While applying through the embassy, you will have to fill the Visa application form in English and mention the place of collection and submission of the Visa as Vietnam. You will also have to hold a valid and original Guatemalan passport with at least six months of validity and a few spare pages left for stamping. Once you have filled the form, you will have to submit a self-addressed envelope, one recent passport sized photograph and your original passport along with the form. You will also have to pay the Visa fees which can be paid to the Embassy of Vietnam by way of money order or cashier’s cheque.
The embassy will take at least five working days to process your documents. Once the documents are processed, you will be issued a fully stamped Visa in the self-addressed document you had submitted. This document can now be used while traveling to Vietnam. One of the biggest advantages of applying through the embassy is that you will have a fully stamped Visa before leaving for Vietnam. However, there are a number of drawbacks that make this approach hassled and time consuming.
You will have to incur huge travel and stay costs in a foreign country because this method requires you to visit the embassy several times before the process is complete. In case you are applying for Visa through correspondence, you will have to send in valuable documents such as your original passport via postal mail. In case of misplacement, you stand to lose your passport.
An easier alternative to this approach is the Visa on Arrival facility. To apply for Visa on Arrival, you will have to get in touch with a reliable travel agent based in Vietnam. You will be required to fill up an online application form with all your details such as your name, occupation, travel dates, purpose of visit, duration of stay etc. When filling up the purpose of visit section, you will have to choose from business, tourist and transit option. A business Visa will give you validity of one month, three months and six months. A tourist Visa will give you a validity of one month and a transit Visa will get you a validity of less than five days.
Once all details are filled up, you will have to submit the form for further processing. The form is usually processed in two or three days, after which you will be issued a letter of approval. Your travel agent can collect this letter of approval and have it sent to you. You can now travel with this letter of approval and submit it at the Visa on Arrival counter in the airport on reaching Vietnam. You will also have to pay Visa stamping fees along with the letter of approval to collect your Visa on Arrival.
