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Visa help

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questions on obtaining a visa for Vietnam, for a UK citizen currently in Australia
12 years ago, April 23rd 2011 No: 1 Msg: #134416  
N Posts: 6
Hi

I'm from the UK but currently in Australia on a working holiday visa, and I'm planning to travel through SE Asia on my way home next year. I just have a few questions about getting a visa for Vietnam.
Firstly, is there any kind of e-visa that can be obtained online? I haven't been able to find any evidence that there is but thought I should check!
Secondly, does anyone know how I can apply for a visa given that I'm not in my home country? Will I need to go to the Vietnamese embassy or is there another way? Or would it be easier to get a visa for Vietnam once I get to Asia (I will be visiting Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and probably Laos before Vietnam)?

I would be really grateful for any help with these questions! Thank you :-) Reply to this

12 years ago, April 23rd 2011 No: 2 Msg: #134434  
B Posts: 2
There are a lot of places online...usually takes a couple of days...just google it...😊

Here's one place:

<snip>


[Edited: 2012 Apr 12 05:56 - Administrator D:219793 - Link reliability unknown, removed]

[Edited: 2012 Apr 12 05:58 - Administrator D:219793 ]
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12 years ago, April 26th 2011 No: 3 Msg: #134604  
You can also just go to the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia or anywhere you pass through on the way. Hundreds of travel agents en route will also be able to arrange it for you.

The online is a visa approval letter. You pay a company like the one above to do you a letter which means you can pick up the visa at the border. Check that it's valid at the border you're planning to use though. It says which ones on the website. Reply to this

12 years ago, April 26th 2011 No: 4 Msg: #134645  
N Posts: 6
Thanks so much for your help guys :-) Reply to this

12 years ago, May 7th 2011 No: 5 Msg: #135682  
Be very careful booking on line. We did it through the 'Vietnamese Tourist Agency' and paid $50 however this turned out to be a scam and was only a recommendation to let us in. We had to pay again and as our spare photos were in our luggage we had to pay for them to take photos of us. If flying into an airport get them there it is no problem. Reply to this

12 years ago, May 8th 2011 No: 6 Msg: #135714  
All visa on arrivals are just a recommendation letter. You always have to buy a visa at the airport. The letter just says that you are allowed to buy a visa at the airport. Without the letter you are not allowed and you need photos at the airport. $50 does seem rather high just for the letter though. They are usually around $25 for the letter and the same again for the visa at tha airport. Reply to this

12 years ago, May 25th 2011 No: 7 Msg: #137043  
Hi MHM,
We got our online visa approval letter from <snip> it cost 19.99$ then at either Hanoi or HCMC airport you pick up your actual visa which costa another 25$ some people have said that they had to wait a long time for the visa at the airport but it took us only about 20 minutes, which was a lot quicker than it took to get our luggage (90minutes)
[Edited: 2012 Apr 12 05:57 - Administrator D:219793 - link reliability unknown, removed.]
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11 years ago, May 20th 2012 No: 8 Msg: #156409  
One post deleted. The language of this forum is English. Thank you. Reply to this

11 years ago, May 21st 2012 No: 9 Msg: #156477  
B Posts: 366
Technically when you enter Thailand you are supposed to have proof of onward travel. But with a tourist visa you do not.

No matter what you do you will have to waste time and money for out of the way transportation for a border run or pay money for a tourist visa when you are in Laos or another country. I think a tourist visa will work out better.

In Hat Yai a cheap hotel not far from the train station is the Kings Hotel.
Two or three years ago when the airports were closed down I went to Hat Yai by train. It is a long ride from Bangkok and trains are subject to breakdowns! If you are in Bangkok be careful of booking a bus from a Khao San Road travel agency. Best to use a real bus station even if it costs a dollar more! DO NOT put any valuables in the checked in bag when on a bus. Keep passport, cash, electronics with you at your seat. Most of the complaints about bus rides are those booked in the KSR area!

I used a van from a local bus station for a ride to the border at Hat Yai. I got checked out of Thailand and after a short walk got the passport stamped for Malaysia. (Look for the customs and immigration form and fill out ahead of time.) I could have turned around and got stamped out of Malaysia and back into Thailand but I just went on to Penang/Butterworth. Waiting in both the Thai and Malaysian lines wasted a few hours.






[Edited: 2012 May 21 22:10 - Sir Halberd:61719 ]
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11 years ago, September 26th 2012 No: 10 Msg: #161470  
Vietnam Visa on arrival means you will get the visa at the airport in Hanoi or Hochiminh City. It takes 3 days for Visa Approval Letter from Immigration Department and cost 15 USD/person for fee.
after having the letter, print it out and carry with you to Vietnam with 2 pictures size 4x6. <snip>
[Edited: 2012 Sep 27 05:45 - Rat on the Road:23681 - No advertising travel agent services on forums please]
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11 years ago, November 27th 2012 No: 11 Msg: #163698  
It is very easy. You can make visa online or you send your information to a travel agent and they will help you to make it. I think it is about $20 or $25/per person. Contact <snip>, if you have consideration, I see that they will do it for you
[Edited: 2012 Nov 27 19:11 - Jo Trouble:16935 - Advertising removed.]
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11 years ago, December 3rd 2012 No: 12 Msg: #163880  
Maybe this may serve as an lesson for us. Thanks for this post. Reply to this

11 years ago, December 21st 2012 No: 13 Msg: #164525  
If you travel by air, you may get visa on arrival online from anywhere. there are some online agents offering this service, you can easily find it on google. i myself have used this site <snip> twice and it works well without trouble. just need to fill out the online application and get the approval letter via email. with this letter, you can get the visa stamped at the arrival airport in Vietnam very fast.
[Edited: 2012 Dec 21 08:54 - Rat on the Road:23681 - URL removed]
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11 years ago, February 25th 2013 No: 14 Msg: #166721  
I applied for a visa just a while ago and i think i had been had 😞. I originally wanted to apply online because of the convenience and also some say its much cheaper. But since the vietnam embassy is kind of near i opted to go direct. I thought it will cost around $45-$50 dollars but when i got there the guy asked for $100 or 4300 pesos (which is not even converted accurately. $1=40.++ pesos today!) I was surprise and told him that it costs less if i apply online, he said its booked through agency, not their government blah blah which is true and also cannot be guaranteed. I didn't feel like chatty so i just handed him a $100 bill. he checked it and told me they only accept year 1996 and above series..... i was kinda pissed so i just handed him 4300 pesos just to get it over with.

After thinking it over, i believed i've been scammed ..... What do you guys think???
Is it possible for the embassy itself to scam people like that?
Also, im holding a HK passport and applied in the Philippines. Is there an additional fee if you applied on a different country??
Or do they really charge alot for HK passport holder??

In retrospect, i should have come home and apply online but then again... there is no guarantee that it will be smooth sailing in the airport.

Well, sorry for the long post guys and thanks for reading. i just really need some input here on whether or not i was scammed. Reply to this

11 years ago, March 7th 2013 No: 15 Msg: #167087  
In response to: Msg #166721

Hey I am sorry to hear that.
Do you now that you can now obtain your own visa online?
It does not matter where you are because it is delivered in electronic form to your email address.

<snip>
[Edited: 2013 Mar 08 00:37 - Rat on the Road:23681 - Link to visa service removed. ]
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11 years ago, March 7th 2013 No: 16 Msg: #167096  
N Posts: 6
Thanks very much to everyone who responded with suggestions on this topic.
I ended up getting my visa recommendation letter online and then getting the visa at the airport (I flew into Hanoi). I'd previously been in Vientiane, Laos and looked into getting a Vietnam visa there, but it worked out being about USD$10 more expensive than getting it online, hence I chose the online route.
Apparently the most cost-effective place to get a Vietnam visa is from a Vietnamese embassy in Cambodia - just my luck that this is the one neighbouring country I didn't visit until after I'd already been to Vietnam!

Just as a tip for anyone else looking at how to obtain a Vietnam visa - I found the online service very good but bear in mind that you can only use it if you are flying in to Vietnam (and even then, maybe not all the airports, so you must check). If you are entering the country by land you must already have a full visa. Reply to this

10 years ago, June 4th 2013 No: 17 Msg: #171428  
Hi, Can you please tell me whether my husband will be allowed entry into China and Vietnam with a possession of firearm conviction - he was given a fine.Thanks Reply to this

10 years ago, June 6th 2013 No: 18 Msg: #171485  
In response to: Msg #171428

Hi Anna. Welcome to TravelBlog and thanks for your confidence in the advice you may get in these forums.

For this type of query, you ought to go to the embassy for the country concerned. Any advice you may get here is speculative and may not be correct. We would hate to mislead you with wrong information for such an important concern.

John.
[Edited: 2013 Jun 06 00:55 - John and Sylvia:18619 - Grammar!]

[Edited: 2013 Jun 06 00:56 - John and Sylvia:18619 ]
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10 years ago, October 8th 2013 No: 19 Msg: #175947  
D Posts: 11
You are always advised to obtain your visa via embassy or apply online with travel agency.
There is no scam company at this moment. Please read through their profile and make sure that they use SSL for their website.
Apply via embassy: 2-3 days, higher service fee, administrative paper work... (that is the reason why they tell you about scam company, they do not want to loose your money to others pocket)
Apply online: Flexibility, economically, No passport post away...
Service fee from $15-$25 for 30 day stay and fully instruction before your flight on how to obtain your visa at Vietnam international airports (Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Da Nang, Nha Trang)
<snip>
[Edited: 2013 Oct 09 23:58 - Rat on the Road:23681 - No advertising visa companies online]
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10 years ago, October 22nd 2013 No: 20 Msg: #176464  
You can apply via evisaasia ... Wondering if this will become a snip as well. haha. Reply to this

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