Most travellers require a visa to travel to Vietnam. Submitting an online visa application is subject to certain requirements. These requirements include your nationality, your passport and your travel plans. In this article you can read more about the requirements related to your passport for applying for a Vietnam e-visa.
Travel purposes online Vietnam visa
The Vietnam visa that can be applied for online is suitable for many travellers. This is because the visa can be used for both tourist or business travel of up to 30 days. Therefore, you cannot use the visa to immigrate to the country for work or study for instance. The e-visa is also not suitable for those who want to stay in the country for more than 30 days, even if it is tourist or business travel.
It is possible to extend the e-visa after arrival in Vietnam. This way, it is possible to stay in the country longer than 30 days with an e-visa. Generally, it is not recommended to extend the validity, as it is a rather complicated process. It is easier to exit Vietnam and apply for a new visa from abroad. This will allow you to stay in the country for another 30 days.
Requirements relating to your identity document
For most tourist and business visitors to Vietnam, however, the 30-day authorised stay of the e-visa is more than enough. To apply for this visa, a traveller must meet all the requirements of the e-visa. Besides the purpose of travel, there are important requirements related to the applicant’s identity document. Both to qualify for the visa that can be applied for online and to use it while travelling, the traveller’s identity document must meet all requirements.
Standard passport still valid for at least 6 months
To submit an online visa application through this website, every traveller needs a valid standard passport. Other identity documents such as an ID card, residence permit emergency passport or German children passport (Kinderreisepass) are not suitable for an online visa application. Moreover, the standard passport must still be valid for at least six months at the moment the traveller arrives in Vietnam.
The Vietnam e-visa is valid for 30 days. These 30 start from the date the applicant has indicated in the application form. Thus, from this effective date, the traveller has 30 days to arrive in Vietnam and also leave the country again. Therefore, if you arrive in Vietnam after the indicated arrival date, you can stay in the country for less than 30 days. Keep in mind that your passport must still be valid for six months on the date you arrive in Vietnam.
Different passport? New visa application required
If your passport is no longer valid long enough, it is therefore required to apply for a new passport before submitting the visa application. This is because the passport details on your visa should always match the passport details of the passport you are using for travel. Therefore, if you had already applied for a visa with a passport that is no longer valid long enough, you cannot use this visa (and passport) for travel to Vietnam. So always check carefully whether your passport and that of any fellow travellers is still valid long enough.
If you unexpectedly need to use an emergency passport or other type of identity document, you should contact the Vietnam Embassy or consulate. You may still be able to apply for a physical Vietnam visa to still be able to travel to Vietnam. However, keep in mind that applying for a physical visa is generally more complicated and expensive than applying for an e-visa. In practice, it will therefore often be easier to apply for a (new) standard passport first and then apply for an e-visa.