Practical

Vietnam e-Visa for US Citizens: Fee, Validity, Official Site

For a US passport the visa is a short online form, and the real risk is the website you choose. Here is the official one, what it costs and how to get it right the first time.

Short answer: if you hold a US passport and are visiting Vietnam as a tourist, plan on applying for an e-visa online, on the government’s own portal, evisa.gov.vn. As we read it on 28 October 2026, the portal states a fee of 25 USD for a single-entry visa or 50 USD for multiple entries, and a validity of up to 90 days. Anything that charges you more than that is a middleman.

The part that goes wrong is rarely the form. It is choosing the right website, matching your passport exactly, and leaving enough time.

Do you need a visa?

Travellers on a US passport should plan on needing one. The US Embassy in Vietnam’s own page on entry rules points American visitors to the Vietnamese e-visa system, and the Vietnamese portal lists a separate group of countries that are exempt from the e-visa. Before you book anything, look at that exemption list on the portal and confirm it for your own passport.

If you are visiting Da Nang or Hoi An, you will almost certainly arrive at Da Nang International Airport, which is one of the international airports an e-visa holder can use. See how to get from Da Nang to Hoi An for the onward journey.

The e-visa at a glance

Three of those lines deserve a second look.

• Up to 90 days is a ceiling, not a promise. The visa runs for the dates you ask for, and the portal says the validity cannot exceed 90 days from the date it is issued.
• The fee is not refunded if the visa is not granted. The portal says so in plain words, which is one more reason to get the details right before you pay.
• Designated border gates. The portal says e-visa holders must enter and leave through the international border gates designated by the government. The US Embassy page puts the number at 42, including all international airports. Arriving by air at Da Nang is covered; if you plan to cross a land border, check the portal’s gate list first.

The right website, and the wrong ones

This is the part that matters most. Search for “Vietnam e-visa” and the first results are often private companies that look official, offer “express” or “guaranteed” service, and charge several times the government fee for submitting the same form on your behalf.

The Vietnamese Immigration Department has said so itself. In a notice reported by Vietnam News in October 2022, it warned that some businesses and individuals post false information on websites and social networks to profit from e-visa applications. The official portal has also moved at least once: a notice on the Immigration Department’s own site says the electronic visa portal began operating on two new domains, evisa.gov.vn and thithucdientu.gov.vn, from 11 November 2024.

We are not saying every agency is dishonest. Paying for help is a legitimate choice. Just know that the visa itself costs 25 or 50 USD, and anything above that is a service charge you can avoid.

How to apply, step by step

1. Check your passport first. The portal’s form includes a check that the passport must stay valid for at least 30 days beyond the date the visa is issued. In our experience, and this is our own advice rather than an official rule, it is sensible to renew a passport that has under six months left.
2. Get two images ready. The portal’s error messages show that it asks for a portrait photo and a photo of your passport’s data page, and that it can reject images that are blurred, too small, show no face or are copied from another source. Use a clear, well-lit photo of the real page.
3. Open evisa.gov.vn by typing the address yourself, not by clicking an advertisement.
4. Fill in the form exactly as your passport reads. Names, number, dates of birth and expiry. Do not shorten, anglicise or “fix” anything.
5. Give your intended entry date and entry and exit gates. For most of our readers that is Da Nang International Airport on the way in.
6. Pay through the portal’s payment page. The fee is 25 USD for one entry or 50 USD for multiple entries as the portal states it. Keep the confirmation.
7. Write down the file code. The portal tells applicants they must memorise their electronic document code to look the application up later.
8. Check the result and print it. Download the approved e-visa, check every letter against your passport, and carry a paper copy.

How long does it take?

We could not find a processing time stated on the portal itself in a form we could read. The most recent official-sourced figure we can cite is older: in October 2022, Vietnam News reported the Immigration Department as saying an e-visa is processed within three working days of receiving a complete application and the full fee. Treat that as a guide to the usual speed, not a promise.

Our advice is practical, not official: apply two to three weeks before you fly. A correction or a public holiday can eat a week.

At the airport and on arrival

• Carry the e-visa printout together with your passport. The US Embassy notes that airport authorities and airlines routinely check travel documents.
• Have a hotel address ready. The portal’s own page for foreign visitors reminds you that you must present your passport at the place you stay so it can register your temporary residence, so expect to hand it over at check-in.
• Carry a little Vietnamese money for the ride out of the airport. See money in Vietnam.

Mistakes that cost people their trip

• Applying on the first website that appears. Check the address ends in .gov.vn before you enter any passport details or card number.
• Typing the name or passport number wrong. The portal compares your portrait with your passport photo and warns that a poor match may lead to rejection. If the visa is refused, the fee is not refunded.
• Choosing dates that do not fit your trip. The visa covers only the dates you requested. Add a margin if flights may move.

If a longer trip is on your mind, our Start Here page explains how to decide how many days you need, and the three-day plan shows what a first stop in central Vietnam looks like. For the season, read the best time to visit Da Nang and Hoi An, and for a longer first trip see two weeks in Vietnam. Health preparation, which also takes several weeks, is covered in our guide to health and travel insurance for travellers over 50, and the full set of guides lives in the Vietnam travel guides.

Official sources used on this page:

• Vietnam National Electronic Visa portal, the only place to apply.
• US Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam, “Vietnamese Visas and Entry/Exit”.
• Vietnam News, “Immigration Department warns of illegal e-visa application websites”, 26 October 2022.

Common questions