Susiesan, that is what I would worry about if I was getting the visa approval letter. One has no leverage one you arrive in VN with the visa approval letter!

This is the VAL online agent I and thousands of others have used with no hitches...

http://www.vietnamvisapro.net

They are up front that they are a commercial outfit.

For a single applicant for a one month Tourist Visa their total charge for providing a VAL is US$10. Then go to Table 4 near the bottom of the page and you'll see that the Stamping Fee on arrival is US$25.

Total = US$35. A totally efficient service.

Crellston uses a different agent, who is equally as efficient.

@Susiesan<<<Yesterday at the Hanoi Airport Americans were required to pay $140USD not the $25USD others were paying.>>>

I've seen that posting. The poster has no reliable track record on TA, so could easily be a nuisance post.....just like the many that find their way on to this forum!

Further to my last reply.

It could well be that anyone turning up with a Visa Authority Letter [VAL] that's for a One year Tourist Visa, they will have to pay the Stamping Fee for that type of Visa.

So if that's the VAL you've got, but with the the new rules effective from 15 December it's not the VAL you now want, then you'll need a new VAL from the online agent who issued the one you've got.

LL, as long as the people at the airports in VN will honor the price for the stamping fee, that is clearly the least expensive way to go. As you no doubt are aware, the stamping fees at the airports have been variable over the years, and many people have reported getting over-charged. I would hope that you are correct that the problem for the person posting on TA was that they had an approval letter for the 1 year multi-entry visa.

<<<I would hope that you are correct that the problem for the person posting on TA was that they had an approval letter for the 1 year multi-entry visa.>>>

Kathie, think about it. If that person got his/her VAL after 25 August [highly likely] then the only VAL available until a couple of days ago would be for the 1 year multi-entry visa!

The problem with hearsay is that it's exactly that, and I imagine that most of visa problems that hit the forums aren't first hand.

@Susiesan<<<You need a visa approval letter at whatever price you can find. CVT is providing them for free as part of our tour price.>>>

You also need to complete a Visa Application Form [NA1], which must be handed in on arrival in order to get your Visa Stamp. Altogether you'll need...

- Passport. Check validity requirements.
- VAL
- Completed NA1
- 1 recent(ish) passport photo
- Appropriate Stamping Fee

Thanks, LancasterLad. As there are two of us traveling together, my husband and I, do we each need to fill out form NA 1 or can members of the same family be on one form?

Since I have extra photos I'm going to bring them all just in case more than one is needed. I plan to bring a $50 bill to pay for us both. Will Vietnam accept large denomination US currency? Some Asian countries will not.

If your travel agent is arranging your VAL, they shoud also provide tha NA1 and instructions for completion.

Vietnam will accept large notes for the Visa Stamp, and also for money changing. The important points are that the notes are in good condition, no tears, or writing on them. Other than for paying for your Visa Stamp and money changing, everything should be paid in dong. When you leave the country there are money changers airside to change back to $.

I paid $80 for a 30 day single entry visa in November, to be used in December. I sent the paperwork to the consulate in San Francisco the day before Thanksgiving, and had the completed visa the following Friday. I got the loose leaf visa which I then could not quite figure out what to do with. I ended up scotch taping it into my passport, which got a smirk from the immigration official in Hanoi when I arrived. It caused a little consternation when I was leaving for Cambodia going up the Mekong River, but they figured it out.