Vietnam e-Visa Step-by-Step Guide: How to Apply, Pay & Download (2026)
✅ Last verified on-the-ground: 2026-07-18
You need a Vietnam e-visa. It costs ₹2,410 (~25 USD), takes 3 business days to process, and you apply at the only official site, which has a .gov.vn domain. Print the approval PDF before you fly. This article walks through the vietnam e visa step by step, covering every click and payment screen. Planning the wider region? Our Southeast Asia backpacking hub covers the full multi-country route.
If you’re an Indian passport holder flying into Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang, Phu Quoc, or any of Vietnam’s recognised air or land ports, the e-visa has been the standard entry permit since 2023. It replaced the older letter-of-visa-on-arrival workflow that required Vietnamese sponsorship letters. Skip the WhatsApp agents quoting ₹5,000 (~$51.82)“for processing”, the official portal charges less and takes the same time.
What is a Vietnam e-visa?
A Vietnam e-visa is a single-entry electronic travel authorisation issued by the Vietnam Immigration Department. It allows Indian passport holders to enter Vietnam for tourism, business, or short family visits for up to 30 days, with a possible 30-day extension if you apply in-country. Budget the visa fee alongside your broader Southeast Asia trip cost from India so the total doesn’t surprise you at payment time.
The e-visa is a digital PDF you carry with your passport. On arrival, you queue at the regular immigration counters (not the visa-on-arrival line). The officer scans your passport, glances at the printed PDF, and stamps you in. No separate “landing fee” on top of the ₹2,410 (~25 USD).
Quick Answers
| What | Answer | Price (INR) |
|---|---|---|
| Type | E-visa, single entry, 30 days | , |
| Cost | ₹2,410 (~25 USD) | ₹2,410 (~$24.98) |
| Processing time | 3 business days (often faster) | , |
| Apply at | Official portal | , |
| Valid for | 30 days from intended entry date | , |
| Photo size | 4×6 cm, white background, no glasses | , |
| Passport scan | Full bio page, PDF/JPG, under 2 MB | , |
| Payment | International card or Vietnamese bank card | , |
| Extension | Possible once, in-country, 30 more days | ~₹6,400 (~$66.33) |
Before You Start
Three things to confirm before opening the portal:
- Passport validity of at least 6 months from your entry date. The portal accepts 3 months technically, but airline check-in staff often refuse boarding with 3-4 months remaining. Treat 6 months as your hard floor.
- A digital passport scan (full bio page, PDF or JPG, clear, all four corners). You can photograph it with a phone against a white wall in good light, then convert to PDF.
- A 4×6 cm photo (white background, no glasses, ears and forehead visible). Passport-size (3.5×4.5 cm) also works in practice on the portal, but upload the 4×6 to match the spec the form asks for. If you’re still deciding how to carry money to Vietnam from India, park that decision until after the visa PDF lands in your inbox.
⚠️ This changes often. Check the official portal before applying. Fee amounts, file size limits, and accepted payment methods get updated without much notice.
Step-by-Step: The Exact 5 Basic Steps to Apply for a Visa
Step 1: Start your application on the official portal
Go to https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn. Verify the URL ends in .gov.vn. Any URL ending in .com, .org, or with a country prefix like .evisa-vietnam.com is a third-party agent charging a markup.
The first screen asks you to accept terms and prove you’re not a robot. Tick the boxes. Skip the “register an account” option if you see one. For a single applicant, just go straight to “Apply for e-visa” without creating an account, this is what most guides leave out.
Step 2: Fill in your details
The form has roughly 10 fields:
- Full name: exactly as on passport (no middle-name omissions)
- Nationality: India
- Passport number: no spaces
- Date of birth: in DD/MM/YYYY format (the field format varies, double-check)
- Email: use one you check regularly, this is where the PDF arrives
- Phone number: include India’s +91 prefix
- Entry date: your planned arrival. This is the visa validity window’s opening, not your travel date from India.
- Exit date: must be within 30 days of entry
- Entry checkpoint: pick from the dropdown. Common ones: Noi Bai International Airport (Hanoi), Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh City), Da Nang International Airport, Cat Bi International Airport (Hai Phong), Phu Quoc International Airport. For land borders, pick Moc Bai, Lao Bao, or Cau Treo if crossing from Cambodia or Laos.
Travellers report the entry checkpoint dropdown is alphabetical within each country. If you can’t find an airport, type the city name in the search box. Picking the right border crossing on a Vietnam itinerary can save you a long detour later.
Upload your passport scan and your 4×6 photo. Both files must be clear, with all four corners of the passport bio page visible in the scan. The portal rejects files above 2 MB on slow connections mid-upload, so resize ahead of time.
Step 3: Pay the fee
The fee is ₹2,410 (~25 USD), payable by international Visa, Mastercard, or via a Vietnamese domestic card. Indian RuPay cards almost never work. Most travellers pay with a forex card or a credit card with low forex markup. Cards issued on Visa/Mastercard networks work reliably.
The payment screen sits on a separate domain (often a sub-domain under the immigration site). You’ll see the USD amount, not ₹. Convert mentally: at roughly USD 1 = ₹95–97, USD 25 = about ₹2,400–2,425.
Subodh’s Pro Tip: Pay with a card that has zero or low forex markup. Banks like HDFC, ICICI, and Federal Bank forex cards offer ~0.5% to 2% markup. Airport counter rates are typically far worse than card or forex-card rates. See my forex card guide for the cards that worked for recent India-Vietnam travellers.
Save the payment receipt screenshot. The portal emails you a confirmation within 2 minutes showing your application code (starts with “EV” or contains digits only).
Step 4: Wait for the approval email
This is where many first-timers panic. The official processing time is 3 business days. In practice, many applicants receive approval within 48 hours, most get it by the end of day 3, and a small handful sit in “pending” beyond 7 days
Don’t reapply if you haven’t heard back on day 2. Reapplying creates duplicate applications and slows both.
The approval email comes from @xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn. It contains a PDF attachment titled with the application code. Open the email on the device you carry while travelling. Save the PDF in two places: your phone gallery and an email forward to a trusted contact back home as backup.
Step 5: Download and print your e-visa
Click the PDF attachment in the approval email. Save it to your phone or tablet. Print one A4 copy on plain paper, colour printing is not required. Black-and-white prints are accepted at immigration.
Carry the printout in your hand luggage, not checked baggage. The immigration officer at Tan Son Nhat airport (Ho Chi Minh City) may ask for the printout before asking for the boarding pass. Officers at Noi Bai (Hanoi) usually ask for passport first, printout second.
📱 Connectivity note: If you’d rather travel light without downloading on airport Wi-Fi, activate an eSIM before flying. Get Nomad eSIM (https://www.nomadesim.com/shop) and the email is in your inbox the moment you land.
For the 5 basic steps to apply for a visa, the canonical shape is: portal entry → form fill → payment → wait → download. The portal helps you skip straight to Step 5 with the saved PDF.
Common Mistakes Indians Make
Mistake 1: Using a third-party website
The real portal ends in .gov.vn. Google Ads and SEO clones rank above the official site. Searching “Vietnam visa India” returns at least 5 agent sites on page 1. Always type the URL directly.
Mistake 2: Uploading a cropped passport scan
Cropping out the corners of the bio page leads to rejection on day 4. The portal wants the full page with the MRZ (machine-readable zone, the two lines of text with <<< symbols at the bottom). Capturing it with a phone placed against a white background in good indoor light is the simplest way to get it right.
Mistake 3: Paying with a RuPay card
RuPay cards do not work. Neither do most prepaid travel cards issued by Indian banks unless they have an international network mark (Visa/Mastercard logo) on them. Use a Visa or Mastercard credit card, or a forex card.
Mistake 4: Assuming “Get SMS notification” means you’ll get an SMS
The portal’s “Notify me by SMS” checkbox sometimes accepts a phone number that never receives a confirmation. Always rely on the email for the PDF download link. SMS delivery is best-effort.
Mistake 5: Forgetting to print
Some officers will accept a screenshot on a phone, others won’t. Print one page before flying. Carry two.
What Most Guides Don’t Tell You
The “Additional Information” email trick
If your application goes into “Pending” beyond 5 business days, the portal emails you an “Additional Information Required” message with a link. This link is valid for limited hours only (often 24). Open it immediately and respond. Most missed-approval stories trace back to this email sitting unread in the inbox for 2 days while the applicant travelled to the airport.
The extension-pay-in-Vietnam option
Once inside Vietnam, you can extend by 30 days at the Vietnam Immigration Office in Ho Chi Minh City (6B Le Thanh Ton, District 1) or Hanoi (44 Tran Phu, Ba Dinh). The fee is paid in cash in VND, roughly ₹5,784 (~60 USD) to ₹6,748 (~70 USD) for a single extension. The line is shorter on weekday mornings. If you miss the 30-day deadline, overstaying incurs fines set by Vietnamese immigration authorities.
The 90-day multi-entry option
Vietnam issues 90-day multiple-entry e-visas to Indian passport holders. The form is the same portal. Only pick this if you have specific plans to re-enter Vietnam; otherwise the 30-day single-entry is cheaper and identical for a one-time trip. If you’re still weighing whether a 30-day stamp covers your Southeast Asia budget trip for couples, work that out before paying the higher 90-day fee.
The Customs cash declaration
Vietnam requires a cash declaration for amounts over USD 5,000 (or equivalent in VND/USD/THB). Indian travellers rarely carry this much, but if you do, declare it at the red channel.
The multi-applicant trick
If you’re applying with family, fill one form, then select “Add family member” on the confirmation screen. You can add up to 4 applicants per session and pay once. Each applicant gets a separate PDF.
FAQ
How long does it take to get Vietnam e-visa from India?
The official processing time is 3 business days. In practice, 70% of Indians receive approval within 48 hours. If you haven’t heard back by day 5, check your spam folder for the “Additional Information Required” link from @xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn.
Can I get a Vietnam visa on arrival?
The old “visa on arrival” system with sponsorship letters is still legal but rarely used now. Most Indian travellers apply for the e-visa instead. Avoid the sponsorship-letter route unless a trusted Vietnam-based host is sending you the letter directly.
What happens if I make a mistake on the form?
If the application has not been approved yet, you cannot edit it. The portal lets you submit a new application, but the old fee is non-refundable. One common scenario: a typo in passport number. Submit a fresh application with the correct passport number. Both will sit in the system, but the correct one will get approved; you’ll be refunded on the typo application when the immigration office reviews it (this takes 10 to 20 business days).
Do I need a printout or is a digital copy fine?
Carry a printout. Officers occasionally refuse screenshots, especially at smaller land borders or regional airports. One A4 page is all you need. Fold it into your passport’s “Visa” page if your passport has one.
Is the fee refundable if I don’t travel?
No. The e-visa fee is non-refundable once paid. Manual review exists for special cases (over-application, medical emergencies), but the typical timeline is 30 to 60 days and the outcome depends on the official’s discretion.
Do I need to show a return ticket at immigration?
Vietnam immigration officially asks for an onward or return ticket at the officer’s discretion. Carry a screenshot of a bookable return flight for peace of mind.
Is there an Indian version of the Vietnam e-visa?
There is no separate “Indian” e-visa. Indian passport holders apply for the same e-visa as all other nationalities. The fee and processing time are identical, and the same portal accepts applications.
Subodh’s Take
The Vietnam e-visa process looks scary on day 1 because the portal is partly in Vietnamese and asks for fields that other visas don’t. After you’ve done one application, you’ll never repeat the panic. Apply at least 7 business days before flying, keep checking email even after day 3, and print the PDF the moment the approval lands. That’s the whole game.
