Vietnam visa - consulate not replying?
 

I emailed the consulate for a fee schedule for a Vietnamese visa for my trip in December, but haven't gotten a reply back. Emailed them on Wednesday.
Calling yields a busy signal or a full mailbox.

Any ideas on how long they usually take to reply?

Alas! This is a chronic problem. Which consulate are you trying?

Just emailed the email address on their page found here: http://www.vietnamembassy-usa.org/co...ces/visa_info/

I'll be sending my passport to the Washington DC office.

I want to do it now, in case anything happens (knock on wood!)

You might try emailing one of the consulates. The San Framcisco consulate seems more responsive, and someone reported that the one in Chicago was responsive. The embassy in Washington has the reputation as the one that is hardest to deal with.

Hrm. I got an email back just now.

Do you think i should mail the passport for the visa somewhere other than Washington? Overnight mail can go anywhere for the same price anyhow.

I think people here said that the cost for the visa is cheaper in SF.

The cost of the visa is the same no matter which consulate you choose. It's somewhat less if you have a pre-arranged visa thgouh vietnamstay or another agency.

Jason, I'd use your closest consulate. If it's the embassy, that's fine since they now seem to be answering their email.

Jason can you let us know the fee for single tourist entry visa..your post reminded me that I will need to get one in the next few months for a trip in January.

I did not see the conulsar addresses on the embassy site..does anyone know if there is one in New York?

sorry..consulate in New York City?

it takes about 2 weeks in DC

Actually the consulate in DC quoted us $65 per visa and the consulate in San Francisco was $45.

Even though it was cheaper in SF, we decided to use DC since the people at the SF office were about as pleasant as a root canal.

I don't know if the price difference has changed since June, but there was definitely a difference back then.

You can read the thread here:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34972540

Hmmm... we paid US$65 for a tourist visa from the San Francisco consulate several years ago. Has anyone actually ever gotten a visa for US$45 from the San Francisco consulate? Given how visa fees are determined, it's hard to believe that the same type of visa would be a different price at different places!

Just recently I was required to go through a visa service as my trip is a group tour so I don't know the exact amount for the visa - though I know I paid a lot more than the prices quoted. But, going through the service in Washington, D.C. it took 5 weeks.

Kathie, I thought it to be strange as well. But both people at the SF consulate I spoke with quoted that price, as did the email they sent me. All 3 confirmations also stated that we send 2 passport-sized photos as opposed to the 1 requested by the DC consulate.

It, of course, could just boil down to a complete lack of communication on their end, as it seems they've told a bunch of us a bunch of different things.

Who knows?

That's what I thought, too, filmwill. I can just imagine someone sending in $45 and getting it back without new instructions! We had to send in 2 passport photos and the $65. When we did it, the embassy in Washington was doing stange things, taking a long time to process visas and the SF consulate was quick and easy to deal with. I expect they move their employees around...

It took 1 week for me. Express mail from L.A. to D.C. with a return express mail envelope included. 7 days, and they in-processed the mail on Labor Day.

In answer to my own question, in case anyone else from the NYC area is interested, here is the information for obtaining a visa from the Vietnamese Mission to the UN in Manhattan; you have to call to learn the fee:


http://www.un.int/vietnam/

For anyone interested this is the reply from the consulate with prices and information:


DEAR APPLICANT:

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN VISITING VIETNAM AND FOR WRITING TO THE
EMBASSY.

PLEASE REVIEW THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ORGANIZED IN THE FORM OF Q&A'S.

1) DO I NEED A VISA?
- YES, YOU DO.
- TECHNICALLY, ANY HOLDER OF A VALID (6 MONTHS PRIOR TO EXPIRATION) PASSPORT
OTHER THAN VIETNAMESE, NO MATTER WHAT CITIZENSHIP, NEEDS A VISA.
- THIS GENERAL RULE IS APPLICABLE TO US CITIZENS, CANADIAN CITIZENS, LATIN
AMERICAN COUNTRIES, EU CITIZENS, AND JAPANESE CITIZENS.
- PLEASE CONTACT THE NEAREST VIETNAM EMBASSY FOR FURTHER INFORMATION IF YOU
THINK YOUR COUNTRY AND VIETNAM HAVE A VISA-WAIVER AGREEMENT.

2) HOW EARLY AND HOW LATE CAN I APPLY FOR A VISA?
- YOU CAN APPLY FOR YOUR VISA AS EARLY AS SIX MONTHS PRIOR TO THE PROPOSED
DATE OF ENTRY.
- YOU CAN APPLY FOR A VISA AS LATE AS A FEW DAYS PRIOR TO YOUR DEPARTURE.
PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL THE EMBASSY TO CHECK YOUR OPTIONS FOR RUSH/EXPEDITED
SERVICE.

3) HOW LONG WILL THE VISA BE GOOD FOR?
- THE VISA WILL BE ISSUED ON THE BASIS OF YOUR SPECIFIC PROPOSED DATES ON
THE APPLICATION.
- THE APPLICANT CANNOT ENTER THE COUNTRY BEFORE THE DATE.

4) WHAT TO SUBMIT?
- PASSPORT.
- APPLICATION FORM
(<http://www.vietnamembassy.us/consula...visa_info/>).
- 1 PASSPORT-SIZE PICTURE (2X2).
- FEE (1 MONEY ORDERS PER APPLICATION PACKAGE), PAYABLE TO "EMBASSY OF
VIETNAM." APPLICANTS APPLYING TOGETHER MAY SUBMIT THE FEE IN ONE MONEY
ORDER.
- A SELF-ADDRESSED POSTAGE-PAID RETURN ENVELOPE. FOR THE SAFETY OF YOUR
PASSPORT(S), PLEASE USE ONLY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING MAILING SERVICES WHICH
PROVIDE TRACKING NUMBERS: US EXPRESS MAIL OR CERTIFIED MAIL WITH FULL LABEL.
PLEASE DO NOT USE OTHER MAILING SERVICES. APPLICANTS APPLYING TOGETHER MAY
PROVIDE ONE ENVELOPE FOR VISAS TO BE RETURNED TO THE SAME ADDRESS.

5) HOW TO FILL OUT THE APPLICATION?
- ALL ITEMS MUST BE FILLED-OUT COMPLETELY IN UPPER CASE LETTERS.
- DO NOT USE PO BOX ADDRESSES.
- ITEM 11 (NAME, ADDRESS OF YOUR CONTACT IN VIETNAM) IS REQUIRED FOR
"BUSINESS TRIPS" ONLY.
- PUT YOUR TOWN/CITY ON THE LINE "PLACE" AT THE END OF THE FORM.

6) WHAT IS THE FEE?
WITHOUT A PRIOR AUTHORIZATION/APPROVAL:

- MULTIPLE ENTRIES:
- ONE MONTH: $130.00/ EACH PERSON -$40.00 IS VISA FEE, $90.00 IS
ONE-MONTH-MULTI-ENTRIES PROCESSING FEE AND THE TOTAL FEE IS $130 (02-3
BUSINESS DAYS).

7) HOW TO PAY THE FEE?
PLEASE PREPARE ONE MONEY ORDER PAYABLE TO "THE EMBASSY OF VIETNAM".

NOTE: ONE GROUP APPLYING TOGETHER CAN USE ONE MONEY ORDER FOR THE ENTIRE
GROUP.

8) HOW TO SUBMIT?
- HOURS FOR DROP-OFF AND WALK-IN AT THE EMBASSY: 9:30-12:00 (MONDAY-FRIDAY)
- BY MAIL:
FOR THE SAFETY OF YOUR PAPER(S), PLEASE ONLY USE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING
MAILING SERVICES WHICH PROVIDE TRACKING NUMBERS:
- EXPRESS MAIL (WWW.USPS.COM <HTTP://WWW.USPS.COM>)
- CERTIFIED MAIL WITH FULL LABEL
PLEASE DO NOT USE OTHER MAILING SERVICES. APPLICANTS APPLYING TOGETHER MAY
PROVIDE ONE ENVELOPE FOR VISAS TO BE RETURNED TO THE SAME ADDRESS.

9) WHERE TO SUBMIT?
CONSULAR SECTION
EMBASSY OF VIETNAM
1233 20TH STREET, NW
SUITE 400
WASHINGTON, DC 20036

10) IMMUNIZATION?
- NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE NOW, AND IT IS NOT REQUIRED.

11) CAN I GET A VISA AT THE AIRPORT?
- WITHOUT A PROPER ENTRY VISA, AIRLINERS WILL NOT ALLOW THE PASSENGER TO
BOARD.
- PLEASE USE THE 2-DAY PROCEDURE DESIGNED TO ASSIST APPLICANTS UNDER TIME
PRESSURE.

WE HOPE ALL YOU WANTED TO KNOW HAVE BEEN ANSWERED.

IF YOU STILL HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS, PLEASE EMAIL TO THE EMBASSY AT
[email protected]

we were having the same problem in Vancouver Canada having to send all our documents to Ottawa. We called a vietnamese travel agency here in Vancouver and they handled everything without having to send our passports ( they scanned them to the consulate) and we had our visas in three days - same cost as quoted on line by the consulate in Ottawa

Hello Geosand,

Could you tell me the name of the travel agent you used to get you Vietnamese Visa? I am in Van and have had no luck with the Embassy nor tracking down a travel agent. Thank you!