Telephone: 020 7937 1912
E-mail: consular@vietnamembassy.org.uk
At the embassy, you will be required to fill up the Visa application form. Along with the application form, you will have to submit one recent passport sized photograph, one self-addressed envelope and your original passport. While applying from the embassy, it is mandatory that you hold a valid and original passport. Your passport should have at least six months validity and a few spare pages for stamping purposes. Besides submitting these documents, you will also have to pay the Visa fees. The fees can be paid to 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. Once your documents are processed, you will be issued a fully stamped Visa. The major benefit of applying for Visa through the embassy is that you can get hold of a fully stamped Visa before your departure to Vietnam. However, there are some problems with this procedure. You will have to travel back and forth to the embassy location before the process is complete. Also, your documents will be forwarded by postal mail, which means you stand to lose all your documents if your package is misplaced or lost in transit.
• Apply for Visa on Arrival
The Visa on Arrival is a more convenient and easier system. 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 up an online application form with your details such as your name, occupation, purpose of visit, duration of stay etc. While filling up the purpose of visit, you will have to choose from options such as business, tourist and transit. A business Visa offers validity of one month, three month and six month. A tourist Visa offers validity of one month and transit Visa offers validity of less than five months.
Online applications are usually processed in a couple of days, after which you will be issued a letter of approval. This letter of approval can be collected by your travel agent and forwarded to you. On reaching Vietnam, 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 submit the Visa stamping fees to collect your Visa on Arrival document.
It is to be noted that the Visa on Arrival facility is available only to those travelers who arrive in Vietnam by air.
