In case you decide to travel to a neighboring country to apply for Visa, you will have to invest a lot of time in it and also bear the expenses. At the embassy, you will be asked to fill up the Visa application in English. You will also have to mention the place of submission and collection of the Visa document as Vietnam. Along with the form, you will have to submit one recent passport sized photograph, one self-addressed envelope and your original passport. Besides submitting these documents, you will also be required to pay the Visa fees. The fees can be paid in favor of the Embassy of Vietnam by way of money order or cashier’s check. 

The embassy will take at least five working days to process your documents. Once your documents are processed, you will be issued a fully stamped Visa in the self-addressed envelope you had submitted. Although this procedure allows you to get hold of a fully stamped Visa before your departure to Vietnam, it is quite expensive and time consuming. 

In case you decide to apply for Visa through correspondence, you will have to send across all your documents through postal mail to the embassy. This is quite risky as you could lose all your documents if your package is misplaced or lost in transit. 

The easiest and hassle free method to apply for Visa is through the Visa on Arrival process. In order to apply for Visa on Arrival, you will have to get in touch with a travel agent based in Vietnam. You will have to fill up an online application on the travel agent’s website. In the form, you will have to key in details such as your name, occupation, purpose of visit, duration of stay etc. When filling up the purpose of visit section, you will have to choose from business, tourist and transit. A business Visa offers a validity of one month, three months and six months. A tourist Visa comes with a validity of one month and a transit Visa comes with a validity of less than five days. 

Online forms are processed in two to three days, after which a letter of approval is issued. Your travel agent can forward you your letter of approval. On reaching Vietnam, you will have to submit this letter of approval at the Visa on Arrival counter of the airport you arrive in. Along with the letter, you will have to pay the Visa stamping fees to collect your Visa on Arrival.