[intro music plays].Hey guys, today I want to talk about how to.get your visa for Vietnam..First of all, and most importantly, if you’re.using a US passport to travel to Vietnam,.you must get a visa before you can enter the.country..You can not just fly into to Vietnam, show.up at the airport, buy a visa there and go.on in like you can for some other countries..Now, later on I am going to be talking about.something called a “Visa on Arrival,”.but even that requires you to do some paperwork.before you actually come to the country..So, before I talk about how to get a visa,.let’s talk about some basic information.first..There are about 20 different types of visas.you can get for Vietnam..There’s visas for business, education, etc,.but I’m going to assume that everyone watching.this video will be going as a tourist..A tourist visa is designated as type DL within.the Vietnamese immigration department..I’m not sure if that’s ever important.to know, but I’m mentioning it here just.in case..So there’s a couple things you’ll need.before you apply for a visa..The first thing to look at is your passport’s.expiration date..Make sure it is at least 6 months after your.travel dates, or else there’s a chance you.visa will be denied..There are some special cases where you can.get a visa within that time-frame, but it’s.better not to risk it..You’re going to need passport photos..Go to your local walgreens or CVS or whatever,.and get some made..If you’re handy with photo editing, you.can make them yourself, just be very careful.to follow the photo guidelines on the visa.application..Alright, so the 2 main things you need to.decide prior to purchasing a visa are a) how.long you want to stay in the country, and.b) how many times you’ll enter and exit.the country..Tourist visas can be issued for 1 month, 3.months, 6 months, or a full year; for this.video I’m just going to talk about 1 and.3 month visas since they’re the most common..While thinking about which duration you want,.consider that you must choose your entry and.exit dates at the time of purchase..You can arrive any time on or after your arrival.date, but you must leave by your planned departure.date..So for example, let’s say you buy a 30-day.visa with arrival on January 1st and departure.on January 30th..You can arrive on the 1st, 5th, or even the.17th if you want, but regardless of when you.arrive, you absolutely must leave the country.by the end of the day on the 30th..So if you think you might need some extra.wiggle room in your itinerary, get the longer.visa..The next thing to consider is if you want.a single entry or multiple-entry visa..It’s basically just what it sounds like..A single entry means you can enter and exit.the country one time; a multiple entry visa.means you can enter and exit multiple times..So for example, if you want to leave Vietnam.and cross over in to Lao or Cambodia for a.few days, but you only have a single entry.visa, you would need a whole new visa to return.to Vietnam..If you think you might want to do some border.hopping, consider getting the multiple-entry.visa..Okay so that’s the basics of Vietnam Visas..So now, where do we get one?.There are basically 3 ways to get a visa for.Vietnam: an E-visa, an embassy visa, or a.Visa on Arrival..Each method has its advantages and disadvantages,.so we’ll go through them one by one..The E-visa, or electronic visa, is definitely.the most popular method for US tourists..This can be done 100% online, doesn’t require.sending off your passport anywhere, and you.pay only the bare minimum fee to immigration..You just fill out the application, upload.your passport photo, and pay the fee..After it’s approved in a few days, you print.out the visa and take it with you along with.your passport when you arrive in Vietnam..The E-visa is accepted as valid in pretty.much every major airport, land crossing, and.seaport in Vietnam..So the E-visa is super convenient and easy,.but it has a few limitations..First, the E-visa is only valid for 30 days.and is only single entry..There is no 90-day or multiple entry option,.so if you need either of those then the E-visa.won’t work for you..Another downside is that, as of the time of.this recording, you have to manually check.on the Vietnam immigration website each day.to see when your visa has been approved; they.will not notify you by e-mail or otherwise..Overall, the E-visa is a great option if you.only need a single entry and are making a.relatively short trip..Look in the video description below for a.direct link to Vietnam’s E-visa order page..Now let’s talk about the second option,.the embassy visa..An embassy visa is basically where you get.a physical stamp or a paper visa that goes.inside your passport that comes from an embassy.or consulate..By the way, from now on I’m just gonna be.saying “embassies” when I’m talking.about an embassy or consulate..It makes no difference to us either way which.one it is..The biggest advantage of getting an embassy.visa is that, unlike the E-visa, you have.options for 90-day and multiple entry..A second advantage is that this visa will.be valid at any Vietnamese border, not just.the major ones, so consider it instead of.the E-visa if you think you might cross over.at some obscure land border or seaport..Unfortunately, there are also several disadvantages..The first is cost; an embassy tourist visa.will cost you $100-$200 depending on your.chosen options..An example is the 90-day multiple-entry visa.I bought for $175..The second issue is that this method can be.confusing, because there are several legitimate.ways to get an embassy visa,..You’ll find that different websites, even.official ones, seem to have conflicting information..I spent a lot of time looking into this so.you don’t, so here’s the quick and dirty.on embassy visas..You basically have 4 available methods for.getting an embassy visa: in-person, online,.mail-in, and email..Two of these are awful options that, really,.I’m just mentioning here so I can be thorough;.mail-in requires you to send your physical.passport through the mail and is the slowest.option, which seems like a lose-lose to me..And the email method requires you to send.your credit card information over email..Like, just out in the open, in an email..So both of those methods are just a big no.from me..So really you have just two options: In-person,.and online..If you live in New York City, Washington DC,.or San Francisco, you can physically walk.into your local Vietnam embassy with your.passport photos, etc, and apply for a visa..You may need to return several days later.to pick it up, or you can have it mailed to.you..For the online method, you fill out a form,.upload your passport photo and a copy of your.passport, and they mail you a paper visa that.looks like this..You then take this and staple it onto blank.pages in your passport..This is the most straightforward method, and.the one I recommend..Check the video description below for a link.to the Washington DC embassy online visa application..Whew okay so that’s that on embassy visas..Finally we come to the third option, Visa.on Arrival..A Visa on Arrival (or VoA) is basically where.you pay a Vietnamese agency to vouch for you,.and it allows you to pick up your visa at.the airport when you arrive..This one is actually pretty controversial;.there are some big advantages and also some.potentially huge drawbacks, so let’s dig.into the details..Basically the process works like this..You fill out an application and pay a processing.fee to a third-party Vietnamese travel agency..Once you’re approved by the agency, they.send you an approval letter which you carry.on the plane with you to Vietnam..After you land in Vietnam, you bring the letter,.a visa application, cash payment, passport.photos, and your passport to a special desk.within immigration control, and if all goes.well, you get your full visa..So the upsides are pretty big..You can apply for any kind of tourist visa.you want, including 3-month and multiple entries..The cost is much less than an embassy visa;.where I paid $175 for my embassy visa, you.could get the same thing with a VoA for about.$100 total..Also, if you need to get into Vietnam on very.short notice, this could be your only option,.as you can secure an approval letter in as.little as a few hours, vs an embassy visa.or E-visa taking several days..However, the downsides range from mildly annoying.to disastrous..First of all, there is no official government.agency that directly offers a Visa on Arrival;.they are all third-party businesses that operate.for profit..From my research, there is very little oversight.to make sure travelers aren’t being scammed.or being issued fake approval letters..In fact, both the US State Department and.the Vietnam Immigration Department have issued.statements saying that the VoA process has.been abused by scammers, and they both recommend.getting your visa through the other methods..But let’s say you find a Visa on Arrival.agency you absolutely trust..The other downsides?.You’ve gotta carry the whole application.packet with you, including approval letter,.visa application, cash, passport photos..etc..And yes you must pay in cash at the airport,.the immigration office does not take credit.cards..Also, the line for VoAs are separate from.immigration, and can potentially be up to.several hours long in the busy season; then.afterwards you’ve still gotta get through.the regular immigration line!.Talk about making a long day even longer..And the last downside is that a VoA can only.be used at the following 5 international airports.I’ve listed here..As of the time of this recording, you absolutely.can not use the VoA process at any land crossing,.seaport, or international airport not on this.list..So I feel like overall, a Visa on Arrival.is only for emergencies, when you need a visa.really quickly..Otherwise, I’d rather pay a little bit more.and have an official embassy visa already.in my passport when I land..But, you can make your own informed opinion..So there it is, the rundown on getting your.very own Vietnam visa..I hope this was informative and not too confusing..Keep an eye on my channel ‘cuz in the first.2 months of 2020 I’m going into Indonesia.and Vietnam, including a 5-day expedition.into the largest cave in the world, Han Son.Doong..I’m also going to the island of Komodo,.where hopefully I’ll see some Komodo dragons..I’m Joe with Backpacking in your 30s, I’ll.seeya around the world..[outtro music plays].
