These days the whole visa issue for foreigners living in Vietnam is in a bit of turmoil. Right now there are only 30-day visas available. Apparently the government is trying to clean up some of the riff-raff among foreigners. The blog post below was written just a short time ago, when everything seemed stable. Getting repeated 6-month visas year after year was the norm. Let’s hope those days return soon. (The info about Vietnam visas on arrival should still be correct.)
There is no official “visa on arrival” for Vietnam but these days a few companies have sprung up on the web that offer basically the same thing. Don’t worry, it’s legit; I just used one of these services a few months ago. Do a search for “Vietnam visa” and you will find a couple of sites to choose from.
You pay about $25 for a 30-day visa, and they email you a document to print out. Get a couple of passport photos and when you arrive at the airport in Vietnam, don’t go to the normal windows for the immigration process. At the airport in Ho Chi Minh City where you go is over to the left of the main immigration place. There’s a window there and you just hand them your papers and they will give you the official stamps you need. Then you go back to the regular immigration lines.
Once you are in Vietnam, you can get an extension for your visa and/or a longer term visa, at nearly any travel agency. There are many in the Pham Ngu Lau area. Just hand over your passport and within five days or a week you’ll get it back with the new visa inside.
The prices tend to go up and down, and it varies according to whether you are getting an extension or a completely new visa. A multiple-entry visa is about twice as expensive as a single-entry visa. Be very clear about which kind you want, so that you get charged the right amount. A single-entry 6 month visa costs about $40 to $50.
There are individuals who do visa services but I would stay away from them and go with an established travel agency. You meet someone who has a friend who is a lawyer and says they can arrange your visa for a low price; it’s not a scam, people do use services like that successfully but the one time I tried it turned out to be a big headache. You might hear about “the visa twins” who I’ve never met but apparently are a couple of twin sisters who do visas for some English teachers. It works for some people but personally I would advise staying with the travel companies.
An American living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam since 2001. vninfoblog at yahoo dot com.
WTF!I knew I was getting ripped off,I remember way back when I once paid a city official 100usd for a 6mos visa. After reading this article it brought back a distant memory.
"Please note: these days the whole visa issue for foreigners living in Vietnam is in a bit of turmoil. [...]"
Is that a big problem for foreigners?
@HoustonWok: it depends on the kind of visa, whether it was an extension or a new visa, multiple- or single-entry, sunspot activity, etc. Multiple-entry visas are sometimes over $100 so don't feel bad. This year I got lucky because I found a place to get 6 month single entry visas for only $35, but that's over now with the new laws.
@Mat: Kind of a big problem, yes. No more easy 6 month visas. But hopefully after they kick out a bunch of undersireables then things will get easier again. Renewing your visa every month isn't the end of the world, I guess. I bet there are a lot of people getting married right now, for the new 5 year visa.
Turmoil? What kind of turmoil is going on over there Craniac? A spike in crime?
Maybe turmoil is the wrong word, but it does shake people up when they can't get those easy 6-month visas anymore.
I am 50 years old and have visited Vietnam in 2006, 2007 and 2008.I have Vietnamese friends in Hue, Nha Trang and Saigon.I desperately want to give up everything here in Ausralia and live for some time in Vietnam. Is teaching English a way of earning enough income to live well in Vietnam. Can teaching English provide for a long term future there ? Sorry for sending this comment again, thought you might have missed it as I placed it on an older post.
There is plenty of work and most likely will be for a long time, if that's what you mean. But if you mean job security, that's a different question. You can get a yearly contract at some schools but the typical language-center teacher receives a weekly schedule and that's as secure as it gets. This week you have some classes; next week, who knows?