Hi all,
Sharing a recent experience at the Thai Embassy in Ho Chi Minh. Some of this might be quite obvious advice, thought I'd include anything that might be of use. This is just my experience at HCM, and other embassies might be quite different.
1. You have to make an online appointment. New appointments can open up, so it's worth re-checking the website if you need a closer date. But they won't let you in without an initial appointment.
2. When you arrive, you wait in a queue outside, or on a bench immediately outside the office. Once you're in, you have to stand at a counter in front of the embassy staff. It's literally one small room. Basically, there's no opportunity to sort through your documents, so you need everything arranged & ready to hand straight over. Make sure to print out and fill in the application form in advance.
3. There's no facility for photocopying etc. The closest photocopy/printing place is about a 7 minute walk away. (The office does have glue to stick passport photos onto forms).
4. They only accept $ and are really strict about the notes they accept. It has to be new and without any wear or tear. There's no money changers close by.
5. For the non-imm Ed visa, they require 6 months of your past bank statements with your name/address on at least the first page. They were very particular about that.
6. The good news is that if you have to go away and change, reprint things etc. you can return without making a new appointment. You will have to requeue though and sometimes might miss the window that it's open - meaning to return in the afternoon, or the next day.
7. Be prepared for questioning. I was questioned quite specifically about the intention of my visa, and I heard other people being grilled too.
8. Plan for things to take longer than they might. I think I just had a bit of bad luck, but my application took a week longer than I'd initially anticipated. So allow yourself flexibility with travel and flight bookings.
9. Always bring more than you think you'll need in terms of extra documents etc., or at least have it saved on a usb. You never know what will come in handy. And have all these things clearly labelled and easy to access. All the paperwork can be quite confusing, especially when you're flustered.
10. Make sure you have a copy of your passport and Vietnam visa/entry stamp before submitting your passport. Especially if you might be changing hotels while you wait for your visa to be processed.
11. The embassy staff are strict but relatively fair (IMO). The security guards were also quite friendly if you talk to them.
12. You can change money and buy a decent SIM with unlimited data at HCM airport. I found the rate decent for both. The Grab app is also really useful in Vietnam.
