Visa Renewal

As far as I'm concerned, Vietnamese immigration rules have been changed and visa just can be renewed for some specific cases/purposes, which means you don't have to leave and enter the country to get new visa. To have official information, I strongly suggest you contact with Vietnamese Immigration Bureau (HCMC Office) on 337 Nguyen Trai Street, Nguyen Cu Trinh Ward, District 1. In the meantime, you should have access to their website for reference: https://xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/. Wish you luck!

You need a visa extension. It used to be possible to get one extension without having to leave the country. It may still be.

Chi's Cafe used to be a well-known visa agent if you are in Saigon. I'm not sure if she still handles visas. The cafe still seems to be there though. Do a websearch to find her address and contact information in District 1.

fionamaluhia wrote:

Hi! I just moved here and my visa is about to expire (I ordered it over the summer when I thought I'd be coming here in November instead of January). I'm looking for a place to go in Vietnam where I can renew it without having to buy a bus ticket to Cambodia and a visa for Cambodia. I read that some travel agencies here will renew it for you, but does anyone have any experience with this? Is it really expensive? And how long does this process take?

Any help would be much appreciated, thank you!

The suggestion to go to immigration is good.

An agent is the next-best way to go about it.

An agent anywhere in the country can help you online.

Your cost, etc will be based on many factors, with the agent ultimately charging you what THEY think is a fare price.

We are not supposed to advertise businesses on here, but you should seek out an agent with a good reputation for honesty and efficiency.

If you send me a private message, I will give you the website and Facebook info for my trusted visa agent.

Cheers!

If you have a contract with a local company - you can simply get a temporary residency card. Do you? Or still looking for a job?

Alexanderrrrrrr wrote:

If you have a contract with a local company - you can simply get a temporary residency card. Do you? Or still looking for a job?

True as long as you have a work permit in place. A work contract by itself wont get you a TRC in most cases.

colinoscapee wrote:

Alexanderrrrrrr wrote:

If you have a contract with a local company - you can simply get a temporary residency card. Do you? Or still looking for a job?

True as long as you have a work permit in place. A work contract by itself wont get you a TRC in most cases.

This is my situation too - have a contract but not yet (new) work permit. Any recommendations how to update my residence card?

I had to get my visa extended at a travel shop, the government office can't do it anymore. It was $100 ish and took 3 days, very easy.

Canman63 wrote:

I had to get my visa extended at a travel shop, the government office can't do it anymore. It was $100 ish and took 3 days, very easy.

You want to be very careful with that.  A trip to the immigration office to check its validity may be worthwhile.

Firstly I went to government immigration where I was informed that they cannot do it anymore, ( tourist ) visa. I was told under a new law it must be done thru a tourist (visa)company. I found one of many, reputable shops in town and it was professionally takin care of. 
It was several days away from Tet. A local visa agent said he would not be able to get it back before the holiday, I would have to wait till the 10th but the local travel agent I used had in in my hands in 2 days before the holiday.
I used an agent close to the market on bac dang street.
Easy.

I've been using the same agent in HCMC for visa renewals for the past 10 years, he has just informed me of the new visa prices as follows in usd.

3 months single 150.

6 months single 285.

3 months multiple 245.

6 months multiple 1100.

12 months multiple 1300.

2 years residence card 1600.

Terence Wetton wrote:

I've been using the same agent in HCMC for visa renewals for the past 10 years, he has just informed me of the new visa prices as follows in usd.

3 months single 150.

6 months single 285.

3 months multiple 245.

6 months multiple 1100.

12 months multiple 1300.

2 years residence card 1600.

That 2 year residence card is done with no paperwork, hence its under the table. Since the 1 year, easy to obtain business visa folded, the new prices are just a blatant money grab.

Terence Wetton wrote:

I've been using the same agent in HCMC for visa renewals for the past 10 years, he has just informed me of the new visa prices as follows in USD.

3 months single 150.

6 months single 285.

3 months multiple 245.

6 months multiple 1100.

12 months multiple 1300.

2 years residence card 1600.

So you posted this as a reply here and then copy/pasted in a new thread?

Your first two forum posts?

One might be suspicious as to your purpose here.

Are you trolling for business for 'your agent'?

I ask because your information is incomplete/misleading and appears to be grossly inflated IF it applies to U.S. Citizens.

You are from Scotland.

Is this information specific to Scottish citizens?

Are you referring to tourist visas or business visas?

My Visa agent in Hanoi (where Immigration is centralized) has posted on her website since March, 2019 that only U.S. citizens are currently being approved for 6 month and 1 year "Visa on Arrival" business visa approval letters issued through an agent.

Her current price is $199 USD for a 12 month DN business Visa.

Incomplete or erroneous Visa information causes a lot of confusion on this site.

So anyone wanting or need to extend their visa without leaving is going to be in for a bit of a shock...
My VEC is not valid becuase i cannot leave and re-enter the country. Immigration told me last weel i have to extend existing visa for one month but can only do so around the 20th april when my tourist visa expires. Whole point of getting the VEC is to have longer stays between exit requirements. Now it seems immigration is telling people that they have to extend using an agent.

Below is reponse i got today


Thank you for your quick reply. The borders are closed due to the situation get worsen day by day, so I'm not sure when will they open again, just wait for 1-3 months, and see what happen.



For your visa extension fee, see as below:



Option 1: Visa extension without leaving Vietnam: 3 months/ Single entry (Cannot exit Vietnam, only staying inside next 3 months)

Fee: USD450/ 1 pax 



Option 2: Visa extension without leaving Vietnam: 1 month/ Single entry (Cannot exit Vietnam, only staying inside next 1 month)

Fee: USD175/ 1 pax 



Procedure: Only your original passport (We will take care of all other things)

Process: 7-8 working days



* Notice: Visa extension term will start from the date we apply to the immigration, not start from the visa expired date, so if you start your visa extension process too early, you will miss your visa term, please start the visa extension process 10 days before your visa expired date only.

Jlgarbutt wrote:

So anyone wanting or need to extend their visa without leaving is going to be in for a bit of a shock...
My VEC is not valid becuase i cannot leave and re-enter the country. Immigration told me last weel i have to extend existing visa for one month but can only do so around the 20th april when my tourist visa expires. Whole point of getting the VEC is to have longer stays between exit requirements. Now it seems immigration is telling people that they have to extend using an agent.

Below is reponse i got today


Thank you for your quick reply. The borders are closed due to the situation get worsen day by day, so I'm not sure when will they open again, just wait for 1-3 months, and see what happen.



For your visa extension fee, see as below:



Option 1: Visa extension without leaving Vietnam: 3 months/ Single entry (Cannot exit Vietnam, only staying inside next 3 months)

Fee: USD450/ 1 pax 



Option 2: Visa extension without leaving Vietnam: 1 month/ Single entry (Cannot exit Vietnam, only staying inside next 1 month)

Fee: USD175/ 1 pax 



Procedure: Only your original passport (We will take care of all other things)

Process: 7-8 working days



* Notice: Visa extension term will start from the date we apply to the immigration, not start from the visa expired date, so if you start your visa extension process too early, you will miss your visa term, please start the visa extension process 10 days before your visa expired date only.

Its all about the money.

There is no reason they cant stamp your VEC, its the exact same stamp you will get at the border. They just love to screw you around.

I declined their offer..
Told them it was cheaper.to fly home..

In 2008 it used to cost about 120 usd for a 6-month business visa. The prices they quote now are just lining officers pockets.

colinoscapee wrote:

Jlgarbutt wrote:

So anyone wanting or need to extend their visa without leaving is going to be in for a bit of a shock...
My VEC is not valid becuase i cannot leave and re-enter the country. Immigration told me last weel i have to extend existing visa for one month but can only do so around the 20th april when my tourist visa expires. Whole point of getting the VEC is to have longer stays between exit requirements. Now it seems immigration is telling people that they have to extend using an agent.

Below is reponse i got today


Thank you for your quick reply. The borders are closed due to the situation get worsen day by day, so I'm not sure when will they open again, just wait for 1-3 months, and see what happen.



For your visa extension fee, see as below:



Option 1: Visa extension without leaving Vietnam: 3 months/ Single entry (Cannot exit Vietnam, only staying inside next 3 months)

Fee: USD450/ 1 pax 



Option 2: Visa extension without leaving Vietnam: 1 month/ Single entry (Cannot exit Vietnam, only staying inside next 1 month)

Fee: USD175/ 1 pax 



Procedure: Only your original passport (We will take care of all other things)

Process: 7-8 working days



* Notice: Visa extension term will start from the date we apply to the immigration, not start from the visa expired date, so if you start your visa extension process too early, you will miss your visa term, please start the visa extension process 10 days before your visa expired date only.

Its all about the money.

There is no reason they cant stamp your VEC, its the exact same stamp you will get at the border. They just love to screw you around.

All VECs (already activated and those that need to be activated) have been suspended for at least a couple of weeks now, meaning VEC holders have been temporarily banned from entering the country.

(I'm not talking about current active VEC holders already in the country).

As I recall, Jlgarbutt previously posted about his situation and I gave him bad info.

His VEC is new, issued since he entered the country on his current visa, so he needs to exit to reenter and have it activated, but new entries for VEC holders are banned.

I "think" that's his conundrum.

Jlgarbutt wrote:

I declined their offer..
Told them it was cheaper.to fly home..

Please remember that there is no set government price for Visa Agent/VOA fees.

Any agency is free to charge whatever the market will bear.

Only the visa stamping fee is set by the government.

I'm pretty sure if you ask, people will send you PMs about more affordable visa agents and you will likely get a better offer than the one you quoted.

At least, I hope so.

Also, it seems this unforeseen problem might be a reason for some VEC holders to switch to a TRC, if they are eligible.

Immigration could show some flexibility, like Indonesia has done.

A friend of mine told me she was quoted 6.2 million for a 10 usd stamp. Absolute grubby bastards.

The annoying bit(s) are

There doesnt seem to be any official website (like gov.uk) if there is then i cannot find it.
My VEC was issues before the lock down so why didnt they simply cancel the old visa knowing there were issues at the border crossings ?

In all probabilty if the situation doesnt improve by the time my visa expires and i cannot leave or come back to activate the VEC then the VEC is pointless and i will in effect be classed as an overstaying tourist.

It does seem like whatever route you go down, you will end up persuing the other option soon after so you can waste more time and money on.

There isnt any bad advice because there doesnt seem to be any direction that the officials are going in, and if there is the staff at various offices dont seem to know about it.

Jlgarbutt wrote:

The annoying bit(s) are

There doesnt seem to be any official website (like gov.uk) if there is then i cannot find it.
My VEC was issues before the lock down so why didnt they simply cancel the old visa knowing there were issues at the border crossings ?

In all probabilty if the situation doesnt improve by the time my visa expires and i cannot leave or come back to activate the VEC then the VEC is pointless and i will in effect be classed as an overstaying tourist.

It does seem like whatever route you go down, you will end up persuing the other option soon after so you can waste more time and money on.

There isnt any bad advice because there doesnt seem to be any direction that the officials are going in, and if there is the staff at various offices dont seem to know about it.

Welcome to the VN immigration circus.

About 9 years ago,immigration was thiking about getting  you to return to the place where you entered VN, find the officer who stamped your visa and get them to renew it.

So, if you entered in Ha Noi and ended up in Saigon and decided to stay longer, they expected you to return to Ha Noi.

Of course, this never eventuated, but it just shows the depth of thinking in that department.

Crazy situation... someone mentioned in a previous post that immigration info could be found at
https://xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/

So follow that link.... and they have a contact email address...
So send a mail...and it fails becuase presumably the email address was never set up

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Crazy situation... someone mentioned in a previous post that immigration info could be found at
https://xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/

So follow that link.... and they have a contact email address...
So send a mail...and it fails becuase presumably the email address was never set up

Sounds about right.

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Crazy situation... someone mentioned in a previous post that immigration info could be found at
https://xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/

So follow that link.... and they have a contact email address...
So send a mail...and it fails becuase presumably the email address was never set up

That's definitely their consumer portal.

It's mostly helpful for E-Visa

I might be a bit off topic but I have seen many stories of local's sellng masks etc and profiteering and police arrests,, surely the same applies to agents charging 450USD for what was 275USD a year ago before covid-19

Or am I just a dumb newbie?

Please form an orderly que if thats the case 

I dont  know if this is of help but after seeing 475USD I contacted the girl I have used for all my moc bai runs for entry letter.

She says for extensions:
It depends on the current visa they have, usually if they entered by free visa or one month would be 280 but if by 3 months visa it would be 380, very diffierent prices and
I need to see their information

Some case cheaper and some is more expensive, Just give me their contact then I consult them and if they do I will let you know.

Maybe they dont have a good source, but the time is kind of long now, could take over 10 days to get passport back.

I have no business arangement with her just the girl that did mine.

I remember when i first wanted renewal an extension in country was 275USD so it's gone up to 380USD

Hi Terrence
are the visa pric you posted in may 2019 still valid, (ie 1600 for 2 year residence visa), appreciate if you could let me have the email and contact details of your visa agent if pictures

thanks
zest

Many agents now say price is high due to staff shortages

zest123 wrote:

Hi Terrence
are the visa pric you posted in may 2019 still valid, (ie 1600 for 2 year residence visa), appreciate if you could let me have the email and contact details of your visa agent if pictures

thanks
zest

Hi,

I was told 17th/3/2020 1600USD for 2 year TRC but at 5pm same day told this:
I am sorry, Immigration informed that they stopped to issue TRC for all passports from this afternoon.

I have not been told they are doing them again yet.

The above information is all I have 380USD for a 3 month ext

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Many agents now say price is high due to staff shortages

Hahaha, that's just too funny.

Andybris2020 wrote:

I might be a bit off topic but I have seen many stories of local's sellng masks etc and profiteering and police arrests,, surely the same applies to agents charging 450USD for what was 275USD a year ago before covid-19

Or am I just a dumb newbie?

Please form an orderly que if thats the case 

The hole I see in that logic is that the price has never been set across the industry.

It's well known by locals that you charge what the market will bear.

Now maybe if you could track the business habits of that one particular business and show that they have raised their rates over what they used to charge then perhaps you might have a case with the local authorities, but I think they would just tell you to go to another agent, because all agents are not charging exorbitant prices.

Capitalism at its 'best'... in a communist country.  I got my passport back yesterday (April 1) with a 3rd, three-month, DN (business) single entry visa extension (for a total of 12 months). Three months ago, the extension cost $80. My latest extension cost $180. 

Shop around for a visa agent - prices vary. However, the cheapest may not be the best: Reliability and reputation count for a lot - you don't want to save $10 by going with the cheapest, only to find out when you go to exit the country, you are on a 3-month overstay because the extension stamp the 'cheap' agent got you is fake... and the agent is nowhere to be found. 

All agents take advantage of this situation to increase their margins it's business simply. It was to be expected..... the best option was to go home and come back when the situation would return to normal. So now you don't have much choice so PAY!! ..

It appears this has been handled for the near term ...

"Foreigners not penalised for overstaying during national social distancing"

https://vietnamnet.vn/en/society/foreig … 30147.html

Travelfar wrote:

It appears this has been handled for the near term ...

"Foreigners not penalised for overstaying during national social distancing"

https://vietnamnet.vn/en/society/foreig … 30147.html

Great news

Hi, I see you have a reputable visa agent contact in Hanoi, that's not charging an arm and a leg. Would you mind sharing her contact details?

I will need to extend my tourist visa soon and all I'm seeing is overly inflated prices.

Thanks.

Ps. I'm looking for a reliable, low-cost visa agent in Hanoi. Don't recommend me someone you've not used before. Any help much appreciated.

Here's the English language version of the full government policy related to overstaying in "temporary residence" status (tourist visa is included for the purpose of this article):

http://news.chinhphu.vn/Home/Guidelines … /39503.vgp

The way I'm reading this, if you were planning to stay here and get a new tourist visa, that may not be a good enough excuse for escaping fines.

In other words, it appears that the government is offering some lenience for those who have been attempting to leave.

If you just been hanging around and you overstayed, that might make things difficult for you, the way the article reads to me.

I'm more than willing to be corrected on this.

shanerichardson wrote:

Hi, I see you have a reputable visa agent contact in Hanoi, that's not charging an arm and a leg. Would you mind sharing her contact details?

I will need to extend my tourist visa soon and all I'm seeing is overly inflated prices.

Thanks.

Ps. I'm looking for a reliable, low-cost visa agent in Hanoi. Don't recommend me someone you've not used before. Any help much appreciated.

I sent you a private message.

Hopefully you know how to access it, being new to the forum.