There are three international airports where foreigners can enter Vietnam: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang. Before foreigners can enter the country through these airports, they need to obtain a Vietnam Visa. A Vietnam Visa is required for most foreigners to gain access to enter and exit Vietnam. Visitors to the country should know the cost of a visa.
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It is advised that travelers arrange their Vietnam Visa before they depart. This can be done by applying online for the Approval Letter first. The letter will be sent via email and then get Visa Stamped on their passports at Vietnam Airports when they arrive. This is called Vietnam Visa On Arrival or VOA.
A VOA is not a full visa. Instead, it is a situation where the person purchasing the VOA employs an agent before they arrive in Vietnam to obtain an official letter of approval presented at the VOA counter when they land.
Single-entry visas are available for two different time frames. They are available for 30 day and 90 day periods. This costs a $45 USD fee for either period. A multiple-entry visa for less than 30 days costs a $65 USD fee. For 30 days or more, a multiple-entry visa costs a $95 USD fee. Visas valid for six months or longer cost $135 USD.
The passport will include a full visa for multiple- and single-entry visas. Agents will ask travelers to state their present nationality, as this is part of the application process. Fees charged by VOA agents can be as little as $9 USD, but can be higher depending on the agent and visa type.
Some tour operators and travel agents offer cut-price VOAs approval letter fees in hopes that people book tours with them. A three month multiple-entry visa is subject to various restrictions. People should check if they can get a visa for the required dates before entering and exiting from Vietnam.
Transferring validity of visas or temporary residence from an expired passport to a new passport costs $15 USD. A temporary residence card costs various amounts depending on how long people want to visit. A card valid for up to a year costs $80 USD. Valid for between a year and two years costs $100 USD. Cards valid for over two years and three years cost $120 USD.
There are a few exceptions for the Vietnam Visa. Citizens of Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Laos do not need a visa for visits of 30 days maximum. Citizens of the Philippines do not need a visa if visiting for 21 days maximum. No visa is needed for citizens of Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, and Finland for 15 days at maximum.
Citizens of France holding valid diplomatic or official passports for visits of 90 days at the maximum 베트남밤문화 or several visits of six months at the maximum do not need a Vietnam Visa. Citizens of Chile have the same rules as French citizens, except they cannot have several visits over six months.
Citizens of Brunei need no visa is visiting for 14 days at the maximum. APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) Holders from the Asia-Pacific Economic Corporations (APEC) member economies do not need a Vietnam Visa for visits of 60 days at the maximum.
For those traveling to Phu Quoc Island - Vietnam, there are special rules. Foreigners and Vietnamese nationals bearing foreign passports will be granted Vietnam Visa exemption with the following conditions. They must enter Vietnam through an international border gate and then must travel to Phu Quoc Island and stay on the island for less than 15 days.
Passports must be valid for at least 45 days for travelers going to Phu Quoc Island. After arriving on the island, if visitors want to travel to other localities or stay on the island for more than 15 days, the immigration department will be responsible for issuing a visa on the spot.
During 25 years of service with the U.S. Navy I found myself being stationed in many different areas and the living conditions for the family was always a major concern. It was during my assignment to Vietnam that I had to leave the living conditions up to my family. The only thing I could do was to relocate my family to my home town in Oil City, Pennsylvania then I went to San Diego for pre-deployment training before going to Vietnam.
I know I was only one of many who had to serve in Vietnam. A difference for me was that I was assigned within the intelligence service and had some control over where in Vietnam I would be assigned. When I arrived in country I attended a standard briefing and most of the servicemen that were also arriving in country were told where they would be serving. That left about 4 of us in the intelligence service and we had a chance to choose our area. I choose the delta and operated out of Cat Lo. The nice thing about Cat Lo was that it is located near Vung Tau. I had an office located at the airport and served along with 2 officers. This was a very secure area but any travel outside of this area could be very dangerous. Our main mission was to try to determine arms movement within the delta.
The most devastating experience was that we lost our officer in charge, Lieutenant Commander Jack Graff. He, along with his pilot of a light observation plane, Captain White, were shot down while flying over the delta and captured by the Viet Cong. There were many attempts to rescue Jack and we used our Vietnamese human intelligence network to try to locate the POW camp. This net provided some information but by the time the seals checked out a suspected area the camp would have been moved. Many years later I found out that Jack had escaped from a POW camp but I believed he drowned in his attempt.
During my year in-country a lot of my time was spent analyzing intelligence data and plotting suspected targets. At times I traveled by jeep, helicopter, and river patrol boat and also served with the Vietnamese junk force. At one point I even flew with Air America. I am very thankful that for the most part I operated in a relative safe area.
There were many servicemen who served in very dangerous areas of the country and many of them did not come back. I did cause and see death, but I am one of the lucky ones able to shake off the experience of being there. The only time I experience a flash back is when I hear a helicopter.