Vietnam Visa information during Corvid

I think it is quite obvious that nobody is traveling for pleasure at the moment. This much is global unless you are a Geffen and have your own $600 million yacht.

There is a bit of a problem for people who actually live overseas and while I can't comment on all countries, I can tell you that the situation in Vietnam for people that live here, or were already here on holiday when the partial lockdown became a near full lockdown, seems pretty bad, but at least for now, you have some options available to you.

[source]

Normally, getting visas to Vietnam is a pretty straight-forward process that simply incorporates paying a bit of money for a letter and then paying at the airport to get the official visa. This takes very little time and is an easy process. However, if you are trapped in the country since almost no flights exist out of the country, you can find yourself in a situation that no expat or tourist wants to be in: Overstaying on your visa.

Thankfully, the Vietnamese Immigration system is aware of these troubling times and has made allowances to temporarily change the law so that leaving the country in order to make a new visa is not necessary.

Previously, even if you were simply going to fly out, get a new visa and return in the same day, you still had to do so even though they are very aware of what you are doing and this is in no way illegal or even frowned upon. During these desperate times, leaving isn't really an option.

Thankfully, Immigration is allowing visitors and expats to extend their visas in-country without even leaving - there is just one problem for the frugally minded out there and that is that this is not provided for free. In the end, if you are already in the country you will almost certainly be given another visa of 1 to 3 months simply because you want one - after all, where are they going to put you if they don't let you stay? There is nowhere to go right now.

The process will cost around $100 per month and you need to go through an agent in order to make this as effortless as possible. This does seem an excessive charge to me and many other people but in the end, the fact that it WILL BE approved (i've not heard of any rejections) is reassuring. I don't mean to sound pompous, but if you don't have $100 a month, how are you even traveling?

UPDATE: The entire country went into full lockdown from April 1 -15 and for those who have visas expiring during that time there is no need to worry. Immigration made an announcement that there will be no penalty for anyone whose visa expires during this time-period and all cases will be treated as though they had not expired once Immigration opens up again on the 16th. While it has not been announced officially, it is pretty safe to say that should the lockdown continue after this date, that the "grace period" will continue.

This seems like a nice gesture on the part of Immigration, who have always been significantly more friendly than other countries' Immigration systems as far as I have experienced in my life. For the time being they simply want you to stay where you are and avoid traveling at all costs.

Disclosure: Posts on TravelFeed may contain affiliate links. See affiliate disclosure.