How do US citizens get a Vietnam e-visa?

There is one tourist e-visa, valid for up to 90 days. You choose single-entry for $25 or multiple-entry for $50, the multiple-entry worth it if you plan to slip into Cambodia, Laos or Thailand and come back. The fee is set by the Immigration Department, charged in Vietnamese dong (so the dollar figure shifts a little with the exchange rate), and it is non-refundable, even if refused.

The visa runs from the entry date you request, not the day you apply, and it cannot be extended, so if you might stay longer, choose the multiple-entry or a later start rather than cutting it fine. Your passport needs six months of validity and a couple of blank pages.

Allow about three to five working days, and apply a week or two ahead to be safe.

1. Go to the official portal, evisa.gov.vn, and start a new e-visa application. Go there directly, not through a search ad.
2. Fill in your details and upload a passport-style photo and a scan of your passport page.
3. Declare your entry and exit ports carefully, they must match where you actually arrive and leave, then pay the fee online.
4. Wait for the result by email, usually three to five working days. Download and print the e-visa and carry it, airlines check it at boarding and immigration checks it on arrival.

Vietnam is one of the worst destinations for visa middlemen: search results are full of sites that charge well above the $25 to $50 government fee to file the same application, and some only fill in the form for you at a markup. The official portals are evisa.gov.vn and thithucdientu.gov.vn, so if a site charges noticeably more, it is adding its own fee.

Be wary too of anything selling a Vietnam visa on arrival: the old approval-letter system is a private workaround rather than a government service, and for US citizens the clean route is the official e-visa arranged before you fly.

The single biggest slip is the entry port: the e-visa lists the port you declared, and you are expected to arrive there, so if your plans change you may need to reapply. The e-visa cannot be extended, and if you leave and re-enter, say a side trip to Angkor Wat, you need the multiple-entry version. Overstaying brings daily fines.

For how money works once you are there, cards, cash, ATMs and the rest, see the Vietnam money guide.

Common questions

Quick answers.

More on Vietnam

The little money things nobody warns you about.

• Do I need cash in Vietnam, or can I use cards?Short answer: cards for hotels and larger purchases, and dong cash for daily life. One quirk to watch: the dong has a lot of zeros, so notes are easy to mix up. Here is how to handle it.
• Tipping in VietnamVietnam has a light tipping culture: not required, but increasingly appreciated in tourist areas. Round up at restaurants, tip guides and spa staff a little, and use small dong notes. Here is what you actually owe.
• Which taxi app to use in Vietnam, and the airport scam to skipThe honest answer is that installing one app before you land makes most of the risk disappear. Here is the app to use, the fake-taxi trick to know, and how to get from the airport into town without the tourist markup.
• Common money scams in Vietnam, and what they cost youVietnam is a wonderful and largely trouble-free trip, and the scams that target tourists are mostly small-value money hustles, not danger: overcharging, sleight of hand and a few transport tricks. They rely on confusion, and a few habits defuse nearly all of them. Here is each one and how to avoid it.
• Staying connected in Vietnam.Vietnam has better mobile coverage than most of Europe and charges almost nothing for it. The local SIM is the answer here, and the only real friction is that registration is properly enforced.
• What does getting sick in Vietnam cost a visitor?Vietnam's honest medical geography has three tiers: the international clinics of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City for the everyday, local hospitals that stabilise, and then the region's hubs. Beyond the first tier, the serious case is treated in Bangkok or Singapore, so the bill that matters is the flight.