VIETNAM VISA APPROVAL LETTER

Approval Letter is the legal document approved by the Vietnam Immigration Department to allow foreigners enter into Vietnam and pick up visa at the overseas Embassies or Consulates of Vietnam, or at the international border gates or at the Vietnam’s international airports as Tan Son Nhat, Noi Bai and Da Nang, Cam Ranh and Phu Quoc airport. Visitors to Vietnam must obtain a visa from one of the Vietnamese embassy, consulate in advance or apply for a visa-on-arrival or apply an e-visa online or via agency on arrival unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries. While there are advantages and disadvantages associated with each of these, we recommend the Visa on Arrival as the best option for the purposes of tourist, business and work considering a trip to Vietnam and the required documents must hold a passport valid for 6 months, 2 passport photos and visa stamping fee

CITIZENS OF THE FOLLOWING 24 COUNTRIES ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HOLD A VISA FOR VIETNAM

Visitors to Vietnam must obtain a visa from one of the Vietnamese Embassies/ Consulates or via agencies on arrival unless they come from one of the visa-exempting countries. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months.

1. Citizens of Brunei and Myanmar are granted bilateral visa-free entry no more than 14 days;
2. Citizens of Philippines are granted bilateral visa-free entry no more than 21 days;
3. Citizens of Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are granted bilateral visa-free entry no more than 30 days;
4. Citizens of Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Finland, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Belarus are granted unilateral visa-free entry no more than 15 days
5. Citizens with APEC business cards from member economies of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) are granted visa-free entry with no more than 60 days of residence;
6. For tourists to Phu Quoc, Vietnam: Foreigners and abroad residing Vietnamese citizens entering Vietnam through an international border and travelling to Phu Quoc island, then residing under 15 days are granted Vietnam visa free entry. Passport are required at least 45 days validity. After entering Phu Quoc, in case travelers want to have a visit to other destinations or reside in the island more than 15 days, they will be offered Vietnam visa by the Immigration department right in the island;

Note: Kindly note that the citizens of Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Finland, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Belarus are granted unilateral visa-free entry no more than 15 days, after 15 days visa exemption they must leave Vietnam for their home or another country and it takes at least 30 days since the latest exit from Vietnam to enter again without Vietnam visa.

THREE WAYS OF OBTAINING A VISA FOR VIETNAM

Most people need a visa in order to enter Vietnam, unless they are coming from one of the visa-exempt countries. There are three ways of obtaining such a visa:

1. Apply in person or by post through your nearest Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate;
2. Apply for a Visa on Arrival (VOA) or;
3. Apply for an e-visa online

While there are advantages and disadvantages associated with each of these, we recommend the Visa on Arrival as the best option for the purposes of tourist, business and work considering a trip to Vietnam.

Option 1: Via Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate

Key Features:

• Traditional approach to getting a visa
• Can be done in person or by post
• Can be used to apply for any type of visa
• The fee is uncertain as it depends on the consulate/ embassy
• Can be used for any entrance point, whether by land, air, or sea
• Takes about 5 working days to process, but can be sped up to 1- 2 days for urgent service.
• Visa is stamped before departure.

You can apply for a visa through the local Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate either in person or by mail. To do this, you need to fill out and sign an application form, sending it along with your passport and a passport photo.

The advantage of applying this way is that you already have the visa stamped in your passport before leaving for Vietnam, which means you do not need to queue on arrival for your passport to get stamped.

The application process is not the most convenient, however, especially for people who do not live near a Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate. Moreover, the fees vary depending on the Embassy or Consulate, and the processing time is longer.

Option 2: Visa on Arrival
Key Features:

• Convenient, as it can be done by completing an online application form
• Can be used to apply for any type of visa (1- 3, or 6 months, or 1 year multiple-entry visa)
• You will need to pay two fees: 1. Service fee for approval letter, 2. Stamping fee.
• The service fee is paid online to the service provider. The amount depends on the visa type (number of months and number of entries) and service provider.
• The stamping fee is paid at the arrival airport when the visa is stamped. The fee starts at USD25 for 1 month and 3 month single entry, USD50 for 1 and 3 month multiple-entry visas. The stamping fee must be paid in cash (USD or VND).
• Can only be obtained at Vietnam’s international airports in Hanoi, Danang, Ho Chi Minh, Cam Ranh or Phu Quoc Airport. Hence it is only an option for air passengers.
• For tourist approval letter takes about 2 working days to process and can be sped up to 1 day or 4 hours for an extra charge. While the business approval letter takes 5 working days to process

Visa on Arrival is a viable option with various advantages. With Visa on Arrival, you can apply for longer-term and multiple-entry visas, and you do not need to go in person to the Embassy, or apply by post. You just need to submit an online application and get a pre-approval letter.

Option 3: E-Visa
Key Features:

• Very recent, was only launched on 1 February 2017
• Convenient, as it can be done by completing an online application form
• Only costs USD 25, which is non-refundable if the visa is declined.
• May be used for any entrance point, whether by land, air, or sea. (There are 28 entrance points, including 8 international airports, 13 international border gates, and 7 seaports.)
• Only for 1 month single-entry.
• Takes about 3 working days to process, and you’ll know quickly whether the application was accepted or not.
• The visa does not need to be stamped on your passport; hence there is no stamping fee and no need to queue for your passport to be stamped on arrival.
• Only available to citizens of 46 countries (including the UK and the USA).

Applying for an e-visa is our recommended option for tourists as it is most convenient and cost-effective. However, please note that this visa is only for visitors visiting for less than 30 days. Longer-term visitors will need to consider the other two options.

Please Note that the arrival port must be the same on the documents issued by Immigration Department. If you are to change the arrival port after receiving your E-visa, you should contact them to amend the information on the documents to avoid any issue on the ground.

As this kind of visa is very new, we suggest that visitors contact with Vietnamese Immigration Department via electronic system if having any queries or take a look at the E-visa Frequently Asked Questions.

HOW TO APPLY A BUSINESS, WORKING OR INVESTMENT APPROVAL LETTER TO OBTAIN THE VISA AT OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE EMBASSIES/ CONSULATES OR VIETNAM’S INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS

For business, working or investment purposes, the applicants are required a letter of entry clearance or approval letter from the Ministry of Public Security obtained by your business partner in Vietnam. The required documents need to provide both the applicant and Vietnam’s sponsor company

1. A notary certified copy of sponsor company’s business or investment or representative license, tax registration, company seal registration form;
2. Scanning the applicant’s passport;
3. Providing the proposed date of arrival (this is the date you want your visa to start from. The start date of the visa itself will be the day you arrive - you can enter Vietnam at a later date (up to your exit date) but not before that date, so be sure to take time zone differences into account);
4. Providing the place of picking up the visa (the visa can be picked up at either the Vietnamese Embassies/ Consulates in your own or another country, or airports of Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang or Nha Trang);

The visa duration is from 1 to 12 months with single or multiple entries

Normal processing time: 5-7 working days

TYPES OF APPROVAL LETTER FOR VIETNAM VISA

1. Tourist Approval Letter (DL) - issued for people with tourism purposes, this type of approval letter shall be submitted to apply for visa at the Vietnam Immigration Department by travel companies in Vietnam (visa marked DL)
2. Business Approval Letter (DN) - issued for those who enter Vietnam for working and doing business trip with Vietnamese entrepreneurs.
3. Investment Approval Letter (DT) - issued for foreign investors in Vietnam and foreign lawyers practicing in Vietnam, investors and capital contributed shareholders.
4. Labor Approval Letter (LĐ) - issued for foreigners who enter Vietnam for the employment purposes and they are required to contain the work permit.
5. Relatives Visiting Approval Letter (TT) - issued for foreigners who are spouse, children under 18 years old of foreigners, who have been granted visa marked LV1, LV2, DT, NN1, NN2, DH, PV1, LD and contain a work permit, or for foreigners who are fathers, mothers, spouse and children of Vietnamese citizens; in order to apply for this approval letter, they must contain additional written proof of their family relationships such as family record book, marriage and birth certificates, and these documents must be legalized and translated into Vietnamese.
6. Working Approval Letter (LV1) - issued to persons working with the departments, agencies and units under the central Communist Party of Vietnam; The National Assembly, the Government, the Central Committee of Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Supreme People's Court, Supreme People’s Procuracy, Audit of state, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Governmental agencies; Provincial and Party Committees, People's Councils, Provincial and City People's Committees of under central authority.
7. Working Approval Letter (LV2) - issued to persons working with political and social organizations, social organizations, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
8. NN1 - issued to the head of the representative office, international organizations’ projects, and international non-governmental organizations in Vietnam.
9. NN2 – issued to the head of the representative office, branch of a foreign business, representative offices of economic, cultural and other professional organizations of foreign countries in Vietnam.
10. NN3 - issued to persons working with non-governmental organizations abroad, representative offices and branches of foreign traders, representative offices of economic, cultural and other professional organizations of foreign countries in Vietnam.
11. DH - issued to persons in practice, learning.
12. HN - issued to persons to attend conferences and seminars.
13. PV1 - issued to journalists, permanent residence journalism in Vietnam.
14. PV2 - issued to reporters, the media in the short-term operation in Vietnam.
15. VR - issued to whom visit their relatives or do for other purposes.

DURATION OF VIETNAM VISA CATEGORIES

1. The duration of a SQ visa is not longer than 30 days.
2. The duration of a HN or DL visa is not longer than 03 months.
3. The duration of a VR visa is not longer than 06 months.
4. The duration of a NG1, NG2, NG3, NG4, LV1, LV2, DN, NN1, NN2, NN3, DH, PV1, PV2 or TT visa is not longer than 12 months.
5. The duration of a LĐ visa is not longer than 02 years.
6. The duration of a ĐT visa is not longer than 05 years.
7. When a visa is expired, its reissuance shall be considered.
8. The duration of a visa shall be at least 30 days shorter than that of a passport or international laissez-passer.

For further information please contact:
Discovery Indochina Travel Co., Ltd
5th Floor | Avenis Building | 145 Dien Bien Phu Street, District 1 | Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam
Tel: 028 39102358 | 028 39102359  Mobile: 0938228856 | 0906640505
www.visa5s.com | www.ditravel.vn | Email: Visa@ditravel.vn