Vietnam Visa - Approval Letter

[meltingpot2015]

Here is what the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office say about using a visa company for visa on arrival (for periods of 15 days and longer):

There are legitimate companies that can arrange visas on arrival, but you must organise this before you arrive in Vietnam. ....There are also a number of bogus companies claiming to offer this service. The Embassy and Consulate General cannot confirm whether a company has a legitimate arrangement in place.

Exactly my experience (earlier this year) when I called the Vietnam Embassy in Bangkok to enquire about obtaining visa. They were not so keen to say obtain the visa through us, actually I sensed the opposite. i.e they were saying obtain visa through a company. But in the same breath they were saying "we are not responsible if you get scammed".

Just been reading a post about visa to Cambodia, which has a government approved e-visa scheme.

Edited September 17, 2015 by meltingpot2015

[meltingpot2015]

Just came across a report from 2013. Vietnam visa for three months obtained through Embassy in Bangkok. When they arrived in Hanoi, they were only allowed 1-month stay.

Extending the 1-month visa is definitely a no, no. Unless, of course you like to pay almost 200 USD for that service.

Edited September 17, 2015 by meltingpot2015

[bartender100]

For reference, unfortunately not for US citizens yet

http://travelhappy.info/vietnam/no-vietnam-visa-required-for-citizens-of-britain-germany-france-italy-and-spain/

[Stocky]

I used http://www.vietnamvisapro.com/ early this year no problems.

Yes the invitation letter included a whole crowd of people I'd never heard of, but the most important thing was my details were there spelt correctly with the right passport details.

Wifey and I want to go for a holiday, Ho Chi Min, so looking for advice.

Clicked your link and my McAffee Site Advisor warned me not to proceed.

Did a google, Australian gov "Smarttraveler, and got this piece of advice: "

• There have been reports of scams involving online Vietnamese visa applications. We recommend you apply for your Vietnamese visa directly from the nearest Embassy or Consulate of Vietnam."

Can anyone confirm: I need a visa (Australian) but my wife gets visa on arrival (Thai passport)?

While you're at it....HCM City...nice but not too expensive hotel? Places of interest? We plan to be there 4 days.

McAffee barks at everything, I had no problems using the site and neither did Kaspersky.

[meltingpot2015]

I used vietnamvisaprovider. Excellent service. Kept informed throughout the process and e-mails responded to within minutes. I e-mailed them about the start date and expiry date of a three month single entry visa. They advised me that its valid for full 90 days. So, if you put arrival date of 08 Oct 2015 on approval letter application, the expiry date of visa would be 08 Jan 2015. Turn-around time for approval letter was within the 2-days. I applied on Wednesday morning and had the letter in my e-mail Inbox by Friday Morning.

VietnamVisaProvider also sent useful info through e-mail about what I need to produce at Hanoi Airport. e.g.:

1) 2x passport photo.

2) printout of visa approval letter.

3) 45 USD fee.

Would highly recommend this service.

Edited October 12, 2015 by meltingpot2015

[meltingpot2015]

Some hotels offer the Visa Approval letter service if you book three or more nights with them. But we need to book directly with the hotel. One hotel (Cannot recall which one) offered Free Airport transfer or Free Visa Approval letter with a booking of three nights or more.

[meltingpot2015]

Post #35 - has an error; the expiry date 08 Jan 2015 is actually 08 Jan 2016. 90 days from 08 Oct 2015 would take you in to 2016.

Edited October 12, 2015 by meltingpot2015

[Seastallion]

I used http://www.vietnamvisapro.com/ early this year no problems.

Yes the invitation letter included a whole crowd of people I'd never heard of, but the most important thing was my details were there spelt correctly with the right passport details.

Wifey and I want to go for a holiday, Ho Chi Min, so looking for advice.

Clicked your link and my McAffee Site Advisor warned me not to proceed.

Did a google, Australian gov "Smarttraveler, and got this piece of advice: "

• There have been reports of scams involving online Vietnamese visa applications. We recommend you apply for your Vietnamese visa directly from the nearest Embassy or Consulate of Vietnam."

Can anyone confirm: I need a visa (Australian) but my wife gets visa on arrival (Thai passport)?

While you're at it....HCM City...nice but not too expensive hotel? Places of interest? We plan to be there 4 days.

McAffee barks at everything, I had no problems using the site and neither did Kaspersky.

Yeah...I ended up using your link, and it was good and prompt.

So many scam sites out there...so be wary people. As my post above where the site required me to sign in to my email account through their website...a total scam.

Back now from VN (HCMC)...is there a thread about the scams...wow....scam central is HCMC!