Vietnam entry reference
What Vietnam's E-Visa Actually Is
What the document permits, what it costs, how long it lasts, and the handful of things people reliably assume about it that are not true.
- Updated
- 15 August 2026
- Reading time
- 3 minutes
- Purpose
- Independent reference
A permission, issued electronically
The Vietnamese e-visa is a visa issued by the immigration department through an online system rather than a sticker placed in your passport. It authorises a foreign national to present themselves at a Vietnamese border checkpoint and request entry, for tourism, business or visiting family.
Two things follow from that definition and both matter. It is a real visa, with the same legal weight as one issued at an embassy. And it is a permission to ask, not a guarantee of admission — the officer at the counter still decides, as they do in every country.
What it permits
Up to 90 days of stay, single or multiple entry, chosen by you at application. The fee is 25 USD for single entry and 50 USD for multiple, paid to the government.
The 90 days is a maximum, not an allocation. The validity window printed on your visa runs from the start date you nominated to the expiry date; you may enter at any point inside it, and your permitted stay ends on the expiry date regardless of how late you arrived. Landing on day 80 of a 90-day visa buys you ten days, not ninety.
Single or multiple
A single-entry visa is spent the moment you leave the country. Cross into Cambodia for a weekend and it is finished, even with weeks of validity left on it.
A multiple-entry visa stays live for its whole window and can be used for as many crossings as you like within it. If your itinerary includes a side trip to Laos, Cambodia or Thailand and a return to Vietnam, the extra twenty-five dollars is the cheapest insurance available. We compare the two in detail on their own page.
What it is not
It is not extendable from inside the country. As of 2026 an e-visa cannot be extended once you are in Vietnam. If you want longer, apply for longer at the outset, or leave and obtain a new one.
It is not a work permit. Tourism, business meetings and family visits are covered. Taking employment is a different category with different paperwork.
It is not a residence document. You still register your accommodation, which in practice your hotel does for you.
It is not tied to a printed page. There is no sticker. The document is a PDF you download and print, and the printed copy is what you present.
The part that surprises people
Nationals of countries that already enjoy visa-free entry can still apply for an e-visa, and often should. The exemption is a gift with a fixed length; the e-visa is a purchase with a longer one. A German citizen gets 45 days for nothing, but a German citizen who wants three months applies for an e-visa like everyone else. The two are not alternatives to choose between — one is a floor, the other is a ceiling.
What it costs beyond the fee
Nothing, if you apply yourself. The portal takes a card payment of 25 or 50 USD and issues the document. Any figure larger than that is somebody’s service charge, which is a legitimate thing to sell and a legitimate thing to decline.
Confirm before you book
Everything on this page was checked against the government portal on 15 August 2026. Visa rules in Vietnam move by decree and sometimes quickly — treat this as a reference and confirm your own case at evisa.gov.vn before you commit money to a booking.