Having trouble getting a Vietnam visa? Jason D. feels your pain.
Jason is a long-time Vietnam expat who's put his experience navigating Vietnam's visa regulations to good use. As proprietor of Vietnam Visa Center (vietnamvisacenter.org), Jason helps visitors to Vietnam through the process of securing a Vietnam visa on arrival.
Visa applicants can apply for their visas through Vietnam Visa Center and pay their fees via Paypal - an incredible convenience compared to the trouble and delay of securing one's visa through the nearest Vietnam embassy (if you live in the U.S. and don't live within easy commuting distance of Washington D.C. or San Francisco, you're out of luck!).
We recently talked to Jason about the Vietnam visa securing process - here's what we found out.
What difficulties do Americans generally experience when applying for a Vietnam visa?
Getting a visa in the U.S. can be difficult, due to the fact that visas can only be received in Washington and San Francisco through the Vietnamese consulates based in those cities.
Some Vietnam consulates in Southeast Asia also only provide a two-week visa for Vietnam and Vietnam visa fees from consulate to consulate vary a great deal.
When dealing with the consulate, you have the inconvenience of leaving your passport with them until your passport is ready. While traveling abroad, most people want to keep possession of their passport. Also, some consulates ask to see a return flight ticket before they issue the visa.
Are there any special tips and tricks with regard to getting/renewing a Vietnam visa?
There are no tricks to renewing visas as it is not a problem at the moment through any travel agent in Vietnam (it generally costs US$25- US$35 US for a one month extension).
If I want to stay longer than I expected, is it difficult to extend a Vietnam visa?
If tourists want to extend their visas once it's not a worry, but additional extensions can be difficult depending on what service company is used. If you are planning on staying for more than a month, you are better off applying for a 3 month visa to avoid any hassles. Keep this in mind - immigration policies can change without notice!
What are the penalties for overstaying your visa?
Even overstaying your visa by a day will involve a costly fine! If someone overstays their visa and tries to exit the country overland, many travelers will be asked to go back to the airport and sort out the issue with the immigration authorities there. The immigration officers may be lenient but others may charge anywhere from US$30 to US$60 a day.
To avoid this issue, getting a three-month visa would allow travelers plenty of time to get around Vietnam without worrying about overstaying.
Can I work in Vietnam even if I only have a tourist visa?
Immigration has become stricter with foreigners staying in Vietnam for long periods of time, requiring them to get work permits if they are working. If someone is using a tourist visa and trying to work in Vietnam, then they should look into getting a work permit.
How does your company help travelers beat the Vietnam visa system?
Our company spares clients the issue of delivering up their passport for the time it takes a consulate to process the visa, it avoids the higher costs of using consular services.
You simply have to fill out our application and provide your details to us. We merely require name and passport details, including flight and arrival information. After that, we can process the visa letter normally within three working days, or one working day if required. One-day turnaround is something most consulates do not offer - if they do, costs would be quite considerable compared to ours!
In addition, our service fee is minimal compared to the consulate costs and courier fees. We would estimate our service would save a client in the region of 20 to 50 percent if consulates are used within Asia, and significantly more if visas are applied for through consulates in the West.
Image of Ha Long Bay by Mike Aquino, licensed to About.com.
I’ve used a service like this one twice in order to get a visa on arrival, and had no problems either time. Very easy!