Any Updates on the newly passed 12 month tourist visa for US citizens

The other form you should have received has a place for a sponsor or something like that.  Inquire with the service just exactly what bologna you should fill in.   It is this form that looked hilarious to me as was really incomplete.   No address for my “ sponsor or whatever “.   If anyone thinks those every 3 month trips to the border are fun I can understand UNTIL it’s inconvienient, you are sick, you don’t want to spend the money, all your friends are doing something fun, ETC ETC!!   Bring 135$ in correct denominations and nice and clean.  I think you already know this but hopefully will save someone some misery.  Good luck sir!!

You are quite lucky. My visa agent just emailed me yesterday that as of a few weeks ago, zero business visas are being given to any nationality. Duration unknown.

Btw, when I got my business visa at the airport last month, they only wanted one photo and couldn't have cared less about the long form you fill out to accompany your formal stamped form. Just handed it back to me without looking.

You must have the $135 fee in exact change as they do not make change. "Too busy."

I used an expediter at immigration and very glad I did.

I just arrived in HCMC 8 days ago.  I arranged the business visa maybe 5 days before I arrived.   I noticed some sites didn’t offer.  Some did.  Some total rip off.  Do your homework!

An interesting concept: a visa firm could backdate the day you applied for the business visa, while keeping the day the visa begins or activates the same even though post-business visa suspension. They get your money, you get your visa. I applied for my original visa six months in advance. So it would only make sense that a practiced visa company could figure this out and keep issuing them.

Not sure but I’m liking it!   Have you flown vietjet anywhere?   Cheap, clean and dependable late!

My fortune at lunch today... 

WOWOWOWEEE THATS FUNNY!  Creepy but funny!!!!!!!

(Posting here too, since this is the sticky thread on the subject):

I finally arrived in Hanoi last night (30 Aug 2018) at Noi Bai International Airport from the USA on a new, 1-Year Business Visa done through a Visa on Arrival (VOA) agent.

It is a DN adhesive visa stamp, and my passport was further stamped by the final Immigration entry officer with a note that I am approved to stay through August 29, 2019.

It is a "multiple entries" visa, so I can theoretically come and go as I please for a year, though an immigration officer could ALWAYS deny me re-entry for any reason they choose.

The visa approval letter I received contains that caution, as do the websites for the Vietnamese Embassy and Consulates in the USA.

So, even though two other VOA agents said there is a hold on Business Visas, mine went through.

Yet, though this is current info, I agree with those who say the visa laws and enforcement of them can change overnight, or quicker.

#GoodMorningVIETNAM!

thats great news for you!! I arrive hcmc on oct 4th and Im from Canada, and have never been to vietnam.  Should I just try my luck at the airport for a 1 year visa, business or tourist?

Blackyvanhorne :

thats great news for you!! I arrive hcmc on oct 4th and Im from Canada, and have never been to vietnam.  Should I just try my luck at the airport for a 1 year visa, business or tourist?

You will need a visa letter from an agent before arriving at the airport in Viet Nam.. Some airlines will ask to see your visa before allowing you to fly.

Blackyvanhorne :

thats great news for you!! I arrive hcmc on oct 4th and Im from Canada, and have never been to vietnam.  Should I just try my luck at the airport for a 1 year visa, business or tourist?

THAT video would definitely sell a lot of popcorn...

Delta Airlines (with a connecting flight on Vietnam Airlines) wouldn't even let me check my baggage in San Diego until I'd gone inside the terminal and had my Visa On Arrival (VOA) letter & passport verified.

Not meaning to offend, but you sound totally clueless regarding the visa approval process, especially since you've already got your airline reservation.

I highly recommend that you contact a reputable VOA agent now.


Good luck

can you suggest any voa agents? thanks

Here is the one I used for many years and never had 1 problem.

https://www.hotels-in-vietnam.com/vietn … -visa.html

No, I have no connection with them, other than a regular customer.

Apologies for my ignorance but I'm rather to this. My family and I have visited Vietnam on numerous occasions , this has been for vacation periods of a month each year.

We are now investigating the option of possibly staying for a year or so (as we have located a suitable school for our daughter).

Is this possible ? Under which Visa category would anybody advise ? We are also not US citizens.

Cheers
Scruffy

Scruffydog :

Apologies for my ignorance but I'm rather to this. My family and I have visited Vietnam on numerous occasions , this has been for vacation periods of a month each year.

We are now investigating the option of possibly staying for a year or so (as we have located a suitable school for our daughter).

Is this possible ? Under which Visa category would anybody advise ? We are also not US citizens.

Cheers
Scruffy

I'd rather not speculate off-topic in this sticky thread.

I sent you a private message with contact info for my own trusted Visa on Arrival agent, a personal friend here in Vietnam.

However, it's always best to inquire first at the
Embassy or Consulate in your country.

Cheers!

Are you referring to Russian tourist visas? And for what length of time and the cost.
Thanks,
Kurt

zissel :

Are you referring to Russian tourist visas? And for what length of time and the cost.
Thanks,
Kurt

No.

Please read the title of this sticky thread.

Thank you

I have been doing VOA every 3 months more than 10 years with the same on line company & last i asked, only US citizens are eligible for 1 year tourist VOA & most companies doing this service state on their web sites

Not sure about when that 12 month visa might become available but I'll check it out second week of March when I extend mine. BTW, he may already be ripping you a bit - is there a particular reason you do not qualify/obtain Six Month visas?

Arrived in Da Nang, VN Jul 1 2019and was granted 1 year multiple entry Visa for $135.
Process was amazingly pleasant !  I Applied for E-visa online,  presented at Visa counter
got my Visa. 

Compared to process to spend a year in Thailand , very pleasant !

If you are still in the US and are considering applying for a one year visa-on-arrival, may I suggest that you take a peek at my post #476 in the VEC thread, the third paragraph in particular.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 12#4633809

A visa from the consulate means no waiting in the visa-on-arrival lines and may cost no more or maybe even less.

THIGV :

If you are still in the US and are considering applying for a one year visa-on-arrival, may I suggest that you take a peek at my post #476 in the VEC thread, the third paragraph in particular.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 12#4633809

A visa from the consulate means no waiting in the visa-on-arrival lines and may cost no more or maybe even less.

You are correct that the Visa from the Consulate (or Embassy) costs less, since there is no Visa On  Arrival (VOA) agent's fee included.

Also, since there is no regulation of fees paid to agents, the price difference could be staggering, as I've personally seen quotes for VOA letters as high as $2,000.00 USD for a 1 year category DN Business Visa (for U.S. citizens) and as low as $199.00 USD (plus mandatory $135.00 USD cash stamping fee payable on arrival).

However, in the post you linked to above, you state:

"I see no reason to be fooling around with a visa-on-arrival company" in a post where you are initially talking about a VEC.

We (I) see U.S. citizens posting here almost daily, seeking a 1 year Visa that doesn't require border runs, yet they don't have a sponsoring business here in Vietnam that will support their application for a 1 Year Category DN Business Visa.

For those people (myself included) a trustworthy VOA agent is a huge help in providing both a sponsor as well as an official approved VOA letter.

I'm about to utilize my trusted VOA agent (a personal friend in Hanoi) for my new 1 Year Category DN Business Visa.

I am confident that my experience will be just as easy as it was last year:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=562887&p=10#4324545

No "fooling around", just the path of least resistance.

UPDATE:

I just received my new (second) 1-year Category DN Business Visa at Nội Bài airport.

It seemed easier than last year.

Probably because the line was short and the representative for my visa agent was smiling and easy to work with.

According to my trusted visa agent, only American citizens can be approved for this type of Visa through an agent.

Worth noting: after receiving my passport back containing my new adhesive visa stamp, I walked through the entry point to have the immigration officer in the booth ink-stamp my passport with today's date and my "allowed to remain until" date.

He accidentally wrote that I have to leave yesterday!

30-08-2019

I handed the passport back to him and pointed out the year.

No, I didn't tell him he'd made a mistake.

He corrected the date to read 30-08-2020



ALWAYS check the date stamp before you walk away from the entry point booth!

Anyone with questions is welcome to private message me.

First of all let me stipulate that I have never had either the US only 1 yr tourist visa or a DN business visa.  My wife got my first VEC just before my 90 day tourist visa was to expire.  I don't think that we even knew about the VEC at the time but the government agent at N~.Du St. actually suggested it.  At that time extensions were 90 days but did not require a border run.  I have a new VEC in my passport now, ready to go in case a family emergency means we have to go quickly.  That said:

OceanBeach92107 :

THIGV :

A visa from the consulate means no waiting in the visa-on-arrival lines and may cost no more or maybe even less.

You are correct that the Visa from the Consulate (or Embassy) costs less, since there is no Visa On  Arrival (VOA) agent's fee included.

Also, since there is no regulation of fees paid to agents, the price difference could be staggering, as I've personally seen quotes for VOA letters as high as $2,000.00 USD for a 1 year category DN Business Visa (for U.S. citizens) and as low as $199.00 USD (plus mandatory $135.00 USD cash stamping fee payable on arrival).

I did not write it down and have forgotten    the exact amount but I did inquire with the SF consulate about the price on the I yr tourist visa.  If I recall it was around $200 so a good bit less than your $199+$135. 

At that time you also posted:

OceanBeach92107 :

We (I) see U.S. citizens posting here almost daily, seeking a 1 year Visa that doesn't require border runs, yet they don't have a sponsoring business here in Vietnam that will support their application for a 1 Year Category DN Business Visa.

For those people (myself included) a trustworthy VOA agent is a huge help in providing both a sponsor as well as an official approved VOA letter.

....No "fooling around", just the path of least resistance.

You have now posted the following:

OceanBeach92107 :

UPDATE:

I just received my new (second) 1-year Category DN Business Visa at Nội Bài airport.
....According to my trusted visa agent, only American citizens can be approved for this type of Visa through an agent.

I am somewhat surprised that you are still advocating for the DN visa in light of the recent postings that may indicate that some blacklisting may be based on the fact that people have obtained DN visas without obtaining work permits.  https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=827419  In particular, check out post #7.  i too posted on that thread, perhaps in a more critical tone than I feel today.   You have posted on this thread yourself. 

It is always natural to take the path of least resistance, particularly in Vietnam, but I am still amazed that the system allowed agents to set up DN visas with shell companies with whom the visa holder had no real relationship.  This is not a criticism of those who hold the visas, or even the agents, but a criticism of the government for allowing such a situation to exist.  Can you imagine any developed country allowing profit motivated agents to set up visas?  Imagine the cost of a US visa in HCM if you could get one from a private office across the street on Lê Duẩn.  (When a consular official was selling US visas prior to 2013, the price was reportedly $15-70K. He got 64 months so he may be recently out of jail. )   Of course the current system in VN is an open invitation for corruption.  Now authorities may be making a correction but of course the cost falls on the foreigners, not the agents or officials.  It may be that the current crackdown does not yet include US citizens but who knows when that hammer may fall?  As Colinoscapee posted:

colinoscapee :

If you have a 1 year business visa and don't leave for the whole year, immigration can look and see you didnt come here just for meetings.

A more sophisticated system would require real letters from real companies, perhaps evidence that salaries from international companies were paid to the visa holder while they worked in VN, or real evidence of attempts to establish new business.  Of course this would require real work and honest discretion on behalf of the government employees.     Not likely.

OceanBeach92107 :

Anyone with questions is welcome to private message me.

Sorry if you didn't want this in public but I think I am more critical of the government than I am of others.

Like THIGV, I am also surprised that you got that visa, OceanBeach. I have read the threads about blacklisting and it seemed that the 1 year business visa was the prime culprit. If you have information that that's not the case, please share.

hyagly256 :

Like THIGV, I am also surprised that you got that visa, OceanBeach. I have read the threads about blacklisting and it seemed that the 1 year business visa was the prime culprit. If you have information that that's not the case, please share.

I don't understand the purpose of one year business visa, but I know OB is not the only person who had/have it.  Another American expat here in VT arrived in VN on the same visa, reapplied for the 2nd year, and now almost half way through his 3rd year here.

He's not a member of this site so I cannot ask him to verify, but my husband and I know him personally and saw his visa when I helped him with apartment rental.

hyagly256 :

Like THIGV, I am also surprised that you got that visa, OceanBeach. I have read the threads about blacklisting and it seemed that the 1 year business visa was the prime culprit. If you have information that that's not the case, please share.

Apparantly, based largely on his ethical concerns, THIGV is on a crusade of sorts without any personal experience in applying for, receiving and living in Vietnam with a 1 year category DN business visa for US citizens.

I think he has eloquently and completely stated his case.

I have shared my personal experience as well as the experiences of many U.S. citizens currently living here in Vietnam.

I am not pushing an agenda.

I am simply attempting to add my own anecdotal experiences to the mix of posts on this subject.

I have nothing else to add, except to ask you, a Canadian, to reread:

1. The title of this thread (visa for U.S. citizens)

2. All of the posts about blacklisting to determine the nationality of the complainant.

If my memory serves me correctly, the vast majority of those saying they have been blacklisted are not US citizens.

ON TOPIC, none of the information I have shared is relevant for Canadian citizens.

Hello everyone,

For your information, some off-topic posts have been removed from this thread.

Thank you,

Diksha
Team Expat.com