Do Americans Need a Visa for Vietnam? 2023 Updates

I’ve made plenty of mistakes while traveling, and one of the biggest in recent memory is thinking I could get a VOA (Visa on Arrival) when entering Vietnam on a recent trip to Asia. 

Vietnam visas for Americans need to be approved ahead of time.

Visa on Arrival currently does not work, and you will be blocked from boarding your plane if you do not have the proper approval documentation upon check-in. 

So when we went to board our plane to Vietnam after a week in Bali and were swiftly turned away at the check-in counter because we didn’t have our Visa approval letter. According to the desk agent, it takes three days to get a Visa. We only had a five-day stopover in Vietnam, which meant delaying the trip by three days would cut heavily into our time. 

Frantic, we stepped to the side and started doing some research. I had googled ‘Do Americans need a visa for Vietnam?’ before our trip, and all of the resources I read stated that, as American passport holders, we could get our visas upon arrival in Vietnam. We looked it up again and saw the same results until we visited about five websites and finally received updated post-pandemic information stating that VOA no longer works and that you must have a visa (or pre-approval letter) upon check-in. As of January 2023, it appears more information is up-to-date online for visa requirements, but I’m sure the issue will continue to happen to travelers. 

In fact, the next day, a solo traveler was standing in front of us when we went to recheck into our new flight. During some small talk, we asked where he was going; he mentioned he hoped to buy a seat on the Vietnam flight. Laughing, we said, “we hope you have your visa!” He replied, “what visa?”

Sure enough, he was turned away when he got to the counter. 

If you’re reading this blog, perhaps you’re in the same boat, or maybe you’re just researching an upcoming trip to Vietnam. Here is everything you need to know about the Vietnam Visa for Americans in 2023. 

1. There is no official government website for visas. 

In our panic, realizing we would be delayed for at least a day and maybe miss the entire trip section, we were frantically searching online through online websites and resources for visas. None of them looked particularly safe or government official, and they all promised different deadlines for visa delivery. Some mentioned the quickest time was 48 hours, while others promised Visa delivery in as little as 2 business hours. The desk agent also gave us a phone number to call for help, which never worked throughout the process. 

 All this to say yes, the Vietnam visa process is confusing and not as straightforward as in many other countries. But the good news is that they aren’t strict about where your visa comes from. 

We decided to use this Vietnam Visa Website because they offered the fastest delivery. 

2. Yes, you can get a visa in 24 (if you pay for it)

The airline tickets we purchased were only allowed to be changed once. The gate agent recommended we push it our three days and seemed extremely hesitant when we only pushed it 24 hours. At first, I thought we were crazy, too. For some reason, I had this internal feeling we could get it done in 24 hours. We had to be there the next night to catch our bus to Cat Ba. If we missed that, we’d probably skip Vietnam altogether, given our short timeframe. 

How much these third-party websites charge for expedited Vietnam visas differs. I’ve heard people get 2 hour Visas for $20 extra, whereas we had to pay $85 extra. I think it’s just luck of timing. But the good news is, YES, you can get a Visa in 24 hours for Vietnam, just as long as you don’t need it on Sunday. Every Visa agency is closed on Sundays. 

If you need a visa in under 24 hours for Vietnam, visit this website, select ‘super urgent’ and start the process.

We originally missed our flight on a Sunday when everything was closed. We applied for a super urgent visa that night in our hotel room. Around 9 am the next morning, we received communication about our application, and we had the visa approval letter in our email by 1:30 pm, just in time for our 5:45 pm flight. 

3. You should apply for your visa at least three weeks before your trip to avoid stress.

If you’re someone who is researching a trip to Vietnam and is confused about their visa requirements, do not believe any online information that states Visa on Arrival is an option for Americans. Looking back, I knew you could apply for a visa ahead of time but got so used to easy VOA processes in other countries that I just didn’t give it much thought after reading it was an option. I got anxious about our flight to Vietnam about three days before we flew out and just wanted to confirm everything was correct, and again I saw the VOA in my google searches. 

If you’re planning a trip to Vietnam, do yourself a favor and apply for a visa right now. It’s cheap, easy, and you won’t have to worry about it moving forward. 

Do Americans Need a Visa for Vietnam? Final Thoughts. 

And even as a seasoned traveler, I make travel mistakes ALL the time. This was probably one of my most aggravating in recent memory, but you know what? I’m a hot mess all the time, so it’s very ‘on brand’ of me to do something like this. And it seems to be a problem made by many travelers. I was scrolling through TikTok last week and saw a video from a pair of travelers trying to fly from Thailand to Vietnam who ended up in the same situation. 

So, if this is the situation you’re currently in, know that you’re not the only one. It’s very common. And there are solutions that can get you into Vietnam within 24 hours. 

Good luck, and have an amazing time in Vietnam. It is an incredible country!