Vietnam visa for South African citizens
As the Vietnam immigration policy, all the citizens of South Africa will need a visa to enter Vietnam for both tourism or business purposes. You should submit a visa application 1 – 2 weeks before departing for Vietnam. If you are not possible to start your visa application early, you may encounter a rush visa application at last minutes. You don’t worry, we can help you getting an urgent visa in 1 – 2 working days with a promise of timely delivery.
Do South African citizens need visa to Vietnam?
Yes, Vietnam visa is required for all the South African citizens travelling to Vietnam.
South African citizen is not included in the visa exemption list; therefore, all South Africa passport holders need to apply visa to Vietnam for either tourism or business purposes.
What South African travelers need for Vietnam visa?
1. Passport:
The passport should satisfy following requirements:
– Have at least 2 blank pages to get visa sticky and stamp;
– Have at least 6 months validity from your date of arrival;
2. Photos:
– Have a white background;
– Be taken in the last 6 months;
– Eyes look straight on without glasses, photos should be taken clearly with the appearance of 2 ears;
– You will need to upload a colored recent taken photo (4x6cm) and a passport copy at visa portal when applying for e-visa.
3. Printed visa approval letter (for visa on arrival):
Visa approval letter issued by the Vietnam Immigration Department via www.emergencyvisavietnam.com must be printed to present at the airports for boarding the flight and getting visa stamped. When the time for check-in is running out you may need the printer service at the airport to print out the letter. If you don’t have enough time to print the visa approval letter you can use our visa fast track service. Our staff will print the visa approval letter and pick you up right after landing.
4. Stamping fee (for visa on arrival):
– Stamping fee for visa on arrival must pay in cash (VND or USD) not by credit cards, PayPal or any online payment method;
– Other currency will be converted to USD or VND using given exchange rates;
– There is no ATM, money changer or any other way to withdraw money in the immigration hall so that cash (25 USD for single entry or 50 USD for multiple entry) must be prepared in advance.
– For e-visa, full service fee paid when you applied for a visa, so that no money is required at arrival airport;
5. Entry and exit form (for visa on arrival):
– You can download the “Entry and exit form” at our website and fill in advance to save your time at arrival airport;
– The completed form will be submitted at the visa desk along with passport, visa approval letters and stamping fee;
– Learn how to fill in the Entry and exit form.
For visa applying at the Vietnam Embassy, an application form (which you can download at the Vietnam Embassy’s website or receive at its office) and a prepaid self-addressed return envelope if you wish to receive your passport and visa sent back by mail.
How the South African citizens apply for Vietnam visa?
There are several ways for the South African citizens applying for Vietnam visa before departure. See below for details about each option:
1. Apply for Vietnam visa on arrival
The South Africa passport holders can apply Vietnam visa on arrival from anywhere outside of Vietnam. The visa will be picked up at Vietnamese airport after showing the printed visa approval letter and paying the stamping fee.
The approval letter will be sent via email within 7 – 10 working days (normal service), 1 – 2 working days (urgent service), 4 working hours (super urgent service) or even 1 hour (last minutes service) depending on which option the applicant has chosen when submitting online application form.
Sample of visa approval letter arranged in September 2022
How to apply for a rush Vietnam visa on arrival?
- Step 1: Make a phone call to the visa agency to ensure it is possible to arrange visa at the time you are calling. Our hotline is open 24/7 at the number +84.912.685.141 (telephone and Whatsapp) to support you
- Step 2: Once you got a confirmation that the visa can be expedited at the time of calling, you should take a copy of passport attached with the date of arrival, visa type and flight number to send to the email vietnamvisabooking@gmail.com. If you are not too hurry you can spend couple of minutes to fill out the visa application form and check the entered information carefully before you submit.
- Step 3: You will receive a link for payment from the visa agency where you can pay with credit cards, PayPal or bank wire transfer.
- Step 4: After several days, you will receive a visa approval letter delivered to your email. You need to print out the letter, bringing with your passport, recent taken photo and stamping fee to get on the plane.
- Step 5: Upon arrival, you present all the documents at the visa counter, pay the stamping fee and get visa stamped onto passport within couple of minutes.
At present, visa on arrival is the best way to get a Vietnam visa, however it is available for those traveling Vietnam by air only. Applying visa on arrival is much faster and cheaper than applying visa at the Vietnam Embassy or Consulate in South Africa and more flexible than e-visa (the South African citizens are not eligible for Vietnam e-visa at present).
| UPDATE The Vietnam visa on arrival has been restored after the Vietnamese government re-opened the borders for the tourists on March 15, 2022 after a two-year border closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now the foreigners can get a Vietnam visa on arrival if they satisfy the following requirements: - The foreigners must have a visa approval letter arranged by a legitimate Vietnamese visa agency who is working with the Vietnam Immigration Department on behalf of the customers before their departure; - The foreigners must have a passport with at least 6 months validity from the date of arrival and blank pages for visa stamp; - The foreigners will travel Vietnam by airplane via the international airports. If you travel Vietnam via land border gates or sea port you should apply for a Vietnam e-visa instead; - The visa on arrival is an altenative to the e-visa in case you need to enter Vietnam urgently but your e-visa application is pending or needs to amend at the last minutes, when you are about to board the plane to Vietnam. |
By using the Vietnam visa on arrival service, the South African citizens don’t have to wait too long to get a visa approval letter from the Vietnam Immigration Department which gives them permission to enter Vietnam.
Vietnam tourist visa fee (visa on arrival) in 2024
| Cost per person (USD) | Normal processing fee | Rush service | Urgent service | Emergency service | Stamping fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (within 5 working days) | (within 2 working days) | (within 1 working day) | (within 4 working hours) | ||
| 1 month single entry tourist visa | $ 30 | $ 80 | $ 110 | $ 150 | $ 25 |
2. Apply for Vietnam visa directly at the Vietnamese Embassy or Consulates
Those who want to get a Vietnam visa beforehand or who want to travel to Vietnam by land or sea, can go to the Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa to apply for visa directly:
Embassy of Vietnam in Pretoria, South Africa
Address: 87 Brooks St., Brooklyn, Pretoria, South Africa
Phone: +27 (0)12 362 8119
Fax: +27 (0) 12 342 8441
Email: embassy@vietnam.co.za