Last updated 17 October 2026 by the Ava Travel team in Hanoi, from the official government pages linked in each section. Visa rules change; check the official site for your passport before you apply.
The short answer, from Ava Travel's team in Hanoi: British, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Nordic, Japanese and Korean passport holders, plus 12 more European countries, can visit Vietnam without a visa for up to 45 days. Australians, Americans, Canadians, New Zealanders, Irish and most other nationalities need an e-visa, which you apply for yourself on the government website evisa.gov.vn: US$25 for single entry or US$50 for multiple entry, valid for up to 90 days. You do not need anything extra for a Halong Bay cruise, but the cruise needs your passport details. If your trip goes to Cambodia or Laos and comes back into Vietnam, get a multiple-entry e-visa and list the border you will use.
Do you need a visa for Vietnam? By passport
| Passport | What you need for a holiday | Longest stay | Official advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (British citizen) | Nothing: visa-free on arrival | 45 days | GOV.UK |
| Germany, France, Italy, Spain | Nothing: visa-free on arrival | 45 days | Your foreign ministry |
| Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden | Nothing: visa-free on arrival | 45 days | Your foreign ministry |
| Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland | Nothing: visa-free on arrival (temporary scheme until 14 August 2028) | 45 days | Your foreign ministry |
| Japan, South Korea | Nothing: visa-free on arrival | 45 days | Your foreign ministry |
| Australia | E-visa before you fly | Up to 90 days | Smartraveller |
| United States | E-visa before you fly | Up to 90 days | travel.state.gov |
| Canada | E-visa before you fly | Up to 90 days | travel.gc.ca |
| New Zealand, Ireland, India, Israel and most other countries | E-visa before you fly | Up to 90 days | Your foreign ministry |
| Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos | Nothing: visa-free on arrival | 30 days | Your foreign ministry |
Wherever you are from, your passport must be valid for at least 6 months after you arrive and have 2 blank pages, according to GOV.UK. Staying longer than 45 days on a visa-free passport? Apply for a 90-day e-visa before you fly: GOV.UK notes that an e-visa issued while you are already in Vietnam only starts after you leave and come back in.
How to apply for the e-visa, and how to spot fake sites
Vietnam's government asks visitors to apply only on evisa.gov.vn or thithucdientu.gov.vn, both run by the Ministry of Public Security. Many private websites copy their look, use "gov" inside a different address, and charge several times the US$25 government fee for the same visa. The official address ends in .gov.vn.
- Have ready: a scan of your passport photo page, a passport-style photo on a white background, your entry and exit dates, your first hotel address, and a card to pay.
- Choose single entry (US$25) if you arrive once and leave once, multiple entry (US$50) if you leave for Cambodia, Laos or Thailand and come back.
- Pick the airports and land borders you will actually use. The e-visa is only valid at the entry and exit points you choose on the form.
- Make the dates cover your whole trip, from arrival day to your flight home.
- Pay, keep the registration code, and check the status on the same website. Most visas arrive within a few working days; apply 2 to 3 weeks before you fly, and earlier around Tet (late January to February), when government offices close for about a week.
- Download the approved PDF and keep a printed copy with your passport. The fee is not refunded if the visa is refused.
The 5 mistakes Ava Travel sees most often
- Wrong port. The visa lists Hanoi airport, but the traveller flies into Da Nang or crosses from Cambodia by land.
- Single entry with a side trip. A trip to Angkor Wat in the middle ends a single-entry visa.
- Name order. The name must match the passport exactly, including middle names, in the same order.
- Dates too short. The visa ends the day before the flight home, or before the last cruise night.
- New passport. A visa in an expired passport is not valid; travel.gc.ca says it must be moved to the new one.
Do you need a visa for a Halong Bay cruise?
No separate visa. Halong Bay, Lan Ha Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay are inside Vietnam, so your e-visa or visa-free entry covers the cruise. But every overnight cruise registers its passengers with the port authority, so the cruise line asks for each guest's full name, nationality, date of birth, passport number and visa or visa-free expiry date before departure. When you book a cruise with Ava Travel, we collect these and pass them to the cruise line. Bring the original passport on board: hotels and cruises check it or copy it at check-in.
If you are on a 45-day visa-free stamp, make sure the cruise and your last night in Vietnam are inside the 45 days. Compare ships and prices on Ava Travel's Halong Bay cruise list.
Cambodia or Laos in the middle of your Vietnam trip
This is where most visa plans go wrong. The rule is simple: once you leave Vietnam, a single-entry e-visa is used up.
| Your passport | Vietnam, Cambodia, then back to Vietnam | What to get |
|---|---|---|
| Needs an e-visa (Australia, US, Canada, New Zealand...) | Single-entry e-visa ends when you cross into Cambodia | A multiple-entry Vietnam e-visa (US$50) with the border or airport you will use to come back |
| Visa-free 45 days (UK, Germany, France...) | You get a new visa-free stamp when you come back in; the border officer decides | Nothing extra in most cases. If you want certainty, a 90-day multiple-entry e-visa |
Cambodia sells its own e-visa on the official site evisa.gov.kh (US$30 for a 30-day tourist visa since January 2025). Laos has an official e-visa at laoevisa.gov.la, and also issues visas on arrival at its main airports; check the fee there. Popular crossings for a Vietnam and Cambodia trip are Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh by road (Moc Bai), the Mekong boat from Chau Doc, and flights to Siem Reap or Phnom Penh. Each one must be on your Vietnam e-visa if you re-enter there.
Visa on arrival, approval letters and fast track
Vietnam does not issue a walk-up visa on arrival for tourists. Some agencies still sell an "approval letter" that lets you collect a visa stamp at the airport, but it costs more than the e-visa and you still queue at the visa counter. For a holiday, the e-visa on evisa.gov.vn is simpler and cheaper. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City airports can have long immigration queues at peak times; a paid fast-track service at the airport skips part of the queue, but it is not a visa. Ava Travel sells Noi Bai airport fast track from $25 per traveller.
Children, longer stays and Phu Quoc
- Children need their own passport and, if their nationality needs one, their own e-visa.
- Longer than 90 days: apply for a visa at a Vietnamese embassy before you travel (travel.gc.ca).
- Phu Quoc only: visitors who fly straight to Phu Quoc from abroad can stay on the island up to 30 days without a visa. Travel on to the mainland and you need a normal visa or exemption.
What Ava Travel does about visas
You can apply yourself on evisa.gov.vn for the government fee. If you would rather not, or you need the visa quickly, Ava Travel can apply for you: US$40 for a standard single-entry e-visa, government fee included, with 2 working day, 1 working day and same day options. When you book a private tour or a cruise with Ava Travel, the standard service is free and we check your visa plan against your itinerary: single or multiple entry, the airports and borders on the form, and dates that cover your cruise and your last night. See how a tour fits together in our 2-week Vietnam itineraries and what a Vietnam trip costs for a couple.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a visa to visit Vietnam?
British, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Nordic, Japanese, Korean and 12 more European passports can stay up to 45 days without a visa. Australians, Americans, Canadians and most other nationalities need an e-visa from evisa.gov.vn, US$25 single entry or US$50 multiple entry, valid up to 90 days.
What is the official Vietnam e-visa website?
evisa.gov.vn, with thithucdientu.gov.vn as the Vietnamese-language version, both run by the Ministry of Public Security. Sites that charge more than US$25 or US$50 are private agencies.
How long does a Vietnam e-visa take?
Usually a few working days if you apply yourself. Ava Travel tells its travellers to apply 2 to 3 weeks before the flight, and earlier around Tet; if you are short on time, Ava Travel can get it in 2 working days, 1 working day or the same day.
Do I need a visa for a Halong Bay cruise?
No separate visa. Your Vietnam e-visa or visa-free stamp covers it, but the cruise line needs your passport details and visa expiry date before departure. Ava Travel collects these when you book a cruise.
Do I need a multiple-entry visa if I visit Cambodia from Vietnam?
Yes, if your passport needs a Vietnam e-visa and you come back into Vietnam. A single-entry e-visa ends when you leave. Get the US$50 multiple-entry e-visa and list the border or airport you will use to come back.
Can my tour company arrange my Vietnam visa?
Yes. Ava Travel applies for Vietnam e-visas for US$40 single entry including the US$25 government fee, with urgent options down to the same day, and the standard service is free for travellers who book a tour or cruise with us.
Five short steps. We reply within 1 hour with a priced private itinerary, and the standard e-visa service is free.
Plan a Vietnam trip with Ava TravelSources: evisa.gov.vn, thithucdientu.gov.vn, GOV.UK, Smartraveller, travel.state.gov, travel.gc.ca, evisa.gov.kh. Checked 17 October 2026.
