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Visa to Vietnam
Visa on arrival (VOA) by Tonkin Travel
Visitors from the following countries do not require a visa for tourism purposes for a limited period of stay.
– 14 days: Brunei, Myanmar
– 15 days: Norway, Belarus
– 21 days: The Philippines
– 30 days: Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Kyrgystan
– 45 days (from August 15, 2023): United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Russia, Finland, Denmark, Japan and South Korea
– 90 days: Chile, Panama
Important note: Once out of the country, travelers will have to wait 30 days before being able to re-enter a second time without visa. For this reason, for combined tours Indochina that include more than one entry into Vietnam, it is necessary to apply for a multi-entry visa. Passports must be valid for at least six months beyond the end of the trip.
Visa on arrival (VOA)
Getting a visa in your home country can be time consuming and expensive. Tonkin Travel can help you to arrange “visa approval” which is required to obtain the visa upon arrival.
The procedure is as follows:
- Step 1: Passport details (full name, date of birth, nationality, passport number, date of issue, etc.) must be sent to us no later than 14 working days before your departure to Vietnam.
- Step 2: This information is sent to the Immigration Department for the visa approval letter. The time limit to obtain this letter is 4 working days for a normal tourist visa or 24 hours for an urgent procedure with an added surcharge applied.
- Step 3: We send you by email the approval letter and the visa application form (NA1). You will fill in each a (1) form NA1 and attach a recent passport-sized photo on the form. Photocopy of a photo is not accepted. You also need to prepare some bank notes in US Dollars to pay visa stamp fee.
Attention: It is very important to use the same passport number that you provide us and on the form of the visa request.
- Step 4: When you check-in at the departure airport, you will have to show a copy of the visa approval letter. Without this letter, the airline will refuse you boarding. On arrival in Vietnam, before going through passport control, you proceed to the Visa on Arrival (VOA) counter where you show the mentioned documents (visa approval letter, completed visa application form with attached photo, passport, and cash) to get visa stamped.
Remarks:
- It is important to indicate clearly the specific airport in Vietnam where people will get their visa including airline, time, date, number of the arrival flight.
- If a child is present on the passport of its parents, the child won’t need it to fill in his own form and have any fee, but it is still necessary to give all the information about him/her in order to apply for a visa authorization.
- VOA takes 20 minutes – 2 hours depending on how busy the airport is at that time.
- VIP services: You can ask for help from our staff (pre-arranged): our staff will wait for you at the airport within the immigration area with a board showing your name and will take care of the whole process with the immigration service. You won’t queue and will take a private way to the luggage belt where you will be able to collect your luggage. Time: about 5-10 minutes.
Special cases: “sensitive nationalities”
For citizens of “sensitive” nationalities, example: Iran; Iraq; Sri-Lanka; Kenya; Turkey; Bangladesh; Jordan; Pakistan; Syria; Togo; Saudi Arabia; Samoa; Nigeria; Lebanon; Yemen; Ecuador, Turkish, Bangladesh…: Same procedure as “normal” nationalities but instead of providing only the information on the passenger’s passport, the travelers must also have below document to obtain the visa approval letter:
+ A scan of the passport
+ Confirmation of hotels booking during the entire stay
+ Confirmation of international and domestic airline tickets for the entire trip
+ The tour program
+ Guarantee document by the travel agency
The last 4 documents can be provided by Tonkin Travel.
The fee for the service will be higher (please contact our staff for your case). The time to obtain the visa authorization is also longer, about 7-10 working days
Transportation
Whether it is an airport pick-up or transfer to any location in Vietnam and no matter if you travel as an individual or in a big group, we can arrange all types of transport to and/or from anywhere in Vietnam. Car, van and bus rental ranging from 4 to 45 seats always includes a driver and modern high quality vehicles.
For any request regarding transporation, simply let us know and you will get the best options recommended to you by our experienced staff along with prices and timing.
Accommodation
At Tonkin Travel we can organise everything you will need to get the most out of your time in Vietnam.
All types and tastes of travel and accommodation can be arranged; hostel to 5 star. Guides and translators, tours, air and rail tickets, transport and transfers, a cyclo or a helicopter that seats 20 and everything in between, meals and museums. Individuals, families, large groups and small. Travel for leasure, culture, work, study or a getaway. Long time or short time – make sure its a good time by letting us take out the hassle and guesswork.
Choose from our range of itineraries that cover the whole country or the destination or region you are particularly interested in.
All itineraries will be tailored to your arrival and departure dates with extras or exclusions at your request.
We can book rooms for you at any hotels of your choice or you can give us a few details on where, when, how much you’d like to spend and your other interests and we will recommend several good hotels in your range. You can take a look at their websites and see what you like, compare prices and then get back to us with your choice.
Ticketing
We are able to purchase all internal and international air and rail tickets for you in advance and deliver them to your hotel when you arrive.
If your trip includes Hanoi you can pay by cash or credit card when you arrive (even if you are coming to Hanoi at the end of your trip!).
Elsewhere in Vietnam (+Cambodia, Laos and Singapore) payment is by cash on delivery.
If you are booking hotels or other services with us, tickets will be issued and delivered at no charge. If you are booking tickets only, then a small fee will apply.
Tour guide
Although Vietnam is a very safe, friendly and welcoming country to travel in many visitors find that they get more out of their travel by having a guide go with them and help discover what lies below the surface.
Apart from the obvious- explaining the history and culture of the tour – a good guide will be a link between the visitor and the real people – translating for you with anybody you meet and explaining the context and the detail of everyday life and interaction.
They will also be your “minder” – they know when you need a drink or a rest – they know when you are enjoying yourself or in the middle of something and need more time – they quickly learn what interests you and how much depth you want.
All Tonkin’s guides are registered with the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism which means they have passed an exhaustive course (2 months for Tourism graduates and 6 months for other graduates). They are polite and respectful yet pro-active and fun. We offer guide services in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and other languages as well as specialty guides who are experts in various fields including fine art and history.
If you don’t see your preferred language on the list or you have a special request to meet an expert please Contact us for further details.
If you’d like to see some comments on our guides from guests please have a flip through our Guests’ Comments.
Specific Request
If you have a specific interest be it art, history, cooking or whatever we will do our utmost to design your tour to include (or be totally about) whatever you like. We have arranged for all types of people to do all sorts of interesting things and meet interesting people.
We have taken war veterans to old battle sites, pilgrims to pagodas, students to visit schools and forestry experts to the forest. Organised visits to artists’ private studios and visits to charity organisations to give donations. Whatever red tape or permission is required, whatever introductions are sought, we will take care of everything so that you can enjoy a rich and fulfilling experience.
Bridge, photography, traditional music, war history, ancient history, architecture, textiles, motorcycling, cycling, trekking, shopping, ceramics, kayaking. Vespa/Jeep tour, spiritual tour, modern or traditional shows, arts,fashion, cooking class, street food, homestay, home host dinner, special event (honeymoon, anniversary, birthday…), incentif, seminar.
Cambodia
An adventure to Cambodia will inspire travelers to contemplate what happens when ancient and modern worlds collide.
