In recent years, along with the development of Vietnam-US trade relationship, there has been an increase in the number of business travelers coming to work in Vietnam. In that, a significant number of business travelers are American citizens coming to Vietnam for activities in the field of education. As we all know, there has been a great deal of need to expand cooperation between the two countries in the field of education. For example, the demand of American native teachers to teach English at English schools in Vietnam, the need of seeking graduate and post-graduate training collaboration partnerships for students at Vietnamese colleges and university, or some American expert trainings for Vietnamese lecturers in the field of science – technique – technology, etc.

However, up to the present time, the United States is one of the countries whose citizens are not exempted from entry visas to Vietnam. Therefore, if you are a US citizen, you want to enter Vietnam regardless of the purpose, or how long you are staying here, you need to apply for a visa. Hence, the question is how many ways a US citizen can apply for a visa to enter Vietnam and how complicated the procedure for each way is. This article aims to provide you with all the necessary information about applying for a business visa to enter Vietnam for US citizens.

1. Application for a Vietnam Free-Visa (5-year VISA) directly at Vietnam Embassy in the United States of America (USA)

• The maximum term of a Vietnam Free-Visa is 5 years. The maximum stay in Vietnam for one entry is 6 months.
• Conditions to be considered for a Free-Visa:

– Vietnamese people reside in the USA;

– Foreigners are the spouses, children of Vietnamese citizens or Vietnamese residing in the USA.

• Documents and fees to apply for a Free-Visa: Please visit the Vietnam Embassy website in the US http://vietnamembassy-usa.org/vi/visa-5-nam
• Processing time: 03-07 working days since receiving all valid documents
• Contact information:

Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the United States of America

– Address: 1233 20th St NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036

– Tel: 202-861-0737

– Consular emergency: 202-716-8666

– For visa inquiries only: 202-999-6589

– Fax: 202-861-0917

– Email: vanphong@vietnamembassy.us (general information)

– Email: visatovn@vietnamembassy.us (consular affairs)

• Hours Of Operation (EST)

– Embassy: Mon – Fri, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm & 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm

– Consulate: Mon – Fri, 09:00 am to 12:00 pm & 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm

2. Application for a Vietnam Visa at the Vietnam Embassy in Washington D.C., USA

Although the term of the Vietnam Free-Visa and the length of staying for the Free-Visa category as mentioned above are both quite long, the conditions required to be a Vietnamese-American or the spouse/children of Vietnamese-Americans are not really easy for US citizens when they want to enter Vietnam. Therefore, most of them still seek other ways to apply for visas to Vietnam, for example, visiting directly the Vietnam Embassy in Washington D.C., USA.

• Contact information of the Vietnam Embassy in the USA: as mentioned above.
• Documents, fees, and detailed information to apply for a visa at the Embassy: please access the website at https://www.vietnamimmigration.com/

3. Application for a business E-Visa to Vietnam

If you live in the states far away from Washington D.C., or you are afraid of losing your passport documents by mail, you may think of applying for an Electronic Visa. E-visa is applicable to all cases of entry into Vietnam for both tourism and business purposes. This is an extremely convenient way because you not only do not need to show up directly at the visa offices, but all fee procedures are paid online just this once. You only need to receive the E-Visa via your email and print it out to attach your passport when passing through the immigration control gate in Vietnam.

• Maximum staying duration of an E-Visa: 90 days with single or multiple entry
• List of the airports, seaports, and border gates which allow foreigners to enter and exit via Electronic Visas: Please visit the website https://www.vietnamimmigration.com/ to see the list.

• How to apply for an E-VISA for American citizens:

Please access the immigration company website link at https://www.vietnamimmigration.com/apply-vietnam-visa/ to fill in the information

• You may need to prepare the following scanned or photo files to upload for electronic visas application:

– 01 scan of more than 6-month expiration passport (the page of personal information and export and immigration stamps)

– 01 file of a 3 x 4 cm photo (taken within 6 months, white background)

• Fees: The total fee is 40 USD for tourism E-Visa and 55 USD for business E-Visa.
• Processing time: 02 working days or 02 working hours (Express service is available at an additional charge)
• Special offer: You will receive the online instruction on how to apply as well as fill out the form, especially you will be refunded 100% in case of failing.

4. Application for a business Visa-On-Arrival to Vietnam

This is another way to apply for an entry visa to Vietnam which is selected by the majority of American teachers and training experts because of its outstanding advantages. In terms of procedures, like E-Visa, you only need to fill out the information on the website without having to be present or any documents. More importantly, Visa-On-Arrival is not limited to the numbers of entry and has the longest stay (up to 1 year). In addition, this type of Visa is made entirely by authorized immigration companies. Therefore, you are guided carefully to get the ‘VISA Approval Letter’; especially, you are refunded 100% your Visa fees in case of VISA failure. Then, you will be free and comfortable to focus on your work and business in Vietnam.

• How to apply online for a VISA-On-Arrival for American citizens:

Please access the link https://www.vietnamimmigration.com/apply-vietnam-visa/ to fill in information and choose the service form;

• The VISA-On-Arrival is not sent to you via your email. To receive the Visas, you will need to go to the “Visa On Arrival” offices at the airports with the following documents:
• Original passport (more than 6-month expiration and at least 02 blank pages)
• 02 color photos sized 3 x 4 cm (taken within 6 months, white background)
• VISA Approval Letter (it is sent to your email after applying 02 working days; + 6 USD if you want the private letter for only you)
• Vietnam Customs Declaration for passengers on entry/exit

After checking all information, the staff at the ‘Visa On Arrival’ office will issue the visa for you which will be pasted directly into your passport.

• List of 07 international airports in Vietnam can receive Visa-On-Arrivals:
• Noi Bai International Airport (Ha Noi city)
• Da Nang International Airport (Da Nang city)
• Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh city)
• Cam Ranh International Airport (Nha Trang city)
• Phu Quoc International Airport (Phu Quoc Island)
• Cat Bi International Airport (Hai Phong city)
• Lien Khuong International Airport (Da Lat city)
• Total fees for a VISA-On-Arrival for American citizens:
• Service fees: depends on the stay length, purpose, etc. – paid for the immigration company (Please see details at https://www.vietnamimmigration.com/vietnam-visa-fees/)
• Stamp fees: 25 USD (single entry) or 50 USD (multiple entries) if less than 3-month staying. 95 USD for 6-month staying. 135 USD for 1 year staying. – paid for the ‘Visa-On-Arrival’ office at the airport

In conclusion, each type of visa has different ways to apply as well as pros and cons. We hope that the above information has contributed to facilitate your applying for a visa to Vietnam. If you find any difficulty in the procedure or the process of filling in the visa application, kindly visit now our website https://www.vietnamimmigration.com/ or contact us via email address: info@vietnamimmigration.com . We will get back to you as soon as possible.