Vietnam Visa Approval Letter: What It Is and How to Check It

A Vietnam visa approval letter is the pre-approval you get online before you fly when you choose visa on arrival. It is not the visa: the visa is stamped in your passport at the airport. This page explains what the letter is, how it differs from an e-visa, how to check it when it arrives, how to use it on the day you fly and what to do if it has a mistake. If you would rather skip the letter and 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.

Approval letter at a glance:

What is a Vietnam visa approval letter?

A visa approval letter is a document, issued by the Vietnam Immigration Department, that says you may be given a visa when you land. You order it online with your passport details, arrival date and arrival airport, and it reaches you by email.

People also call it a pre approval letter or an arrival letter. The name differs from site to site, but the document does the same job. You need it before you board, because the airport will not stamp a visa without it.

Approval letter vs visa and e-visa

The approval letter is not a visa. It lets you collect one at the airport, while an e-visa is already the visa, approved before you travel.

If you have an e-visa, you do not need an approval letter. The reverse holds too: a letter alone does not let you enter. For the full comparison, read e-visa vs visa on arrival. The e-visa follows Law 23/2023/QH15 (checked October 2026).

How to check your approval letter

Check every line of the letter against your passport on the day it arrives, because a mismatch can stop you at the airline desk. It takes two minutes.

A letter covers up to 20 people. Everyone on it should check their own line. Your passport must also be valid for at least 6 months from your entry date, with two blank pages, and no letter fixes a passport that is too short.

Using the letter on the day you fly

Print the letter and carry it with your passport. Airlines may ask for it at check-in, and you show it again at the visa counter after you land. A phone screen can fail you at the worst time.

Land at the airport named on the letter. The letter works for air arrivals only, so a land border or a seaport needs an e-visa instead. After the counter you pay the stamping fee, $25 for single entry or $50 for multiple entry, and then go to immigration. Our airport procedure guide walks through the counter. If you order close to your flight, the short-notice letter page lists the cut-off times.

What to do if the letter has a mistake

Write to us as soon as you find the mistake, at [email protected] or on WhatsApp at +84 879 932 635 (8:00 to 21:00, GMT+7). Say which line is wrong and send a photo of your passport page.

What happens next depends on the cause:

• The mistake is ours: We issue a new letter free of charge.
• The mistake came from the details you entered: A new application with full fees is needed.

If we receive no error report within a week of delivery, we treat the details as correct, so check the letter on arrival rather than at the airport. For corrections to an e-visa, see how to correct a Vietnam visa.

Ready to order? Use our visa on arrival service. Prefer one payment and no counter? Apply for your e-visa.