Vietnam visa in 2026: every option explained

Information current as of July 2026. Source: Vietnam Immigration Portal. Rules change often — always confirm on the official e-visa portal before you travel.

Disclaimer: this article is for general guidance and is not legal advice. Vietnam's visa rules are updated regularly — before travelling, check the current requirements on the official e-visa portal or with a Vietnamese embassy.

Visa-free entry — who qualifies

Whether you can skip the visa entirely comes down to your passport. As of 2026, citizens of around 30 countries enter Vietnam visa-free, and the allowance is not the same for everyone: most of Western Europe gets 45 days, several Asian neighbours 30, a handful 14 or 15. It covers the mainland and every island, whatever your reason for coming — a beach holiday, business meetings, visiting family. For the full list and how it plays out at the border, see our guide to visa-free entry to Vietnam.

One island runs its own scheme. Phu Quoc waives the visa for every nationality — US, Canadian and Australian passports included — for up to 30 days, as long as you fly or sail in directly from abroad, hold an onward ticket and stay on the island (more on the catches in the FAQ).

What you don't need

• A PCR test or vaccination certificate is not required (dropped back in 2022)
• Travel insurance is not officially mandatory, but we strongly recommend it
• A hotel booking is not checked, though it can be handy for the arrival card

The arrival card itself is now largely digital — if you are unsure what to fill in, our walk-through of the Vietnam arrival QR and entry form covers it screen by screen.

How the days are counted

Your arrival day counts as day one. Land on 1 March with a 45-day allowance and your last visa-free day is 14 April; on 15 April you must have left the country or hold a valid visa. If your allowance is 30 or 15 days, count from the same starting point.

At passport control things usually go smoothly: proof of funds, hotel bookings and printed itineraries are seldom asked for — a valid passport and an onward ticket are generally enough. If you want to know exactly what to show at the border and what occasionally trips people up, we cover it separately.

💬 "Cleared immigration at Tan Son Nhat with zero questions — no hotel booking, no onward ticket, no insurance. Stamp done in two minutes. The only wildcard is the queue: 40 minutes in January, ten in May." — traveller report, r/VietnamTravel, 2025

Can you extend the visa-free stay without leaving?

No. The visa-free window does not renew from inside the country. There are two ways to stay longer:

• Apply for an e-visa before your visa-free days run out
• Or do a visa run — leave and re-enter to reset the clock

Passport requirements for Vietnam

The core rule: your passport must be valid for at least 6 months on the date you enter. Not on the date you fly out of your home country — on the date you cross the Vietnamese border.

• Entering in March 2026 — passport valid at least until September 2026
• Entering in June 2026 — passport valid at least until December 2026
• Entering in December 2026 — passport valid at least until June 2027

Blank pages

You need at least 2 blank pages for the entry and exit stamps.

The e-visa for 90 days — step by step

You need an e-visa if you:

• Plan to stay longer than your visa-free allowance
• Want to enter and leave multiple times (multiple-entry visa)
• Are from a nationality with no visa-free entry at all

The e-visa lets you stay up to 90 days — and since August 2023 it is open to holders of every passport, single or multiple entry.

E-visa cost

A visa agency costs more, but it takes the whole process — and any payment headaches — off your plate:

How to apply for the e-visa yourself

1. Go to the official site evisa.gov.vn — beware of look-alike commercial sites that charge extra
2. Click "E-visa Issuance" → "Outside Vietnam" → "For foreigners"
3. Choose the visa type: single or multiple entry
4. Fill in the form: full name exactly as in your passport, date of birth, nationality, passport number, date of entry and port of entry
5. Upload two images: a portrait photo — 4x6 cm, white background, face forward, no glasses or headwear — and a scan of the passport data page
6. Pay the fee by card — Visa or Mastercard
7. Note down your Registration code — you need it to check the status
8. After 3 working days, check the status on the site. If approved, download the PDF and print it

Around 90% of correctly filled applications are approved within 3 working days, but a real wait of 5 to 7 days is common in high season (January–April, November–December).

💬 "Watch two fields: the 'Grand eVisa valid from' date is the earliest you can enter, and under 'Intended length of stay' change 30 to 90 or you get a one-month visa. Applications increasingly bounce back asking for host information." — applicant tips, r/VietnamTravel, 2025

Photo requirements

Paying the fee

The portal accepts Visa and Mastercard. A couple of things trip people up:

• UnionPay is not accepted from any country
• Some foreign cards get declined on the first try — a common quirk of the gateway

If your card bounces:

• Try a second card or a different browser — the payment step is temperamental and often works on the retry
• Use a visa agency — costs more ($45–155), but they take the payment and paperwork off your hands

💬 "Did the e-visa myself on evisa.gov.vn — the form took ten minutes and the visa landed in my inbox exactly three working days later. The one snag was the photo: it must be on a plain white background, mine got rejected the first time for a shadow." — traveller report, Tripadvisor Vietnam forum, 2025

Visa runs — how to extend your stay

A visa run means leaving Vietnam for a neighbouring country and coming straight back. On re-entry, your visa-free allowance starts over. Here is the short version; for routes, border-crossing tips and whether it is still worth it, we have a full Vietnam visa run guide.

Popular visa-run destinations

• Cambodia — the most popular option. From Ho Chi Minh City the border is about 3 hours by bus
• Laos — handy if you are in northern Vietnam
• Thailand — if you want to fold the run into a short break

Cost of a visa run

Visa run or e-visa: which to choose

How many visa runs can you do?

Formally, no limit. You can leave and come back the next day. But frequent in-and-out trips can prompt questions at immigration — keep an onward ticket and proof of accommodation to hand.

💬 "A visa run through Mộc Bài from Ho Chi Minh City cost about $80: bus $12 each way, Cambodian visa $36 at the border, plus food. Left at 6am, back by 3pm. The one downside — the Cambodian visa fills a whole passport page, so after three runs I'd lost three pages." — experienced-traveller tip, r/VietnamTravel, 2025

The budget routes are into Cambodia via Mộc Bài, or into Laos on a sleeper bus from Nha Trang. Bear in mind: the Cambodian visa takes a full passport page, so frequent runs burn through pages fast.

Overstay fines

Since 15 December 2025, Decree 282/2025/ND-CP has roughly doubled the ceiling on visa penalties. The fine scales with how far over you are, and even one day counts:

• Under 16 days — 500,000 to 2,000,000 VND (~$20 to ~$80)
• 16 to 30 days — 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 VND (~$200 to ~$380)
• Longer overstays climb in steps up to the new cap of 40,000,000 VND (~$1,600)

You pay in cash at the airport on your way out, and you will not be let through until you do. If you cannot pay, immigration can deport you on the spot. Better to sort it before it comes to that — see how to extend your stay from inside Vietnam.

Fines are set by Decree 282/2025/ND-CP, effective 15 December 2025. Confirm the current figures on the official immigration portal.

Long-term visas — work, business and residence

Ninety days is the ceiling on tourist-style entry. Past that you are into work, business or residence territory, and each one hangs on a sponsor — an employer, a company invitation or family. None of them is something you can just buy online.

Work visa

A work visa is arranged by your Vietnamese employer through the provincial labour department. Without a Work Permit you cannot work legally — and there are fines for both the worker and the employer.

Business visa

Issued on an invitation from a Vietnamese company. It lets you conduct business, attend meetings and conferences, and lasts up to a year. A business visa does not grant the right to take up employment.

Residence card (TRC)

A temporary residence card (TRC) is issued for 2 years or more and lets you enter and leave Vietnam freely without limit. It is granted through the immigration authority on qualifying grounds: work, family or investment. For the terms, documents and cost, see our guide to the Vietnam residence card.

Permanent residence

Permanent residence in Vietnam is hard but possible. The grounds:

• Marriage to a Vietnamese citizen
• Major investment in the economy
• Special service to the state

Most expats follow the chain: e-visa → work visa → residence card. If you are aiming all the way, our guide to permanent residence in Vietnam covers who actually qualifies.

Visas in the pipeline

Vietnam is preparing several new visa types that may appear in 2026–2027:

• Golden visa — for investors, 5 to 10 years with a path to permanent residence
• Talent visa — for highly skilled professionals and digital nomads
• DTV (Digital Talent Visa) — for remote workers
• Retirement visa — under discussion, not yet adopted

None of these was officially live as of mid-2026. Watch for updates — we refresh this article monthly.

Visa rules by nationality

Entry rules turn entirely on your passport. Here is how the main groups stand in 2026 — always confirm your own on the official portal, since allowances shift.

Visa-free nationalities

Around 30 countries get a visa-free window, but the length varies. Most Western European passports (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and others) get 45 days. Several Southeast Asian neighbours get 30 days, and a handful of nationalities 14 or 15 days. If you plan to stay longer than your allowance, apply for an e-visa before you fly.

Nationalities with no visa-free entry

Big passports like the US, Canada and Australia currently get no visa-free entry — you must arrange an e-visa in advance through evisa.gov.vn. The process is identical for everyone, and the 90-day e-visa is open to all passports. One exception worth knowing: you can still fly straight to Phu Quoc and get 30 days visa-free there, no e-visa needed, as long as you stay on the island and do not head to the mainland.

Vietnam customs rules

You fill in a customs declaration on arrival. The limits below are generous enough that most travellers never think about them, but a few catch people out.

Duty-free allowance

Declaring currency

• Foreign currency over $5,000 must be declared on entry
• You can take out no more than you declared
• Vietnamese dong (VND) over 15,000,000 must also be declared

Electronics (laptops, cameras, phones) are technically declarable on entry. In practice it is a formality for tourists, but undeclared gear can be charged duty on exit — keep receipts for big-ticket items.

What you cannot bring in

• Weapons, ammunition, explosives
• Narcotics and psychotropic substances
• Pornographic material
• Fireworks and pyrotechnics

Travelling with children

Documents for a child

• Their own passport — every child needs one, whatever their age
• The child's own e-visa if their nationality is not visa-free — issued separately and costing the same ($25/$50)

Special cases

• Different surnames for the child and the accompanying parent — carry the birth certificate (ideally a notarised translation)
• One parent travelling — a notarised consent letter from the other parent is recommended. Vietnam rarely asks for it, but your home-country border control might on departure
• The child's e-visais applied for separately, same process and price as an adult's

FAQ

Do I need a visa for Vietnam?

It depends on your passport. Citizens of about 30 countries enter visa-free for 15 to 45 days. Everyone else needs an e-visa, which any nationality can now get for up to 90 days at evisa.gov.vn for $25. Processing takes 3 working days, up to 7 in high season, so apply at least three weeks before you fly.

How much does a Vietnam visa cost?

The cheapest route is a single-entry e-visa for $25 on the official site evisa.gov.vn. A multiple-entry e-visa is $50 and only worth it if you plan to leave and re-enter (say, a visa run to Cambodia and back). Agencies charge $45–155 but handle the paperwork and payment for you.

What passport do I need for Vietnam?

Any regular passport works, but check three things before you book: 1) it must be valid at least 6 months from your date of entry, not your date of departure; 2) it needs at least 2 blank pages; 3) children need their own passport. Vietnam does not enforce an onward ticket in practice, but keep one handy.

Can any nationality get a Vietnam e-visa?

Yes. Since August 2023 Vietnam issues the e-visa to holders of all passports for stays of up to 90 days, single or multiple entry. You apply online, upload a photo and passport scan, pay by card and get a PDF in about 3 working days.

How do I pay for the Vietnam e-visa?

The official portal takes Visa and Mastercard. UnionPay is not accepted, and payments occasionally fail with foreign cards, so try a second card or a different browser if the first attempt bounces. If your card will not go through at all, a visa agency can process the application for you for a fee.

How many times can I do a visa run in Vietnam?

Formally there is no limit, but there are practical catches: 1) each Cambodian visa fills a whole passport page, so after 3 or 4 runs you run out of pages; 2) frequent in-and-out trips draw questions at immigration, so keep an onward ticket and accommodation booking; 3) do the maths — one run costs $50–150, while a 90-day e-visa is just $25.

What happens if I overstay my Vietnam visa?

You pay the fine in cash at the border when you leave, and you will not be let out without paying. If you overstay by 1 to 2 days, go to the nearest Immigration Office, explain and pay on the spot. Over 16 days can mean deportation. Do not try to slip out quietly — the system records your entry date and the fine is charged at the border anyway.

Do I need a visa for Phu Quoc?

Not necessarily. Phu Quoc has its own 30-day visa exemption open to every nationality — handy if your passport gets no visa-free entry to the mainland. To use it you must fly or sail in directly from abroad, hold an onward ticket, stay 30 days or fewer, and not cross to the mainland. Land at Ho Chi Minh City first, or plan a mainland leg, and the nationwide rules apply instead: visa-free if your passport qualifies, otherwise an e-visa. One more thing — the island has no immigration office for extensions, so watch your dates.

Can I work in Vietnam without a visa?

Legally, no — you need a Work Permit. In practice thousands of remote workers stay on the visa exemption or an e-visa. The risks: a check can bring a fine and deportation, and income paid into a Vietnamese account attracts the tax office. The safe pattern is to work for foreign clients, get paid to a foreign account and not register a business in Vietnam. Vietnam is preparing a Digital Talent Visa — watch for updates in 2026–2027.

Do I need travel insurance to enter Vietnam?

Not for entry, but going without it is a gamble. A day in an international clinic runs $240–800, a broken arm $2,000–5,000 and a helicopter evacuation upwards of $15,000. Pick a policy that covers motorbike riding if you plan to rent one — most standard plans exclude it unless you hold a valid licence.

Key takeaways

1. Visa-free entry depends on your passport — 15 to 45 days for about 30 nationalities
2. The 90-day e-visa is $25 and open to every passport — the go-to if you need more time
3. Passport valid ≥ 6 months — check before you buy tickets
4. Pay by Visa or Mastercard — UnionPay is not accepted; have a backup card ready
5. Overstay fines rosein December 2025 — don't risk it, watch your dates
6. Apply for the e-visa on evisa.gov.vn only — avoid the look-alike commercial sites

Information current as of July 2026. Visa rules change — before travelling, check the latest on the official Vietnam e-visa portal or with a Vietnamese embassy in your country.