Vietnam Visa Guide
The practical basics: e-visas, visa-exempt countries, and what to have ready on arrival.
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Vietnam's Visa Rules Keep Changing — Here's What's Current
Vietnam's entry rules have shifted more in the past two years than in the decade before it. If you're working from an old blog post or a friend's trip from a few years back, some of what you've read is probably out of date.
The e-visa now covers every nationality
Vietnam's e-visa system is open to travellers from any country, with stays of up to 90 days available on a single or multiple-entry basis. The e-visa can currently be used at over 80 official entry points across the country's airports, land borders and seaports — a big jump from just a few dozen a couple of years ago.
A longer visa-free list for European travellers
Citizens of a growing list of European countries — including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK and the Nordic countries, among others — can currently enter Vietnam visa-free for up to 45 days under an exemption policy that runs through March 2028. If your passport isn't on that list, the e-visa remains the standard route for most tourists.
A new digital arrival card, so far only in Ho Chi Minh City
From April 2026, a mandatory digital arrival card began being piloted for all foreign passport holders — visa-exempt or not — landing at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. It has to be submitted online within 72 hours before arrival and produces a QR code to present at immigration. As of now this pilot is specific to Ho Chi Minh City; there's no confirmed date for it to extend to Hanoi's Noi Bai Airport, but it's described as designed to expand, so it's worth checking again closer to your travel date if you're flying into Hanoi.
Tighter data-sharing rules behind the scenes
A separate regulation taking effect in mid-September 2026 tightens how immigration data on e-visa holders and visa-exempt travellers is shared between government agencies. This is mostly an administrative change rather than something that affects how you apply — but it's part of a broader pattern of Vietnam formalising and digitising entry processes, which is worth knowing about if you're used to the more informal system of a few years ago.
Good to know: visa rules genuinely do keep changing, and specifics depend entirely on your nationality. Always check your exact requirement on Vietnam's official immigration portal or with your nearest Vietnamese embassy before booking — this page is a general overview, not a substitute for checking your own situation. See our full Vietnam Visa Guide for the practical basics.
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