What are the requirements and procedures for applying for an HCMC visa from within Vietnam?

@Charles *********

You can get an emergency visa on arrival if flying in to Vietnam. Can be issued with the aid of a travel agency and with less than 24 hours before you arrive, but not recommended. This visa is a traditional sticker, same as the ones that Vietnamese embassies and consulates used to issue.

Otherwise, for non-visa exempt nationalities (several European nationals are visa-exempt) you have to get an e-visa. Like Thailand, which is phasing out traditional visa stickers, Vietnam no longer issues ordinary tourist and business visas in person at consulates and embassies anymore. Only certain types of work and spousal visas might still be issued through embassies and consulates in person.

It takes 3 working days to be issued with a Vietnamese e-visa.

To apply in Ho Chi Minh, you'll want an entry stamp that says "Tan Son Nhat Airport", "Moc Bai" (border with Bavet, Cambodia), "Xa Xia" (border with Prek Chak, Cambodia), or several others all with Cambodia, "Ngoc Hoi" (southernmost border with Laos) as well as any entry points from Danang and south of there. Anything north of there is associated with the Hanoi embassy.

Another way of proving you're in Vietnam is with a hotel booking. In that case, the province/city you're in will determine whether Saigon or Hanoi handles your application.