If you decide to travel to a neighboring country for applying for Visa to Vietnam, you will have to bear the expenses on travel and accommodation. At the embassy, you will be required to fill the Visa application form. This application form will have to be submitted along with one self-addressed envelope, one recent passport sized photograph and your original photograph. With these documents, you will 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. Although this process provides you the benefit of getting hold of a fully stamped Visa before leaving for Vietnam, it is quite expensive and time consuming. 

In case you decide to apply for Visa through correspondence, you will have to send in all your documents through postal mail to the embassy address. This means that you could lose your documents, including your original passport, if your package is misplaced or lost in transit. 

The easier alternative to this method for the citizens of Suriname is Visa on Arrival. Visa on Arrival is faster, more convenient and more affordable. 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 application form, you will have to key in details such as your name, occupation, duration of stay, purpose of visit etc. When filling up the purpose of visit section, you will have to choose from sections such as business, tourist and transit. A business Visa comes with a validity of one month, three months and six months. A tourist Visa comes with a validity of one month and transit Visa comes with a validity of less than five days. 

Online forms are usually processed in two or three days, after which you will be issued a letter of approval. This letter of approval can be collected by your travel agent, who can then forward it to you. 

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 the Visa on Arrival.