In case you decide to travel to the embassy location in a neighboring country, you will have to bear the expenses of travel and accommodation. At the embassy, you will have to fill up the Visa application form. Along with the duly filled form, you will have to submit one self-addressed envelope, one recent passport sized photograph and your original passport. The form is to be filled in English and you will have to mention Vietnam as the place for collection and submission of your Visa. Your passport must have at least six months validity and a few spare pages for stamping purposes. Besides submitting your documents, you will also have to pay the Visa fees. The fees can be paid in favor of the Embassy of Vietnam by way of money order or cashier’s check. 

The embassy will take at least five working days to process your documents, after which you will be issued a fully stamped Visa. Although this process offers you the benefit of having a fully stamped Visa in your hands before leaving for Vietnam, it is quite expensive and time consuming. 

In case you decide to apply for Visa to Vietnam through correspondence, you will have to send in all your documents through postal mail. This is quite risky as you stand to lose your documents, especially your original passport, in case your package is misplaced or lost in transit. 

An easier alternative is to apply for Visa on Arrival. The Visa on Arrival process is easier, faster and more affordable. In order to apply for Visa on Arrival, you will have to get in touch with a travel agent based in Vietnam. You will have to fill an online application on the agent’s website and fill in details such as your name, occupation , duration of stay, purpose of visit etc. When filling up the purpose of visit section, you will have to choose from options such as business, tourist and transit. A business Visa will give you validity of one month, three months or six months. A tourist Visa comes with a validity of one month and a transit Visa comes with a validity of less than five days. 

Once your online application is processed, you will be issued a letter of approval. This letter of approval will have to be submitted at the Visa on Arrival counter of the Vietnamese airport you arrive in, along with the Visa stamping fees, to collect your Visa on Arrival document.