Vietnam Visa on Arrival Procedure: Step by Step at the Airport

The Vietnam visa on arrival procedure has four steps at the airport: go to the visa counter before immigration, hand over your documents, pay the stamping fee, and collect the visa stamped in your passport. You need the approval letter in hand before you board. This page covers how to get a visa on arrival in Vietnam once you land: the steps, what to bring, the NA1 form and photos, the fee, and what to do about the wait. The wider picture is on our visa on arrival page, and if you want to skip the counter you can apply for your e-visa.

eVisaVietnam.com is a private visa service operated by TK VIET NAM., JSC, not the Vietnamese government. You can apply yourself at evisa.gov.vn for US$25.

Airport procedure at a glance:

How does the Vietnam visa on arrival procedure work at the airport?

You do the visa on arrival at an airport in four steps, in this order. The counter comes before the immigration line, not after it.

1. Land at the airport on your letter. The letter is issued for the airport you chose, so arrive there.
2. Go to the visa counter. Follow the airport signs for visa on arrival, and join that line before immigration.
3. Hand over your documents. An officer checks the letter, your passport, the form and the photos.
4. Pay the stamping fee and collect the visa. Wait for your name, pay, and check the stamp before you leave the counter.

Then you join the immigration line with the visa in your passport. We cover visa on arrival for four airports: Noi Bai in Hanoi, Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Cam Ranh. The counter layout differs between them, and we do not describe the exact position here, so follow the airport signs.

What to bring to the visa counter

Bring five things, and keep them together in one folder you can reach without opening your luggage.

Check the name and passport number on the letter before you leave home. A mistake found at the counter is much harder to fix than one found a week earlier.

The NA1 form and photos

The NA1 form is the Vietnamese visa application form. The Ministry of Public Security's NA1 form, issued under Circular 04/2015/TT-BCA, says each person completes one form and submits it with the passport at the international border checkpoint where the visa is issued.

The Vietnam visa on arrival photo rules sit in the form's notes, which ask for two recently taken photos, 4x6 cm, on a white background, facing the camera, head uncovered, without tinted glasses. One photo goes on the form and one is loose. Complete the form before you fly rather than at the counter, and print the photos at the right size. Children included in your passport go in section 18 of the form.

Paying the stamping fee

The stamping fee is $25 for a single-entry visa and $50 for a multiple-entry visa, and you pay it at the airport, not to us. It is separate from the service fee for the letter, which you paid when you ordered. Our visa on arrival page lists both payments.

We cannot confirm which currencies and cards the counter accepts, and it can differ between airports. Ask your airline or the airport before you travel, and carry cash as a precaution. Keep the receipt the officer gives you.

Waiting time and how to save time

We do not quote a waiting time for the counter, because it depends on how many flights land together. Expect a longer wait when several international flights arrive at once, and on public holidays. Two habits shorten it: have the form filled and the photos ready, and keep the letter on paper.

Fast track helps with the arrival steps at the airport, such as the Hanoi service described on our Noi Bai fast track page. It does not issue your visa, so you still need the letter and the stamping fee. If you want to know what the escort covers at the visa counter, ask us on WhatsApp at +84 879 932 635 (8:00 to 21:00, GMT+7) before you book.

Ready to order the letter? Use our visa on arrival service. Prefer no counter and one payment? Read e-visa vs visa on arrival or apply for your e-visa.