If you decide to apply for Visa from the embassy itself, you will have to personally visit the Embassy and fill the Visa application form. The Visa application form is to be filled in English, mentioning Vietnam as the place of collection and submission of the Visa. You will also have to submit a recent passport sized photograph, a self-addressed envelope and your original and valid passport. Ensure your passport has a validity of at least six months and few blank pages for stamping. You will also have to pay the Visa fees in favor of the Embassy of Vietnam by way of money order or cashier’s cheque.
The embassy will take at least five days to process your documents. Once your documents are processed, you will be issued a fully stamped Visa. If in case you decide to apply for Visa through correspondence, you will have to send all your documents across through postal mail. This can be highly risky as you will have to send in your original passport in the package you send to embassy. If there is a loss of your package in transit or if it is misplaced, you stand to lose your original passport.
Ideally, citizens of Senegal should opt for Visa on Arrival as the embassy method is long drawn, time consuming and expensive. Visa on Arrival is a far more convenient process where you do not need to incur travel expenditure and do not need to send in your original documents. To apply for Visa on Arrival, all you need to do is get in touch with a reliable travel agent in Vietnam. You will have to fill up an online application form on the agent’s website such as your name, occupation, purpose of visit, duration of stay etc. Once the form is filled, it will be submitted for further processing. Usually, online applications are processed in a couple of days.
After your form is processed, you will be issued a letter of approval. Your travel agent can collect this letter of approval on your behalf and have it sent to you. On reaching Vietnam, you will have to submit this letter of approval at the Visa on Arrival counter in the airport you arrive in. Along with the letter of approval, you will be required to submit Visa stamping fees in order to collect your Visa on Arrival document.
It is to be noted that the Visa on Arrival facility is extended only to those travelers who arrive in Vietnam by air. For those taking land routes, it is mandatory that they carry their Visa and all other necessary documents along with them while traveling. In case you are traveling to Vietnam on a cruise ship, you can reach out to the cruise authorities for information on Visa on Arrival.
