On this page What the e-visa is · The two uploads, and the passport rule behind them · The form a machine checks first · What it costs, and where to pay it · Arriving — gates, and the stamp you must check · While you are in Vietnam
Step 1 of 6
What the e-visa is
Vietnam's e-visa is issued by the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security, entirely online, and it runs for a maximum of 90 days with either a single or multiple entries. There is no consulate appointment and nothing to collect — you fill in a form, pay, and the visa arrives electronically.
You must be outside Vietnam when you apply. The e-visa is for people wanting to enter, not for anyone already there, so it is not a way to extend a stay you are in the middle of — you would have to leave first.
Source: the Immigration Department
Step 2 of 6
The two uploads, and the passport rule behind them
Everyone brings these
- An image of your passport data page — the system reads it automatically, so a clean, flat, well-lit scan matters more than usual
- A portrait photograph to the 4 × 6 cm specification above, JPG or JPEG and under 2 MB
🔴 The photograph is checked by software before a person ever sees it, which is why the specification is worth following to the letter. It must be a recent 4 by 6 cm image in JPG or JPEG format, under 2 MB. Front-facing, no hat, no glasses, formal attire, white background. A photo that fails the automatic check stops the application there — there is no officer to use judgement on it.
🔴 This one reads like a rule about the visa and is really a rule about your passport: the e-visa's validity must be at least 30 days SHORTER than your passport's. So if you want the full 90 days, your passport needs at least 120 days left — and a passport with four months on it will quietly cap how long a visa you can be given, without anyone explaining why.
Build these files with the checklist above
Source: the Immigration Department
Step 3 of 6
The form a machine checks first
Enter your full name — surname, middle name and given name — exactly as it appears on the machine-readable ICAO line at the bottom of your passport page, in capital letters. Not as you normally write it, and not as it appears in the printed section above. The system compares what you type against what it reads off the passport.
🔴 Declare everything, in English, and completely. Tick every answer that applies rather than just the closest one, and where you choose “Others”, say specifically what you mean. You are asked to detail trips taken in the past year. And you must declare any past violation history from previous entries — the department states plainly that failing to disclose it may get your e-visa denied, and that an application found to contain dishonest information will be refused. An old problem declared is a smaller problem than an old problem found.
The portal does something no other country on this site does: you upload your portrait and your passport page, and the system reads the passport automatically and fills your personal details in from it, then verifies the portrait against it. Two consequences follow. Check every auto-filled field and correct it, because a misread that you approve becomes your declaration. And a poor scan is not a small problem — if the machine cannot read it, nothing proceeds.
Source: the Immigration Department
Step 4 of 6
What it costs, and where to pay it
USD 25 for a single-entry e-visa and USD 50 for multiple entry, paid through the portal's own payment gateway. One thing to be clear about before you pay: the fee is not refunded if the visa is not granted. It buys the examination, not the outcome.
🔴 There are exactly two official addresses, and the department names both so you can tell them from the imitations: evisa.gov.vn and thithucdientu.gov.vn. Its own warning is that going through an unofficial page can mean paying unauthorised fees. Anything else charging you to file a USD 25 application is a middleman you do not need.
Source: the Immigration Department
Step 5 of 6
Arriving — gates, and the stamp you must check
🔴 An e-visa is only valid at border gates the government has designated, and the rule applies on the way OUT as well as the way in. The major airports are all covered — Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat, Da Nang, Cam Ranh, Phu Quoc, Cat Bi, Can Tho, Phu Bai, Van Don and Tho Xuan — and there is a long list of land and river crossings, but it is a list, not a general permission. If your plan involves leaving overland into Cambodia or Laos, check the crossing you intend to use before you book it.
The Immigration Department recommends completing a pre-arrival form at prearrival.immigration.gov.vn before you travel. It is a recommendation rather than a requirement, and its stated purpose is to save you time at the border.
🔴 Two things at immigration, and they come from the department's answer to someone who got them wrong. Present your e-visa — a traveller who forgot was admitted under a visa exemption instead and ended up with the wrong permission. And then check the temporary residence stamp put into your passport, because that stamp is what actually governs how long you may stay. If it does not match your visa, tell immigration control there and then; it is much harder to fix afterwards.
Source: the Immigration Department
Step 6 of 6
While you are in Vietnam
Vietnam requires foreigners to be registered where they sleep. The declaration is made to the local police through whoever manages the accommodation, so a hotel normally does it for you — but it must happen again every time you move, and if you are staying in a private home the responsibility does not disappear. On the application form you declare your first address; the rest is handled as you go.
An e-visa is not permission to work. Anyone working in Vietnam needs a work permit, or written confirmation that they are exempt from needing one under the Labour Code — that is a separate process and it is not something the e-visa covers.
Some bars to entry are worth knowing in advance because no visa overrides them. A child under 14 cannot enter unaccompanied by a parent, guardian or authorised person. Forged documents or false information used to obtain entry documents bar you outright. So does having been deported within the last 3 years, or having been required to leave within the last 6 months.
Source: the Immigration Department
Each section names its source underneath it. Where a line came from the agent channel rather than the authority, or from a single filing, it says so on that line — those are not the same kind of fact and this page does not blur them.
Frequently asked questions
Vietnam visa from India — what documents are needed?
Only two things are uploaded: an image of your passport data page and a portrait photograph, 4 by 6 cm, JPG or JPEG, under 2 MB, front-facing with no hat or glasses on a white background. There is no bank statement, no employment letter and no invitation in this process. What takes the place of documents is the declaration itself — your trips in the past year, any previous violation history, and your first address in Vietnam — and the department says an application containing dishonest information will be refused.
Vietnam visa — where do I apply?
Online, on Vietnam's own portal, before you travel and from outside the country. There are exactly two official addresses — evisa.gov.vn and thithucdientu.gov.vn — and the department warns that unofficial look-alike pages charge unauthorised fees. It costs USD 25 for a single entry or USD 50 for multiple, paid on the portal, and it is not refunded if the visa is refused. Check that your passport outlasts the visa you want by at least 30 days before you start.
Can I print my visa documents from here?
Yes — print any document individually, print the whole set as one PDF, or print a blank checklist to tick off. For Vietnam the thing worth carrying on paper is the approved e-visa itself: you have to present it at the border, and a traveller in the department's own FAQ who failed to was admitted on the wrong basis.
Are my documents uploaded anywhere?
No. The checks, the merged PDF, the ZIP and printing all happen in your browser. Your passport and bank statements are never sent to any server.
A PDF was skipped when building.
Password-protected PDFs (like some bank statements) are no longer skipped — the pack asks for the password while it builds. A file is only skipped if the password was not given.