VIETNAM VISA RUN 2023
If you are a regular visitor to Vietnam, you are most likely unfamiliar with the term "Vietnam visa run." This refers to entering our nation and remaining for a few days or 30 days before returning home. However, if you want to stay in Vietnam for longer than the period of your visa and it is difficult or expensive to obtain a visa extension in Vietnam, a visa run is an excellent option. Thousands of ex-pats in Vietnam have utilized this method at least once to extend their stay and avoid overstaying their visa. And now for full instruction on what it is, where to perform a visa run for Vietnam, and how to correctly do a visa run for Vietnam.
What is the Vietnam visa run?
A visa run for Vietnam is a trip that you must take if your Vietnam visa is about to expire and you cannot or will not be able to renew it. So you must leave Vietnam, go to a nearby border country with Vietnam (Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, or China), and then return to Vietnam with a new visa.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Visa Border Run:
Pros:
Low cost: Extending your visa through a border run is less expensive than alternative options.
The new visa has no relevance to the previous one, and you can apply for a one-month single entry, one-month multiple entries, three-month single entry, or three-month multiple entry visa, depending on your needs.
Cons:
Check out and check in Vietnam: You cannot stay in Vietnam to do the visa run, you need to exit the border and re-enter this border to get a new visa. This process takes time and effort.
Where to do a visa run from Vietnam?
There are two ways to do your visa run in Vietnam, namely.
The visa run via Vietnam international airports.
The visa run via land borders.
Vietnam Visa Run 2023 Tips:
- Cheapest visa runs from Hanoi: Those in Hanoi often choose to do a visa run via Noi Bai Airport to Singapore, Thailand, or Cambodia.
- Cheapest visa runs from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city): Those in Saigon and southern provinces of Vietnam often choose to do the Moc Bai bordering visa run which is considered the cheapest, fastest, and most convenient way to do a visa run from Ho Chi Minh city (you may go by public bus number 703-704)
What to bring on a Vietnamese visa run?
To successfully the visa run from Vietnam, you need to prepare the following:
- Original passport (valid for at least 06 months following your re-entry date);
- A valid entry paper for Vietnam. It can be:
- Your Vietnam 5-year visa;
- Your e-visa for Vietnam;
- Your visa approval letter if you get your visa stamped at the checkpoint (original if you do the visa run via land border, or print if doing it via international airports of Vietnam). This is now available for a business visa only;
- Stamping fee; 02 passport-sized photos & Vietnamese application form in case you get the visa on arrival in this visa run;
- Air ticket/bus ticket;
- A black or blue pen to complete the form.
Vietnamese visa run important notes:
- In case you do the visa run with visa exemption, items 2 and 3 are NOT required.
- If you do the visa border run, you must show the original visa approval letter with the red stamp and signature, a copy, scan, or photo is not accepted.
- There is also regulation concerning the photos if required. Spend some minutes reading Vietnam visa photo requirements and sizes. Don’t forget your photos as you may be subject to a penalty of $10 or have to take it at the airport at around US $10/one.
- The visa stamping fee at Vietnam airport (if required) is US $95 for a single entry visa, US $150 for a multiple entry visa valid for up to 3 months.
- The Vietnamese visa application form (if required) can be taken on your flight in case you do the visa run via the airport, in the front desk of the visa counter at the border gates.
