Vietnam visa, strange & interesting

I applied for evisa in Dec 22 but due to job and wanting to avoid Tet which i dont like i postponed the trip until a couple of days ago. Arrived to HCM airport, I queued with other people for immigration clearance and noted that few people had to present additional papers and discussed with immigration more than usual. Two (asians) were even escorted to the office. My turn came, I gave passport to the officer, visa with standard 30 days sojourn and PCR test. He handed me back the PCR, after 30 sec my passport was stamped and within a minute I was heading to pick up my luggage. I never check the passport and so was this time too. But when i checked it 2 days later i noticed that stay period which he wrote by ball pen was 60 days, until the date in March, not in Feb. If I was in the airport i would certainly go back and ask whether this is mistake but it was too late now.   
So, does somebody understand that? Is it mistake, good spirit for Tet or what. All passports are not the same of course, but my is nothing special (croatian). Since 1.1.2023. Croatia is schengen country; Evisa was granted in Dec when it was not. Likely not, but does it have some impact?
Anybody with such experience?
-@ruzuba1500

Was the PCR test required because of your port of departure or a connecting flight location?

In general, it's not a requirement to enter Vietnam now.

As for the extra month in your passport, I myself have had two incorrect entries put into my passport by Vietnam immigration, necessitating my asking for them to correct their errors.

Just a guess on my part but it would seem that the law of averages would cause them to eventually make errors in the favor of the passport holder.

if you are planning to exit and reenter on your current Visa, it might cause a problem because the border guards are often asking to see your current visa when you exit (I was asked on two separate occasions).

So if you take a chance and stay 60 days and then attempt to exit for the purpose of a Visa run, I could see how that might cause a problem, but if I'm not mistaken it's whatever was written into your passport that rules the situation.

if it were me I would probably go to local immigration and ask them to sort it now.

PCR test was in fact not required by anybody. I wasn't asked to produce it at departure point in EU, layover in Bangkok and finally in HCM. But I was particularly worried about Thailand because i had unpleasant experience in June when i was last time transiting there. Local security asked PCR test to be 24 h old whereas Thai government site required 48 hr. Plus traveling insurance and vaccination status. And to be noted, all that for 3 1/2 h transit. I had everything with me but had anyway to discuss 10mins with security before he let me go. So this time i had it just in case.

As for visa, I know the rule is that immigration officer has last word. He can deny entry even if you have visa, reduce sojourn below what visa states (already experienced) but I have never seen that can extend it as in this case.

Since I already planned my journey based on 30 days (tickets, next legs etc), I will not try my luck and will leave after 28 days. But yes, would be nice if those 60 days are real thing.

Since I already planned my journey based on 30 days (tickets, next legs etc), I will not try my luck and will leave after 28 days. But yes, would be nice if those 60 days are real thing.
-@ruzuba1500

Good call.

Though not required when exiting VN, I would suggest you carry with you a print of your approved eVisa to present to the officer at departure.

Please let us know how everything transpires, post-exit.

I did U-turn on Moc Bai - 2x always asked for visa doc, fellow visa runner showed to border guard visa on his smartphone, it worked for him, but I guess border guard was in good mood probably talked to his gf probably that's why he did not make him problem.

PCR test was in fact not required by anybody. I wasn't asked to produce it at departure point in EU, layover in Bangkok and finally in HCM. But I was particularly worried about Thailand because i had unpleasant experience in June when i was last time transiting there. Local security asked PCR test to be 24 h old whereas Thai government site required 48 hr. Plus traveling insurance and vaccination status. And to be noted, all that for 3 1/2 h transit. I had everything with me but had anyway to discuss 10mins with security before he let me go. So this time i had it just in case.
As for visa, I know the rule is that immigration officer has last word. He can deny entry even if you have visa, reduce sojourn below what visa states (already experienced) but I have never seen that can extend it as in this case.
Since I already planned my journey based on 30 days (tickets, next legs etc), I will not try my luck and will leave after 28 days. But yes, would be nice if those 60 days are real thing.
-@ruzuba1500

Just be aware that you always need to check visa approval document for errors. Friend of mine did not saw error in the visa doc he downloaded, it cost him 200 EUR. Not his mistake, border guard did not give *** about it, he was about to be sent back if he did not agree to pony up 200.

narcrepellant2525

yes, that is correct. I have experience with mistake on chinese visa when the gender was marked as F. Luckily I noted mistake and the embassy corrected it.

But this case is different since the error is made by immigration officer and although i travel the world for 30+ years, this is the first time.

Aidan in HCMC

I didnt think about it, but yes, too carry printed visa when exiting Vn is good idea.

I will certainly post update on how all that ended.

hello everybody,

i promised update after exiting Vn and here it is:

few days ago I left the country, before expiration of stay period as per visa, i.e. 30 days and not 60 days as it was written by immigration officer at the time of entry. Better to keep safe side, as we all agreed on this forum. i had with me printed visa, just in case.

My queue for passport control at Tat Son Nhat was super slow (is it only me or happens also to the others that the chosen queue is always the slowest), adding some nervousness to the process. I surely didnt want to finish in front of some nitpicker. in fact i saw that people in front of me, Vietnamese, had to present additional papers and one guy was even escorted to the office. Gosh! Finally after 40 mins (!!), my turn. I handed over the passport and produced the sweetest face I can set I was careful because the difference between sweet and stupid faces is minimal. The officer looked down (to passport? computer?) little too long, than even scratched his head (is it a bad sign?). After that i started to pull out visa from folder, but when i looked to him my passport was on the bench. Huh! Later i checked the passport: the wrong stay period was crossed and new date added - 30 days.

I hope everything finishes here, but the ultimate proof will be next time when applying for visa.   

@ruzuba1500

And thank you for that update!

Glad everything worked out well for you.

My queue for passport control at Tat Son Nhat was super slow (is it only me or happens also to the others that the chosen queue is always the slowest), adding some nervousness to the process. I surely didnt want to finish in front of some nitpicker. in fact i saw that people in front of me, Vietnamese, had to present additional papers and one guy was even escorted to the office. Gosh! Finally after 40 mins (!!), my turn. I handed over the passport and produced the sweetest face I can set I was careful because the difference between sweet and stupid faces is minimal. The officer looked down (to passport? computer?) little too long, than even scratched his head (is it a bad sign?). After that i started to pull out visa from folder, but when i looked to him my passport was on the bench. Huh! Later i checked the passport: the wrong stay period was crossed and new date added - 30 days.
I hope everything finishes here, but the ultimate proof will be next time when applying for visa. 

-@ruzuba1500

I totally agree & I must say as far as the time it takes to exit & enter Vietnam is absolutely, mind boggling chronic.

There are no specific lines for Vietnamese citizens either to exit or enter & as you say & my watchful experience they treat their own people worse that foreigners!

I have travelled by air quite extensively over the last 6 months & have left & returned through Tan Son Nhat going to Qatar Doha, Paris France CGG, Amsterdam Schiphol, Singapore Changi & BKK Suvarnabhumi & the way you are treated, when you enter & exit all of these airports compared to Tan Son Nhat is stark. Even at CDG it was not as bad as I remembered  from experience it would be.     

So last time I left BKK I decided to do a survey (very basic) & from joining the queue at the immigration desk to getting through took each person in my survey (of 3 people) it took between 30 seconds to 40 seconds for each person to be processed & get through.

I did the same survey coming in to Saigon & it took anything from between 2 minutes to 3 minutes for each person to be processed & get through & that would be a conservative estimate.

I have been in that queue like you for 40 minutes & even an hour & like you I always seem to pick the slowest queue

One tip I have picked up over the years is to try & pick a line with no young families in it!

If you think its bad now, wait till the increased tourists they are expecting start to arrive en masse.

Once back in though everything is just great & the memory quickly fades.............until the next time.

@Aidan in HCMC

well, i hope so.

But as i said the final test will be next application for Vn visa. I dont see how could that influence visa process but bureaucratic channels are beyond common humans' comprehension.

goodolboy

absolutely correct.

Although i must say that except slow processing time and picking up wrong queue, so far I have never had problems with immigration. But, as you pointed out, the same cannot be said for Vn citizens as every time i enter the country at Tat Son Nhat, i see somebody looking like local is escorted to the office. Once or twice the same fate struck white people.

I learnt the same lesson as you: while plugging the queue can happen in any moment, avoid queues with toddlers, small children and seniors that look lost and travel alone.

... and seniors that look lost and travel alone.
-@ruzuba1500

Hey now, no need to get personal! I don't do it on purpose

Exited Hoi An land  border crossing  today,  officer did not asked me for visa printout, but it is anyway  nice to have it, so the exit goes smoothly ( for the cost cost 2-3K VND for BW printout)

Exited Hoi An land border crossing today, officer did not asked me for visa printout, but it is anyway nice to have it, so the exit goes smoothly ( for the cost cost 2-3K VND for BW printout)
-@narcrepellant2525

Nice to hear that crossings are going smoothly. Are you back in VN now?

Your current and/or new eVisa is not required to exit, only for entry. Mind you, it certainly can't hurt to have both ready to show.

Thank you for the Hoi An crossing report.

In Cambodia now :-) I think you are correct, I have no idea why they need that evisa printout which is about to expire, last time I went you border crossing gave the officer by mistake new visa printout instead of old one, he did not even realized my mistake;-) But bureaucracy everywhere   like the papers and stamps, the more stamps the better

@ruzuba1500 No man, you are cool, you did not overstayed your visa, etc, why should be problem for you?

@Aidan in HCMC

Hahaha, but look, i am in the same group and even though i dont feel lost, i dont know how much lost other people see me.

@narcrepellant2525

yes, this is also my opinion and i am hopeful the visa process next time will go smoothly.

@Aidan in HCMC Moc Bai insist on seeing your current/expiring e-visa on exiting Vietnam every time I have crossed over to Cambodia. The last crossing was last weekend.

@Aidan in HCMC Moc Bai insist on seeing your current/expiring e-visa on exiting Vietnam every time I have crossed over to Cambodia. The last crossing was last weekend.
-@Safepeter

Me too, last summer.

I'm pretty sure the reason is supposed to be an easy confirmation you haven't overstayed, but that's a SWAG.

@Aidan in HCMC Moc Bai insist on seeing your current/expiring e-visa on exiting Vietnam every time I have crossed over to Cambodia. The last crossing was last weekend.
-@Safepeter

Me too, last summer.

I'm pretty sure the reason is supposed to be an easy confirmation you haven't overstayed, but that's a SWAG.
-@OceanBeach92107

Well I am flying out of TSN tomorrow & will comment, but last time a month ago they did not ask for it, but better be safe than sorry &  take a copy with me just in case.

@Safepeter True, Moc Bai officers always asked for old visa printout.

@Aidan in HCMC Moc Bai insist on seeing your current/expiring e-visa on exiting Vietnam every time I have crossed over to Cambodia. The last crossing was last weekend.
-@Safepeter

Me too, last summer.

I'm pretty sure the reason is supposed to be an easy confirmation you haven't overstayed, but that's a SWAG.
-@OceanBeach92107
Well I am flying out of TSN tomorrow & will comment, but last time a month ago they did not ask for it, but better be safe than sorry & take a copy with me just in case.
-@goodolboy

I flew out of tsn about six weeks ago and the immigration officer insisted on seeing my evisa. Guess it depends on which side of the bed they get out.

@Aidan in HCMC Moc Bai insist on seeing your current/expiring e-visa on exiting Vietnam every time I have crossed over to Cambodia. The last crossing was last weekend.
-@Safepeter

Me too, last summer.

I'm pretty sure the reason is supposed to be an easy confirmation you haven't overstayed, but that's a SWAG.
-@OceanBeach92107
Well I am flying out of TSN tomorrow & will comment, but last time a month ago they did not ask for it, but better be safe than sorry & take a copy with me just in case.
-@goodolboy
I flew out of tsn about six weeks ago and the immigration officer insisted on seeing my evisa. Guess it depends on which side of the bed they get out.
-@Safepeter

It occurs to me that maybe people have been purchasing bogus stamps for their passport somewsy or the other, especially if they've been in country for a while (more than 30 days) or if they entered on a visa exemption but then decided to just hang around.

I'm still seeing a lot of questionable people on social media telling people to send them a private message and they can do all kinds of things for them.

-@OceanBeach92107
Well I am flying out of TSN tomorrow & will comment, but last time a month ago they did not ask for it, but better be safe than sorry & take a copy with me just in case.
-@goodolboy

Just asking, are you existing for visa run?

@Safepeter

so incongruent policy. sometimes asking expiring visa, sometimes not. Indeed it depends on bed's side, air humidity, wife's headache or is there any real logic?

@Safepeter
so incongruent policy. sometimes asking expiring visa, sometimes not. Indeed it depends on bed's side, air humidity, wife's headache or is there any real logic?
-@ruzuba1500

Just back in from Bangkok visa run.

At immigration leaving TSN Vietnam they did not ask to look at my expiring visa.

At check in Vietjet BKK  they did ask to see my new e visa & took a photo of it.

At immigration this time I just handed it over with my PP.

As a side issue, in all my time traveling in & out of TSN over 14+ years I have never ever seen queues at immigration like I saw today & that was with all the desks operational.  So I suppose the fact that only 30 days tourist e visa's & 15 days exemptions is not having much effect to the numbers entering Vietnam now.

@goodolboy with your experience over the past 14+ years what do you expect will unfold over the next few years? Like you, I have never had an issue with visa renewal but now, visiting on a tourist visa, I am not looking forward to having to do the run every 30 days. In short, where do you see this issue going?

It occurs to me that maybe people have been purchasing bogus stamps for their passport somewsy or the other, especially if they've been in country for a while (more than 30 days) or if they entered on a visa exemption but then decided to just hang around.
-@OceanBeach92107

That's crazy..

As a side issue, in all my time traveling in & out of TSN over 14+ years I have never ever seen queues at immigration like I saw today & that was with all the desks operational. So I suppose the fact that only 30 days tourist e visa's & 15 days exemptions is not having much effect to the numbers entering Vietnam now.
-@goodolboy

I think the long queues are also due to long processing times where many travellers are processed few minutes and some even longer, being required to produce various supporting documents. Also, I guess a part of the entering foreigners are still some Viet kieu. Not all managed to come during Tet, some due to great pressure after covid opening and some (like some in my neighbourhood) for their own choice as the tickets were very expensive and to bring a family of 4-5-6 members was above their budget. So they opted to come later, that is, now when the tickets are cheaper.

@redislandar

If it is to draw a parallel with countries i know well, Philippines and especially China, the situation for expats can only become more complex, for various reasons. Expats who work, pay tax, who are married for local girls/women, investors, skilled expats that government needs, employees of foreign companies, retirees who are obliged to bring in a lot of money (as a deposit, buying home, buying long term visa, or high monthly allowance), and tourists of course, in short, the people from which the government draws benefits, are usually welcomed.

All others are slowly and more and more often seen as a nuisance: clogging entry/exit points and until short time ago being possible vectors for covid transmission; benefiting from country facilities and pay for that nothing, little or in any case not enough (considered by the govt); being involved in grey-ish economy (various teachers employed by dubious employers/ companies); perverts, fornicators who led sinful and wrongful life and seduce local virgins (and not) to satisfy their low desires etc etc..... the list is longer that one may expect.

As for people in the second group, I noted that the changes slowly started creeping in few years back (in China). Ideas were cleared, decisions made, and processes enabled during covid. My impression is that the same is en course now in Vn and the only question is just how fast and strict the implementation will take.

The govt will, I think, open ways to regulate the expats' status but under their terms, i.e. terms which will strictly be in their favour only, under "take it or leave it" formula.

It occurs to me that maybe people have been purchasing bogus stamps for their passport somewsy or the other, especially if they've been in country for a while (more than 30 days) or if they entered on a visa exemption but then decided to just hang around.
-@OceanBeach92107
That's crazy..
-@narcrepellant2525

If you are saying it's crazy behavior, I totally agree, and yet it's true "there's a sucker born every minute" as well as a crook looking to lick the suckers clean.

@goodolboy with your experience over the past 14+ years what do you expect will unfold over the next few years? Like you, I have never had an issue with visa renewal but now, visiting on a tourist visa, I am not looking forward to having to do the run every 30 days. In short, where do you see this issue going?
-@redislandar

Just my opinion @red...........been here 14+ years & 15 years come June if I make it that long the way things are going

Even after living here for all that time I will never consider or describe my self as a "Vietnam Expert" like some on here. You know why? because as everyone who has lived here knows, what is fact today & not necessary fact tomorrow or even fact one hour later & unless you are 100% fluent in the Vietnamese language you are never going to know what is actually going on & you know what.......most Vietnamese are also in the dark on everything about the government here. My GF & all my Vietnamese friends laugh & look with that sceptical look when I say I read on the ex pat forum this or that or seen a copy & paste of something they have found by trawling the internet & then posted.  Because they know how the system works here & just get on with their lives.

What they all agree on is that things are changing in the government & I will say no more than that on the subject.

So for what its worth to give my observations as far as travel, living here & Visa's. In my opinion & again just my opinion & observation............from the numbers I saw at immigration TSN yesterday there will be no rush to extend/amend the visa term situation as it is at the moment, why would they? the majority of foreign "actual tourists" are quite happy with the 15 days visa exempt & 30 days e visa & have no requirement to stay longer & from the people I have met they don't even want to stay here more than a week, they do a SEA scheduled tour which will be sort of 3 days Singapore, 5 days Thailand, 3 days Vietnam, 3 days Cambodia & might include a couple of days in Laos. Its just a tick in the box, been there done that & Its only people like me who are not really tourists but live here who are finding the 30 days e visa a bit of a bind! Me personally I will just do the 30 days e visa thing incorporating some holidays with Ms My in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Bali & see how it goes & if it is true about the 8 or 9 max e visa & out, I will just work around it as best I can.

The observation from goodolboy regarding tourists is correct. Current situation with evisa and 30 days sojourn period covers 99% of tourists' needs. I know a lot of people who came to Vn and their max stay is 20 days what actually is more than enough for standard tourist to visit main attractions. Taking into consideration the distance from Europe or America and the standard time frame one has for holidays, the vacations is usually split between few SE countries and in that case, again, 30-days visa suits well. The small number of expats in the special situation are of no interest for the government. Hence, i dont see there will be changes in visa regime in near future, except to become more strict.

Further, evisa mostly works well so i dont see return of visa on arrival. With evisa system, the government has better control of immigration and in my opinion this system is here to stay for quite some time. 

I have never had an issue with visa renewal but now, visiting on a tourist visa, I am not looking forward to having to do the run every 30 days.
-@redislandar

Since you've previously mentioned that you spend most of your time in Hanoi, would you perhaps consider creating a new thread in the Hanoi Visas sub-forum, relaying the personal experiences you've had in doing visa border runs from there on successive 30-day tourist eVisas?

We haven't had much feedback on that activity from Hanoi at all, and even my long time trusted Visa agent in Hanoi has not been getting involved in facilitating transportation for those Visa runs.

I'd especially like it clarified about access to certain border crossing points, as I'm pretty sure it's bad information that these visa runs are not allowed at certain crossing points.

I'm pretty sure that the correct information is that the use of a Laos e-visa is only possible at a few limited border checkpoints, and in order to do a successful Visa run at a border crossing point where e-visas are not authorized, a person needs to go to the embassy in Hanoi and purchase a 1 month, full-page visa stamp for their passport.

I've also been told that it's unwise to go to such border crossing points with only a copy of your e-visa on a smartphone, because both the Vietnam and Laos authorities will demand to see paper copies of both your current e-visa for Vietnam and the new e-visa you will be using to reenter Vietnam.

That's just what I've been able to piece together from multiple sources, so of course I'm open to correction, but it would be very helpful to hear about your personal experience, or if you have been choosing to fly somewhere for your Visa runs.

Hopefully, if 3 months visas are finally approved in the not too distant future, this will be a much easier task for many