Vietnam entry requirements: Get ready for your trip

You should travel to Vietnam, if you want to see a beautiful country with rich culture and history and scenic views. There is so many things to do in Vietnam and so many ways to go about it. Travel shows have often spent time to show the incredible sights along the Ha Long Bay and Mekong Delta and in the heights of the Ba Na Hills and Marble Mountains. But seeing those with your own eyes is an experience in itself. So if you want to go to Vietnam, you need to prepare and get to know all of Vietnam entry requirements and Vietnam travel tips.

Requirements to visit Vietnam

Passport for Vietnam

Travelling abroad to any foreign country, no matter where you’re coming from, requires a passport. If you have one, here are a few credentials you will need to check up on to make sure it will pass through Vietnamese customs:

• It must be valid 6 months after the intended date of arrival to the country
• It must not have any damage
• It must not have any infringing violations that prohibit international travel by air, land or sea

Visas for Vietnam

Travel visas make staying in another country legal. You must obtain one before departing to the country from a local embassy or consulate in your place of residence. They can also be processed online, they are digitally attached to your passport. Some countries may allow you to travel without a visa, but this is not the case for Vietnam: you will need to apply for a visa to be granted entry into the country.

Check if your nationality is eligible to apply for the Vietnam visa online.

Electronic visa

• Single-entry tourism for stays up to 30 days.
• Multiple-entry tourist visa for stays up to 90 days.
• Holders of an e-visa can go directly to the immigration counters and do not need to queue at the destination airport.
• Can be obtained via Visagov.

Visa on arrival

• Those intending on staying longer or needing a multi entry-visa will have to obtain a Visa On Arrival instead of the electronic one.
• You can get it once you arrive at the airport at one of the Visa On Arrival desks.
• Requirements: personal photo with white background and no glasses; visa form, and letter of approval from VNM embassy or consulate.

Visa-free countries

Not many, but there are some visa-free countries allowing you to travel only using your passport. However the visit is limited by certain number of days and if you wish to stay longer, you will need to obtain the visa anyway.

• 14 days for Brunei, Myanmar.
• 15 days for South Korea, Japan, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Belarus. This will be valid only until the 14. 3. 2025.
• 21 days for Philippines.
• 30 days for Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos.

Vietnam PC-COVID app

Downloading the PC-COVID app is no longer a Vietnam entry requirement. It is no longer mandatory the use of this tracking app for COVID-19. 

Vaccines as a Vietnam travel requirement

Vietnam is a very different environment for many travellers, a combination of tropics, jungles and marshland which can expose you to certain diseases. Additionally, certain medication or treatment may be difficult to find in Vietnam in case of emergency.

Poeple coming from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission are required to have yellow fever vaccination. There are also other recommended vaccines such as Hepatitis A and B, Tetanus-Polio, Typhoid Fever and Japanese Encephalitis and Influenza.

It is highly recommended, when packing, to think forward on certain contamination vectors such as water, airborne and animals, mainly mosquitoes. Be sure to bring insect repellent, sunscreen, paracetamol or other generic anti-biotics, and diarrhea treatment medicine for emergencies. 

Travel insurance for Vietnam

When interacting with different environments or cultures there are many potential things that can go wrong, and mitigating the potential of those things happening is the key deal that insurance offers.

All travellers are required to have either up to date medical insurance with international policies or travellers insurance including the coverage of COVID-19 treatment. The minimum coverage should be $10,000 USD.