Vietnam is now emerging as the hottest new backpacking as well as leisure travel destination in South East Asia. So a lot of Indians are now travelling to Vietnam. I often get asked about the Vietnam Visa for Indians, so here I am writing a detailed step by step guide to E-Visa for Indians.
Vietnam Visa for Indians – Type of Visa
Vietnam is a travel friendly destination and that shows in their visa policies. Getting a Vietnam Visa for Indians is a piece of cake now. Currently they offer 2 types of visas for Indians:
- eVisa (Applied online)
- VOA (Visa on arrival)
The process for both VOA & eVisa is pretty straightforward, but I’ll talk more in details about the eVisa process.
For VOA the process is as simple as filling the card provided by the airline, providing the proof of accommodation, return tickets and proof of finance (cash in USD or VND)
But before that, how do you decide which Visa to opt for?
My personal recommendation would be to opt for an eVisa. You pay few dollars extra ($3) but get the convenience of not standing in queues and also protecting yourself from scams that happen on Vietnam & Cambodian land borders.
Yes, even in today’s age there are plenty of scams, especially on the land borders. I had the misfortune to experience it even with a valid eVisa, so you never know. If you want to, you can read about my Vietnam-Cambodia land border crossing experience here.
Another reason I recommend the eVisa is because when you arrive in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh, it can get very chaotic and crowded so you wouldn’t want to stand in line for Visa on Arrival, specially if you are travelling with your family.
Vietnam Visa for Indians – eVisa Procedure
You can directly apply for eVisa from the Vietnamese Govt link – Apply for eVisa Vietnam. Trust me, it’s pretty simple and easy. Plus it saves you the travel agent commission and money. A single person can apply for others as well, like I did for both myself and my friend.
Here’s the step wise guide:
- You fill in the relevant details in the form.
- Most of the details are self-explanatory. The only thing you need to be careful about are your entry and exit points. If you are flying from India most probably you will either be landing in Hanoi or Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).
- Depending on the route you follow you need to select the proper exit route. For us – Entry was Noi Bai Int Airport (Hanoi) and exit was Moc Bai Landport as I was travelling onwards to Cambodia.
- Review the application form.
- Make the payment. (25$ + 3$ convenience fee). Remember that even if you apply for VOA you will still need to pay $25 Visa fees. So here you are spending just $3 extra for your convenience.
- You will receive your eVisa within 2-3 days. In my case I applied on 15th Sept and received the eVisa via email on 17th.
Vietnam Visa for Indians – How does the eVisa look like?
Your final eVisa should look something like this. If you notice the visa is for 30 days, even if you had mentioned an earlier date for the exit route.
Please keep at least 2 copies. Once you arrive at the airport, you can directly move to immigrations, where you show them the eVisa and they will stamp your passport.
Saves a lot of time compared to VOA, if 2-3 flights land around the same time, you will need to stand for at least an hour in the queue.
Some tips
Money Exchange / Forex
Of all the places I tried to exchange the money, the best rate I found was actually right at the airport. I still remember it was around 23000 VND for a $1 in Oct 2019. Everywhere else I got quoted anything from 21000 to max 22500 VND, so I highly recommend getting the money exchanged at the airport itself.
Another tip is to carry USD’s rather than INR, the conversion rate for INR is pathetic as with most South East Asian countries. So best option would be to carry USD’s.
If you are exchanging money in India, I would highly recommend Book My Forex. I have used their services at least half a dozen times for my trips. Their rates are probably the closes to market rates. Here’s the link if you want to check their services – Book My Forex.
Are you transiting through Changi Airport, Singapore?
If you are then read this post of how to get a free S$20 voucher/person.
SIM Card
You can either book one directly at the airport (slightly expensive) or do what we did, just pre-book the card via Klook and collect it directly from the Airport counter.
Buy your 4G Vietnam SIM card (Klook)
Transfer from the airport to the city
If you are travelling solo, would recommend taking the bus. More details available at my Backpacking Vietnam Guide. However, if you are travelling with your family I would recommend pre-booking a taxi via Klook, trust me it will end up cheaper.
If you are arriving in Hanoi, use this – Pre-book transfers from Hanoi to your hotel.
For Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), use this link – Pre-book transfers from HCMC to your hotel.
I hope this Vietnam Visa for Indians guide was helpful to you. For any questions, feel free to drop me a comment or message me on Instagram.