There are several travel agencies, un-official websites that advertise “visa-on-arrival approval letters” for tourists. These are un-authorised services by private businesses and are abusive of the visa-on-arrival facility.
Please note the following:
1. Under current Vietnam Immigration regulations, visa-on-arrival is a special facility designed for extreme emergency situations, mostly for humanitarian purposes when a traveller does not have enough time to obtain a proper visa through an Embassy. Travellers can ONLY apply for such a facility at Viet Nam’s international airports under the following circumstances:
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On offcicial invitation by the Vietnamese government;
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Attending funerals of family members;
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Providing care for family members who are seriously ill;
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Providing technical emergency support; medical care for seriously-ill patients; or assisting in natural disaster and epidemic relief in Viet Nam;
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Others extreme emergencies.
2. Falsely declaring emergencies to use this facility is a serious abuse and would result in heavy penalty or denied entry to the country.
3. In the above-mentioned circumstances, to properly and safely utilize this facility one needs to obtain an Approval Letter issued by the Embassy of Vietnam and your name must be in the landing visa list on the Embassy’s website at https://www.vietnamembassy.ca/landing-visa-list. This Approval Letter would be accepted by all international air carriers as a substitute for an actual visa.
4. Always obtain a proper visa before travelling if you can, as in most cases the visa can be issued within 3 business days, and only in 1 days if expedited service is requested. The visa can also be applied through email at your own convenience without having to physically send your passport and other documents to the Embassy. For detailed guidelines, see the Embassy’s website at http://vietnamembassy.ca/visas.
5. The Embassy would NOT be responsible for any inconveniences, nor would it be able to assist travellers without a visa or whose “approval letters” were not issued by the Embassy. The followings are NOT official websites of the Vietnamese Government and have no authority to issue Vietnamese visa:
vietnam…embassy.org
myvietnam…visa.com
goviet…visa.com
visa…vietnam.ca
visa…vietnam.org
vietnam…visa.org
fr.myviet…visa.com/Ambassade
vietnam…visacentre.com
getvisa…vietnam.com
vietnam…visa.gov.vn
visaviet….gov.vn
vietnam…visaco.com… among many others
6. In case you already applied for an “approval letter” through one of these websites, please contact our visa officers at 613 236 0772 or 343 777 8384 for assistance.
Thank you for your cooperation.