If you decide to visit the embassy in a neighboring country personally, you will have to incur huge travel costs. On visiting the embassy, you will be taken through a step-by-step procedure on the filling up of required forms, submission of relevant documents and payment of mandatory fees. You will have to submit one recent passport size photograph, a self-addressed envelope and your original passport at the embassy. Along with the documents, you will be required to pay the Visa fees, which can be paid in favor of the Embassy of Vietnam by way of money order or cashier’s cheque.
The embassy takes at least five working days to process documents. After the documents are processed, you will be issued a fully stamped Visa. The advantage of applying for Visa through the embassy is that you get a fully stamped Visa in your hands before departing for Vietnam. However, this process is too long drawn, expensive and problematic.
In case, you decide to apply through the embassy through correspondence, you will have to send in all your documents through postal mail. The passport is too valuable a document to be sent across through postal mail. You could lose it if your package is misplaced or lost in transit.
An easier and hassle free alternative to this procedure is the Visa on Arrival procedure. You will have to get in touch with a reliable travel agent to apply for Visa on Arrival. You will have to fill an online application form which will require you to key in your details such as your name, occupation, duration of stay, purpose of visit etc. While filling up the purpose of visit section, you will have to choose from the options – business, tourist and travel, depending on your requirement.
Once your form is processed, you will be issued a letter of approval. Online forms are usually processed in a couple of days. The letter of approval can be collected by your travel agent on your behalf. This letter of approval will have to be submitted at the Visa on Arrival counter of the airport you arrive in to receive your Visa on Arrival. You will also have to submit the Visa stamping fees along with the letter of approval.
It is to be noted that the Visa on Arrival facility is available only to 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. In case you are traveling to Vietnam in a cruise ship, you can contact the cruise authorities for information on Visa on Arrival.
