Update: My Approval Letter arrived within 12 hours after processing payment for a standard 2 day request.
A few weeks ago Cathay Pacific had an incredible New Year Eve sale. The sale (mistake fare) featured extremely discounted First Class and Business Class fares from Vietnam back to the United States. The sale lasted a few hours and was published on nearly every travel website out there. Due to extensive coverage and the longer than normal duration of the sale, a ton of people managed to book tickets. Then, just two days later, Cathay Pacific announced that the airline would honor the mistake.
While I was personally ecstatic to see Cathay honor the fares, it also quickly created an issue. The issue is that in order to begin my journey I must first make my way to Vietnam. In order to get there, I need to have a Tourist Visa. Thankfully, getting a Vietnam Visa isn’t difficult, but if you’ve never done it before it can seem overwhelming.
Note: The Vietnam Visa occupies an entire Passport Page, so you must have at least two empty passport pages available in order to enter the country.
Ordering A Vietnam Visa On Arrival
Vietnam offers a Visa On Arrival program to US Passport holders that makes this whole process much simpler. I prefer Visa On Arrival because it means I don’t have to send my passport away for a few days or weeks prior to my departure.
There are several websites that advertise Vietnam Visas, but I’ve had success in the past using the Vietnam Visa website. There are other websites that offer similar services for less, but given that I’ve had success in the past I’ve decided to use the Vietnam Visa website again for my upcoming visit.
To order the visit simply select the type of visit and click proceed. You can select either 1 or 3 month Visas that offer a single entry or multiple entries. If you are going to be going in and out of Vietnam as part of this fare in quick succession I’d recommend getting the 3-month multiple entry if possible.
For my “trips,” I’ll enter Vietnam just once on three separate occasions spaced out in visits greater than 3 months apart. Because of this I believe I’m going to have to buy three single entry 1-month Visas. The cost of a single entry 1-month visa is just $17.
Receiving A Vietnam Visa Approval Letter
So, this is where things get a little weird. A few days after you pay the application fee (but as soon as a few hours) you’ll receive an email with your approval letter. Most websites say that this process takes up to two days, but last time I did this my email came within 24-hours without paying the added fees.
The letter itself is the weird part. When you open up the approval letter you’ll find a formal looking scanned document with a lot of Vietnamese writing. Somewhere on the letter you’ll find your estimated arrival date and your name. Chances are there will be several other travelers included on this letter. These approval letters are not personalized unless you pay an additional fee.
After you receive the approval letters you must print them out and bring them with you. You must show these approval letters to the gate staff in order to board the aircraft to Vietnam.
In addition to the approval letter you must also bring (per instructions) two “passport photos” of yourself. When I first completed this process I went to Walgreens and purchased professional passport photos. However, after doing this a few time I’ve found that you can use a passport photo app to appropriately size the photos and then print them at home. I haven’t had any issues doing this, but at the same time, the requirement is to have a “passport photo,” whatever that means.
Pay The Vietnam Stamping Fee
As the name implies, you receive your Vietnamese Visa when you arrive in Vietnam. So, when you get to Vietnam you will be directed to the Visa on Arrival immigration window. At that window you will hand over your passport, the approval letter, your photos (they didn’t take them last time), and $25 or $50 USD for a stamping fee. This fee can be paid in other currencies, but I’ve found that paying in USD ensures the fee is $25 instead of $25.95 or more due to a favorable conversion rate. The stamping fee is $25 for single entry Visas and $50 for multiple entry Visas.
After paying the stamping fee it could take anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour or more for the immigration officers to process your Visa. It’s honestly a confusing and stressful process because answers are hard to come by, but you just have to trust that it will all work out. Eventually, your passport will be returned and you may enter the country.
Final Thoughts
Overall, getting a Vietnam Visa is actually very easy. All you really need to do is fill out an online application form and pay a small fee. After that you wait for the letter, print it out, and pack your bags.
Approval letters can be delivered in a few hours if you find yourself in a jam, but in general you should get the letter within 48 hours.
Finally, I noted this above, but the Visa sticker takes up an entire passport page. You must have at least one empty passport page for the Vietnam immigration officer to affix your Visa. This of course is in addition to the 6-month passport validity rule.
