Vietnam Visa letter
Jan 8th, 2023, 10:38 AM
#1
Vietnam Visa letter
I am trying to get the Visa letters for our visit to Vietnam next month but the two website I am trying, https://vietnamvisacenter.org/ and https://vietnamvisachoice.com/ will not bring me to the application. Whenever I hit "Apply", they just reload the same page. I've tried using both Chrome and Internet Explorer and it's the same on both. I did not have this problem when I applied three years ago. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Jan 9th, 2023, 09:32 AM
#2
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This is the official e-visa site https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/we...trang-chu-ttdt I have used it many times without any issues.
I tried those two links you provided and my safari browser flagged them up as dodgy sites so I didn't go any further!
I tried those two links you provided and my safari browser flagged them up as dodgy sites so I didn't go any further!
Jan 9th, 2023, 12:24 PM
#3
This is the official e-visa site https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/we...trang-chu-ttdt I have used it many times without any issues.
I tried those two links you provided and my safari browser flagged them up as dodgy sites so I didn't go any further!
I tried those two links you provided and my safari browser flagged them up as dodgy sites so I didn't go any further!
Jan 9th, 2023, 05:31 PM
#4
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It is a while since I used the e-visa as we entered in October using the 15 day visa free rule. I just took photos at home cropped them (approximately )to passport, scanned my passport page and uploaded as per the site. I have done it several time in the past and don't recall any particular issues. I do it "manually" but I think you can do it automatically for free using Adobe Express or similar. Over on the Tripadvisor forum there has been several mentions of delays in getting e-visa back so I would do it sooner rather than later. Sadly the website is very antiquated! Usually , I get the visa back within48 hours. not sure how long it is taking now.
Jan 9th, 2023, 08:10 PM
#6
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I applied for a visa at my local Vietnamese Consulate and they asked for a photo 6cm x 4cm, they sent the visa as a pdf via an email.
A couple of weeks ago, when I went to check in at the airport, 4 people in front of me had their paperwork rejected and they had to get an express visa supposedly at $500 each, the agent said that they were the 7th such people that day. I assume they were expecting to get the visa on arrival in Vietnam, I think one of the problems is that it is pretty difficult to work out which websites are official govt and which one's are third parties in order to get the most accurate info
A couple of weeks ago, when I went to check in at the airport, 4 people in front of me had their paperwork rejected and they had to get an express visa supposedly at $500 each, the agent said that they were the 7th such people that day. I assume they were expecting to get the visa on arrival in Vietnam, I think one of the problems is that it is pretty difficult to work out which websites are official govt and which one's are third parties in order to get the most accurate info
Jan 10th, 2023, 12:05 AM
#7
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You are very welcome Laurie. I am sure you will soon get it sorted and be on your way to Vietnam. Hopefully you will get there before the newly released crowds from China arrive!
Geordie - There is only one official website, the one I linked above. All others are third parties, a throwback to when the official site didn't issue visas and the Vietnamese Government were still trying to pull in the very lucrative fees by insisting that people apply in person or by post at embassies and consulates. I always used to use the same one who were both efficient and cheap but there are a lot of cowboys out there.
FWIW the entry process into Vietnam was remarkably quick on our two visits this year. Less than 5 mins to get through immigration. As UK citizens there for less than 15 days we didn't need visas. We were just asked "do you have a visa?" - No. OK welcome to Vietnam. The people in front of us had evisas and again, their entry process was remarkably quick. If only the same could be said of the exit process! We must have spent 90 mins queuing for immigration. I think the issue wa that many Vietnamese are now travelling and their requirement for leaving are even stricter than for foreign nationals entering. I would allow plenty of time before your return flight.
Geordie - There is only one official website, the one I linked above. All others are third parties, a throwback to when the official site didn't issue visas and the Vietnamese Government were still trying to pull in the very lucrative fees by insisting that people apply in person or by post at embassies and consulates. I always used to use the same one who were both efficient and cheap but there are a lot of cowboys out there.
FWIW the entry process into Vietnam was remarkably quick on our two visits this year. Less than 5 mins to get through immigration. As UK citizens there for less than 15 days we didn't need visas. We were just asked "do you have a visa?" - No. OK welcome to Vietnam. The people in front of us had evisas and again, their entry process was remarkably quick. If only the same could be said of the exit process! We must have spent 90 mins queuing for immigration. I think the issue wa that many Vietnamese are now travelling and their requirement for leaving are even stricter than for foreign nationals entering. I would allow plenty of time before your return flight.
Jan 10th, 2023, 05:38 AM
#8
Hopefully the government site has worked out the glitches and our e-visas will be correct. I don’t want to send our passports to the embassy in Washington DC with the US mail in the sorry state it is in.
Jan 11th, 2023, 10:41 PM
#11
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It is not especially user friendly is it? I recall it took me several attempts lats time I triedThis is what I have done previously
- Take your visa photo and crop to size. Best against a light background.
- Take photo or scan of passport page and crop to size
- Save to desktop on pc or Mac or to folder on phone or tablet
- Go to application page complete all details.
- Towards the top of the page you will see dummy photos of a photo and passport. Click on each in turn and it will then ask you to choose which photo to upload. Go to photo and upload.
- You may want to reduce resolution for quicker upload
- Crop photos to size
- If you encounter problems, go ask a teenager
Jan 15th, 2023, 12:19 PM
#12
I just submitted our applications for our e-visas. We took close up pictures of each other with my iPhone, standing against a plain wall. I then cropped them so only our heads and shoulders are in the photographs. I also took photographs of our passport information pages. I then sent each of the pictures in an email to myself. I am given a choice when sending photos in an email as to how large a file I wanted each picture to be and I chose medium, as the size was in accordance with the Vietnam e-visa website. I really did not want to send the passport photographs in email, but I could not figure out a better way to reduce the file size. Anyway, it worked and the pictures uploaded to the respective places in the application easily. Prior to reducing the size in the emails, the website would not accept the passport photos and said they could be no larger than 240kb. The portrait photos were fine. The rest of the process was straight forward and our applications are in processing status. I printed out the applications and cut and paste the registration codes into a note so I can just cut and paste those when checking the status and hopefully downloading and printing our approved visas.
Last edited by laurieco; Jan 15th, 2023 at 12:47 PM.
Jan 18th, 2023, 11:53 AM
#13
Well, it's been three days and the website still says our visa applications are "in processing". The website states that the visas are usually approved in three business days, and it has been three business days so I am a bit anxious. I just hope that they are approved tomorrow, otherwise, with the Tet holiday beginning on Friday, it will be a week before anything is done. Fingers crossed.
ETA: I'm really freaking out now. I printed out the applications and I just noticed on my husband's application, I forgot to include his permanent address in the US. I remember typing it in but all it says is United States of America. I'm about to cry.
ETA: I'm really freaking out now. I printed out the applications and I just noticed on my husband's application, I forgot to include his permanent address in the US. I remember typing it in but all it says is United States of America. I'm about to cry.
Last edited by laurieco; Jan 18th, 2023 at 12:07 PM.
Jan 18th, 2023, 05:42 PM
#14
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I feel your pain Laurieco, admittedly it was pre covid, but the last time I applied, I got my visa through in 36 hours, my wife's took several more anxious days.They were submitted a couple of minutes apart! According to Vietnamese friend, they process them in batches. For some reason I left it until the last minute so we were very tight on time. not like me as I am usually so paranoid about these things (I turn up at airports long before I really need to!
I did a quick google search and, according to several Vietnamese consulates, it seems that the permanent home address and phone number is "optional".Iindeed I just checked back on an old application and have done it myself!
The Tet holiday is the bigger problem. Government offices are closed for Tet until Fri 27th. When do you fly?
I will keep everything crossed for you. Good luck.
I did a quick google search and, according to several Vietnamese consulates, it seems that the permanent home address and phone number is "optional".Iindeed I just checked back on an old application and have done it myself!
The Tet holiday is the bigger problem. Government offices are closed for Tet until Fri 27th. When do you fly?
I will keep everything crossed for you. Good luck.
Jan 19th, 2023, 03:33 AM
#15
I feel your pain Laurieco, admittedly it was pre covid, but the last time I applied, I got my visa through in 36 hours, my wife's took several more anxious days.They were submitted a couple of minutes apart! According to Vietnamese friend, they process them in batches. For some reason I left it until the last minute so we were very tight on time. not like me as I am usually so paranoid about these things (I turn up at airports long before I really need to!
I did a quick google search and, according to several Vietnamese consulates, it seems that the permanent home address and phone number is "optional".Iindeed I just checked back on an old application and have done it myself!
The Tet holiday is the bigger problem. Government offices are closed for Tet until Fri 27th. When do you fly?
I will keep everything crossed for you. Good luck.
I did a quick google search and, according to several Vietnamese consulates, it seems that the permanent home address and phone number is "optional".Iindeed I just checked back on an old application and have done it myself!
The Tet holiday is the bigger problem. Government offices are closed for Tet until Fri 27th. When do you fly?
I will keep everything crossed for you. Good luck.
I’m relieved that the permanent address is optional! I was thinking last night that there were no error messages saying that I left something blank so it probably isn’t important. I’m pretty sure I got one when inadvertently skipping a different question and went back and filled it in. I do remember typing it in though! I wonder if it is one of the website glitches Lonely Planet was talking about. Hopefully I’ll have good news when I check later and don’t have to wait until the end of the Tet holiday.
Jan 19th, 2023, 02:28 PM
#16
crellston, I meant to tell you, I love your blog! Thanks so much for the link (in a different thread). I've bookmarked it and will be referring to it on our journey, provided we get there!
Jan 26th, 2023, 07:13 PM
#17
Our visas have been approved! It has been a very tense 11 days as four days after submitting the application, the Tet holiday began and everything closed down until today. I cannot say how big a relief this is, especially since I thought I screwed up my husband's application, but crellston put my mind somewhat at ease. I think crellston saved me from a nervous breakdown!
