VN country scene

Visa at international border gate — exceptional case

VietnamShort stays and visits

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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For the relevant traveller scope, is a visa, electronic authorisation, visa on arrival or no advance visa normally required?

A visa is required but may be issued at an international border gate in listed exceptional cases, including travellers departing from a country with no Vietnamese visa-issuing authority, travellers who must pass through several countries before reaching Vietnam, and foreign seafarers on ships anchored at a Vietnamese seaport who need to exit via another border gate.

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Limits of the record
  • No nationality matrix; the 2014 Công báo text was used after local OCR cross-check found no amendment note on Art. 18 in the 2026 consolidated text.

What short-visit purposes does this route cover?

Tourism under a programme organised by an international travel business in Vietnam; attending a relative's funeral or visiting a seriously ill relative; taking part in emergency response, rescue, disaster or epidemic prevention, or other special reasons at the request of a competent Vietnamese authority.

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What maximum stay, rolling-period rule, validity and entry rules apply?

Answer not available

What important funds, accommodation, invitation, insurance, onward-travel or passport evidence may be required?

Passport or international travel document and a visa application form with a photo, submitted at the immigration control unit; children under 14 sharing a parent's or guardian's passport may be declared on that parent's/guardian's form.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Funds, accommodation, insurance or onward-travel evidence are not mentioned.

Where/how is permission obtained when required, and under what important circumstances can a stay be extended or changed?

The inviting/sponsoring agency, organisation or individual applies to the immigration management authority, which decides within 3 working days for cases (a)-(d) and within 12 working hours for funeral/sick-relative and emergency cases; the border immigration control unit then checks against the authority's notification and issues the visa. To extend the stay, the inviting/sponsoring party applies to the immigration management authority (or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs body), which decides within 5 working days.

See recorded sources

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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