Every Vietnam visa at a glance
Not sure where to start? Here's every Vietnam visa at a glance. Tap any row for the full rules and cost.
| Visa | Stay | Extend | Official fee | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visa-free | Up to 45 days (shorter for some) | No | Free | UK, listed EU states, Japan, Korea |
| E-visa | Up to 90 days | Rarely | US$25 / US$50 | Most visitors |
| Phu Quoc | 30 days on Phu Quoc | No | Free | Any nationality, island only |
| Visa on arrival | Up to 90 days | As granted | US$25 + agent | Urgent, air arrivals only |
| Business (DN) | Up to 1 year | Yes | Sponsor-arranged | Sponsored business stays |
| Investor (DT) | Up to 10 years | Yes | By investment | Long stays via investment |
| Work / residence | Up to 2 years (TRC) | Yes | Employer-arranged | Employed in Vietnam |
Heading only to Phu Quoc? The island has its own 30-day visa-free rule for every nationality, but only if you fly in directly and don't cross to the mainland. It's the "Phu Quoc" row below.
Visa-Free Entry (Visa Exemption)
Tourists from the UK, a set of European countries, Japan, South Korea and ASEAN
- Stay
- Up to 45 days (shorter for some)
- Official cost
- Free
Vietnam waives the visa entirely for a specific list of countries. The headline group, added in 2025, gets 45 days: the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Nordics and a number of central European states, plus Japan and South Korea. It covers both tourism and business, and you simply turn up with a passport valid for six months and get stamped in. It's a defined list rather than "all of Europe", so a few EU countries (Ireland, Portugal and Austria among them) are not included, which is worth checking before you rely on it.
The catch is that visa-free time is fixed. You cannot extend it in the country and can't convert it to another visa without leaving. If there's a real chance you'll stay past your free window, buy the 90-day e-visa before you fly instead, so you're not forced into a border run.
Who can enter visa-free Around 35 nationalities (stay length varies)
These are the current visa-free nationalities, grouped by how long you can stay. The 45-day group runs under Resolutions 44/NQ-CP and 229/NQ-CP, in force to 2028; it's a defined list rather than all of Europe, so a few EU countries (Ireland, Portugal and Austria among them) are not on it. If your nationality isn't shown here at all, you need the e-visa below.
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Hungary
- Italy
- Japan
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- Cambodia
- Indonesia
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Malaysia
- Singapore
- Thailand
- Philippines
- Brunei
- Myanmar
- Chile
- Panama
- Americans, Canadians and Australians are not on the list. US, Canadian and Australian passports get no visa-free entry to mainland Vietnam and need the e-visa below. (Any nationality can still do Phu Quoc visa-free, see that row.)
- 45 days is per entry, not per year. Leave and come back and the clock resets. Vietnam dropped the old rule that forced a 30-day gap between visa-free entries, so back-to-back visits are allowed again.
Last updated: 2026-07-22 · Source: Vietnam National Tourism
E-Visa (Electronic Visa)
Almost everyone not on the visa-free list, and anyone staying longer than 45 days
- Stay
- Up to 90 days, single or multiple entry
- Official cost
- US$25 / US$50
This is the visa most visitors use, and the single biggest search in Vietnam travel for a reason. It gives you up to 90 days for tourism or business, as either single or multiple entry, and it's issued entirely online with no embassy visit.
You apply at the official portal, evisa.gov.vn: create an account, upload a clear scan of your passport photo page and a passport-style photo, enter your planned entry date and port, pay by card, and the e-visa arrives as a PDF by email in about three working days. Print it and show it with your passport on arrival.
Choose your entry date carefully. Your stay is counted from the date you put on the form, and you can't enter before it, so an error there means buying a fresh visa. The port you nominate is more forgiving: the issued e-visa is accepted at any of the designated checkpoints, not only the one you picked. If you're unsure of your dates or want the freedom to pop over to Cambodia or Laos and come back, pay the extra US$25 for multiple entry.
Eligibility All nationalities
Open to every nationality since August 2023. You need a passport valid for at least six months with two blank pages. The e-visa is accepted only at Vietnam's designated international checkpoints (all the international airports, plus the main land and sea borders), and immigration publishes the official list, so check that your entry point is on it.
- Use the real site: evisa.gov.vn. The official portal moved from evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn in late 2024. Most of the sponsored results above it are middlemen charging two to four times the fee for the same government visa. If a site quotes more than US$25 for a single-entry e-visa, it isn't the government.
- The e-visa isn't valid at every crossing. It works at the designated checkpoints only. You aren't tied to the port you nominated, but a small local land border may not accept e-visas at all, so confirm yours is on the list before an overland trip from Cambodia or Laos.
Last updated: 2026-07-22 · Source: Vietnam Immigration (e-visa portal)
Phu Quoc Visa-Free (Island Only)
A beach trip to Phu Quoc island for any nationality, no visa needed
- Stay
- 30 days on Phu Quoc
- Official cost
- Free
Phu Quoc, Vietnam's big southern beach island, has its own exemption that the mainland doesn't. Any nationality can visit visa-free for up to 30 days, provided you fly in directly from abroad (or arrive by direct sea route) at Phu Quoc International Airport and stay on the island.
The moment you travel on to the mainland, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi or anywhere else, the exemption no longer applies and you need an e-visa or another visa. So it's genuinely useful for a pure island vacation, and irrelevant if Phu Quoc is one stop on a wider Vietnam trip.
Who qualifies Any nationality
Anyone can use it. What matters is how you arrive and where you stay, not your passport.
- The most common Phu Quoc mistake: a mainland connection kills the exemption. Flying Bangkok → Ho Chi Minh City → Phu Quoc does not count as arriving directly. The moment you land in Ho Chi Minh City you've entered Vietnam and need a visa. The exemption only works if you fly straight to Phu Quoc from abroad without clearing immigration on the mainland first.
Last updated: 2026-07-22 · Source: Vietnam National Tourism
Visa on Arrival (Approval Letter)
Last-minute air travelers when the e-visa is cutting it too fine
- Stay
- Up to 90 days
- Official cost
- US$25 + agent
Despite the name, you can't simply turn up. "Visa on arrival" here means you must first obtain a visa approval letter through a licensed agency before you board your flight; the agency arranges it with the immigration department, you carry it to the airport, and the visa is stamped into your passport on landing. Arriving with nothing arranged is not an option.
For almost everyone the e-visa has replaced it, since the e-visa is simpler, official and cuts out the middleman. Where visa on arrival still earns its keep is speed: if your e-visa is stuck in processing and you fly within a day or two, an agency can often issue a rush approval letter same-day.
How it works Air arrivals only
Arranged through a licensed travel agency, not the government portal. It only works at Vietnam's international airports, never at land or sea crossings.
- Airports only. Visa on arrival is not available at land borders with Cambodia, Laos or China. If you're crossing overland, you need an e-visa.
- Bring the exact stamping fee in clean US dollars. The government counter at the airport wants US$25 or US$50 cash on the day, on top of whatever you paid the agency.
Last updated: 2026-07-22 · Source: Vietnam Immigration
Business Visa (DN1 / DN2)
Longer stays working with a Vietnamese company that will sponsor you
- Stay
- Up to 1 year
- Official cost
- Sponsor-arranged
When 90 days isn't enough and you have a business reason to be here, the DN business visa is the usual route. DN1 is for people working with a sponsoring Vietnamese entity, DN2 for treaty-based business activity. It runs up to a year and is renewable.
Important limit: a DN visa lets you attend to business, but it does not by itself authorize you to take a salaried job with a Vietnamese employer. That needs a work permit (below). Many longer-stay foreigners use the DN as the visa that sits under a work permit and, eventually, a residence card.
Requirements Needs a Vietnamese sponsor
Any nationality can hold one, but only with a registered Vietnamese company sponsoring the application. It's the sponsor, not your passport, that gates it.
- You need a real sponsor. There's no self-application version. If you don't have a Vietnamese company willing to sponsor you, this route isn't open, and successive 90-day e-visas are what most people fall back on.
Last updated: 2026-07-22 · Source: Vietnam Immigration
Investor Visa (DT1 to DT4)
People who want to base themselves in Vietnam for years and will invest in a business here
- Stay
- Up to 10 years
- Official cost
- By investment
This is the route for someone who wants to live in Vietnam long term and has the money to invest. The investor visa (DT, for đầu tư, "investment") is graded into four tiers by how much you put into a Vietnamese company, and the tier sets both the visa length and the residence card you can then hold.
DT1 (from around VND 100 billion, about US$3.8 million) can lead to a Temporary Residence Card of up to 10 years. DT2 (about VND 50 to 100 billion) reaches up to five years, DT3 (about VND 3 to 50 billion) up to three, and DT4 (under about VND 3 billion) is a one-year visa with no card, renewed annually.
In practice it's a business-migration route, so most people set it up with a Vietnamese lawyer or corporate-services firm alongside registering the investment. It's the closest thing Vietnam has to a "golden visa", but the investment has to be real and active.
Who qualifies Foreign investors in a Vietnamese company
Open to any nationality, but based on a genuine, active investment into a registered Vietnamese business, not a passive bank deposit or a property purchase. The more you invest, the longer the stay and the residence card.
- No passive "money in the bank" version. Unlike some neighbors, Vietnam has no visa you can get just by parking a deposit or buying property, and no retirement visa either. A separate 10-year "golden visa" has been proposed but is not yet available.
Last updated: 2026-07-22 · Source: Vietnam Immigration
Work Permit & Temporary Residence Card
Foreigners taking a job in Vietnam and settling for a year or more
- Stay
- Up to 2 years (TRC)
- Official cost
- Employer-arranged
To legally work for a Vietnamese employer you need a work permit (giấy phép lao động), which your employer sponsors on the basis of your qualifications and experience. The work permit underpins an LĐ work visa.
Once you hold a work permit or are married to a Vietnamese citizen, you can apply for a Temporary Residence Card (TRC), valid up to two years and renewable, which lets you live in Vietnam without buying a fresh visa each time. Note that in 2026 immigration tightened the rules, so e-visa and business-visa holders generally have to formally change their visa purpose before a residence card is granted.
Who can apply Any nationality with a local employer
Open to any nationality, but only through a sponsoring Vietnamese employer that arranges the work permit; it's the job, not the passport, that gates it.
- There is no digital-nomad visa. Vietnam has no remote-work visa like Thailand's DTV. Many digital nomads use successive 90-day e-visas with the occasional border run, which is a gray area: a tourist or e-visa does not authorize work for a Vietnamese company.
Last updated: 2026-07-22 · Source: Vietnam Immigration
Overstaying and fines
Don't overstay your Vietnam visa. Short overstays are normally settled with a fine before you leave, but longer ones get serious fast, and the exact amounts change, so treat the figures you see online as a guide, not gospel.
- A short overstay of a day or two is usually handled at the airport: you pay a fine and are issued an exit visa before you fly.
- Longer overstays bring much higher fines and can lead to deportation and a re-entry ban of one to five years.
- Extend or leave before you expire, not after. Tourist-visa extensions are limited and expensive, so if you're near the limit it's usually cheaper and simpler to do a visa run and re-enter on a fresh e-visa.
Heading to Vietnam?
Get our travel tips before you go: the visa rules that keep changing, the money traps, and the scams to sidestep.
Frequently Asked Questions
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How much does the Vietnam e-visa cost?
US$25 for a single-entry e-visa and US$50 for multiple entry, paid by card on the official portal at evisa.gov.vn. That flat government fee is the entire cost. Third-party sites resell the same visa for US$50 to US$100+, so it's worth applying on the official site yourself.
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Do US citizens need a visa for Vietnam?
Yes. US passport holders are not on Vietnam's visa-free list, so you need an e-visa for the mainland: US$25 single entry, up to 90 days, applied for online at evisa.gov.vn. The one exception is Phu Quoc island, which any nationality can visit visa-free for 30 days if arriving directly.
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How long can I stay in Vietnam without a visa?
It depends on your passport. The UK, a specific list of European countries, Japan and South Korea get 45 days visa-free (it's a defined list, so a few EU countries such as Ireland, Portugal and Austria are not on it). Most ASEAN nationals get 30 days, the Philippines 21 and Brunei and Myanmar 14. Americans, Canadians and Australians get none for the mainland and need an e-visa, though any nationality can visit Phu Quoc island visa-free for 30 days.
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What's the official Vietnam e-visa website?
evisa.gov.vn (also reachable at thithucdientu.gov.vn). It replaced the older evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn address in late 2024. Almost every other site selling a "Vietnam e-visa" is a third party charging a markup on the very same government visa, so apply on the official portal.
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How long is the Vietnam e-visa valid?
Up to 90 days, as either single or multiple entry. Multiple entry (US$50) lets you leave to Cambodia or Laos and come back within the 90 days; single entry (US$25) is one entry only. Your stay is counted from the entry date you put on the application.
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How long does the Vietnam e-visa take to process?
About three working days for a standard e-visa, though it can take longer around Vietnamese public holidays and in peak season. Apply at least a week before you travel to be safe. If you're caught short, licensed agencies offer faster paid processing, and the visa-on-arrival approval-letter route can sometimes be arranged the same day.
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What are the Vietnam e-visa photo requirements?
A recent color photo in passport style: 4x6 cm, plain white background, face square to the camera, no glasses or hat and a neutral expression, taken within the last six months. You upload it as a digital file alongside a clear scan of your passport photo page. The usual reasons for rejection are a non-white background, wearing glasses, or a blurry passport scan.
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Can I enter Vietnam before or after my e-visa start date?
You can't enter before it, but you can arrive after. The entry date you put on the application is fixed once the e-visa is issued, and turning up earlier counts as arriving without a valid visa, so you'd need a new one. Arriving later is fine and needs no reapplication, but the validity window doesn't move, so you simply lose the days between your registered date and your actual arrival.
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Which border crossings accept the Vietnam e-visa, and can I change my entry port?
The e-visa is accepted at Vietnam's designated international checkpoints, which cover all the international airports plus the main land and sea borders, and immigration publishes the official list. You aren't locked to the port you nominated on the form, so you can enter at a different designated checkpoint. Just check that a smaller land crossing (say from Cambodia or Laos) actually accepts e-visas before you rely on it.
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Do I need to print my Vietnam e-visa?
Airlines and immigration usually accept either a printed or a digital copy, but carrying a printed copy is still the safe move in case your phone battery dies or staff ask for a paper version. Keep it with your passport.
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Can I extend my Vietnam visa?
Tourist e-visa extensions are possible in limited situations but are expensive and uncommon, and usually need a local agent. Most travelers who want more time simply leave to a neighboring country and re-enter on a fresh e-visa, which is generally cheaper and more reliable than an extension.
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Is there a Vietnam digital nomad visa?
No. Vietnam has no dedicated digital-nomad or remote-work visa. Many digital nomads use successive 90-day e-visas with the occasional border run. That's a gray area, since an e-visa doesn't authorize working for a Vietnamese company; formal employment needs an employer-sponsored work permit.
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Does Vietnam have a retirement visa?
No. Unlike Thailand, Vietnam has no dedicated retirement visa based on age or pension income. Retirees who want to stay long term usually rely on successive 90-day e-visas with border runs, a family visa if they're married to a Vietnamese citizen, or the investor visa if they put money into a Vietnamese business. A 10-year "golden visa" has been proposed but isn't available yet.
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Can I get long-term residency in Vietnam by investing?
Yes, through the investor (DT) visa, which is tiered by how much you invest in a Vietnamese company. The top tier, around VND 100 billion (roughly US$3.8 million), can lead to a temporary residence card valid up to 10 years; smaller investments give shorter stays. It has to be a genuine, active business investment, though, not a passive bank deposit or a property purchase.
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What happens if I overstay my Vietnam visa?
A short overstay of a day or two is normally settled at the airport with a fine and an exit visa before you fly. Longer overstays bring much higher fines and can lead to deportation and a re-entry ban of one to five years. The exact amounts change and aren't always applied consistently, so the safe move is simply not to overstay.