🔄 Last updated: 12 July 2026
📰 THE NEWS — what changed, and nobody told you
In late 2025, Resolution 389/NQ-CP added 41 international checkpoints and 4 international airports where foreigners may enter and exit on an electronic visa.
Add the change from 15 August 2023 — the E-Visa is now issued to citizens of ALL countries and territories, valid for up to 90 days, single or multiple entry.
What those two changes mean:
For the overwhelming majority of travellers in 2026, "Visa on Arrival" is no longer a route you need.
The E-Visa is now cheaper, faster, more widely accepted, and less risky.
Yet hundreds of websites are still selling you "Vietnam Visa on Arrival."
Because they make money from it. And because you're still typing that exact phrase into Google.
⚠️ THE TRUTH — the name is a lie
In Thailand, in Cambodia, "visa on arrival" means: you fly in, queue at a counter, pay, get a visa.
In Vietnam, it does NOT.
🔴 Vietnam's "VOA" requires you to be APPROVED BEFORE YOU FLY.
This must be made clear: in substance, the entry approval letter is NOT a visa. It is an approval document that forms the basis for a foreigner to complete the process of having a visa stamped at Vietnam's international checkpoints.
Confusing the entry approval letter with the visa itself is the single most common problem.
In plain terms:
| What you assume | What's actually true |
|---|---|
| "I fly in and get a visa at the airport" | ❌ You need an entry approval letter pre-approved by the Immigration Department |
| "I can board without a visa" | ❌ Your airline will REFUSE TO BOARD YOU |
| "VOA is a type of visa" | ❌ The approval letter is NOT a visa — it's permission to be issued one |
| "VOA works at any checkpoint" | ❌ Air arrivals only — not usable at Moc Bai |
✈️ The cruellest consequence: you're stopped at your HOME airport
This is the part no VOA-selling website spells out.
Airlines are legally liable for carrying a passenger who isn't eligible to enter. So they check your documents at the check-in desk.
No valid entry document → you don't board the plane.
Not turned away in Vietnam. Turned away at the airport you're leaving from — before the trip even starts.
Flight gone. Hotel gone. Holiday gone.
🛑 And here's the trap that kills visa runners
"VOA" APPLIES TO AIR ARRIVALS ONLY.
If you're doing a land visa run through Moc Bai, and someone sells you a "VOA" —
you've just bought something that doesn't work where you'll be standing.
→ 7 mistakes that wreck a visa run
💰 So why do websites keep selling it to you?
Look at the cost structure:
| E-Visa | "VOA" (entry approval letter) | |
|---|---|---|
| Government fee | USD 25 (single) / USD 50 (multiple) — paid at evisa.gov.vn |
Stamping fee at the checkpoint + a service fee for the approval letter |
| Can you do it yourself? | ✅ Entirely — file directly on the official portal | ❌ Usually requires a sponsoring entity in Vietnam |
| Who earns from it? | Mostly the state | The intermediary |
This is not an accusation. Many entry-approval-letter providers are entirely legitimate and necessary — for the right category of traveller.
But if you're an ordinary tourist in 2026, you are most likely not in that category.
✅ STEP BY STEP — getting it right from the start
🔹 STEP 1 — Work out whether you need a visa at all
Are you VISA-EXEMPT? (Russia, South Korea, Japan, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland — under Resolution 44; or the 12 other EU countries under Resolution 229, tourism only)
→ You need nothing. No E-Visa. No VOA. No approval letter. → The 45-day exemption and its expiry date
Not visa-exempt? → go to Step 2.
🔹 STEP 2 — For 90% of cases, the answer is the E-VISA
The E-Visa fits if you:
- ✅ Are travelling for tourism, short business, or visiting family
- ✅ Need up to 90 days
- ✅ Are entering via a checkpoint on the e-visa list (now very broad after Resolution 389)
- ✅ Are outside Vietnam (an E-Visa cannot be filed from within Vietnamese territory)
The only official portal: evisa.gov.vn
Fee: USD 25 (single) / USD 50 (multiple) — non-refundable
Timing: officially it can take up to 15 working days. Don't file it days before your flight.
🔹 STEP 3 — Only consider an approval letter if you're in these groups
An entry approval letter is mandatory for foreigners not covered by visa exemption who enter for the following purposes: work (experts, managers, technical staff — symbols LĐ1, LĐ2, DN1, DN2); investment (ĐT1–ĐT4); visiting relatives (TT, VR); and group tourism sponsored by a Vietnamese international tour company (DL).
In other words: the approval letter exists mainly for the purposes an E-Visa cannot serve — long-term work, investment, and cases needing a Vietnamese sponsor.
Those who do NOT need an entry approval letter: holders of a valid multiple-entry Vietnamese visa · a valid temporary residence card · a valid permanent residence card · a valid 5-year visa exemption certificate · and anyone entering on an electronic visa (E-Visa).
🔹 STEP 4 — If you genuinely need a letter, don't make this mistake
🔴 The visa collection point named on the letter CANNOT BE CHANGED once approved.
The sponsoring company must discuss carefully with the foreigner to choose the most convenient visa collection point. Because once this information has been approved by the Immigration Department on the letter, it CANNOT BE CHANGED.
Declared Noi Bai, then rebooked into Tan Son Nhat? Too late.
This is the same class of mistake as declaring the wrong checkpoint on an E-Visa — and it costs about the same.
🔔 Before you pay anyone
Four official portals, all ending in .gov.vn:
evisa.gov.vn— E-Visa applicationsthithucdientu.gov.vn— electronic visaprearrival.immigration.gov.vn— digital arrival card (QR)dichvucong.bocongan.gov.vn— Ministry of Public Security public service portal
"Visa on Arrival" is the single richest keyword for fake websites — because the people searching it tend to be in a hurry, confused, and unaware of the correct process.
👉 7 visa scam warning signs and a 10-second test
🧭 QUICK REFERENCE — what do you need?
| Who you are | What you need |
|---|---|
| Citizen of the 12 Resolution 44 countries (Russia, Korea, Japan, UK, France, Germany…) | Nothing — 45-day exemption |
| Citizen of the 12 EU Resolution 229 countries | Nothing — 45 days, tourism only |
| Tourist, other nationality, arriving by air | ✅ E-Visa (evisa.gov.vn) |
| Tourist arriving by land (Moc Bai, Lao Bao…) | ✅ E-Visa — declaring the correct land checkpoint |
| Doing a visa run from inside Vietnam | ✅ E-Visa (can't be filed from inside Vietnam — file before you exit) |
| Coming to work, invest, or stay long-term with family | ⚠️ Entry approval letter + a Vietnamese sponsor |
| Already hold a valid temporary residence card | No visa needed — the card replaces the visa |
Additionally, for EVERYONE flying into Vietnam: the digital arrival card (QR) at prearrival.immigration.gov.vn — free, filed within 72 hours of arrival. It does NOT replace a visa.
⚠️ Common misconceptions
❌ "Vietnam has visa on arrival, so I'll just fly over and sort it out." → FALSE AND DANGEROUS. You need an entry approval letter approved BEFORE YOU FLY. Without it, your airline will not let you board.
❌ "The approval letter is the visa." → IT IS NOT. It's an approval document enabling you to have a visa stamped at the checkpoint. This is the most common confusion in the entire topic.
❌ "I'll use a VOA for my Moc Bai visa run." → YOU CAN'T. This route is for air arrivals. For a land visa run you need an E-Visa declaring the correct land checkpoint.
❌ "VOA is faster than an E-Visa." → NOT NECESSARILY. Obtaining the approval letter takes processing time too, plus stamping time at the checkpoint. And it still has to be approved before you fly.
❌ "I changed my flight to a different airport — the letter still works." → FALSE. The visa collection point on the letter cannot be changed once approved.
❌ "This website says 'official Vietnam visa', so it must be governmental."
→ CHECK THE DOMAIN. Only .gov.vn. A logo can be copied in five seconds; a domain cannot.
❌ "I have an E-Visa, so I don't need the digital arrival card." → YOU STILL DO. The QR card runs in parallel with your visa; it does not replace it.
Sources
- Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam (Law 47/2014/QH13, amended 2019, 2023) — visa symbols and entry conditions
- Law 23/2023/QH15 (in force 15 Aug 2023) — the e-visa raised from no more than 30 days to no more than 90 days, single or multiple entry; issued to citizens of all countries and territories
- Resolution 127/2023/NQ-CP and Resolution 389/NQ-CP — list of international checkpoints permitting entry and exit on an electronic visa (+41 checkpoints, +4 airports)
- Resolution 44/NQ-CP (7 Mar 2025) and Resolution 229/NQ-CP (11 Aug 2025) — 45-day visa exemptions
- Vietnam Immigration Department — Ministry of Public Security:
evisa.gov.vn·thithucdientu.gov.vn·prearrival.immigration.gov.vn
Note: This article compiles publicly available information as of the update date and is not legal advice. Entry requirements vary by nationality, purpose, visa type and checkpoint, and can change at any time. Confirm with the Immigration Department or a Vietnamese diplomatic mission before you travel. Admission in every case rests with the competent authority at the checkpoint.
ViEntry is a technology platform connecting you with independent service operators. ViEntry is not an immigration authority, does not issue visas, and does not guarantee visa outcomes. You are entirely free to file your own E-Visa at
evisa.gov.vnat the published fee; a service fee, if you choose to use one, is a file-support fee — not a fee to "buy a visa". All prices are for reference.
Someone selling you a "Vietnam Visa on Arrival" and you're not sure you need it? Send it to us before you pay. Telegram @vientry_support · WhatsApp +84 963 091 001 · Hotline 0963 091 001
