Getting emergency Vietnam visa is painful experience for those who first time travel to Vietnam and forget to apply visa in advance. However, applying for emergency visa is a simple process and the pain will pass quickly. You just need to apply for visa early enough, you will not miss your flight to Vietnam.
Below is the step by step instruction on how to apply for emergency visa (as well as visa on arrival application in general):
Step 1: Fill in the visa application form
You will be requested to complete the application form with the information like: full name, date of birth, nationality, passport number, proposed date of arrival and visa type. This must be totally exact as it displays in your passport. Any spelling mistake or typos will cause serious problem with your entry.
Step 2: Confirm the visa information and pay
Since the emergency visa will be arranged in very tight time, you need to shorten the processing time as much as possible but it must be totally accurate. After entering the visa information you need to check it carefully to ensure everything is correct. At the end of visa submission step, you will be redirected to the payment gateway where you can pay with credit cards, PayPal or bank wiring transfer.
Step 3: Receive visa approval letter
After committed processing time (2 working days for normal service, 8 hours for urgent services, 4 hours for super urgent service, 2 hours for emergency service or 1 hour for last minutes service) you will receive the visa approval letter via email. The visa approval letter can be delivered in PDF or JPG format. You download the file, print it out and bring along with your passport, photo and stamping fee (in cash) to get on the plane. Sometime, you have to use the printer service at the departure airport to print out the letter of approval as the electronic version is not accepted.
Step 4: Get visa stamp at Vietnam airport
You can pickup visa at one of Vietnamese International Airports at Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Da Lat, Hai Phong and Phu Quoc. When you arrive in this airport, you move toward the visa counter with the sign board displaying “VISA ON ARRIVAL”. Here you will queue in lines to present the original passport, photo, copy of visa approval letter and pay the stamping fee to get visa stamped onto passport. The visa stamping process will take 15 – 30 minutes (sometime it takes longer). If you are not familiar with this process, or you have to catch the connecting flight to next airport, you may use the visa fast track service to save your time.
- +Do I need to send off my passport when I am applying for visa on arrival?
- No, you don’t. You just need to complete the online application form with required information and submit. Original passport will be presented at visa counter for visa stamp only.
- +What happens if I entered the information incorrectly?
- You need to contact us immediately to correct it. We can not amend the information if the visa processing is in progress or the visa approval letter is done. In this case you have to re-apply for another visa approval letter.
- +How long in advance can I apply for an approval letter?
- You should apply for a visa as soon as possible and the earliest date you may apply for an approval letter is 12 months prior to the arrival date. For a normal processing visa, it will take 3 working days to complete therefore it is good to apply for a visa within 3 – 7 working days before arriving Vietnam.
- +Do I need to print out the letter of approval?
- Yes you do. Visa approval letter is required for boarding the flight and obtaining visa stamp upon arrival. If you don’t have time to print out the letter of approval and the airlines officers still allow you to board the flight, you will need to book a fast track service to avoid any problem at arrival airport.