How to Apply Vietnam Visa from Canada: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to apply Vietnam visa from Canada comes down to two practical routes: complete an e-visa application online before you fly, or arrange a pre-approved visa on arrival letter that gets stamped into your passport at a Vietnam airport. Canadian passport holders are not on Vietnam's visa-exemption list and there is no APEC Business Travel Card shortcut, since Canada is not an APEC economy, so one of these two steps is required before departure for almost every trip.

Most Canadian travelers use the e-visa, since it is processed entirely online and does not require a visit to a consulate. If your travel dates changed suddenly or you missed the online window, the visa on arrival route lets you secure an approval letter first and finish the process at the airport counter after you land. A smaller group of travelers, particularly those needing a visa type the e-visa does not cover, apply in person at the Vietnamese Embassy in Ottawa or the Consulate General in Vancouver.

Whichever route fits your trip, sequence matters as much as paperwork. Canada has no nonstop flights to Vietnam, so most itineraries connect through Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, or Taipei and run 20-27 hours door-to-door. Combine that with a large time-zone gap between Canada and Vietnam, and applying with real lead time, rather than the night before a flight, is what keeps this process simple.

Below, you will find the exact steps for the e-visa, the exact steps for visa on arrival, and the checkpoints in between, including how to download your result and what a Vietnam immigration officer expects to see at the border.

Last updated: September 14, 2026

How to apply Vietnam visa from Canada in brief:

What to Prepare Before You Apply for a Vietnam Visa from Canada

Before you open any application form, gather four things: your passport, a photo, a payment method, and a Vietnam address to list on the form. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months beyond your planned departure from Vietnam and should have at least 1 blank visa page. Canadian passports run on 5-year or 10-year cycles, and travelers renewing on the longer cycle are the ones most likely to cut this buffer close, so confirm the date before you type a single field.

Next, prepare a digital photo (4x6cm, white background, no glasses) taken within the last 6 months, along with a clear scan of your passport bio page. Many Canadian passport-photo kiosks default to a grey or patterned backdrop rather than plain white, which is one of the more common upload rejections from this market, so check the background specifically. Have a valid credit or debit card ready, since both the e-visa and the visa on arrival service fee are paid online. Finally, note down a temporary address in Vietnam. A hotel booking confirmation or a family member's address both work.

Set aside about 20 minutes of uninterrupted time to complete the form, rather than filling it in across several short sessions on a phone. A saved but unsubmitted form can time out, and re-entering every field from scratch is the most common reason applicants run short on time before a flight. If you are applying for more than one traveler, prepare each person's documents separately before you start. The e-visa support form handles up to 5 people per booking, and the visa on arrival support form handles up to 20 people per booking, but each passport is still processed as its own record.

This guide focuses on the application sequence itself. For the full document checklist, photo specification, and eligibility conditions by visa purpose, see the visa requirements guide. Once your documents are ready, the online form for either route takes most applicants under 20 minutes to complete.

How to Apply Vietnam Visa from Canada Online: E-Visa Steps

The e-visa is the most direct way to apply for a Vietnam visa from Canada, since the entire process happens on one website and produces a document you print at home. Follow these steps in order:

1. Go to the official e-visa portal at evisa.gov.vn, or use an assisted service such as vietnamvisa-easy.com if you would rather have someone check your form before it is submitted.
2. Select your entry type (single or multiple entry) and enter your travel dates and intended port of entry.
3. Fill in your personal details exactly as printed on your passport bio page, including full name, date of birth, and passport number.
4. Upload your passport bio page scan and your digital passport-style photo.
5. Review every field against your passport a second time, then pay the visa fee by credit or debit card.
6. Submit the form and save the registration code shown on the confirmation screen.

Note: A single typo in your passport number, or a spelling difference from your passport's printed name, is the single most common reason a Canadian e-visa application is delayed for manual review.

Uploading Your Documents and Photo Correctly

Upload your passport scan as a full, uncropped image of the bio page, with all four corners visible and the ICAO lines at the bottom legible. Your photo should be a recent, forward-facing shot (4x6cm, white background, no glasses), saved as a JPG file under the size limit the form specifies. If either file uploads with a warning icon rather than a green check, replace it before moving to payment. A rejected file at this stage is the fastest way to trigger a request for resubmission later, and resubmission adds days you may not have given Canada's long connecting-flight itineraries.

How Payment Works for the Vietnam E-Visa

Payment happens on the same page as submission, using a Visa, Mastercard, or similar card. If you apply directly on evisa.gov.vn, you pay only the government fee, USD 25 for single entry or USD 50 for multiple entry. If you apply through an assisted service, the total includes both the government fee and a service fee for form review and support, and the confirmation screen or email will show that breakdown. For the current government and service fee amounts by processing speed, see the visa fee guide. The government fee is non-refundable once submitted, even if your application is later rejected for a data mismatch.

What Happens After You Submit Your Vietnam E-Visa Application

Once you submit the form, your application enters a review queue at the Vietnam Immigration Department. Standard processing for most applications from Canada takes 3-5 working days, though your confirmation email will include a registration code you can use to check status sooner.

1. Use your registration code to check your application status on the official lookup page.
2. Watch for an email requesting a correction. If one arrives, log back in, fix the flagged field, and resubmit within the deadline given.
3. Once approved, you will receive an email with a link to download your e-visa as a PDF.

If your travel date is only a few days away, an expedited processing tier can shorten this wait considerably; the fastest tier, Super Urgent/Emergency, can be issued in as little as 1.5 working hours, including weekends and holidays. The exact tiers and turnaround times are covered separately in the processing time guide, since duplicating that full breakdown here would only make this walk through harder to follow.

How to Receive, Download, and Print Your Vietnam E-Visa

Your approved e-visa arrives as a link in your confirmation email, not as an attachment, so check your inbox, including spam, for a message from the government portal or your assisted service provider. Open the link, download the PDF, and save a copy to your phone as a backup.

Print the e-visa on plain paper before you travel. Airlines checking documents before boarding, and immigration officers at the Vietnam port of entry, both expect a printed copy, not only a phone screen. Keep the printed page with your passport for the entire trip, since you may be asked to present it again on departure.

Note: A digital copy on your phone is a useful backup, but do not rely on it as your only copy. A dead battery or a cracked screen partway through a 20-27 hour connecting itinerary causes delays that are easy to avoid with one printed page.

How the Visa on Arrival Route Works from Canada

Visa on arrival is applicable to air travel only, and it works in two stages rather than one. First, you apply online through a guaranteeing agency for an approval letter. Second, you collect the actual visa stamp at a landing visa counter inside the Vietnam airport, after you land.

1. Complete an online application with an authorized guaranteeing agency, listing your passport details, travel dates, and port of entry.
2. Pay the service fee online, starting from USD 28 per person and free for children under 2. The stamping fee itself is paid separately, in cash, at the airport counter.
3. Receive your approval letter by email, typically within a few working days for standard processing, faster for urgent requests.
4. Print the approval letter and bring it with you to the airport.
5. On arrival, present the letter, your passport, two passport photos, and the stamping fee in cash at the visa on arrival counter to receive your visa stamp.

Note: Visa on arrival is not the same as a visa exemption. You still need the approval letter arranged before you fly. Arriving without one means you cannot use this counter at all.

What to Bring to the Airport Counter for Visa on Arrival

Bring your printed approval letter, your original passport with at least 6 months' validity remaining, two passport photos (4x6cm, white background, no glasses), the completed entry/exit form, and the stamping fee in cash (USD or VND is accepted). Missing the cash fee, or bringing only a photo of the approval letter rather than a printed copy, are the two most common reasons Canadian travelers get delayed at this counter.

What to Do at the Airport When You Land in Vietnam

Whether you hold an e-visa or a visa on arrival stamp, the arrival sequence at the port of entry is similar. E-visa holders go directly to the immigration counter with their printed e-visa and passport. Visa on arrival holders first stop at the landing visa counter to complete the stamping process described above, then proceed to the same immigration line.

At the immigration counter, present your passport and visa document, have your photo and fingerprints taken as requested, and collect your stamped passport. From there, proceed to baggage claim and customs as normal. Keep your visa document accessible for the rest of your stay, since hotels in Vietnam commonly ask to see it at check-in, and you will need it again when you depart.

Queues at the landing visa counter can run longer than the immigration line itself, particularly on flights that arrive alongside several other international services from Hong Kong, Seoul, or Tokyo. If your connecting transport in Vietnam is tight after a long journey from Canada, build in an extra 30-45 minutes for the visa on arrival stamping step before you plan your onward journey from the airport.

What Canadian Travelers Should Double-Check Before Applying

A handful of checks specific to applicants from Canada catch most of the avoidable delays before they happen. Confirm your passport meets the 6-month validity buffer, double-check the spelling of your name against your passport rather than an older driver's license, and apply with enough lead time for the standard processing window rather than the fastest possible tier.

Applying Through the Vietnamese Embassy in Ottawa or the Consulate in Vancouver

If your visa purpose falls outside what the e-visa covers, such as certain long-stay or work-related categories, you can apply in person or by mail through the Vietnamese Embassy in Ottawa, at 55 Mackay Street, or the Consulate General in Vancouver, which serves Western Canada. Both missions keep a narrow consular window, Thursday and Friday only, 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM and 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM, and neither currently accepts e-visa applications in person, since that process is handled entirely online. This route suits a small minority of travelers; most tourists and short-term business visitors from Canada complete everything through the e-visa or visa on arrival instead. For a full look at who qualifies for each route, see the overview guide.

Common Mistakes That Delay Canadian Applicants

• Submitting a name that does not match a recently, legally changed name on the passport.
• Entering a double-barrelled surname inconsistently, split differently in the first-name and last-name fields than it appears on the passport bio page.
• Uploading a photo with a grey, colored, or patterned background instead of white.
• Entering a date of birth or passport number that does not match the passport exactly.
• Applying with fewer than 6 months of remaining passport validity.

What to Do If Your Application Is Rejected or Delayed

If your e-visa is rejected, check the reason given in the notification email, correct the specific field, and resubmit as a new application rather than assuming the fee carries over automatically. If a decision has not arrived within the standard processing window and your flight is close, contact your assisted service provider's support line or the government portal's help desk. Consider the visa on arrival route as a backup, since its approval letter can often be issued faster than a delayed e-visa correction cycle, particularly once an expedited tier is selected.

How the Time Difference Between Canada and Vietnam Affects Tracking and Support

Vietnam runs on Indochina Time (UTC+7) year-round, with no daylight saving. Eastern Time in Canada sits 11-12 hours behind Vietnam, and Pacific Time sits 14-15 hours behind, so Vietnam's business hours fall almost entirely overnight for most Canadian applicants. If you submit an application in the evening from Toronto or Vancouver, review generally happens while you are asleep, and a same-day correction request can otherwise sit unanswered until your next morning. Applying earlier in the day, Canadian time, and choosing a support provider with hours that overlap Vietnam's 8:00-21:00 GMT+7 window helps close that gap.

Applying with an Assisted Service from Canada

You can complete either route yourself directly on the government portal, or apply through vietnamvisa-easy.com, which reviews your form before submission, tracks the application on your behalf, and provides support across the overnight gap described above. vietnamvisa-easy.com is a private travel service agency, operating since 2003 through its parent company Discover Asia Travel, and is not the Vietnamese government or its immigration department; the official e-visa portal remains evisa.gov.vn, run by Vietnam's immigration authority (see also xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn).

Choosing between the two is mostly a question of how much support you want. Applying directly saves the service fee but leaves error-checking entirely to you. Applying through an assisted service costs more but adds a second set of eyes on your form and a support contact if something goes wrong close to your flight, which matters more from a market 11-15 hours removed from Vietnam's working day than it would for a nearby applicant.

To apply, visit https://www.vietnamvisa-easy.com and choose either the e-visa or visa on arrival flow, depending on which fits your travel dates. Support is available by WhatsApp or phone at +84 86 99 77 366, or by email at support@vietnamvisa-easy.com, between 8:00 and 21:00 GMT+7. For a side-by-side look at pricing and timing across both routes, see the visa fee guide and the processing time guide, and for a fuller set of application tips written specifically for this market, see the application guide and tips for Canadian travelers.