Vietnam Visa Requirements

Do I need a visa for Vietnam? Most travelers do. Citizens of 24 European and Asian countries, including the UK, Germany, France and Japan, can visit for up to 45 days without one, and several ASEAN countries have shorter visa-free stays. Everyone else, including travelers from the United States, Australia, Canada and India, needs a visa, and the simplest is an e-visa, which you can apply for online.

This page helps you work out which group you are in, what to apply for and which documents to prepare. The rules below are as of October 2026.

Your situation and what you need:

The fastest way to place yourself in that table is to answer three questions.

Do I need a visa for Vietnam? Three questions

Do you need a visa for Vietnam? Three things decide it: your passport, the length of your trip and the way you arrive.

1. Is your passport on Vietnam's visa-free list? Check the list in the next section. If not, you need a visa.
2. Is your stay within the visa-free limit? For the 24 countries on the 45-day list, that means 45 days from the day you enter. If you stay longer, you need a visa.
3. How are you arriving? An e-visa works at airports, land border gates and seaports. Visa on arrival works at airports only.

If you passed the first two questions, you can travel without a visa. If not, the third decides between an e-visa and visa on arrival.

Visa-free countries as of October 2026

As of October 2026, 24 countries have a 45-day visa exemption under two government resolutions, and several ASEAN countries have shorter bilateral exemptions. The full list, with every country and stay length, is on our visa-free entry list.

45 days for 24 European and Asian countries

Citizens of these 24 countries can stay up to 45 days without a visa. Twelve are covered by one resolution for any purpose, and twelve by a second resolution for tourism.

Sources: Vietnamese Embassy in Denmark for Resolution 44/NQ-CP and in Belgium for Resolution 229/NQ-CP. Both apply to any passport type. For Resolution 229/NQ-CP, the embassy lists a passport valid for at least 6 months as a condition. The 45 days count from your date of entry.

ASEAN countries

Citizens of several Southeast Asian countries can visit without a visa under bilateral agreements, for stays of between 14 and 30 days depending on the country. Check your country's exact limit on our visa-free entry list before you book.

Phu Quoc

Phu Quoc island has its own visa-free rule: travelers of any nationality who arrive directly and stay on the island can stay for up to 30 days without a visa. Leaving the island for the mainland needs a visa. Our page on Phu Quoc visa-free rules explains the conditions.

Is a visa required for Vietnam if you stay longer?

Yes. A visa is required for Vietnam once your trip is longer than your visa-free limit, even if your passport is on the list. A 50-day trip on a UK passport, for example, needs a visa.

The e-visa covers stays of up to 90 days, with single or multiple entries. Apply for it before you travel, for the full length of your trip, rather than planning to sort it out once you are in Vietnam.

E-visa or visa on arrival

For most travelers who need a visa, the e-visa is the simpler choice. It has been open to citizens of every country since August 2023, you land with the visa already issued, and it works at land and sea crossings as well as airports.

Our Vietnam e-visa guide covers eligibility and the steps, and our page on visa on arrival explains the letter.

Documents you need

For an e-visa, you need a scan of your passport bio page and a portrait photo; for visa on arrival, you need the approval letter and a photo at the airport. In both cases:

• Passport: valid for at least 6 months after your arrival date, with at least one blank page.
• Photo: 4x6 cm, white background, no glasses. Our e-visa photo requirements page shows common upload errors.
• Passport scan (e-visa): the full bio page, including the two machine-readable lines at the bottom, without glare.
• Travel details: your entry date and the border gate where you will enter.

You do not need a bank statement or a copy of your card to apply for an e-visa through us.

Requirements by nationality

Each nationality page covers whether you need a visa, the fees, processing time, documents and tips for that passport:

• United States
• United Kingdom
• Australia
• Canada
• India
• Ireland
• New Zealand
• Malaysia

If your country is not listed here, the visa-free list and the three questions above still give you the answer.

If you need a visa, you can start your application with us or apply yourself on evisa.gov.vn. VietnamVisa-Easy.com is a private visa service operated by H2 Global Travel JSC since 2012, not a government website. You can apply directly at evisa.gov.vn for US$25.