8 steps, in the order you meet them. Every step has a source and the month we read it, last updated October 2026. Rules change by government decision, so check the official portal again close to your date.
Ticks stay on this device only.
Passport, visa and flights
It must expire at least 6 months after the day you arrive.
It needs at least 2 blank pages and no damage. British travellers have been refused entry and exit over a damaged passport.
You must enter and leave Vietnam on the same passport.
Source: UK FCDO travel advice for Vietnam.
Choose your passport country and this step shows your own answer.
Holders of a valid passport from any country can apply, with a stay of up to 90 days.
Source: VnEconomy.
The official FAQ names two addresses for applying, evisa.gov.vn and thithucdientu.gov.vn, and warns that unofficial sites may charge unauthorised fees.
Paste the address of a site that asks you for money or a passport scan, and we compare it with the addresses the Vietnamese government names.
Nothing you type here is sent anywhere.
UK government advice says an e-visa restricts you to the entry and exit points you select when you apply. The official portal's FAQ adds that you do not have to leave through the gate you entered by, and that you must use an international border gate designated by the Government. Neither source says what happens if you enter at a different gate from the one on your application. UK advice also says that if you get an e-visa while you are already in Vietnam, you must leave and re-enter for it to start.
Source: UK FCDO travel advice for Vietnam, Vietnam National Electronic Visa system.
If you change from an international flight to a domestic flight in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City you must clear immigration and enter Vietnam, even if your final destination is outside Vietnam. Check with your airline before you book.
Source: UK FCDO travel advice for Vietnam.
The online declaration
Every foreign passport holder entering Vietnam by air has to complete an online pre-arrival declaration. It became mandatory at Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN) in Ho Chi Minh City on 15 April 2026, and a US Embassy notice dated 17 June 2026 says it now applies at all airports in Vietnam, to every international passenger who does not hold a Vietnamese passport.
You can complete it at prearrival.immigration.gov.vn up to three days before you arrive, or on arrival by QR code or paper form at the airport. Show the QR code it generates to immigration. It is separate from the visa. The notices we read cover airports only, and we have not found a rule for land or sea borders.
The FCDO page says travellers to or through Vietnam may be required to complete a health declaration, which may include proof of vaccination, from 1 July. It does not give the year, so check with the nearest Vietnamese embassy.
Source: US Embassy and Consulate in Vietnam, US Embassy and Consulate in Vietnam, UK FCDO travel advice for Vietnam.
Immigration in Vietnam
Your passport is stamped on entry with the date you must leave by. Check it is 45 days from your arrival date: immigration will not change it once you have left the airport or land border.
Source: UK FCDO travel advice for Vietnam.
Dates and exit rules
You cannot leave without a valid visa. If you overstay, the authorities can stop you leaving until you pay a fine, and you can be deported and refused entry in future.
Vietnamese authorities can place an exit ban on people involved in an investigation, including a civil matter or a road accident. Your passport can be held until the case is closed.
Source: UK FCDO travel advice for Vietnam.