If you decide to travel to the embassy, you will have to bear the travel expenses. At the embassy, you will have to fill the Visa application form in English. You will have to mention the place of collection and submission of the Visa as Vietnam. Along with the form, you will be required to submit one passport size photo, one self-addressed envelope and your original passport. Your passport should have a validity of at least six months and a few spare pages for stamping. Besides submitting these documents, you will also have to pay the Visa stamping fees. The fees can be paid in favor of the Embassy of Vietnam by money order or cashier’s cheque. 

The embassy will take at least five working days to process your documents after submission. Once the documents are processed, you will be issued a fully stamped Visa. Usually, the Visa issued by the embassy is a single entry Visa. If you want a multiple entry Visa, you will have to pay additional fees and also mention the same in your application form. 

One of the major benefits of this procedure is that you will get a fully stamped Visa in your hands before you travel to Vietnam. However, this is a time consuming and expensive process. 

In case you decide to apply for Visa through correspondence, you will have to send across all your documents, including your original passport, to the embassy by postal mail. There are high chances of loss of package in transit and misplacement in postal mail. 

The Visa on Arrival is an easy and more affordable process. To apply for Visa on Arrival, you will have to contact a travel agent based in Vietnam. You will have to fill the Visa application form online. You will have to enter details such as your name, occupation, duration of stay, purpose of visit etc. The purpose of visit can be chosen from three options – business, tourist and transit. Business Visa allows you a validity of one month, three months and six months. Tourist Visa comes with a validity of one month and transit Visa comes with a validity of less than five days. 

After your application is processed, you will be issued a letter of approval. This letter of approval can be collected by your travel agent on your behalf and forwarded to you. You will have to submit this letter of approval at the Visa on Arrival counter of the airport you arrive in. Along with the letter, you will have to pay the Visa stamping fees. 

The Visa on Arrival facility is available only to travelers who arrive in Vietnam by air.