Vietnam Visa Budget Tip #1 – Apply For Your Visa Online

Since September 1st 2007, a new regulation came into effect in Vietnam, allowing overseas Vietnamese and their families to enter the country without a visa if they apply for a visa exemption permit in advance. In addition, citizens of Nordic, ASEAN countries, South Korea and Japan, do not need a visa to travel to Vietnam, either. However, Vietnamese visa is still essential for most of the visitors from other regions of the world.  

Compared to many other countries in the region, Vietnam is very affordable when it comes to getting a visa. Nowadays, a Vietnamese visa cost about $75 to $150 for application sent directly to the Embassy or $15-60 for pre-approved ones. See the difference? That is where you save the money, plus cutting the cost of travelling or mailing back and forth between your home and the embassy.

Note, however, that visa on arrival (VOA) applies only to air travel.  Unlike people who enter the country at the border gates with Laos, Cambodia and China, those who fly to Vietnam can get VOA – the most convenient and economical solution so far. VOA costs so much lower than the other types of Vietnamese visas that many of us have questioned “Why is it so low”. The answer is that Vietnam Visa price is not fixed everywhere and each embassy can determine its own pricing system. Visa-on-arrival works the same way, only that its price is determined by the travel agency that arranges the visa.

VOA comes with an electronic approval letter which allows you to get the visa stamp at a Vietnam international airport. This type of Visa makes it possible for both tourists and businessmen to stay in Vietnam for at most 3 months. Visa extension is pretty easy to obtain, provided that you apply at least one week before the current visa expires.  

* This article belongs to our featured series about budget travel in Vietnam.

(Source: VOV)