Since 15 August 2023, Vietnam issues electronic visas (e-visas) to citizens of every country and territory, valid for up to 90 days and available as single-entry or multiple-entry. You apply online through the government's official e-visa portal, upload a photo and the data page of your passport, pay the fee online and, if approved, print the e-visa and show it with your passport when you arrive. The e-visa covers tourism, visiting family, short business trips and similar purposes; it is not a work visa and it does not by itself let you take a job in Vietnam.
For people planning a long stay, the e-visa is usually the first step rather than the whole answer. It gives you a legal, predictable window of up to three months to look at neighbourhoods, meet a prospective employer, or test whether a city suits you. What happens after those 90 days depends on your purpose, and later articles on this site deal with extensions, conversions and residence cards. This guide covers what the e-visa is, how the application really goes, and the small errors that cause most refusals and problems at the border. Rules and fees change, so treat this as orientation and confirm the current position on the official portal or with Vietnam's Immigration Department before you book anything you cannot cancel.
What changed in 2023, and why it matters for long stays
Before August 2023, Vietnam's e-visa was limited to a list of eligible nationalities and lasted at most 30 days with a single entry. Anyone staying longer either relied on a visa arranged through a sponsoring company or travel agent, or left and came back. The amendment to the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, passed by the National Assembly in June 2023 and in force from 15 August that year, changed three things at once: the e-visa was opened to all nationalities, its maximum length rose to 90 days, and multiple-entry e-visas became possible.
For someone thinking about Vietnam as a second home, this is a large shift. Three months is long enough to rent a short-term apartment, register children for a trial at a school, or interview in person with employers. A multiple-entry e-visa also lets you leave for a few days, for a family event or a business trip to Bangkok or Singapore, and come back on the same visa without starting a new application.
The change did not create a long-term visa for retirees, remote workers or anyone else. The e-visa is still a short-stay document. People who want to stay for years eventually need a visa and status that match a recognised purpose, such as employment with a work permit, investment, or family ties to a Vietnamese citizen. Keeping that distinction clear from the start saves a lot of frustration later.
Single-entry or multiple-entry: choosing the right one
The application asks you to choose between single and multiple entry, and to give the dates the visa should cover. The choice affects both the fee and how flexible your stay will be.
| Question | Single-entry e-visa | Multiple-entry e-visa |
|---|---|---|
| Can you leave and come back on it? | No. Once you exit, the visa is used up, even if days remain | Yes, as many times as you like within its validity |
| Who it suits | A single block of time in Vietnam with no trips abroad planned | People who expect to travel in the region, or who are not sure yet |
| Relative fee | Lower | Higher than single-entry |
| Risk if plans change | A short trip abroad forces a new application | Little; unused entries simply lapse |
| Common mistake | Booking a weekend in Cambodia or Thailand without realising the visa ends at exit | Choosing dates that start long before arrival, so days are lost before you land |
For a first exploratory stay of two or three months, many long-term residents say the multiple-entry option is worth the difference, because plans made from abroad rarely survive the first month on the ground. If you are certain you will stay in one block, single entry is perfectly adequate. Either way, the validity dates are fixed when the visa is issued; you cannot later stretch the dates by changing your flight.
How to apply, step by step
The application is entirely online. The steps below follow the usual order of the official portal; wording on the site may change, but the substance has been stable.
- Check your passport first. It should normally have at least six months of validity remaining beyond your planned stay, and enough blank pages for entry and exit stamps. If renewal is due, renew before applying, because the e-visa is tied to the passport number you enter.
- Prepare two digital images: a recent portrait photo with a plain light background, face fully visible, no glasses; and a clear scan or photo of your passport's data page, including the machine-readable lines at the bottom. Blurry, cropped or glare-covered images are one of the most frequent reasons for delay.
- Open the official e-visa portal of Vietnam's Immigration Department (evisa.gov.vn) and choose the option for foreigners. Be careful with look-alike websites that charge several times the official fee; the official address ends in .gov.vn.
- Fill in your personal details exactly as they appear in the passport, including middle names and the order of names. Enter the intended date of entry, the length of validity, single or multiple entry, the purpose of the visit, an address where you will stay in Vietnam, and the border gates where you plan to enter and leave.
- Pay the fee online by card. Keep the application code the system gives you; you need it to check the result and to download the visa.
- Wait for processing. The official processing time is three working days, but weekends, Vietnamese public holidays and busy seasons around Tet can stretch it. Apply at least a week or two before travel where you can.
- When the status shows approval, download the e-visa, check every detail against your passport, and print a copy. Keep a digital copy on your phone as well.
If you spot an error after approval, such as a misspelt name or a wrong passport number, do not travel on it and hope for the best. A visa that does not match the passport can be rejected at check-in or at the immigration counter. The safer route is usually a fresh application with the correct data; for anything unclear, contact the Immigration Department through the channels listed on the official portal.
Details that cause problems at the border
The entry date. The e-visa starts on the date you choose, not the date you land. If you pick an early start date to be safe and then arrive two weeks later, those two weeks are simply gone. Pick the date you actually plan to arrive, with a small margin only if your flights are uncertain.
The border gate. The application asks which airport, land crossing or seaport you will use. E-visas are accepted at a specified list of international border gates, which includes the main international airports and a number of land and sea crossings; the list has been extended over time. Check that the gate you plan to use is on the current list, especially for overland arrivals from Cambodia, Laos or China.
The purpose of the visit. Choose the purpose that honestly matches what you will do. Tourism, visiting relatives and business meetings are common choices. Selecting tourism and then working for a local company is not a technicality: it is a breach of the rules that can lead to fines, deportation and future refusals.
The passport you travel on. Dual nationals must enter on the same passport they used for the application. Using a different passport, even of a country that enjoys visa exemption, causes confusion at the counter that can take a long time to untangle.
Airline checks. Airlines check visas at departure because they are responsible for flying you back if you are refused entry. Some also ask about onward or return travel. Have your e-visa printout, your accommodation details for the first nights and, where you have one, an onward booking ready to show.
What the e-visa does not do
The most common misunderstanding among new arrivals is that a long e-visa is a kind of residence permit. It is not. You cannot use it to sign a labour contract and start work, you cannot apply for a temporary residence card on the strength of an e-visa alone, and you cannot assume it will be extended inside Vietnam just because you would like to stay longer.
In limited situations the law allows people who entered on an e-visa to change the purpose of their stay without leaving, for example once an employer has obtained a work permit or a work permit exemption for them, or where they are close family members of a Vietnamese citizen. These conversions run through a sponsoring organisation or a qualifying relative, not through the e-visa portal. They are covered in a separate guide on converting a visa inside Vietnam.
The e-visa also does not remove the ordinary duty to register your temporary residence. Hotels and licensed accommodation report foreign guests to the local police automatically. If you rent a private apartment, the landlord is responsible for declaring you, and it is worth asking them to confirm that it has been done. Residence registration and longer-term cards are explained in our section on temporary residence cards.
Planning your first 90 days around the e-visa
Long-term residents who arrive on an e-visa tend to use the 90 days in a deliberate way. The first weeks go on practical tests: living in two or three neighbourhoods, trying the commute at rush hour, seeing how a child copes with heat and noise, visiting clinics and supermarkets. The middle weeks are for conversations that decide the next step: talking to employers about a work permit, speaking to a lawyer about marriage or investment paperwork, or deciding that a retirement plan needs a different structure. The last weeks are for the move itself, or for an orderly exit.
Mark the expiry date in your calendar and set a reminder two to three weeks before it. If you hope to change status, start the conversation with your sponsor early, because employers and lawyers need time to prepare a file. If you plan to leave and return, book the exit before the last day, not on it; a delayed flight is not a defence against overstaying. Overstays are treated seriously and are discussed in their own guide.
Finally, keep your own records: a scan of your passport, the e-visa, the entry stamp, and the address where you are registered. If anything goes wrong, from a lost passport to a question at a police station, those four items will make the conversation much shorter. When in doubt about any rule in this article, the authoritative source is the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security, or the immigration office of the provincial police where you live.
Câu hỏi thường gặp
Is a Vietnam e-visa valid for 90 days from the date of issue or from the date of entry?
The validity runs between the dates printed on the e-visa, which are the dates you requested and the authorities approved. It does not start counting from the day you happen to land. If you arrive late in the window, you lose the earlier days, so choose a start date close to your real arrival.
Can I work in Vietnam on an e-visa?
No. The e-visa is for short stays such as tourism, visiting family or business meetings. Working for a Vietnamese employer requires a work permit or a confirmed exemption and a visa that matches that purpose. Employers sometimes arrange a conversion once the work permit is ready, but working before that point is not allowed.
How early should I apply for the e-visa?
The official processing time is three working days, but it is sensible to apply one to two weeks ahead, and earlier around Tet and other public holidays. Applying very far in advance has little benefit because the visa dates start when you choose, and plans made months ahead often change.
What happens if I make a mistake on my e-visa application?
Small mismatches between the e-visa and your passport, such as a wrong digit in the passport number or a missing middle name, can lead to boarding refusal or problems at immigration. If the error is spotted before travel, the safest course is usually to submit a new application with correct data and keep proof of both.
Do children need their own e-visa?
Yes. Every traveller who needs a visa, including babies and children on their own passports, needs a separate e-visa application with their own photo and passport scan. A child included on a parent's passport is a rare case today; check with the Immigration Department if that applies to your family.
Is the e-visa the best option if I plan to live in Vietnam for years?
It is a good starting point, not a long-term solution. People who stay for years usually move to a visa and temporary residence card based on work, investment or family ties. Use the e-visa period to set up whichever of those routes fits your situation.