Visa for Vietnam and Cambodia Tour

Traveling to Vietnam and Cambodia is an adventure of a lifetime, and requires some careful planning on where to go and what to do, and even on which way round to do it. One of the most important things you need to consider in planning and executing a trip to Cambodia and Vietnam is the visas.

Both countries require a visa for most travelers planning on making them part of their itinerary in Asia, and knowing the requirements for the visa application is essential. Visas are issued in order to allow foreign travelers a temporary permit to enter the country for different reasons, the main one being for tourism. Without a valid visa issued for the destination country, you will not be able to enter, and will be either refused entry at the land border or denied entry at the airport, where you will have to pay for a flight out again.

Visa for Vietnam

Vietnam visas are available for all nationalities without exception, and can be obtained in three ways, by application at an embassy or consular office before entering the country, by pre-approved online application, and as an e-visa.

However, there are a number of countries that have a visa exemption for travel to Vietnam. For Chile, there is a visa exemption for 90 days, where Chilean passport holders can travel without a visa for up to 90 days. For citizens of Cambodia, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, the exemption is for 30 days, while for Philippine passport holders it is 21 days. Brunei and Myanmar have a 14-day exemption, and passport holders from Belarus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom can travel visa-free for 15 days, as long as they have a pre-booked return or onward flight ticket.

Vietnam Visa

Pre-approved Visa

Visas can be obtained from the Vietnamese Embassy or Consular Office in your home or resident country by personal application. All Vietnam embassies and consular offices have a visa service, and require a valid passport with six month’s validity at the time of travel, a completed application form, and two passport-sized photos. Processing of the visa takes around three working days, and the visa fee varies depending on your home country.

Visas obtained from an embassy or consular office often start to run from the date of approval, so a 30-day visa will start the day you collect it. If your trip is not planned for some time, it is best to apply for the visa closer to the time of travel, or at an embassy or consular office in another country en-route to Vietnam.

Visa On Arrival

Vietnam does not actually have a Visa On Arrival service, per se. Visas can be applied for online before travel, and you will get a visa approval letter to show to the immigration officials when you get to the airport. The immigration desk will then approve the visa sticker in your passport, and you are free to enter. However, it should be noted that this is only available for travelers entering the country through one of the three international airports. Travelers entering overland must have a pre-approved visa (from an embassy) or an e-visa.

The pre-arranged visa service is not the best option for traveling to Vietnam, and pre-dates the new e-visa service that was started in 2017. If you prefer to book the online pre-arranged visa, you can do so through a number of travel agents around the world or online at the Official Vietnam Visa website at https://vietnamvisa.govt.vn/apply-online/.

Vietnam tourist visa

E-Visa

The Vietnam E-visa was first introduced in early 2017, and has been running with very few problems. The E-visa service was launched to make obtaining a visa easier for tourists, in order to boost the tourist trade in Vietnam. A major destination for western tourists, one of the main issues for visas was the problems in getting one from an embassy or consular office, as many countries do not have Vietnamese embassies.

The process for the online E-visa is simple and straightforward, and unlike some E-visa applications does not require you to have a valid MasterCard or VISA credit card to make payment. The E-visa costs just US$25, and is a single-entry, 30-day visa that allows entry to Vietnam through all of the airports and 13 of the land border crossings.

While the easy payment option of paying the fee direct to the bank account listed on the visa websites, the visa is not available to everyone, and can only be applied for by passport holders of 46 eligible countries. The countries eligible for an E-visa are: Argentina, Australia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, China1, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Mongolia, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Timor Leste, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Passport holders of all other nations must apply for the visa at an embassy or consular office.

Visa for Cambodia

A visa is required of travelers to Cambodia from all nations with the exception of those that have a pre-arrange visa exemption allowance. For passport holders from Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam, the visa exemption allows visa-free travel for up to 30 days, while for Philippine passport holders it is 21 days. The 14-day exemption applies to passport holders of Brunei, the Seychelles, Myanmar, and Thailand.

All other passport holders must apply for a Cambodia visa by personal application at an Embassy, as a Visa On Arrival, or via the online facility for E-visas.

Pre-approved Visa

Passport holders from all countries can apply for their visa at an embassy or consular office around the world. However, there are only thirteen visa offices that are outside Asia, which are the embassies in Australia, Belgium, Cuba, Egypt, France, Germany, Kuwait, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States and the consular offices located in Italy, Switzerland, and Turkey.

Cambodia visa

This old style way of applying for a visa requires the applicant to make a personal application at the visa office, and then return to collect your passport and visa at the approved time. The normal processing time for the visa is just three days, and the costs are currently US$ 30, or the equivalent in local currency. A few countries have a visa-mailing service to save having to go back, which requires you to provide a pre-paid registered mail envelope for the return.

The visa application requires your original passport, completed application form, one passport-sized photo, and the visa fee payment as a banker’s check, direct bank transfer, or money order. Personal checks, credit cards, and cash are not permitted.

Visa On Arrival

Getting a Visa On Arrival is the preferred method for many people traveling around Asia, and the Visa On Arrival Service for Cambodia is available at all the major airports and all land border crossings. The visa is valid for thirty days from the date of entry, and is only a single entry visa. However, this can be extended for up to another 30 days, but can only be extended once.

The visa fee for entry on arrival in Cambodia is US$ 30, and the fee must be paid in US dollars. There are ATMs at the airport which dispense dollars, but which charge high fees, so it is important to have dollars with you when you arrive. At land border crossings, there are also money changers, although the exchange rates will be very poor, and you will end up paying more for the visa than expected.

While most people can get the Visa On Arrival, it is not available for passport holders of certain countries. The disallowed countries for the Cambodian Visa On Arrival service are: Afghanistan, Algeria, Arab Saudi, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Nigeria. Passport holders from these countries must make an application at the embassy or consular office in their home country only prior to traveling to Cambodia.

E-Visa

The E-visa is becoming more popular with foreign travelers to Asia, and many countries are now providing this service, especially those with limited embassies and consular offices in western countries. E-visas make it simple to get your visa, and save time over the pre-approved visa or Visa On Arrival, which can take a few hours to process in busy periods.

The E-visa service for Cambodia is run through the official E-visa website at https://www.evisa.gov.kh/ and takes around three days to process. Once you have registered at the site, you can follow the application process easily and quickly, and your visa will be sent as a PDF document that you can print and show on your arrival in Cambodia. The E-visa costs US$ 40 (which includes the recently introduced visa processing fee), and is valid for 30 days from the date of issue, so should not be applied for until needed.

Cambodia e-visa

The same countries that are disallowed from applying for the Visa On Arrival are also disallowed from applying for an E-visa, and must apply through the embassy or consular office in their home country only.

There are, however, a few drawbacks to the Cambodian E-visa service, which make it hard for some people to make the application. The biggest problem with the application process is the method of payment. Unlike Vietnam, which allows payment to a bank account, Cambodia only allows online payments using a credit or debit card. Moreover, they only allow payments from MasterCard and VISA cards, and do not offer any other options.

There is also a problem for travelers entering the country through certain entry points. The E-visa is only applicable for those entering the country through the airports at Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, and cannot be used if you will be arriving at Sihanoukville. Also, it can only be used when entering over the land border checkpoints at Cham Yeam, Bavet, Poipet, and Tropeng Kreal. So, if you are not traveling through one of those entry points, then the Visa On Arrival service is probably still your best option.