°µÍø½ûÇø

Hello everyone, I am Vietnamese-Canadian and planning to apply for a 5 year Vietnam visa. I read through a few web sites that it requires a filled-out form, a Canadian passport, 2 photos and my Vietnamese birth certificate and I have them. The fee is surprisingly low US$10.It appears that I can apply in person by bringing the paper package to Vietnamese Immigration Department in Ho Chi Minh City (address is yet to be found) and if accepted they will put a stamp on the passport.The birth certificate can be a certified copy (still to find who qualified persons are), my question is how they would handle my Canadian passport. Will they keep the passport many days till I get a call to come back to get it? (a bit of concern here)As per various websites, I can also apply to the Vietnamese Embassy in Canada. It appears I can mail the paper package to them and they will return it by FedEx or Canada post. Is it true that I have to mail the original passport? This is also a concern for me.I would appreciate very much for any information/tips/experiences on this matter. - @MachidaLT

It's not a 5 Year "Visa".

It's a "Visa Exemption Certificate" good for 6 months with each entry into Vietnam, requiring that you exit the country and then re-enter if you want to stay longer.

Apply in Canada and you can then use it to enter Vietnam where it will be activated by immigration at the airport.

Normally that's the only way to activate it, so if you get your certificate in Vietnam, you will still need to exit the country and reenter in order to activate it.

Maybe immigration has changed that rule but I haven't seen it.

In either scenario you will have to surrender your passport while the VEC is being processed.

Don't be a scaredy cat

Hello everyone,

Welcome on board @MachidaLT

Please note that this new thread has been created on the Vietnam forum for better interaction.

Regards

Bhavna

...As per various websites, I can also apply to the Vietnamese Embassy in Canada. It appears I can mail the paper package to them and they will return it by FedEx or Canada post. Is it true that I have to mail the original passport? This is also a concern for me.I would appreciate very much for any information/tips/experiences on this matter. - @MachidaLT

Hi there MachidaLT.

I'll second member OceanBeach92107 's suggestion for you to apply for your VEC in Canada.

You didn't mention where in Canada you are situated. If visiting the VN embassy in Ottawa is inconvenient, I suggest you use the services of a courier company (eg. Fedex, DHL etc.) as opposed to mailing the documents. Insure the document package. By using a courier company you'll be given a tracking number by which you can monitor the progress of the delivery.

My experience with the embassy there was excellent. Professional, courteous, and prompt service. I was fortunate in that I lived not far from the embassy, so I was able to hand deliver and pick up my passport with the visa page added (not a VEC). This was back in 2017 when the embassy was still processing visas on site. I wouldn't be at all concerned about your passport going missing. In any case, in the (highly unlikely) event that something did go wrong, better for you to deal with that while still in Canada. You should call the embassy to confirm all details concerning delivery and return options and issuance of the VEC.

When is your intended arrival date? Have you visited before?

Feel free to ask any further questions you might have, and we'll do our best to answer you.

Thanks OceanBeach, you are correct the official name is Visa Exemption Certificate and it is valid up to 5 years.

I thought at first to file the application in VN as I am heading over there shortly.

Googling some more, It makes sense to start the process with VN embassy in Canada with a full 10 year Canadian passport renewal next year. In any case it looks like I have no choice but to surrender the Canadian Passport for this process.

I am still looking for how to certify the birth certificate, any info is much appreciated.

It appears that it costs US$20 for the first time application and US$10 for subsequent renewals.

Thanks Bhavna for the welcome message.

Edit: Hello Aidan, I did not see your reply before posting. Thanks for the courier suggestion. I am from GTA, far from Ottawa

@MachidaLT

I spent 20+ years living in Toronto, mostly in the downtown core (Cabbagetown, Danforth, Broadview, Queen East, Kensington Mkt etc). Very fond memories.

After moving to Ottawa, I'd drive down to Toronto at least 4 or 5 times a year to visit friends, old hangouts of mine, shopping. Beautiful city.

@MachidaLT
I spent 20+ years living in Toronto, mostly in the downtown core (Cabbagetown, Danforth, Broadview, Queen East, Kensington Mkt etc). Very fond memories.
After moving to Ottawa, I'd drive down to Toronto at least 4 or 5 times a year to visit friends, old hangouts of mine, shopping. Beautiful city. - @Aidan in HCMC

@Aidan,

I'll be in VN in early Dec, my 2nd trip back to the country

My path has been in the opposite direction of yours, I lived in Ottawa at first for a few years then moved to downtown Toronto and finally settled in North York. Been in North York for 20 years. Now, returning to the mother land. Nice meeting you, Aidan.

I was in Vietnam with plenty of time so I decided to try out the Visa exemption application.

I went to Cuc Quan Ly Xuat Nhap Canh on 335 Nguyen Trai, Q1 and filed the application in person. I had a copy of the birth certificate and the officer said he had to retain the copy on file. As I was hesitated to surrender the only copy I have, he suggested an alternative that was to get the authentic copies from Phong Tu Phap Quan.

I went to Phong tu Phap Quan3 (it was district 3 in my case) and asked for 10 copies. I came back 1 week after and got them which cost in total 85K dong.

I returned to Cuc Quan Ly Xuat Nhap Canh and filed the Visa exemption application again with the new copy of birth certificate.

The officer said this time that he needed a confirmation of the Vietnam temporary residence indicated on the application form, specifically he wanted a print-out of hotel guest registered to the authority in my case as I stayed in a hotel.

I went back to my hotel and and had the hotel filled out the on-line form and printed it out, no need of stamp from local authority on the form.  (I am not sure what would be required if one was to stay in a private home)

I returned to Cuc Quan Ly Xuat Nhap Canh with the temp residence registration form, birth certificate, visa application form and my canadian passport . I paid a fee of 380K dong (no change), got a receipt and was told to come back in 1 week to get the visa exemption certificate. (there was required of 2 photos, 1 attached to the form but the 2nd photo was never needed). I had to surrender the passport for 1 week.

I came back one week after and collected the passport with the visa exemption certificate taped on and was told it would only be activated upon entering the country the next time (as expected). I did go out of Vietnam and activated the visa exemption certificate at Mocbai.

A few hiccups in the process:

- Phong Tu Phap Quan 3 does not allow wearing short (I had to go to a market nearby for a pair of pants)

-I ran into some (weak) hurdles from the officer for example the date of temp residence registration, need more paper for application form, no receipt for fee already paid...you get what I mean...

It was not busy at all the multiple times I returned to Cuc Quan Ly Xuat Nhap Canh, there was only one window for this Visa exemption service so I dealt with the same officer at the same window every time.

The next time I do the visa exemption will be in Ottawa with a new passport, it probably is easier as I knew what paper I need to send to the the Vietnamese Embassy. The advantage is eliminating some hurdles mentioned above.

@MachidaLT

Excellent summary! A BIG THANK YOU for that, MachildaLT

Happy to hear you were able to navigate your way through it.