Looking for a fast, convenient but secure way to get Vietnam visa? Applying a visa to Vietnam through us – Sky Vietnam Visa is fully legitimate, convenient and secure for passengers.

In this post, you will know details about the procedure for getting visa on arrival in Vietnam airports and how to pick up visa on arrival at each airport. 

1. Good to know:

Visa on arrival (VOA) is a convenient way to get a valid visa for Vietnam. It is now available for both tourist and business travelers as follows:

2. Guide on How to Apply for Vietnam Visa on Arrival:

⭐ Preparation:

To get ready for a visa on arrival, you need to prepare all the followings:

• A hard copy of a pre-approved visa letter approved by the Vietnam Immigration Department.
• A visa application form (entry and exit declaration form) provided by the local visa agency (Form NA1).
• 02 photos (4x6 or 3x4, same size, white or plain background, newly taken in 6 months, straight looking, without glasses or scarf) (01 is pasted on the visa application form, 01 is used for presentation if needed).
• A valid passport with a validity of at least 06 months beyond your stay in Vietnam.
• Stamping fee in cash (USD25-50 based on your visa type).

⭐ Application:

There are things you need to do in advance of your trip and while being at the arrival port to get a visa. Here are 4 steps you need to follow:

• Step 1. Complete the Vietnam visa online application form

Fill in the secured application form with required information such as full name, expected arrival date, expected port of entry, etc.

• Step 2: Make payment of service fee

After getting your request, we will take a careful look into your case, confirm with you the service fee as well as processing time via email or Whatsapp.

If you agree, you will make payment via Credit/ Debit Card via OnePay.

• Step 3: Get the visa approval letter via email

After your payment, we will start processing your visa application with the Vietnam Immigration Department. You will get your visa approval letter (also known pre-approved letter) and the entry-and-exit application form delivered to your email within the guaranteed time.
You then print them out and complete the entry and exit form, prepare 2 passport-sized photos, original passport (valid for at least 06 months following your date of entry), and cash for stamping fee.

• Step 4. Get visa stamped upon arrival at Vietnam airport

Upon arrival at any of Vietnam international airports (in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Phu Quoc, and Hai Phong), show your visa approval letter, completed entry and exit form, original passport, photos and pay for stamping fee to get visa stamped on your passport by Immigration Officer.

APPLY VOA

⭐ Notes:

• Visa on arrival is available for Air travelers. Those arriving by land or cruise are required to contact the local Vietnam embassy to get a full Vietnam visa before departure.
• Visa on arrival must be picked up at Vietnam airports after landing. See detailed visa on arrival procedures at Vietnam airports.
• To fasten and smooth out your process of getting visa stamped at Vietnam airports; consider using our Airport services here.
• The international airports of Vietnam works 24/7, so you can get visa stamped at any time of landing.

⭐Processing time and fee:

Processing time:

Since the pre-approved visa letter is compulsory for a Vietnam visa on arrival, you need to estimate the time to prepare this paper in advance of your trip. The processing time for a pre-approved visa letter varies from a few hours to a few working days. The urgent letter just needs 2 - 4 hours while the regular one takes 2 - 5 days. After you get all the documents needed, it takes you around 15 minutes to 1 hour at the arrival port to get a visa stamped, based on the waiting line.

Fee:

There are 2 fees for a visa on arrival. The fee varies on each visa agency and visa type. The shorter time you want to take the visa approval letter, the higher price you pay. 

Please refer to the fee for regular service in the following table:

3. Some Information for getting a visa on arrival for Vietnam:

As of January 2024, a visa on arrival is made available to visitors traveling to Vietnam in emergency cases. If you are NOT in an urgent or emergency situation, it is recommended that you applied for an E-visa instead.

What is visa on arrival?

Vietnam visa on arrival (VOA) or Landing visa is a legit visa type that allows foreigners to collect a visa upon entry to enter and exit Vietnam. If visa at Embassy and e-visa is available for many ports including airport, landport, and seaport, visa on arrival is only available for those who enter Vietnam by air and at one of 8 given international airports in Vietnam.

Instead of getting a visa affixed to passports in advance of the trip, applicants are required to apply for a visa approval letter (also known as pre-approved visa letter or visa invitation letter) via a local visa agency in Vietnam first, then this letter is used to take a visa stamp on the passport upon arrival at the airport.

Visa on arrival in brief:

This is a sample of Vietnam visa approval letter as of 2023. This new format will not have red stamp like the old one.

⭐ Pros and cons of applying for a visa-on-arrival:

Pros:

As its name implies, visa-on-arrival is usually known for its convenience, especially for those who cannot go to the Embassy/Consulate in their country to apply for a visa. Besides, there are a bunch of pros you may not know:

• Convenience: No need to prepare many documents to submit in person at the Embassy, no passport sendoff, Vietnam Landing visa only requires some information for the application form and pre-approved visa letter. Then, the visa stamp will be provided upon your entry. The visa approval letter process is conducted easily online with the support of the local agency.
• Time-saving: Visa on arrival is best for those who do not have time to go to the Embassy. Moreover, this type of visa is best for emergency cases. The urgent visa application may take only 2 - 3 hours.
• Cost-saving: Document preparation fee, postage fee to send documents, or travel costs to the Embassy will be cut off with visa-on-arrival. You just need to pay a stamping fee at the airport to get a visa to Vietnam.
• Various entry types: Multiple entries are available compared with a single entry for an E-visa.
• Eligible applicants: If e-visa is only applied for citizens of 80 countries, Vietnam visa on arrival is available for citizens of all nations if they enter Vietnam by air.

Cons:

Besides all the appealing Pros, applicants can consider the following Cons of a visa-on-arrival while traveling to Vietnam.

• No official website: Visa on arrival cannot be applied by foreign individuals themselves. There is no official website for the visa-on-arrival service owned by government organizations or the Vietnam Immigration Department. There must be a third party (a Vietnamese visa agency) involved in the process. They will provide you with the pre-approved visa letter and they are all private organizations/agencies.
• Queuing at the airport: To get your visa stamped, you have to wait in line at the Visa Application counter at the Arrival Immigration area of the airport. This usually takes around 15 - 20 minutes in the low season (May to September). However, it also may last for 30 minutes - 1 hour during the high season (October to April). This is uncontrollable so it might affect your plan after.
• Entry/exit checkpoints: Although 8 out of 10 Vietnam international airports accept visa on arrival, you still have to check if your entry/exit checkpoint is applicable (*).
• Pre-approved visa letter: Since the visa approval letter can be applied to a group of foreigners, the local agency can make a combined approval letter. Hence, you may see other foreigners’ names in your letter.
• Varied visa fee: There is no fixed visa fee for a landing visa since you will pay for 2 kinds of fee. The fee for a pre-approved visa letter is varied depending on your agency and the stamping fee is USD 25 - 50 depending on your visa type (duration of stay, single or multiple entries). Besides, only cash is accepted for the stamping fee at the arrival port.

(*) List of 8 Vietnam international airports allowing visa on arrival:

• Noi Bai International Airport (Hanoi)
• Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh City)
• Danang International Airport (Danang)
• Cat Bi International Airport (Hai Phong)
• Cam Ranh International Airport (Khanh Hoa)
• Lien Khuong International Airport (Lam Dong)
• Can Tho International Airport (Can Tho)
• Phu Quoc International Airport (Phu Quoc)

⭐ Who is eligible?

If a traditional visa at the Vietnamese Embassy/Consulate is eligible for any citizen in the world, visa on arrival is eligible for following applicants:

• Tourists: Foreigner tourists joining a Vietnam tour organized by a Vietnam travel agency.
• Business travelers: Foreign citizens traveling to Vietnam for business or commercial purposes.
• Transit travelers: Vietnam is one of many destinations in the applicant's journey.
• Foreign crew members who are on the ship at Vietnamese seaports wishing to exit Vietnam through another country's border gate.
• Foreigners and overseas Vietnamese returning to Vietnam to attend a relative's funeral or visit relatives who are seriously ill.
• Foreigners entering Vietnam in urgent cases such as incident handling, rescuing, natural disaster prevention, epidemic prevention or special request from a competent Vietnamese agency.

Visa stamp at Vietnam airport

⭐ Conditions / Applicable laws:

Although citizens all over the world can apply for a visa on arrival if they travel to Vietnam by air and enter/exit one of 8 designated airports, there are some other conditions that you must comply with as below:

• Foreigners coming from a country without the Vietnam Embassy/Consulate.
• Foreigners residing in other countries and currently not present in the Vietnam territory.
• Foreigners having valid passports with at least 6 months validity in advance of the planned stay in Vietnam.
• Foreigners coming to Vietnam by air and having the entry/exit checkpoints at one of 8 international airports allowing visa-on-arrival.
• Those who are not banned from entering Vietnam as prescribed in Article 21 of the Law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam.|
  
  4. Visa Procedure at Vietnam Airports:

Since its introduction, Vietnam visa on arrival has become more and more popular among travelers to Vietnam. However, it works for travelers to Vietnam by air only.

To get the Vietnam visa on arrival at the airport, travelers will need to obtain a visa approval letter beforehand, then get on the flight to Vietnam and get visa stamped upon landing at Vietnam airport. It works at eight (08) international airports of Vietnam, consisting of:

• Tan Son Nhat Airport (Ho Chi Minh City),
• Noi Bai airport (Ha Noi city),
• Da Nang Airport (Da Nang City),
• Cam Ranh, Cat Bi, Lien Khuong, Can Tho & Phu Quoc Airports.
  
  a) How to Get the Visa at Tan Son Nhat Airport (Ho Chi Minh City)?

For Ho Chi Minh Airport visa on arrival, you will get the visa stamped at the “Landing Visa – Cấp thị thực tại chỗ” counter on the left side when you enter the immigration hall.

Get visa on arrival at Ho Chi Minh Airport

• You will come to this place first to submit your documents, including passport, printed-out Visa approval letter, completed entry-exit form and 02 passport-type photos (4x6cm). Then, wait for the Vietnamese officer to process your visa stamp.
• When you hear your full name being called out, you take your passport photo from the officer and pay visa stamping fee to them (by cash in USD or VND). The officer will return your passport with Vietnam visa stamped on and give you a receipt.
• Check carefully the information on your Vietnam visa. If it is right, you now can move to Immigration Control. If there is any error, report it to the officer instantly before heading to Immigration Control. Otherwise, you have completed your Tan Son Nhat airport visa on arrival.
  
  b) How to Get the Visa at Noi Bai airport (Ha Noi city)?

To get the Vietnam visa on arrival at Hanoi airport, you need it reach the “Nơi cấp thị thực – Visa upon arrival” counter. However, this signal may become unclear if there are lots of people.

Hanoi airport visa on arrival counter

After submitting documents to Visa upon arrival Counter,

• You need to wait while they process it. If it is busy, keep your eyes and ears open as they will call out your name or hold up your passport/photo. In this step, you will pay for the stamping fee.
• If you get the visa with some passports for you and your friends, you will receive 1 pink receipt for all; the visas will be in the passports already. Check the visas for errors while you are still at the working window.
• After receiving your passports back, proceed to the ‘Foreigners’ Passport Control Counter and get the stamp in your passport.
  
  c) How to Get the Visa at Da Nang Airport (Da Nang City)?

At Da Nang International airport (Da Nang city), please follow the signboard which shows you the way to come to “Visa On Arrival counter”.

Visa on arrival office in Da Nang Intl Airport

After reaching the counter:

• You submit the documents (original passport + visa approval letter + completed visa application form with a photo attached) to the Immigration Officer.
• After receiving your documents, she will ask you to come to the seat for waiting a few minutes. After checking, she will call your name, and ask you to pay the visa stamp fee.
• You come to the cashier counter (nearby the Visa On Arrival counter) to make payment. Please note that only cash is accepted and USD is recommended. After paying, you get back your passport with your visa inside.

The process is quite quick here (approximately 15 minutes with all necessary paperwork completed before landing). After receiving visas/passports back, progress onwards to Passport Control Counter to get the blue stamp into your passport.

d) How to Get the Visa at Cam Ranh, Cat Bi, Lien Khuong, Phu Quoc and Can Tho Airports?

After landing at the airport, follow the guide to get to the Immigration hall, look to your left to find the Vietnam visa on arrival counter. Then, follow the steps as in other Vietnam international airports mentioned above.

To sum up, it takes about 15-30 minutes in total for visa on arrival procedures at Vietnam airports. In case you do not want to stay in a queue for such a long time, you can use our Airport Arrival Fast-track Service, which will help save your time to have a more enjoyable trip in Vietnam.

This is the detailed guide on the procedure to pick up full visa on arrival at Vietnam airports. Feel free to contact us at +8479 666 2638 or info.skyvietnamvisa@gmail.com for any questions and concerns.

Disclaimers: While we put an effort to ensure that the provided information is correct and up-to-date, there are probably changes which we are unaware of.

APPLY NOW

Frequently Asked Questions:

How long in advance can I apply for an approval letter?

>> You can apply for the visa approval letter at any time convenient for you, but it should be at least 10 working days before your departure to avoid emergency fees.

Your visa approval letter becomes valid from your granted arrival date, not from your date of application or the date of issuing your letter, so no worry if you apply for it 1 or 2 months in advance.

Can I apply for a business visa online?

>> Sure, business visa is available through our service.

What documents do you need in order to process my application?

>> Please find the below for required information to process your visa on arrival and what are required at Vietnam airport.

1- To obtain an approval letter for the visa on arrival, you are required to submit the following information:

• Your Full name – The same as in passport
• Date of birth
• Nationality
• Passport number
• Travel dates
• Purpose of visit
• Type of visa

2 – When you arrive at Vietnam airport, please present:

• Approval letter (hard copy)
• Two (02) passport size photos
• Entry/exit form
• Original passport
• Stamping fee (by cash)

Can I apply for my whole family in one application?

>> Yes. You can apply for Vietnam visa on arrival for your whole family in one application. In case your group have more than 10 people, just let me know at support@Vietnam-visa.com. We will get back to you to make your application process simple.

What is differences between Visa On Arrival vs E-Visa for Vietnam?

>> Compare the main differences between visa on arrival and e-visa for Vietnam:

Notes: As of 2023, visa on arrival service is only applicable to individuals entering Vietnam in emergency or urgent situations.