In the embassy, you will be taken through a step by step procedure on the filling up of relevant forms, payment of mandatory fees and submission of relevant documents by the embassy officials. You will have to fill up the Visa application form. Along with the duly filled form, you will be required to submit one recent passport size photograph, one self-addressed envelope and your original passport. Besides these documents, you will have to submit the Visa fees. The amount can be paid in favor of the Embassy of Vietnam by way of cashier’s check or money order.
Once you have submitted all documents and paid the Visa fees, your application will be submitted for processing. The embassy will take at least five working days to process your documents. After the documents are processed, you will be issued a fully stamped Visa in the self addressed envelope you had submitted. Although this process allows you to get hold of a fully stamped Visa before your departure to 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 by postal mail. This is quite risky as you stand to lose your original passport in case your package is misplaced or lost in transit.
• Apply for Visa on Arrival
Visa on Arrival is an easier, convenient and more affordable option. In order to apply for Visa on Arrival, you will have to get in touch with a travel agent based in Vietnam. You will be required to fill up an online application form and fill in details such as your name, address, occupation, purpose of visit, duration of stay etc. While filling the purpose of visit section, you will have to choose from options such as business, tourist and transit. A business Visa offers validity of one month, three months and six months. A tourist Visa offers validity of one month and transit Visa offers a validity of less than five days.
After you have filled the online application, it will be submitted for further processing. Once the form is processed, you will be issued a letter of approval. This letter of approval can be collected by your travel agent and he can forward it to you. On reaching Vietnam, you will have to submit this letter of approval at the Visa on Arrival counter along with the Visa stamping fees to collect your Visa on Arrival document.
