Quick summary
Vietnam’s government issues e-visas at two official addresses, evisa.gov.vn and thithucdientu.gov.vn, for $25 single-entry or $50 multiple-entry, valid for stays of up to 90 days and processed in three working days. The fee is non-refundable even if the application is refused, and it is paid through the portal’s own electronic payment gateway.
Since June 2026 a free E-Arrival form and its QR code are required before arrival as well. This guide shows how to tell an official site from a lookalike, what the government charges, and where an e-visa stops working.
Vietnam’s two official e-visa domains have been live since 08:00 GMT+7 on 11 November 2024. Every other site is a private business. For travelers flying to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, the distinction is between the government issuing the visa and a business selling help with the form. The government has warned publicly about fake visa websites.
The scale helps explain the copycat industry. Vietnam issued more than four million e-visas in 2025, up more than 30% on 2024, according to the Vietnam News Agency.
For travelers booking from North America, Europe or Australia, the stakes reach beyond the application fee to the details the airline and immigration officer will check. The rules are current as of October 2026.
What you should pay and how payment works
Vietnam publishes two e-visa prices: $25 for a single entry and $50 for multiple entries, each valid for a stay of up to 90 days. You pay through the portal’s electronic payment gateway, the government route for the fee. E-visa guidance current to 2026 states that the fee is non-refundable even if the application is refused. A refusal does not return the money.
Processing is listed at three working days after a complete application and payment in e-visa guidance current to 29 September 2026. The published schedule has one single-entry visa and one multiple-entry visa, with no express category. A site adding its own charge is selling form-filling, not speed.
For a family of four, four single-entry e-visas cost $100 in government fees. For one traveler, two single-entry visas cost $50 in total, the same as one multiple-entry e-visa. On a trip that includes a run out to Cambodia or Laos and back, the multiple-entry version saves a second application, not money.
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How to verify the official portal in 10 seconds
The test is the domain, not the design. Only .gov.vn addresses are authorized for e-visa applications; that suffix is reserved for Vietnamese government bodies. Two accept applications: the official e-visa portal at evisa.gov.vn and thithucdientu.gov.vn. An address ending in .com, .net, .org or a country code belongs to a private site, whatever its banner says.
Vietnam’s national immigration portal is a separate government site, not the visa application service. The department publishes procedures, notices and forms at immigration.gov.vn. Its guidance repeats the official portal’s warning to apply only on .gov.vn addresses and distrust any site claiming official-partner status.
The Vietnam News Agency reports government efforts to protect visitors from fake visa websites. The Vietnam visa scam authorities describe uses a lookalike page that copies the portal’s layout, flag imagery and form.
Some agencies simply fill in the same form for you, and are not necessarily illegal. The fee they keep for that work is theirs, not Vietnam’s.
Application requirements and the E-Arrival QR code
From June 2026, travelers must complete a free E-Arrival form and carry the QR code it issues before arrival. It sits alongside the e-visa rather than replacing it. Guidance current to 2026 lists the form as free, so a site charging for an arrival card is charging for something the government gives away.
The visa application is short but specific. It asks for the purpose of travel: tourism, business, transit or visiting relatives. It also asks for the intended length of stay within the 90-day ceiling. Those answers determine what the visa covers.
Entry gates where e-visas are valid
An e-visa works only at the border gates on the government’s published list. That list covers international airports, land border crossings and seaports; Da Nang airport is among the eligible air gates on the list current in 2026. You name your entry gate when you apply, and the airport or land crossing on the form needs to be the one you actually use.
The approval date matters as much as the gate.
The grant date shown on the e-visa sets when it starts and when the 90-day stay clock begins. You can arrive on that date or later, but not before it. A flight booked a day early lands on a visa that has not started, and check-in staff work from the document in front of them.
When the e-visa system doesn’t apply
An e-visa cannot be extended inside Vietnam. There is no in-country renewal or conversion to a longer visa. A traveler who wants to stay longer exits and applies for a new e-visa, paying the fee again and allowing for the same processing window.
Overstaying makes the problem expensive. Decree 282/2025/ND-CP, in force since 15 December 2025, sets out penalties that rise with the length of the overstay. The application form does not change the visa’s end date.
Nationality no longer decides the route. The e-visa has been open to citizens of all countries and territories since 15 August 2023 under Resolution 127/NQ-CP. For standard tourist travel, there is no separate embassy track to check before applying.
File early and upload to spec
An application filed in the week of departure leaves no slack for a rejected photo. A corrected application costs the same fee again plus another three working days, so the cheapest insurance is a form checked twice before submission.
- Shrink the uploads: the national immigration portal’s form takes a portrait photo under 50 KB and a passport scan under 200 KB, so resize the files before you start rather than midway through the form.
- Keep the case code: the system issues an electronic case code when you submit an application; store it so you can check status instead of waiting on a verification email.
- Do not resubmit while you wait: a second submission is a second application and a second non-refundable fee, so give the first one its full three working days.
- Watch: whether airlines begin asking for the E-Arrival QR code at check-in as the June 2026 rule beds in.
Vietnam approved nearly 2.5 million e-visas in the first six months of 2026 alone, and the E-Arrival code is now part of the standard arrival routine. Set the intended stay to the trip you plan to take; if your passport is inside the six-month window, renew it before starting the application.
Reporting by
Questions? Answers.
Is evisa.gov.vn legit?
Yes. Vietnam’s e-visa system is run by the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security, and evisa.gov.vn is one of its two official addresses; thithucdientu.gov.vn is the other. Both use the .gov.vn suffix reserved for state bodies, and the same $25 or $50 fee applies on each.
Is Vietnam’s immigration portal the same as the e-visa site?
They are separate government services. The department publishes procedures, notices and forms at immigration.gov.vn, while e-visa applications are submitted on the two e-visa domains. Neither route adds a service charge to the visa fee.
Can an agency process a Vietnam e-visa faster than the official portal?
No. The government lists three working days for processing and publishes no expedited category, so a third party submitting on your behalf adds its own fee rather than shortening the queue.
What happens if I make a mistake in my e-visa application?
Mismatches between the form and your passport are the usual cause of refusals, and the fee is non-refundable, so a corrected application means paying $25 or $50 again. Check name spelling, passport number and date of birth before submitting.
How much is a Vietnam e-visa for US citizens?
$25 for a single entry and $50 for multiple entries, the same as for every other nationality because the e-visa has been open to citizens of all countries and territories since 15 August 2023. No US-specific rate exists.
