Vietnam’s e-visa can cover a visit of up to 90 days, with single or multiple entries. The published government fees are US$25 and US$50 respectively. Apply through the official portal while outside Vietnam, check the issued dates before travelling, and leave room for processing delays. A payment receipt is not permission to board a flight.
This guide is for visitors organising an ordinary trip and people planning their next entry after time in Vietnam. It separates the official application rules from practical planning advice. An e-visa is not a dependable substitute for resolving employment, residence or immigration questions that fall outside a visitor’s itinerary.
Official information checked on . The Vietnam Immigration Department’s e-visa portal is the starting point for current eligibility, fees and permitted border gates. Your passport, purpose of travel and individual circumstances still matter.
Find the government portal before entering any personal information
Start by typing the government address yourself, then bookmark it. Search advertisements can sit above the official result and lead to commercial application services. Paying a commercial service does not automatically mean you have been scammed, but it does mean you should understand what you are buying and who will receive your passport details.
The Immigration Department’s domain migration notice identifies two official e-visa addresses: evisa.gov.vn and thithucdientu.gov.vn. The previous version of this article incorrectly treated every alternative address as unofficial. Use that government notice to verify a domain rather than relying on its logo, its position in search results, or a convincing word such as “official” in a page title.
A useful distinction is between the government application fee and a private service charge. If you choose help, ask for a written breakdown, the identity of the business, its refund conditions and precisely what it will do. Do not interpret an advertisement for urgent assistance as a guarantee from immigration. Avoid uploading identity documents until you are comfortable with the recipient and the service.
Check whether this is the right application for you
The official portal describes personal e-visa applications for foreigners outside Vietnam. That condition matters if you are already in Hanoi, Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh City and thinking about another stay. This guide does not recommend applying from inside the country while declaring that you are elsewhere. Do not put inaccurate information on an immigration form to fit an itinerary.
Some travellers have a visa exemption or another immigration status that changes what they need. Check the current official rules for your nationality, passport type, intended activities and length of stay before purchasing an e-visa. A friend's experience with a different passport is not a reliable answer for yours. Nor does a successful previous entry guarantee the same outcome for a future trip.
If you have a complicated travel history, a replacement passport, previous immigration problems or plans to work, use the relevant Vietnamese embassy or immigration authority for clarification. Keep the response with your planning records. A travel article can explain a process; it cannot examine your file or decide which status you should hold.
Budget for the whole journey, starting with the official fee
The fee shown by the government is US$25 for single entry or US$50 for multiple entry. The e-visa fee is non-refundable if the application is refused. Check the amount displayed in the official payment process, and keep a record of the transaction. Your payment provider may separately apply currency conversion or other charges under its own terms.
Single entry can suit a trip spent entirely in Vietnam. Multiple entry deserves consideration if your plan includes leaving Vietnam and returning within the same authorised validity period. Do not pay for flexibility you do not need, but do not assume a single-entry visa will survive a side trip across an international border.
For planning purposes, calculate more than the visa charge. An exit and subsequent return may involve transport, another country's entry requirements, accommodation, food, baggage fees, airport transfers and changed bookings. If a delay would force you into expensive last-minute flights, that exposure is part of the cost even before you buy anything. Keep an allowance separate from your ordinary daily travel budget.
Processing time is not a booking guarantee
The Ministry of Public Security’s published procedure states a resolution deadline of three working days after receipt of the application and fee. Treat that as the published processing standard, not a promise that your particular application will be approved before a non-refundable departure. Incomplete details or requests for correction can disrupt a tight plan.
My planning recommendation is to submit with substantially more breathing room than the minimum processing period and to avoid committing to a departure that depends on the fastest possible outcome. Work backwards from the date you need an approved document, allowing for weekends, holidays, payment problems and time to correct an error. This buffer is practical advice, not an additional government deadline.
Use a calendar rather than counting vaguely from “when I applied.” Record when the application was submitted, when payment completed, when you last checked its status and any request for further information. If you need to contact support, that record makes your question much clearer than a sequence of screenshots without dates.
Prepare the documents before opening the form
Have your passport available and work somewhere you can read it carefully. Prepare the portrait and passport biodata images according to the live portal’s current requirements. Do not rely on an old blog’s file-size limit or a remembered screenshot of a previous form. The instructions beside the upload field are the relevant ones when you apply.
Check that every part of the biodata page is visible, the text is legible and reflections do not obscure numbers or the photograph. Use a recent image that meets the portal instructions. If you resize a file to upload it, open the finished file and check that it is still readable; successfully shrinking an image is not the same as producing a useful document.
Use an email address you can access while travelling, including any verification needed to log in from another country. Save important records somewhere available offline, but avoid leaving passport copies on shared computers or in publicly accessible folders. If somebody is helping you, agree how they will handle those copies after the application is finished.
Complete the application slowly, then check it again
Read each field in the current form and enter the requested information from your actual documents. Names, passport numbers, dates and travel details deserve a second pass before submission. Do not change spellings to match a hotel booking, shorten a name for convenience or assume the form will correct a mistake automatically.
Compare the entered passport number character by character with the passport. Check the date format, especially when both the day and month are numbers below thirteen. It is easy to read a date in your home country's format while a form uses another. Review the completed application after any browser autofill has run; autofill saves keystrokes but cannot judge whether an answer belongs in that field.
Enter your intended route accurately. E-visa travel must use government-designated international border gates. Verify the current list through the official portal rather than assuming that every crossing available to a bus company accepts your document. When a route involves a land or sea border, confirm the exact crossing name rather than only the nearest city.
Save the application or dossier reference when the system provides it. Keep it together with the email address used and the payment record. Before making another payment because the screen appears stuck, check the application status and your payment history. Repeating a transaction in frustration can make the situation harder to untangle.
Read the approved document, not just the email subject
When a result arrives, open the document and examine it. Check the personal details, passport number, entry type and validity period. A message saying that an application has progressed is not necessarily an approved visa. Likewise, a screenshot showing payment completion does not prove permission to enter.
Plan around the actual start and end dates printed on the issued visa. Arriving later does not justify assuming that the expiry date moves with you. If your itinerary changes, compare it with the document again before paying for the replacement transport. The relevant question is whether the revised journey fits the authorisation you actually hold.
The Immigration Department’s application instructions tell approved applicants to print the e-visa for travel. Carry a readable paper copy and keep the file offline on your phone. A flat battery, unavailable airport Wi-Fi or a lost email password should not be the thing that stops you presenting an approved document.
Before departure, also check current arrival declarations. Smartraveller’s Vietnam advice, current on 11 September 2026, flags possible health-declaration requirements and encourages the official digital pre-arrival form for relevant airport arrivals. Confirm what applies to your route with the airline and Vietnamese authorities; an approved e-visa does not replace these checks.
Build a small arrival folder
Keep your passport, approved e-visa, first accommodation address and onward itinerary easy to retrieve. This is an organisation suggestion rather than a statement that every item will be demanded from every traveller. Put the documents where you can reach them without emptying a camera bag in a boarding queue.
Before leaving for the airport, ask the airline about any documentation uncertainty that applies to your route. A connection through another country can introduce its own requirements, particularly if tickets are separate or you need to collect baggage. Vietnam's e-visa does not settle the entry or transit rules of somewhere else.
On arrival, pay attention to any admission record and permitted-stay information you receive. If something is unclear or appears inconsistent, ask the immigration officer or appropriate authority promptly. Do not leave the issue until the day before you expect to depart. Store a copy of relevant records so that a lost phone does not erase your entire paperwork trail.
If you are considering leaving and returning
An international trip is a real border crossing, even when travellers call it a “visa run.” You need to be eligible to enter or transit the destination country, to leave Vietnam within your permitted stay and to meet the requirements for the next Vietnam entry. None of those decisions is made by the bus driver or by the website selling your flight.
The earlier version of this guide advised applying for the next personal e-visa before leaving Vietnam. That advice has been removed because the official portal specifies applicants outside Vietnam. If your situation needs a different procedure, ask the immigration authority about it. Do not improvise a workaround from an old discussion thread or another traveller's application.
Choose a destination where you can comfortably wait if an application takes longer than expected. Compare accommodation, access to printing, transport options and the conditions of your stay there. A cheap outward ticket becomes much less attractive if a delay creates an unaffordable return flight or leaves you needing to solve a second immigration problem.
Keep the return booking flexible where possible. A proposed one-day turnaround should never depend on an approval you do not yet hold. Repeated short exits are also a poor basis for making long-term commitments such as a lease, employment arrangement or business plan without understanding the appropriate status. Read the moving-to-Vietnam guide with that distinction in mind.
What to do when the application is delayed or incorrect
If your application is pending, check its status through the official portal using the reference details you saved. Read any request for correction closely. Keep a copy of what you submitted and the change requested, then answer the actual issue. Sending unrelated documents or making several inconsistent applications can create more confusion.
If an approved document contains an error, contact the official support channel for instructions before travelling. Do not edit the PDF yourself. Even a spelling problem that looks trivial to you can matter when documents are checked against your passport. Your priority is an officially correct document, not a visually convincing one.
If travel day arrives without the necessary approval, contact the airline or transport provider about changing the booking. Do not assume that a pending application will be accepted in place of a visa. Preserve receipts and correspondence so you can assess any refund or travel-cover question against the terms that actually apply; this article does not promise reimbursement.
If you are already in Vietnam and concerned about your permitted stay, seek guidance before it expires. Do not rely on an assumed grace period, a friend's account of a small fine or a tour seller's assurance that overstaying is routine. The correct response depends on your circumstances and belongs with the competent authority.
Let the paperwork support a realistic trip
Once the entry documents are settled, make the first days straightforward. Book somewhere you can find easily, keep its address offline and allow recovery time after a long flight. The Hanoi guide helps with a northern arrival; the Da Nang guide covers a different base. Neither destination needs every activity booked before your visa result.
For a longer stay, separate travel planning from legal status. An affordable apartment and a workable internet connection do not answer whether your intended activities fit your permission to stay. Keep your immigration calendar visible, retain a departure budget and avoid building a plan that can only work if every future application succeeds immediately.
For transport within Vietnam, check the Da Nang to Hanoi bus guide or your chosen operator after you know the dates available to you. It is easier to choose a comfortable journey when it is part of the trip rather than a hurried attempt to rescue a paperwork deadline.
Keep each traveller’s application separate and identifiable
When travelling as a couple, family or group, maintain a simple checklist for each person. Record which passport was used, whether payment is complete, whether a result is available and whether the issued details have been checked. One approved application does not tell you the status of the others. Before changing a shared booking, confirm that everyone affected has the documents needed for that journey.
Name saved files so that you can distinguish them quickly without putting full passport numbers in file names or public messages. Carry the right copy with the right passport. If someone in the group needs help reading the form, checking a document or managing airport paperwork, arrange that help before departure. Make sure assistance still leaves the applicant’s information accurate and their private records protected.
Questions worth resolving before you pay
Does multiple entry give me a new 90 days each time?
Do not plan on a fresh validity period after each border crossing. Read the dates on the issued visa and organise entries and departures within the permission granted. If your intended pattern of travel is not clearly covered, obtain an official answer before booking it.
Can a friend complete the form with me?
Help with reading or checking details can be useful, especially if a form is difficult to use. Keep control of the information submitted, the email account and the application reference. Someone assisting you should enter your real answers and should not make immigration declarations on assumptions about your circumstances.
Is the lowest airfare the best exit-and-return plan?
Compare the full cost and the consequences of delay. A slightly more expensive route with flexible dates and affordable accommodation can be a more practical plan than a bargain ticket with no useful fallback. Make that comparison with current quotes for your dates, not a fare somebody else paid months ago.
Sources and corrections
This article uses the official e-visa portal for the maximum validity, entry types, fee and applicant-location condition; the Immigration Department's migration notice for the two official domains; and the Ministry of Public Security procedure for the published processing standard. Links to those sources appear alongside the relevant facts. Practical organisation and booking suggestions are editorial guidance, not additional immigration rules.
Updated 11 September 2026: corrected the advice about applying while inside Vietnam, removed unsupported guarantees about visa runs and processing, and corrected the claim that there is only one official domain. Report an error through the contact page, including the page URL and the relevant official source. Please do not send passport scans or other sensitive application documents to Carl Travels.