While applying through the embassy, you will have to fill the application form in English and mention the place of collection and submission of Visa as Vietnam. You will also be required to submit other documents such as your valid and original Ecuadorian passport, a recent passport sized photograph and a self-addressed envelope. Along with this, you will have to pay the Visa fees which can be paid to the Embassy of Vietnam by way of money order or cashier’s cheque. Once these documents are submitted, they will be forwarded ahead for processing. The embassy will take at least five working days to process all your documents.
Once the documents are processed, you will be issued a fully stamped Visa for travel purposes. The major benefit of applying through the embassy is that you will have a fully stamped Visa document with you before you start for Vietnam. However, there are a number of problems that you might have to encounter. You may have to visit the embassy several times before the process is complete. In case you are applying for Visa through correspondence, you will have to send in all your documents via postal mail. You stand to lose your valuable passport in such a scenario. Also, the expenses are too much.
The easier alternative to the embassy method is the Visa on Arrival. To apply for Visa on Arrival, you will have to contact a travel agent based in Vietnam. You will have to fill an online application form for Visa on the travel agent’s website. While filling the application, you will be asked to key in details about yourself and your travel plan such as your name, occupation, dates of travel, purpose of visit etc. There are three options against the purpose of visit – business, tourist and transit.
A business visa offers validity of one month, three months and six months. A tourist Visa offers a validity of one month and transit Visa offers a validity of less than five days. Once the form is filled, you will have to submit it for processing. You can pay the Visa fees and the service charges of the travel agent through online transfer. After the form is processed, you will be sent a letter of approval. This letter of approval can be collected by your travel agent on your behalf.
You can submit this letter of approval along with Visa stamping fees at the Visa on Arrival counter in the airport to collect your Visa document. It is to be noted that the Visa on Arrival facility is available to only those travelers who arrive in Vietnam by air. For those taking land routes, it is mandatory that they carry all documents with them while traveling.
