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Can I get a Vietnam visa on arrival without an invitation letter when flying from Thailand?

Vietnam visa Visa on arrival E-visa issues Travel from Thailand to Vietnam Visa requirements Expatriate living in Thailand Cambodia travel Visa agents Visa application process

Apr 5, 2024

7 months ago

ORIGINAL POSTER

A little off topic. But anyone know if I can just fly to Vietnam from Thailand and get the visa on arrival without the invitation letter or i can get everything sorted out there? Tried the evisa but the website won’t let me get to the part where I pay for some reason .

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TLDR : Answer Summary

The ability to obtain a visa upon arrival in Vietnam without an invitation letter largely depends on your nationality. Some travelers can enter visa-free for a limited time, while others, particularly U.S. citizens, must secure a visa in advance. Users have reported difficulties with the e-visa application process; accessing the official site can be problematic in Thailand, with some recommending the use of VPNs. Many suggest using a visa agent to avoid issues with online applications and recommend caution due to potential errors in issued visas. Ultimately, the original poster has decided to travel to Cambodia instead, indicating that the e-visa application for Cambodia was successful.

Oliver **********

The Vietnam visa website seems inaccessible from Thailand for some reason. Using a VPN or a browser with a built in VPN (opera, brave) did the trick for me.

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Alan ******

@Oliver *********

The E visa site has been stopped. Only Visa on arrival. Well , it was a week n half back.

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Oliver **********

still there but you can't access it from Thailand without a VPN for some reason

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Alan ******

Yeah, okay Oliver, some shifty stuff going on, Cambodia E visa is or was out to, everything is on arrival.

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Oliver **********

Actually I'm able to access it without a VPN, just not from chrome

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Oliver **********

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Terry ********

I highly advise using an agent online before you go. The official site is a scam. They purposely get your name wrong on the visa so that you have to get an emergency visa on arrival at 10 times the cost.

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Sam *********

never happened to me either

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Jeffrey *********

I've gotten about half a dozen e-visas from the official site and that has never happened to me - it always prints exactly what I typed on the application.

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Terry ********

@Jeffrey ********

you’re lucky.

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Terry ********

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Otto *********

You can stay w/o visa for 14 days. Any time beyond that you will need a visa beforehand.

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Jeffrey *********

That is not true for US citizens like the OP - they MUST get a visa or visa approval in advance, regardless of the length of stay.

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Otto *********

@Jeffrey ********

I wasn't aware Quinn is a US citizen...

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Andreas *********

even if he was an European citizen,your reply would be wrong. He will get a visa-on-arrival for 45 (!!) days in Vietnam with a Schengen passport. The days of the 14-days VOA are long gone for European citizens. But NOT for U.S. citizens

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Otto *********

@Andreas ********

Thanks for updating my knowledge.

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Jeffrey *********

Yeah, it was easy to miss - he mentioned it in the comments rather than in his original post.

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Jeffrey *********

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Terary **********

Its been a few years but I had to bring paperwork... a MUST.

Also, oddly, you will need to bring crisp brand new $20 USD bills. I don't recall if that was for the VT Immigration or the Thai Embassy but one of them is very fussy about the matter.

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Stuart **********

All online now

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Jan **********

the official website worked very well the 4 times i used it.

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Andrew *******

not the easiest site ...not user friendly easy to make errors

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Jan **********

no problem for me.

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Jan **********

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Quinn ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

Thanks all. Just decided to go to Cambodia instead. The E Visa application worked for that country. My fault for not taking care of things sooner. Bit of a procrastinator at times. Thanks again for the advice. A few weeks in Cambodia sounds good to me. Gonna fly into Phnom Penh and see if I can get to Siem Reap and see Angkor Wat while I’m in Cambodia. Looks amazing.

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Ivan *********

I have spoken to a work friend who visited Siem Reap -Choose you r moment to visit ,because at times it is vert busy .

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Ivan *********

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Jody *******

The official website isn't very good, many people can't get it to work.

If you are from a country that needs a visa in this case, as much as I normally avoid doing so, I recommend using an agent. They cost 20-25 USD.

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Cody *********

No visa on arrival in Vietnam.

You need to apply at least 3 days before departure from Thailand. I recommend more like a week.

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Chris ********

Have you tried the VISA ON ARRIVAL option?

Fill in a few standard info details online and get the approval letter, arrive at a viet airport and they will give you your visa stamp etc at immigration control. Sometimes the Evisa refuses passport numbers etc due to software hiccups.

Be mindful of costs too especially using agents or their sites!

a VOA should cost around $30 for a single entry visa.

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Oliver **********

Note on the Vietnam visa application that where it says "given name" you have to put your first and middle names. There is no field for middle name. I neglected to do this, only putting my first name. This resulted in having to pay 130 USD online for a rush visa service at the airport in Siem Reap so that the visa would have my full name on it. I'm pretty sure the airport personnel get a kickback for facilitating it. Several other people there had to do the same due to issues with not filling out their visa application correctly.

On the plus side, I got concierge service upon arrival at Da Nang and got to skip the long immigration queue.

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David *******

@Oliver *********

that's for the extra $130.00 + a smile

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David *******

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Robert ********

A few years ago, so a lot would have changed since then, but the airline wouldn't even let me on the plane in Bangkok without seeing a Vietnamese invitation letter.

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Cody *********

@Robert *******

I went a few months ago and that is still the current policy.

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Robert ********

OK. So much information out there.

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Robert ********

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Scott *******

@Robert *******

it’s changed now. Foreign tourists visiting Vietnam will be subject to a new visa policy beginning on August 15, 2023, with notable changes including the issuance of 90-day e-visas and an increase in the temporary stay period for people entering the country under unilateral visa exemption to 45 days.

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Quinn ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

so does that mean I can just show up at the airport in da Nang with no invitation letter and get the visa exemption for 45 days?

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Jeffrey *********

US passports do NOT qualify for VN visa exemption - you must have a visa, e-visa, or visa approval letter or the airline will not board you.

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Quinn ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Jeffrey ********

thank you. I just decided to go to Cambodia instead. Not sure what I was doing wrong on the webpage but at least the e visa for Cambodia is pending approval.

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Andrew *******

I am sure you need evisa from US .

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Andrew *******

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Robert ********

Yes, OK. I thought it would have changed 👍.

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William ******

can the 90

Day be entended or do I have to do a border run and get new visa

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Andrew *******

you will need to do a border run ...

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Scott *******

To be honest, I don’t know mate. I am going there next week. Hence the reason I looked into it. But my stay is less than 45 days.

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Scott *******

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Stuart *********

Depends on your nationality. Some can enter visa free for up to 45 days. Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Russia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Belarus

Only use the official visa application site if you need a visa. There’s lots of others pretending to be the place to get your visa.

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John *******

@Stuart ********

45 day visa?????

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Stuart *********

visa exemption. For Vietnam.

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Stuart *********

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Steve **********

@Stuart ********

not US ?

ah ! the bombs.

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Kat *****************

@Steve *********

unfortunately yes.

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Stuart *********

@Steve *********

Not an expert on Vietnam foreign policy. Perhaps they have issues with history.

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Stuart *********

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Gareth ********

@Stuart ********

they increased it not long back to 90 days now.

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Stuart *********

@Gareth *******

Cant see any news on that. They opened up the evisa to 90 days last August but for the visa exemption still seems to be 45 days.

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Gareth ********

@Stuart ********

ah that's my confusion. Yes e-visa not exemption.

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Gareth ********

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Stuart *********

@Gareth *******

Oh ok. Hadn’t heard that.

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Stuart *********

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Quinn ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Stuart ********

thanks. I’m from the US. That’s the site I tried using. Only would let me go so far. And then it just kept repeating the same page. Could be me. I’m technologically challenged. Old and blue collar. I’ll give it another try.

Booked a flight to Cambodia in case it doesn’t work for me. Either place will work for me I guess . Never been to either countries. Both look pretty cool. Thanks again for the reply

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Joe *********

use Firefox browser. It’s the lowest common denominator browser and works where some others dont

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Steve **********

Japan much better ' cleaner, friendly, but much more expensive.

Depends on agenda.

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Jeff ********

Try using a different web browser

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Marianna ******

we booked a private tour to Vietnam through Laughing Roo Travel. We were a group of 10 and they applied for our visas. Didn’t feel like any hassles on arrival. You could try them.

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Tim *********

You would enjoy Cambodia and Vietnam. Its pretty cool to travel by bus between them. Cheap and comfortable. Takes a while but you get to see more. Always a tuktuk to take you to a hotel at the bus station

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Tony *********

Sometimes with these sites, if you failed to provide some info, you'll see an error message telling you which field is the problem, but the error message won't be very prominent ... It may be right at the top or the bottom of the page. Good luck.

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Tony *********

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