Vietnam eVisa Application Step-by-Step Guide
If you are considering travelling to Vietnam, Luxe Wanderer strongly advises that you read through the SmartTraveller website ( https://www.smartraveller.gov.au ) to check for any health & safety advisories. This is an Australian government website and can provide a myriad of details to ensure you are fully prepared and up to date on all the latest information. You can subscribe to their emailed travel news and updates HERE.
PLEASE NOTE: The following guide has been created using Vietnam’s embassy website in Australia, for people travelling for tourism purposes.
Initiating Your Application
Go to Vietnam’s Embassy website, the one in this guide is for Vietnam’s Australian embassy, which is the official visa portal to be used for travel visa’s to Vietnam for Australian citizens. If you are applying yourself and not using a service, only use this website to apply to avoid being scammed.
You can either click the linked words above or copy and paste the following web address: https://vietnamembassy.org.au/en-us/vietnam-visa
You’ll then need to click on the link to their “National Web Portal on Immigration” ( https://evisa.immigration.gov.vn ) which is where you’ll actually apply for your visa. you’re free to skip straight to this page from the start, I just prefer to start from the embassy website to ensure I read all the up-to-date information first, just in case.
Initiating Your Application cont.
2. The image on the left is for Vietnam’s National Web portal on Immigration, where you’ll complete your visa for upcoming travels. As advised above, the web address is https://evisa.immigration.gov.vn . You can either click on the linked address in this text or type it into your web browsers address section.
Click on the image with the red box surrounding it saying “e-Visa” or the linked words in the list of services saying “E-visa issuance”. Both will take you to the application. The web address they will take you to is: https://evisa.immigration.gov.vn/web/guest/trang-chu-ttdt . A screenshot of the page is in the next photo down this list.
Initiating Your Application cont.
3. Read through the page of information before commencing your application. once you’ve read through the page, click on the first image with a red box around it titled “For Foreigners”. Alternatively you can click on the linked words embedded halfway through the text on the page. both will take you to the same place.
Initiating Your Application cont.
Before you commence, make sure you have your digital photos ready as they will need to be uploaded from your computer to your application.
You’ll need a photograph of the applicant (yourself or the person for whom you are completing the application) and a photo of your ID page of your passport.
** Make sure your photo is taken with a plain white background just like the example in the photo on the left, and ensure you are NOT wearing glasses.
4. As the page advises, the cost of the application is $25.00 US dollars for each single entry visa and $50.00 for each multiple entry visa. So if you are entering Vietnam more than once during your trip (you may be on a cruise, for example), you’ll need to select ‘multiple entry’ within your application. For this guide, we will be selecting ‘single entry’ for an upcoming short trip to Vietnam.
5. Once you’ve read through the preparatory information make sure you click the box to confirm you have carefully read the instructions provided.
6. Click ‘NEXT’ to start your application.
Application Page
7. First upload your portrait. Click “Select” and choose your portrait photo from the files on your computer. As stated earlier, make sure your photo is taken with a plain white background, well lit and just like in the example photo, ensure you are not wearing any glasses or jewellery.
8. Secondly, upload your photo of your passport ID page. Just like above, click “Select” and choose the photo from the files on your computer.
9. Next, being inputting your Personal Information. Every box with a red asterisk next to it requires an answer. Generally, those without are optional to answer.
Surname first then your given name. I put my first and middle name in this box so it matches my passport.
Your Date of Birth as shown in the example.
Your sex (gender) as displayed on your passport.
Your current nationality / country that issued your passport can be selected via the drop down menu.
Religion is fairly straightforward. If you don’t subscribe to any religion however, you could put “N/A” or “None” as I did.
Since Australia’s don’t have an “ID Card number” you can leave this box blank.
Again, your email is fairly straightforward, just type in your email address, then type it in again in the box below.
Application Page
10. These are “yes” or “no” questions, that if answered “yes” will require further information as it relates to the question.
11. Now we get to the information that actually pertains to your upcoming trip to Vietnam. If you are entering Vietnam only once (not going in and out / crossing the countries border more than once) you need to select “single entry” and input your arrival and departure dates. If you are intending to enter Vietnam multiple times during your trip, for example, you may be on a cruise or a tour, then you’ll need to select “multiple entry” and put in the applicable dates you intend to come and go.
12. Your passport information can all be found on the ID page of your passport, the one you took a photo of and uploaded to your application above.
Select the type of passport you have from the dropdown menu.
Input your passport number (found in the top righthand corner of your passport ID page)
Both the date of issue and the expiry date are fairly straightforward, and also found on the ID page of your passport.
13. Your contact information:
The best address to put here is the one on your drivers licence. It’s the once place someone can always send you mail and it will find it’s way to you. The one registered with the government.
The contact address maybe where you are residing at present. For example, I used to live and work seasonally at a ski resort between overseas trips, but my license listed my parents address because I was only in one place for a few months at a time and that was a close as I came to a permanent address. Therefore, my permanent address was the one on my license and my contact address was the ski resort.
14. Your emergency contact information is reasonably straightforward. Their first and last name, their best contact number, their address and your relationship status. For example, mother, father, brother, sister, friend, partner, etc Make it someone reliable, this is who the Vietnamese government will contact if you get into strife.
15. If you have a job or are studying at school, input the information as it asks. it’s all fairly simple. If you are retired you can just type ‘retired’ in the occupation field or if you are unemployed you can also write ‘unemployed’ in the occupation field. However, since this field has no red asterisks, you can also decline to answer and leave it blank.
Application Page
16. Now to add in the details of your trip.
First use the dropdown menu to specify why you are travelling to Vietnam. Tourism is automatically listed as the default answer since this is a tourist visa, but there are also other options you can select if they are more applicable.
If you are part of an organised tour or something similar, you’ll need to type in the name of the business, their address, phone number and the reason for your association. Is if it is a tour company, you could write “tourism” or “guided tour”, whatever is most applicable. However, again, since there is no red asterisk, providing this information is optional.
17. Here you’ll need to provide more details regarding your upcoming trip.
How many days you intend to stay in Vietnam. You could add on a couple of days to the end of your actual departure date here if you wanted, just in case you get waylaid and end up departing a day or two later than intended. You could miss a flight or get sick, things happen here and there.
Intended date of entry (date you intend to arrive in Vietnam) is fairly straightforward. The language here implies that there is some degree of flexibility, so don’t panic if your final arrival date is slightly different.
The “allowed to entry through checkpoint” just means where you’ll be entering the country. So select your airport / seaport / land border crossing checkpoint location that you’ll be using to enter Vietnam from the dropdown menu.
Do the same here for where you’ll be exiting Vietnam. It could be the same or it could be different to above, it depends on your individual travel plans.
“Intended temporary residential address in Vietnam” can be the hotel you’ll be staying in. The best one to use if you are moving around would be the hotel you are staying in on your first night. I’d suggest typing the name of your hotel into google and utilising the address listed, as the format for their addresses can be confusing and the address on google will very helpful in filling out this information.
18. The questions here are fairly simple. Again, with “yes” or no” answers on Visas, if you answer yes, you’ll need to provide further details as it relates to the question. I have not been to Vietnam in the past year and I do not have any relatives currently living in Vietnam so my answer is “no” for both.
19. Expenses & Insurance
Your trips expenses (in US dollars) is just an estimate. So tally up your hotel cost, any pre-booked tour costs and the amount you’ve set aside for spending money. I'm just going for a week before continuing onwards, so I put $3000.00. It’s just a ballpark figure here, so don’t worry if the final amount is different.
Select from the dropdown menu who will be paying for your trip. Either yourself or other agency/organisation/applicant. If it’s the second option, you’ll need to type in their name and contact details.
For Type, it’s very straightforward again, they give you the choice between cash, credit card or travellers cheque. To be honest, traveller’s cheques aren’t really used anymore, so unless you are carrying wads of cash around with you (not really recommended in large amounts from a safety standpoint), then credit card would be best here.
Insurance, it’s a “yes” or no” answer from the dropdown menu. I cannot stress this enough, GET INSURANCE. Travel insurance isn’t just about medical mishaps and expenses it covers a whole range of things and many countries won’t even let you in anymore without it. Yes, it’s another expense but it’s a necessary one. The stories I could tell of people I’ve met who didn’t get insurance and wish they had……. just get insurance please.
For detail just type in the insurance issuer (World Nomads, Covermore, NIB, RACV, etc) and the type/level you chose. It doesn’t need to be a complicated answer here
Once you’ve filled in the above, make sure you click the box below to “assure that I have truthfully declared all relevant details”..
20. Almost done! just type the random four numbers in the grey box to the Captcha box (click the green circle of arrows if you can’t understand what they are for a new set), then click “Review application form”.
Application Confirmation Page
21. As you can see in the picture to the left, you’ll then get a page of your completed application that can be edited if you find that you’ve made any mistakes.
Read through every line and make sure everything is correct to the best of your knowledge then click “Payment” at the bottom. if you need to make any corrections, just click on the orange/ yellow icon next to the applicable section title to go back and edit the information.
Application Confirmation Page
22. Once you’ve confirmed the previous page of information is correct you’ll get this pop-up message. Record the registration code for your records, you’ll need it to log back in to your application later when checking the status of your application, etc.
once you’ve done this, click “OK” at the base of the message.
Final Application Confirmation Page
23. Now you need to pay for your visa. Review the information on the page, Click “I agree” and then click “Pay e-visa fee”
Payment Page
24. You have two options of payment here. Click the drop down box for your preferred method. I chose “Pay by VISA/MASTERCARD/JCB/AMEX”
If you chose the same option, click on the logo that matches the card with which you’ll pay, to be taken to the next page where you’ll actually enter your card details.
Payment Page
25. Admittedly, I forgot to take a screenshot of the page without the confirmation message but it’s honestly the same as any other online purchase payment page. Type in your name, card details and billing address and click Continue. the pop-up message you see to the left of the screen is then what comes up to confirm that you are aware of all the terms and conditions of this payment. once you’ve read through, click “I Agree”.
You’ll then need to click the green continue button again. I was confused and concerned it would double charge but it doesn’t. Since I used a card connected to a Commonwealth Bank account, it then came up with a Netbank message for two-factor authentication. It sent through an SMS with the code, I popped it in the box and the payment went through. I’ll update the screenshots for this section when I next have to complete a Vietnam e-visa application to more thoroughly display the payment process.
Payment Confirmation Page
26. Payment complete! Now you just need to wait for your application to be processed. Typically, it will take 4 working days (Vietnam time zone) to process. Keep an eye on your email for updates and log in to the visa portal using your previously supplied registration code and some personal details check the status of your application. Once approved, make sure you print it out and save some digital copies to your phone and computer just in case.
The Vietnamese government advise to apply for your visa well in advance of your travel as any updates or modifications will take an additional 4 working days to process. Save yourself the stress by organising this part of your trip early.
