Vietnam has made great strides in simplifying and improving the terms of its e-visa process making the country a better destination for Digital Nomads and long-term travellers. The length of the e-visa is now 90 days and it is open to all countries.
In December 2022 I complained about how Vietnam went backwards by only allowing 30-day e-visa access to the country thereby starving the country of digital nomads and long-term travellers. Especially when Vietnam’s tourism needed to have a strong comeback after the Covid years. Surrounding countries like Thailand and Malaysia made a big effort to welcome tourists with incentives like a 15-day additional extension in the case of Thailand and the launch of a Digital Nomad Visa for Malaysia.
It looks like Vietnam has listened. I stated the following 5 points that Vietnam should do:
- Open up the e-visa scheme to more countries. Was 80 countries in 2022 now all countries in the world.
- Get rid of the reselling of e-visas, Vietnam is communicating better that there is only one e-visa portal. However, there are still plenty of old websites with outdated info.
- Offer 90-day e-visas online and get completely rid of the invitation letter scheme. Yes 90 days is the length of the new e-visa
- Get rid of the full-page tourist visas. Again with e-visa I only have a small stamp on my passport.
- Work on a dedicated digital nomad visa. No news on this one yet.
But 4 out of 5 is not a bad start.
The duration of the e-visa used to be 30 days and is now 90 days. Also there is a single entry visa for $25 as well as a multiple entry visa for $50 . Now you can visit bordering countries like Cambodia or Laos easily with a multiple-entry visa.
Requirements
- You need to apply from outside of Vietnam
- You need to have a valid passport
- Fill out the online application at: https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/en_US/web/guest/khai-thi-thuc-dien-tu/cap-thi-thuc-dien-tu
- Pay the fee via credit card.
The online visa process takes about 3 days. So when you do a visa run make sure you have ample time, to be on the safe side I would stay 1 week away.
Be aware
There are plenty of visa selling websites that take a larger cut or promise the e-visa with less than 3 days for a higher fee. I would avoid these websites, there is only one official website for Vietnam e-visa and that is: https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn
Vietnam still recovering from tourism
Vietnam is still far from its peak in tourism that hit in 2019. This has mainly to do with the very slow return of Chinese tourists. This 90-day e-visa for all countries will seriously help get tourists back into the country. I recommend you take advantage ASAP to still enjoy this beautiful country before all the hordes return.
Digital Nomads in Vietnam
If you are looking for inspiration on where to stay and work as a digital nomad in Vietnam check out the article below.
