scomars

Hi,

I wonder if anyone can help me with this? I'm planning to visit Vietnam next year and wonder if the 'visa on arrival' service works well? How long does it normally take to get your passport stamped at the airport? Does it make any difference if my flight lands late in the evening?

I sent an email to vietnamstay.com yesterday and yet to get their reply. Have no idea if they are open at the weekend.

Many thanks in advance

RedKite

It works very well indeed. In Hanoi I was the only person at the airport VOA desk so the process took only a few minutes. I understand that there is often a queue at the desk in HCMC, but people usually receive their stamp before their luggage appears on the carousel, even during the busy daytime hours.

Make sure that the US dollars you use to pay the stamping fee are in pristine condition as any with even the slightest tear or mark will be refused.

You should also ensure that your details on the VOA approval letter are precisely the same as in your passport - errors are sometimes made and can cause complications. Do not be alarmed if the names of other people are included in your letter as that is commonly the case when travel agents apply for approval for several customers in one go.

sueblue

My friend is using Vietnamstay's service for a multi-entry visa and her flight arrives at midnight. We leave next week and come home Jan 9 so I'll let you know if she makes it into the country! (We are traveling separately on our international flights.)

dreaming

I used Vietnamstay.com and the VOA arrival service, arriving in HCMC around 8pm. There were only four people off our flight at the VOA window and I'd estimate that we waited 15-20 minutes, including the time to complete forms. By the time the four of us were through, the rest of our flight had picked up their luggage and were gone - but it was a small flight and the airport was not busy when we arrived.

NLspirit

We too had a easy experience at the VOA desk in Hanoi. We were processed within 10 minutes and on our way. RedKite has offered some good advice re the necessity of having money in 'new' condition and making sure the names on your passport and approval letter are the same. We used Vietnamstay for accommodations in HoiAn and found them both efficient and easy to deal with.

scomars

Thanks you all for your responses. Glad to know it actually works out at the airport. Do the immigration officers accept USD only? Any alternative to this? Though, according to what you've just mentioned, I shouldn't worry about the names of other people in the letter, is there any chance I can get a separate one?

Thanks again

dreaming

I don't think you have any reason to have a separate letter. The letter includes the names of other people who also need a visa, but each name is considered separately. You could ask Vietnamstay for a separate letter, but I don't see the need for it.

Yes, USD only. One of the ladies in front of us didn't have her USD and the agent at the window seemed to indicate that she'd need to get it from the exchange places outside of immigration and customs. I'm not sure how that would work, as you'd have to get past immigration to get to the exchange places. We lent her the $10 she was short and she paid us back once we got to the ATM and exchange.

scomars

Thanks Dreaming for your help. I've just been advised by the company there's no need to get a separate letter and that I should pay in USD at the airport. Will do just that.

Southam

Like the others, my suspicions of the visa-for-pay system were unfounded and it worked fine at Hanoi airport in late October. Only one tiny wrinkle -- the passport office there has counters on two sides. Arriving passengers are supposed to submit their paperwork at one counter and then move around to the other to receive the completed visa. But late at night, I was among a group of about a dozen who did not notice the small direction sign and clustered at the "wrong" counter. The slow-moving staff did not bother to make us follow the rules.
This private-business solution to the visa requirement is far easier and cheaper than dealing with a Vietnamese embassy, and serves as a small example of how the country is changing. In other situations, too, energetic new businesses and hidebound government bureaucracy co-exist, leaving the independent traveller latitude to sort things out for himself.

scomars

Thank you very much Southam for the reply. We got our pre-approved letter from Vietnamstay.com about 2 weeks ago and are very happy indeed hearing your positive experiences with the VOA service. Looking forward to more of your report.

Cheers

happy_life

Hi, I'm interested in using the same service for our coming trip to Vietnam and Laos and very keen reading up what you've just mentioned in this post.

Scomars: Looking forward to reading your report!

Thank you all

scomars

Glad to see the post is somewhat helpful to you. Speaking from experience, if you spend some time reading the forum, you may not find it a hard work planning your trip. We're leaving home after a few more sleeps and both are very excited now!

happy_life

Thanks scomars. I've been reading the forum with much interest so far.

Have a great trip!

RedKite

The process can be speeded up a little by printing and filling in beforehand a copy of the form that is handed out at the VOA desk:

http://www.myvietnamvisa.com/form-on-arrival.pdf

scomars

Actually I just filled out the form on the Vietnamstay.com website http://www.vietnamstay.com/service/visaform.htm and then got the approval letter as I'd mentioned above which I was told to present to the immigration desk at the airport. Therefore I don't think I need to print out the form given by Redkite. Am I right?

dreaming

The VOA desk does give out a form that you do need to fill out - and it sure looked like RedKite's form! I'd go ahead and fill it out and take it. Not required, as they'll give you a form there.

RedKite

Yes, dreaming is right - you do not have to download and fill in that form beforehand as you will be given one there, it's just that doing so saves a little time.

For those of you who wish to save a few dollars, for my forthcoming trip I have used www.hotels-in-vietnam.com , which charges $14 for a one-month VOA compared with vietnamstay's $22. It was a problem-free transaction with email confirmations at every step.

Only three weeks to go - can't wait to get back!

I hope you have a wonderful time scomars.

scomars

Thanks redkite and dreaming for your responses. To be honest, we've never heard of the hotets-in-vietnam. The wife had looked at several local companies but found Vietnamstay to offer best prices for hotels (160$ for the Furama in Danang with free airport transfers while most of the other companies quoted more than 215$ - a substantial difference), plus many positive reviews on the company on this forum so far, so we decided to use their service and have been very happy with our booking process so far.

Just a few more sleeps, can't wait.