are forced to buy insurance, but the cheapest one, just to get a visa. And then they cannot receive payments when insured events occur.

    In Asian countries and Vietnam in particular, insurance is not required to obtain a visa. Therefore, they happily forget about it and save as much as $15-20 on the huge risk of ending up without help in a foreign country. Having already had extensive experience living in Vietnam, all tourists I highly recommend You can do it online, you can do it right now, if you haven’t done it before.

    Important information for travelers flying to Vietnam from Ukraine

    Information for residents of Ukraine traveling with children. Things to keep in mind.

    Important for Ukrainian citizens with children. Many travel companies in Ukraine have disseminated information that if children are not included in the parent’s international passport and they have their own passports, then they will not be able to obtain a visa upon arrival in Vietnam. They say they need to go get visas for them at the embassy. This is not correct information, do not trust it.

    We received the correct information together with one of our readers, that Ukrainian children included in the parent's passport without a photo attached will not be able to obtain a visa on arrival. If the child has his own passport or is registered with his parent and his photo is pasted in there, then he will be able to get a visa upon arrival.

    But at the embassy a visa to Vietnam is much more expensive.

    Don’t forget a visa is needed for each family member, including infants. When receiving a visa upon arrival, everyone will be charged a Stamp Fee - a visa fee in the amount of 25 or 50 US dollars (depending on the type of visa: single or multi)

    A Vietnam visa is REQUIRED in the following cases

    A visa for Russians and Belarusians is needed:

        • if you need to stay in Vietnam for a longer period than 15 days (1 - 3 months, while even a monthly visa can be with multiple or single entry)
        • arrival in Vietnam occurs less than one month after the previous departure from it
        • you wish to visit neighboring countries while in Vietnam, you will need a multiple entry visa

    A Vietnam visa for citizens of most other countries (Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan and others) is required. The only exception is a direct flight to Phu Quoc Island (I’ll talk about this separately)

    Three ways to get a Vietnam visa

    You can get a visa:

        1. At the consulate of your city (in advance of departure)
        2. Upon arrival at Vietnam airport
        3. through the visa center website

    Moreover, obtaining a visa upon arrival for Russians is a more advantageous offer than applying in advance at the consulate, because Upon arrival, a visa is free for citizens of the Russian Federation, but at the consulate you will have to pay a visa fee.

    An electronic visa also costs a little more than a visa on arrival.

    Residents of other countries, including Ukraine and Belarus, pay the fee both at the consulate and upon arrival, so they don’t care where it is done. In any case, before departure (or going to the consulate), you need to issue an invitation (Approval letter is not free). It is mandatory and is included in the list of required documents for the first two ways of obtaining a visa.

    It is important to know that a visa on arrival can only be issued in the following major cities in Vietnam:

    List of required documents for a Vietnam visa upon arrival and at the consulate

    The first thing you need to do after purchasing tickets to Vietnam is to issue a special invitation, according to which you will subsequently receive a visa. You will also need to fill out a form and prepare photographs.

    Approvalletter - letter of invitation to Vietnam. This is an invitation from an authorized Vietnam travel company. They are easy to find on the Internet. The cost on average varies depending on the length of stay and ranges from $10 to $30. It is only important to understand that an invitation upon arrival, an invitation to obtain a visa when crossing the land border and an invitation to the consulate are signed and made differently.

    The visa will then be given for the period that you indicated in the invitation application. After filling out the application and paying for it, the invitation is sent by email within 2-3 business days.

    How to make an invitation to Vietnam yourself, read my separate article, according to which you yourself received hundreds of invitations for yourself, friends and site readers:

    The complete package of documents for obtaining a visa is as follows:

    • Invitation to Vietnam (Approval letter). The same one you received in the mail
    • Application form, it’s better to fill it out at home so that when you arrive at the place you don’t waste time on it. This application form will be sent along with the invitation, so you don’t have to search separately. You can fill out the form either in print or by hand, in English or Vietnamese, and don’t forget to sign,
    • 2 photos: 4x6 in size, color or black and white, with an open face, not very old, on a light or white background, it is better to take current photos. To be honest, we ourselves always submitted 3x4 or 3.5x4.5 photographs since they are more suitable for the format
    • International passport must be valid for at least 6 months from the date of entry into the country.
    • They may also require return ticket or reservation, if for some reason there is no return ticket, then it is better to prepare it at home (in Photoshop, for example). However, we usually got away with showing that very invitation.

    Visas for a longer visit: work, study or permanent residence are issued with a different package of documents and according to special rules.

    Steps to take at Vietnam Airport to obtain a tourist visa on arrival

    We have prepared a package of documents, now we will figure out how to behave correctly and what to do at the airport so as not to accidentally receive a regular 15-day stamp instead of a three-month tourist visa.


    Our assistance in obtaining a visa to Vietnam

    Again. If you don’t want to worry about applying for a visa to Vietnam on your own, then write and we will help you. We offer our support in preparing documentation for tourist visas:

    Extension of an existing tourist visa to Vietnam

    Officially, on-site extension of tourist visas in Vietnam occurs only once. This is done at the migration center. A visa is issued for one month only. At the same time, travel agencies charge a tidy sum for their help (we are not helpers here).

    In most cases, in order to get a visa to Vietnam again for 1-3 months, people travel to a nearby accessible country and visit Vietnam again. This procedure is called visaran or borderran:

    • Visaran to Cambodia via land border by bus. Until recently, this was the easiest and most accessible way from Phu Quoc Island. The average cost is $90-120 per person. .
    • Visaran to Kuala Lumpur and back with AirAsia. In November 2018, this low-cost airline opened flights to Fukuoka. The minimum cost of a visaran is $120 (for a day trip). Visaran with sightseeing will cost about 200-300 dollars. .
    • Viziran via Bangkok with Bangkok Airways. Tickets to Thailand from Fukuoka cost about $100, but from the mainland you can find much more affordable options

    To return to Vietnam and obtain a new visa, you need the same package of documents as described in this article. You can use the services of travel agencies to do this faster, but more expensive.

    I’ll summarize the results on visas, for those who really don’t like to read, watch the video:

    See you in Vietnam

    Be sure to tell your friends about us

    109 comments

      Hello. Please tell me. I’m going to Vietnam on a tour package (13 days), but I plan to go to another country for 4-5 days. What kind of visa do I need to apply for? Single or multiple entry visa?

      1. Good afternoon. You have two options:
        1. Arrive with a free stamp, if your citizenship allows it. Leave for a third country. And then enter Vietnam with a single-entry visa
        2. Get a multiple visa immediately

        Pros of the first option:
        — you will not lose a transfer from the tour operator. After all, obtaining a visa on arrival takes some time from 20 minutes to 2 hours
        - you'll probably save a little

        Pros of the second option:
        — with a multiple visa you can visit several countries when returning to Vietnam
        — if you go, for example, to Cambodia by land, then you will already have a visa to return to Vietnam

      We received a visa to Vietnam for a month in Luang Prabang (LAOS) within a day without any problems. You need 1 PHOTO and a questionnaire. No Approval Letter required! They looked surprised (Approval letter is only required for a visa on arrival). They wasted money and time on its design. In general, the attitude is friendly. Most likely, you could pay $55 instead of $65 (two or one business day of processing) and come the next day to politely ask if the visa is ready. There are no queues. Good luck to all!

      1. Good afternoon, in fact, there are several options for obtaining a visa and they all differ slightly in terms of the list of documents (added to the article):
        – tourist visa on arrival (a copy of the invitation from Vietnam is required)
        – tourist visa at the land border (original invitation required for land border)
        - tourist visa at the consulate (consular fee required in Cambodia is $75 for a three-month visa, in Laos $55 for one month)
        — business visa on arrival (a copy of the invitation is required)
        — business visa at the consulate (a copy of the invitation and consular fee is required)
        — electronic visa only for a month (you can’t cross the border everywhere, you need to apply for it at home in advance)

      Hello!
      We arrived in Vietnam on November 21, received a visa for three months until February 21, and only today I saw that the passport control stamp said 12/21/2018. My wife has everything correct in her passport - 02/21/2019. There was a long line at the airport, the border guard made a mistake and I didn’t check. How to solve this problem? Is there an immigration office in Fukuoka or do I have to go to the airport to see the border guards?

        1. Yesterday we went to the airport and spent more than an hour sorting things out. As a result: they said not to worry, everything is fine, the main document is the pasted-in visa. But they did not correct the error in the stamp. Let's see what happens in Ha Tien...

    1. Good day! Please, help!!! Everywhere they give extremely different information. In August 2018, she changed her last name upon marriage. In April of this year we are going to Vietnam for more than 15 days, so we will apply for a visa using an electronic invitation.

      QUESTION: Do I need to change my passport to a new last name?

      We wanted to buy tickets from Moscow in the next few days to Cam Ranh, and issue tickets using an old passport. And now we don’t know what to do, if we change our passport, will the plane ticket no longer be valid? 😊 It’s all very confusing, unravel it!

      1. Good afternoon. According to the law of the Russian Federation, a foreign passport must be replaced after a last name change (in fact, it is not valid). In practice, no one will really look at it in Vietnam, since it is the only document proving your identity here.

        But if you change your foreign passport now, you really risk losing your tickets or, at best, you’ll have to pay extra to change the data on your ticket. Therefore, either fly with your old one or buy tickets after receiving a new passport

    2. Good afternoon.
      We are going to Vietnam from 7.03 to 23.03 (transfer in Noi Bai on 08.03), i.e. it turns out for 16-17 days. Please tell me whether you need a visa if you arrive in the country 1 day longer.

      1. Good afternoon.
        Overstaying is a violation of immigration law. At a minimum, you will have to pay a fine of $10 per person per day of delay. Vietnam is not very angry and does not blacklist people, but it is better not to tempt fate. It’s easier to get a visa for a month upon arrival. You receive an invitation and get a visa at the airport

      Hello. We have tickets to Hanoi on April 22. Is it possible to order a tourist visa for six months by invitation? Can I order an invitation in advance, or do I only need to write thirty days in advance??? Thank you.

        1. Thank you. That means for three months. Yes, no changes are expected. Now in India we are sitting still, there is time to pull up all the papers and print them out.. We will be on the islands in Thailand, it will be more difficult there.. just won’t this invitation lose its validity if it is made three months in advance?

    3. Hello. We have a flight with Vietnamese airlines Bangkok Ho Chi Minh City Ph Quoc 12/05/18 departure 12/19/18 Ph Quoc Bangkok Thai. Should we get a free stamp for 15 days in Ho Chi Minh City? Thank you.

    4. Please tell me, it was not possible to fly from Moscow to Ho Chi Minh City. We are going to buy tickets only in a week, do we need to order a new invitation letter? If the date, airport and airline change?

      1. Hello, you can try to write and ask the company from which you ordered the invitation. For example, Visapro, through which we usually order, makes concessions and corrects mistakes, but here, of course, the situation will be more serious, it is better to find out from them.

      1. Extending a tourist visa is expensive and problematic. It’s better to immediately take a visa for 3 months - it’s $10 more expensive. But no problems. And in the invitation you really need to indicate the date of arrival

            1. Thanks a lot!!

          1. these are different things.
            If you apply for an entry visa with an invitation with a wet stamp in your hands, then you can return immediately. Although Cambodian rules usually require you to spend at least 2 hours on their territory

            And you can receive a free stamp again only after a month. However, if you initially entered on a visa, you can enter again using a stamp

            1. I see, thanks for the clarification.

        1. Hello! I applied for a visa early. More precisely, I received a visa to Vietnam for 1 month single, but now I want to go to Thailand. Can I return to Vietnam again in 2 weeks and get a visa again? Or do I have to wait a full 30 days before my next entry? I'm from Kazakhstan.

          1. Good afternoon. Yes, you can get a new visa after returning from Thailand in two weeks and even in a few hours. By the time you arrive, you simply must have a new invitation

            The Thirty Day Rule only applies to the free stamp. In your case, if your stay in Vietnam after Thailand is less than 14 days, you can get a free stamp (for citizens of the Russian Federation and Belarus), if you have return tickets.

      1. Good afternoon.
        To do this you need to apply for a business visa. This is quite real. The price per year is approximately 320-370 dollars. I really didn’t apply for a business visa through the visapro website. Ordered from a local agency

    5. We are going to Fukuoka in mid-April, a flight through China directly to the island. Since we are planning a trip to Cambodia, I would like to clarify that you can get a multiple visa at Fukuoka airport? Or is it better to arrange it in advance? How to get a visa to Cambodia?

      1. Good afternoon. YES at Fukuoka airport you can also get a multiple visa upon arrival. Simply indicate “other” airport when ordering an invitation letter. The easiest way to obtain a visa to Cambodia is at the border; you will only need two 3x4 photographs. Be prepared that you will be asked to pay up to $40 for a visa, there are typical tourist scams, which I don’t really understand how to deal with, they just say: if you don’t like it, stay.

        1. Thanks for the answer. When we ordered the invitation, they didn’t ask us which airport.
          And if I apply for a visa to Cambodia online, will it be accepted at the border? I just read that they may not accept it!

          1. Most likely they won't accept it. For the border you need an invitation with a wet stamp - the original. In addition, it is necessary to indicate which border point:
            — visa on arrival (landing visa)
            — visa at the border (border visa)
            — visa for the consulate (this is for a business visa)

            1. The letter states: “Those above perceived people are permitted to pick up visa on arrival at the International Airports.” It is also indicated that a multiple visa is required: “following persons are granted multiple entries into Viet Nam from 04/18/2018 to 05/18/2018”
              Printed on a color printer with red printing

              This is not enough?

              So, let's figure it out:

              1. You have an invitation for a visa on arrival to Vietnam - this phrase “are permitted to pick up visa on arrival at the International Airports.” — If the company is honest, then you will be able to receive a multiple visa upon arrival in Vietnam using this invitation
              2. Such a visa will be enough to enter the country, then leave, then come back, i.e. enough to visit the Vietnam-Cambodian border crossing
              3. In order to enter Cambodia, you will need a Cambodia visa. The Cambodia e-visa is not valid at all border crossings. Therefore, it is better to apply for a visa to Cambodia directly on the spot, or in advance through the Cambodian embassy. Those. Either come to the border already having the required visa in your passport, or get it there. I don’t recommend getting an electronic visa; in any case, I don’t know where, other than airports, you can use it to enter the country.

        2. Good afternoon Please tell me, if I fly to Phu Quoc via Ho Chi Minh City, say, not at the international terminal, will I need a visa?
          Return in 25 days also Phu Quoc-Ho Chi Minh City-Hong Kong.
          And upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh City, there will be a transfer within 14 hours - is it worth getting a visa there for a month? Or will it be possible to take advantage of the Fukuoka privilege?

          1. Good afternoon.
            Arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, it is quite difficult to get a Phu Quoc stamp. My friends achieved a monthly stamp in about 50% of cases. Otherwise, they put a stamp for 14 days. In this case, there will be a gap of 11 days or an extension, which also costs more than a visa.

            1. Thank you very much for the advice! That's what I'll do.

    6. Good afternoon
      Please tell me.
      We arrive to Phu Quoc on a direct flight from Moscow. Tour package.
      Do we need to apply for a visa upon arrival if we plan to fly to Ho Chi Minh City/Hanoi with a return trip to Phu Quoc? If yes, where? at the airport upon arrival? Do you also need an invitation if a tour package is purchased in Phu Quoc?

      1. Good afternoon
        According to the visa regime in Fukuoka, you should not leave the island after receiving an extended stamp in your passport. In practice, no one will check, and no one will ask for your passport on the street. The only check is done everywhere from the country. Therefore, in my opinion, you do not need a visa to visit Ho Chi Minh City. But if you are going to visit Cambodia, for example, then of course it is better to get a multiple visa.

        A visa on arrival is issued at the airport of arrival. In any case, an invitation is required to obtain a visa upon arrival.

      Please tell me. Did I understand correctly regarding the free visa upon arrival at the airport:
      My husband and I fly to Nha Trang, relax there for a week, then go by bus to Cambodia for 3 days and return to Vietnam via Kep to Phu Quoc for another 4 days.
      Do I understand correctly that we do not need to apply for a Vietnamese visa in advance, but we can simply fill out the Approval Letter correctly (select for 1 month with multiple entries) and receive a free visa upon arrival at Nha Trang airport. And we will calmly return to Vietnam from Cambodia 3 days after leaving Vietnam, without paying anything for a visa.
      Right? 🙂

      1. Good afternoon
        Yes that's right. If you are citizens of the Russian Federation, you will only have to pay for an invitation letter, according to which you will receive a multiple visa at the airport for FREE. If you are citizens of another country, then at the airport you will have to pay a stamp fee of $50 for a multiple visa. Price $6 per month. All instructions are on the website. Happy holidays.

      1. Good afternoon
        a separate passport is not required if your passport contains photographs of children (if there are no photographs and the children do not have passports, then you will not be allowed into Vietnam)
        An invitation is required for everyone, including children.

      1. Hello! You need to get a visa on arrival for one month with a single entry, i.e. receive an invitation, fill out forms (you can do this according to our articles), when you receive everything, you can fly, although citizens of Ukraine will still have a visa fee at the airport in the amount of $25 (for a month with a single entry). Also read my new one article about flights through China, everything is not easy there if there are two transfers in China (the link to this article is at the beginning of this one).

    7. Hello!
      “Phu Quoc (Phu Quoc) - according to the latest data, visas on arrival are also issued on the island.”
      Do you know how to clarify this information? All I found was […] Doesn't look like an official source.
      It would be unpleasant to fly to Phu Quoc and get a stamp for 15 days, even though I was planning on staying for a month and a half :)

      1. Good afternoon. Yes, both last year and this year, people fly to Phu Quoc and apply for a visa upon arrival. I also have such information. In addition, I requested information from a travel agency that issues visas and they confirmed the possibility of obtaining a visa upon arrival in Fukuoka. Members of our FB group (PhuQuoc people) also brought similar information to us.

      Good evening!
      Please tell me:
      1) if we stay in Vietnam for more than 15 days, but in the middle of the vacation (namely, for 4 days) we fly to Phu Quoc, then these 4 days are taken into account in the calculation of these 15 days?
      2) is it considered re-entry into Vietnam when flying from Phu Quoc back to Ho Chi Minh City?
      Thank you very much in advance!!!

      1. Good afternoon
        Phu Quoc is part of Vietnam and all rules apply to it. People mistakenly try to consider Phu Quoc separately and this raises questions. In fact:
        1. If you arrive at any airport in Vietnam except Phu Quoc Island, you will receive a stamp valid for 15 calendar days, after which you are required to leave Vietnam. So it doesn't matter where exactly you spend them. Even in Fukuoka.
        2. When visiting Phu Quoc, you do not leave Vietnam, which means there will be no re-entry
        3. If you plan to stay longer than 15 days, I recommend applying for a visa for a month. The invitation costs $6 if you arrange it yourself

    8. Hello!
      I didn’t quite understand from your article whether it is possible to get a visa by tide in Nha Trang. In one place you write that you can get a visa only in four major cities:
      Ho Chi Minh City (Ho Chi Minh)
      Hanoi
      Cam Ranh
      Da Nang
      And in another place you mention the following cities - Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Nha Trang, Danang; Well, that is, they replaced Cam Ran with Nha Trang.

    9. We are flying to Fukuoka with 2 transfers in China. and from Guangzhou straight to Fukuoka. The trip is planned for 27 days.
      wrote about the conditions of a direct flight.
      It's just a little unclear. Tell me, in my case, do I need to buy an invitation letter?

      1. Hello! You don't need an invitation, because... fly from another country (in your case China) straight to Phu Quoc, and therefore receive a stamp for a month. If the transfer had been in Vietnam, then the stamp would have been placed during the transfer and for only 15 days.

    10. Hello,
      We are flying to Vietnam on a package tour for 10 days (since it is cheaper than buying a direct ticket), we plan to stay for 3 months - we are issuing an invitation. Will there be problems when obtaining a visa upon arrival due to the fact that the flight is from a tour company and not independent?

      1. Good afternoon.
        First, I suggest checking to see if the letter has gone to spam. After that, write to them on the website, there is a possibility that there was a typo in the email address. In general, letters arrive within a week, so it’s better to contact technical support

    11. I choose tickets at the Etihad. A ticket from Moscow to Ho Chi Minh City costs 20,000 rubles. And the return trip from Ho Chi Minh City to Moscow is already almost 40,000 rubles!
      About a week ago the prices were approximately equal.
      Question about transferring to Abu Dhabi: we arrive from Moscow at 19.00, and fly to Ho Chi Minh City at 8 am the next day. Do I understand correctly that people are stupidly sitting somewhere in the waiting room all night?

      1. This is quite possible - I'm talking about prices. good tickets sell out quickly.
        When transferring, there are several options:
        - just sit and wait at the airport
        — get an excursion from the airline with a waiting time of more than 8 hours, someone from the Arabs, but I won’t say exactly who. You can ask Etihad, they may well offer a hotel
        — overnight at a hotel (this is what the Chinese do, they don’t have a habit of staying at the airport for a long time, they immediately pack you up and take you to the hotel if there is a long layover, which is the case when flying to Phu Quoc)

        1. I rescheduled at the last minute.
          At first I searched on the websites of the airlines themselves, then I decided to compare what the aggregators offered.
          And I realized that in both cases there are some pros and cons.
          I visited aggregators and realized that the best options are offered by air sales.
          They redirected me to ticket.ru.
          The result was 55,000 rubles per person round trip - I understand that compared to your 70 thousand for two last year, this is a lot.
          This is probably not the best option, but I decided to go with it.
          I fly out on December 16th and return on January 7th.
          The flight there will be at night, I have never flown in this mode, and upon arrival in Hanoi there will be a pause of about 3 hours, during which time you will need to apply for a visa for Fukuoka.
          Then a flight from Hanoi to Phu Quoc.
          Those. everything about everything in less than a day.

            1. From all this we can conclude:
              tickets must be purchased as early as possible, in my case this should have been done in June-July.
              But I couldn’t do this because I only received a brand new passport yesterday.

              I have the following question:
              what to do with booking accommodation?
              Does it make sense to bother with this right now or is it better to choose accommodation immediately after arrival?
              It seems to me that it makes sense to book for the first week, and then look at the situation.
              Which hotel would you recommend in Fukuoka?

              Sometimes inexpensive tickets are sold out in August and October. Last year I bought tickets 2 weeks before departure, but not the best price. A month before departure, tickets to Ho Chi Minh City and back cost about 19,000.
              Accommodation - depending on how long you plan to travel. If it’s for a couple of weeks, it’s easier now to find affordable housing online. If it’s for 1+ months then it’s better to make a stop for 3-4 days and then look on the spot

              1. Good afternoon. The price is excellent for Etihad, you can safely buy tickets. Local airlines are: Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific, VietJet Air you can read here. They fly quite often, almost every hour from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. or even later. It’s worth choosing based on price, they constantly have promotions and it’s difficult to say which company will be cheaper to fly, but everyone has the same conditions, especially since an hour of flight is not a problem.

                If you are flying for more than 14 days, you will have to apply for a visa upon arrival - it is not at all difficult and quite cheap. So take into account the extra 40-50 minutes at the airport. To be honest, in order not to stress too much, we rented a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, spent the night and then continued on our way. Near the airport, within a 7-minute walk, we found a good hotel for $10 per night. Not a masterpiece, but enough for one night. You can read more here: http://site/2016/12/6786/

                1. In fact, the Vietnamese are very loyal, they turn a blind eye to many things, even overstaying their visas (they even let you go for a couple of days of overstaying your visa without fines). Another question is about leaving the country - our border guards may find fault with this. As far as I know, to travel abroad from Russia (and Belarus) for a child with one parent, you need mandatory confirmation of guardianship (indication of the child in the passport, or in a civilian passport + birth certificate, documents for guardianship, etc.), but NOT Notarized permission from the other parent is REQUIRED. However, if the second parent is against it, and has previously filed a lawsuit, and also contacted border control about his disagreement with the departure, then the child will be given a ban on leaving in general and it will no longer be possible to take him out without the consent of the second parent.
                  In fact, if the second parent has nothing against leaving, there is no problem, but if the second parent is ready to go to court and is categorically against it, then leaving will not work

                  good evening, please tell me, I wrote a letter and I understand that at the airport I will also have to pay a stamp fee for a visa of $25 or do Russian citizens not pay for this??

                  1. Good afternoon.
                    No, citizens of the Russian Federation do not have to pay anything. I have a file on my website in Vietnamese with an extract from the law, just in case you can print it out and show it to the airport, although we didn’t have any problems. We calmly received a visa and that’s it. A little advice: when going through passport control, submit your passport with the page on which your new visa is displayed, then they won’t ask unnecessary questions

                    1. It’s not at all clear with a return ticket, people fly by car in one direction, they say they don’t ask them for anything, not in Russia or in Vietnam. There is an invitation, what do you need, then you get a visa on the flight

                      I read your message about the extension of the 15-day stamp, it seems that all the conditions are met, however, after visiting local agencies, I received an offer only to obtain a visa for a period of 30 days with exit from the country.
                      At the same time, you don’t have to go anywhere yourself, just hand over your passports, which seems to me not entirely legal). They asked for a visa for $150 per person. It’s scary that at the airport the fines are $100 per person per day per day of delay.
                      Please tell me how to extend a visa for 15 days, maybe you know a travel agency that does this.
                      You can send me a personal message, I wrote your email address.
                      Thank you.
                      PS By the way, I went to the Dong Dong immigration service about this issue - they turned me away and said that this can only be done in Ho Chi Minh City

                      1. Hello! You yourself wrote everything correctly, I will correct it in the article. From the latest data from the end of 2016 it follows that there is no extension of the 15-day stamp as such (unless in Ho Chi Minh City and then it is in question), you need to get a visa again and you can do this by leaving Vietnam on your own, for example, to Cambodia or rely to agencies, but at your own peril and risk. Our friends recently went out this way to get a visa (with the help of an agency), but they went in person, spent half a day on it and it cost $130 for one person. But, as you say, without trips for $150, we haven’t checked yet, there are no precedents, I can’t tell you whether this can be done, this was previously practiced, but now it’s difficult to recommend this option.