🔄 Last updated: 11 July 2026
This article will weaken our own sales pitch. We're publishing it anyway.
Because in a market where everyone promises fastest, cheapest, guaranteed, the rarest thing isn't speed. It's a straight answer.
❗ Truth 1: Nobody can buy a place in the Immigration Department's queue
This is the root truth, and everything else follows from it.
E-Visas are decided by the Vietnam Immigration Department – Ministry of Public Security, through one system. Official processing takes up to 15 working days.
There is no publicly announced mechanism to pay for priority processing of an E-Visa.
Which means: a service charging you five times the fee isn't buying priority. They file into the same system and wait in the same queue you would.
❌ "E-Visa in 1 day, guaranteed." → Ask them: on what basis? If the answer is "we have connections" — that's your cue to stop.
❗ Truth 2: You can absolutely file the E-Visa yourself
We'll say it plainly: you don't need a service to file an E-Visa.
The official site is evisa.gov.vn. You fill it in, upload your own photo, pay the published fee:
- USD 25 — single entry
- USD 50 — multiple entry
That's the entire mandatory cost. Everything else is a service fee, and it's your call whether to pay it.
So what does a service actually sell? → Truth 4.
❗ Truth 3: "100% guaranteed" is a promise nobody is allowed to make
No private company has the authority to decide whether your application is approved. That authority belongs to the immigration authorities.
Anyone saying "100% guaranteed" is promising something that isn't theirs to give.
And here's the sting: the E-Visa fee is non-refundable. Refused → you lose the fee. If the service doesn't refund its own fee either, you lose both.
💡 The question to ask before paying: "If the application is refused, what do you refund?" The answer tells you whether they're confident or just selling a promise.
🔔 The biggest risk isn't slowness. It's refusal — and losing the time you had left.
This is where it all connects.
You file on day 80. On day 88 you're refused because of the photo. You now have 2 days, and re-filing means up to 15 more working days.
You've just entered overstay — where fines start at VND 500,000 – 2,000,000 and jump to VND 5–10 million from day 16.
👉 Turn on free visa expiry reminders with Visa Tracker — so you file on day 60, not day 85. Free, no account needed.
Time is the only insurance money can't buy.
❗ Truth 4: What a service fee ACTUALLY buys — and what it doesn't
This is the most honest thing we can write, including about ourselves.
| A service fee CANNOT buy | A service fee CAN buy |
|---|---|
| ❌ Faster approval | ✅ A photo check before filing — the most common refusal cause |
| ❌ Guaranteed approval | ✅ Data matched exactly to your passport (one wrong character = refusal) |
| ❌ Priority in the queue | ✅ The right entry checkpoint — an e-visa must be used at the checkpoint you declared |
| ❌ Erasing an overstay record | ✅ A nudge to file early, not on the last day |
| ❌ Connections inside the authorities | ✅ Support in your own language when something goes wrong |
In other words: a good service sells CARE, not SPEED.
If someone is selling you speed — ask on what basis. If they're selling care — ask exactly what they check.
❗ Truth 5: Fake websites are a bigger risk than an inflated fee
Overpaying by a few dozen dollars is a small problem. Handing your passport data to a fraudster is a large one.
Police in several provinces have warned about fraudsters who pose as visa consulting organisations promising fast turnaround and low cost in order to build trust, and who even send doctored fake visa images and a forged Immigration Department document demanding a transfer to "prove financial capacity".
How to spot a fake website (per official warnings):
- The domain has a few characters added or missing versus the real one
- Unusual domain endings: .cc · .xyz · .tk
- Imitating a .gov.vn ending without being a genuine government domain
- Content that is urgent and threatening, demanding an immediate transfer
- Spelling errors and unprofessional wording
Three things the authorities state plainly:
- The Immigration Department never asks people to transfer money by message or to hand over a banking OTP
- There is no "prove your finances" requirement involving a transfer to the Department's account to get a visa
- The official E-Visa site is evisa.gov.vn
🔒 The safety rule: whichever service you use, never give out a banking OTP. No legitimate visa procedure needs one.
❗ Truth 6: For most people, a "visa service" isn't what you need
Depending on your situation, you need one of these three things:
① Plenty of time and confident with paperwork → file it yourself at evisa.gov.vn. USD 25. Done.
② Previously refused, travelling with family or small children, or unsure about the photo → have someone check it before filing. That's where a service fee earns its keep.
③ You need to exit and re-enter → what you need is a trip, not a paperwork service. → Visa Run or Border Run
🪞 And here's the truth about us
ViEntry charges service fees too. It would be dishonest to write all this and pretend we stand outside it.
So here's what we don't promise:
- ❌ We do not promise your E-Visa will be approved faster — nobody can do that
- ❌ We do not promise "100% guaranteed" — the decision belongs to the authorities
- ❌ We are not an immigration authority
- ❌ We do not operate the buses — we connect you with the operators
And here's what we actually do:
- ✅ Check the photo and the data before filing, to reduce the risk of refusal
- ✅ Free expiry reminders — even if you never use another service of ours
- ✅ Connect you to a Visa Run / Border Run with an operator
- ✅ Free route suggestions — even when the answer is "you can do this yourself"
All prices on vientry.com are for reference.
If, after reading this, you decide to do it yourself — we'll consider the article a success.
⚠️ Common misconceptions
❌ "Pay more and the visa comes faster." → FALSE. There's no publicly announced priority mechanism. Same system, same queue.
❌ "That agency has connections, so they can guarantee it." → RED FLAG. This is precisely the pitch the police have warned about.
❌ "If it's refused I'll just re-file, no big deal." → IT IS. You lose a non-refundable fee and up to 15 more working days — time you may not have.
❌ "Any site ending in .gov.vn is a government site." → NO. Fraudsters imitate the .gov.vn ending. Type evisa.gov.vn directly; don't click unknown links.
❌ "I can give the service my banking OTP so they can pay for me." → NEVER. No legitimate visa procedure requires your banking OTP.
❌ "Suspiciously cheap? Worst case I lose a little money." → FALSE. The biggest risk isn't the money — it's your passport data and bank account.
Sources
- Vietnam Immigration Department — Ministry of Public Security:
evisa.gov.vn(official E-Visa site, fees and processing time) - Ninh Binh Provincial Police — warnings on "visa online" offers via social media; warnings on impersonation of the Immigration Department
- Long An Provincial Police — warnings on forged immigration documents and impersonation of Immigration Department officers
- Authority of Information Security, Ministry of Information and Communications — how to spot fake websites
- Decree 282/2025/NĐ-CP — Article 21, overstay penalties
Note: This article is informational, compiled at the time of the last update, and does not refer to any specific company. We cannot verify the commitments of individual providers — the article simply sets out the questions you should ask before paying. Processing times, fees and procedures are set by the immigration authorities and can change. ViEntry is a technology platform connecting users with independent service operators; ViEntry is not an immigration authority, does not guarantee visa outcomes, and does not provide legal advice. All prices are for reference.
Got a question you want to ask before paying anyone? Telegram @vientry_support · WhatsApp +84 963 091 001 · Hotline 0963 091 001
