Vietnam visa process is turning into a nightmare!!

I am going to Vietnam at the end of August to take an AMAWaterways cruise starting in Cambodia and ending in Ho Chi Mihn city. I am confused about the information I have been given. I have a travel agent who set up the cruise, but hasn't been helpful providing me information on how to get a Visa. I have another agent who set up the rest of the trip. He has been helpful, but I am concerned about the information I have been getting from him. He said we needed a Visa letter for Vietnam. However, what I have read on line is that these can only be used at airports. Will a Visa letter work if we cross into Vietnam on a cruise? Or do I need to go to the Vietnam Embassy to get a visa (luckily, I am close to Washington DC).

Totally agree with gnome12 about getting your Vietnam visa directly from the Vietnam Consulate if you live near Washington D C, San Fransvisco, or New York City.

You and I are in the same situation - starting river Cruise in Cambodia and arriving in Vietnam by ship. We definitely cannot use VOA (Visa On Arrival), and we must get a visa.

If you read the instructions for Visa On Arrival on the Consulate's website, you will see that VOA can only be obtained from one of the three major airports in Vietnam. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are two of these major airports.

Totally agree with gnome12 about getting your Vietnam visa directly from the Vietnam Consulate if you live near Washington D C, San Fransvisco, or New York City.

 

You and I are in the same situation - starting river Cruise in Cambodia and arriving in Vietnam by ship. We definitely cannot use VOA (Visa On Arrival), and we must get a visa.

 

If you read the instructions for Visa On Arrival on the Consulate's website, you will see that VOA can only be obtained from one of the three major airports in Vietnam. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are two of these major airports.

Thank you for the information. This is a bit frustrating, my travel agent is insisting VOA will be fine and he has already started that process. But, I have found nothing online that says you can use VOA at a land border. So, I think at least for my own piece of mind I will get the visa at the embassy.

I live in the Houston area and when we went to Vietnam, we just went to the Vietnamese Consulate in Houston. We did not use a third party service. We filled out the forms online and brought all the required documents. We received the visas with our passports the next day in the mail. They were very helpful at the consulate's office.

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This is my experience with applications for Vietnam and Cambodia visas.

I did not use a service company. I did it myself. I started by using an App to take our photos. There was a small cost for the App. I printed out the applications from the Embassy websites and I submitted the applications by mail.

I decided to use the Vietnam Embassy in Houston because I thought they would be less busy. I called them first to verify the correct amount for a single entry visa. I had the visa in less than 2 weeks. It doesn't matter where you live in the US I live in the Midwest.

By using the printed application, I could see that the photo was a good fit for the pboto box on the application.

I mailed the application to the Cambodian Embassy in Wash DC. I received the same prompt service. I did contact the Cambodian Embassy to make sure I paid the correct amount. We entered Cambodia by ship at Chau Doc.

I could have waited to get the visa for Vietnam at the airport in Hanoi. I wanted the satisfaction of having the visa ahead of time especially since we had a late evening arrival after very long flights.

Hope this helps

http://vietnamembassy-usa.org/sites/default/files/visaform_1.pdf

Worst Christmas ever was at the Hong Kong Airport trying to convince Vietnam air to let us fly to Hanoi even though his visa had the wrong dates of entry.

I decided to save money and apply for the visa myself. Got it back.. it looked fine but I didn't check the entry date carefully. My dates were correct but his, even though we we obviously married and traveling itogether his dates started with the date we were suppose to leave. Cathy Pacific insisted that Vietnam would not let my husband in the country with the wrong dates. Finally I cried (it was Christmas) and they let us on the flight. When we got to Hanoi it was a non issue.

My recommendation is use a Visa service. its $$$ but well worth it to avoid things like this.

I also found that nowhere did it tell me the cost of the visa. On the website I found the cost of shipping; US$25 for Canada Post and US$35 for Fedex, but nowhere did it tell me what I would be paying for the visa. Ultimately, the cost was US$149.35, which I am assuming included the shipping charge.

We just finished this process. I was expecting a charge of around $100 for two multi entry visas. I was shocked when I saw the charge of $350 CAD. At first I thought it was a mistake, so I called the embassy and was told this was accurate.

We just completed our Vietnam visa applications via email to the embassy in Ottawa. Filled out the form, attached that along with a copy of our passport, photos and visa charge form and sent it off. Did that on Sept 19th. On the 22nd was told they were done and being sent to us. Expect them to arrive today. Choose canada post and with the processing charge, delivery charge and USD exchange, cost for 2 was $228.53. We only needed single entry and was in no rush. Pretty pleased with how quick it was. Needed to get it one as Scenic was bugging our travel agent for the information. Just have to ensure information is all accurate.

We just completed our Vietnam visa applications via email to the embassy in Ottawa. Filled out the form, attached that along with a copy of our passport, photos and visa charge form and sent it off. Did that on Sept 19th. On the 22nd was told they were done and being sent to us. Expect them to arrive today. Choose canada post and with the processing charge, delivery charge and USD exchange, cost for 2 was $228.53. We only needed single entry and was in no rush. Pretty pleased with how quick it was. Needed to get it one as Scenic was bugging our travel agent for the information. Just have to ensure information is all accurate.

That seems fairly in line with my cost for one multi-entry visa.

Just got my Vietnam Visas! Had photos made at AAA. Since we were members at a certain level, they were free. They also knew the proper size. I filled out the application form on line and then printed it out. Then Fed Exed the form and our pictures to our friends in Houston, Texas who we will be traveling with. They took their passports and applications and our applications and photos to the Vietnamese Consulate in Houston. They left them for a week and came back and picked them up. They got their visas stamped in their passports and we got loose leaf visas since we did not have to send our passports. We flew into Houston for a visit with them and got our visas with no issues.

We are traveling on Uniworld in January and needed multiple entry visas. The cost was $135 per person. If you have friends or relatives in a town where there is a Consulate or Embassy, they can get them for you.

I just did a Vietnam visa last month for my upcoming travels. I did the online option which was very easy. My only issue I ran into was the photo upload. When I scanned my photo, it didn't seem very good quality. But they accepted it! We did our own passport photos through an online service but I would recommend just to go to one of the stores that does it as it saves some hassle.