The SF consulate says it is $85 for a single entry visa (US passport). Looks like you paid $49 for a visa on arrival?
The SF Consulate is noticeably more expensive than getting the Vietnam Visa elsewhere (for example in Laos) and much quicker to assess extra, unnecessary, fees.
The SF Consulate is noticeably more expensive than getting the Vietnam Visa elsewhere (for example in Laos) and much quicker to assess extra, unnecessary, fees.
I recently stayed for a few hours in Hanoi and accordingly was obliged to get a visa before going. As I happened to be in Japan, I got one there for Y6,000, around US$60.00. It was valid for a certain period indicated on the visa.
My Vietnam Airlines flight to Hanoi was delayed 6 hours and subsequently I missed the connecting flight to another nearby country, thus making it necessary for me to stay in Hanoi overnight (compliments of VA, grudgingly). The problem was I had a visa for a stopover en route home, not going, and had to go through great confusion getting a temporary visa for the one night at Noiboi, where I was treated with suspicion and rudeness. To make a long story short, they used the visa I had for the later period (stamping it used when I left), which meant I needed to get another tourist visa at a Vietnamese consulate in the country I was visiting, again dishing out around US$60.00 - for a 10 hour stopover. Vietnam Airlines has been totally indifferent about this inconvenience and the resultant expenses.
Anyway, be careful if you come from a country where they want a visa in advance. It can get tricky when planning connecting flights!
Last edited by chamade; Oct 20, 09 at 11:16 am.
Reason: typo
Please confirm if I get the Visa On Arrival procedures correct:
1. Get one of those agencies online and submit application and pay fee.
2. Receive an approval letter by email.
3. Show approval letter at check to get BP.
4. Show letter and submit 2 photos at Immigration and pay stamp fee.
I'm looking to get a visa in BKK - any idea of the timeframe?
I am also interested in this and I tried to search around but did not find anything. I will have about 6 days in BKK, is there an easy way to get visa's for myself and my mom for Vietnam and Cambodia? No problem if I need to spend some Baht to get it done in a few days, just wondering the best place to do it in BKK. Thanks!
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Just for the record, I just received my single entry visa from the Embassy in DC. I brought with me the application and two money orders totaling $65. In retrospect, one MO or cash would have been fine.
Expedited processing was an extra $20, and took 2 business days. Regular processing took 4 business days. Pretty painless.
1. Get one of those agencies online and submit application and pay fee.
2. Receive an approval letter by email.
3. Show approval letter at check to get BP.
4. Show letter and submit 2 photos at Immigration and pay stamp fee.
Correct. Seems like they actually only keep one photo (YMMV).
However, having used the Visa on Arrival (or rather: prearranged visa) procedure a couple of times now, I will say that it's not without problems (especially regarding your step #3). On the last trip we spent 30 minutes arguing with the CX staff at Kowloon Station. They had never seen the PDF file we received from the agency. There were multiple problems with the paperwork: Poor printout quality, illegible stamp and signature, about 30 names on the list, and the dates were off by a couple of days. Their database doesn't describe the prearranged visa process very clearly, and requires originals. IOW, checkin can be very dicey if you fly an airline that doesn't routinely see these forms.
