Vietnam visa for Portuguese citizens – How to ensure approval within 1-2 working days?
From 15 August 2023, all Portuguese citizens are eligible to apply for a Vietnam e-visa before travelling to Vietnam. The standard processing time is 3–5 working days, provided that the application form and supporting documents are complete and accurate.
If you are unfamiliar with the Vietnam e-visa application process, this guide will help you complete your application correctly and receive your visa within 5 working days. Follow the steps below to ensure your visa is approved on time:
Step 1: Fill out the visa application form
When applying for a Vietnam e-visa, you must enter all personal information exactly as it appears in your passport. Even minor discrepancies, typos, or small mistakes will not be accepted and can lead to delays or rejection of your application:
– Your surname (last name), middle and given name (first name): Your full name must be entered exactly as it appears in the ICAO (machine-readable) line at the bottom of your passport. If you have a long name that is truncated in this line, you must use the shortened form exactly as shown in the ICAO line;
– Date of birth: It must be entered in the DD/MM/YYYY format. If your passport shows only the year of birth, you should enter it as 01/01/YYYY;
– Place of birth: Enter the place of birth exactly as it appears in your passport;
– Email address: Make sure the email address you provide is active and accessible, as it will be used to receive your visa application confirmation and the final visa result;
– Provide accurate and truthful answers to the questions:
Have you ever used any other passports to enter into Vietnam? – Yes/No
Do you have multiple nationalities? – Yes/No
Violation of the Vietnamese laws/regulations (if any) – Yes/No
– Single or multiple entry visa: If you plan to leave and re-enter Vietnam during the same trip, you should select a multiple-entry visa. If you choose a single-entry visa instead, you will need to apply for a new single-entry visa from outside Vietnam for your return, as visa applications cannot be submitted from within the country;
– Passport number: Always enter your passport number exactly as it appears in your passport. Double-check to ensure that similar characters are not confused — for example, the letter “I” with the number “1”, or the letter “O” with the number “0”;
– Passport’s date of issue and expiry date: It must be entered in the DD/MM/YYYY format too. The passport’s validity must exceed the visa issuance date by at least 30 days;
– Your address and telephone number:
Permanent residential address: You should enter your current permanent residential address
Contact address: It should be the same as the permanent residential address or other address where you are residing at present
Telephone number: Your active and accessible telephone number
– Emergency contact: You may enter with the name, address and telephone number of a person (your spous, parents, partner or friend…) who can be contacted in emergency case.
– Your occupation: If you are travelling to Vietnam for tourism purposes, you may leave this field blank.
– Intended date of entry: It is the earliest date that you plan to start your trip to Vietnam. You don’t have to enter Vietnam exactly on the intended date of entry, but you can enter the country on or after that date. The intended date of entry will be printed on your visa, and it cannot be changed. You can only enter Vietnam on or after that date – not before.
– Intended length of stay in Vietnam: It would be 90 days maximum;
– Residential address in Vietnam: Enter the address of the hotel or accommodation where you will be staying in Vietnam. If you have multiple hotels booked, provide the address of the hotel where you will stay on your first day in the country;
– Accompany children: If children have been issued separate passports, they must obtain their own visas, just like adults;
Step 2: Conduct payment
When applying for a Vietnam visa, you will be charged USD 25 for a single-entry visa or USD 50 for a multiple-entry visa. This fee is non-refundable, even if your application is denied or the processing time is extended due to incorrect photos, inaccurate information, or additional verification required by the Vietnam Immigration Department.
The visa fee can be paid by credit card or bank wire transfer. If you choose to pay by credit card, ensure that online payment is enabled on your card before making the transaction.
Step 3: Receive visa result
Within 3-5 working days, if your visa application was correctly submitted, you will receive an email notification with instructions to enter the visa application number and email address to download your visa via the portal. Otherwise, the amendment may be required, or the visa application may be denied.
Vietnam e-visa for Portuguese citizens (Photo: speedvietnamvisa.com)
Common issues for Portuguese citizens applying for Vietnam visa
When applying for a Vietnam e-visa, Portuguese citizens may encounter the following common issues:
1. Incorrect personal information: Errors such as misspelt names, wrong passport numbers, or incorrect dates of birth… in the e-visa document are among the most frequent problems. Even minor inconsistencies between the passport and visa can result in denial of boarding.
If you have received an e-visa with errors, we can assist you by working directly with the authorities to correct the visa details in the system so you can board your flight and enter Vietnam without cancelling your trip or reapplying for a new visa.
Note: For some Portuguese citizens, long names will be abbreviated or shortened in the ICAO (machine-readable) line of the passport. In such cases, you should enter your name exactly as it appears in the ICAO line, rather than using the full name printed in the visual section of the passport.
Portuguese passport with a long name will be shortened in the ICAO line
2. Pending visa application: Some travellers report that, although they have applied for an e-visa via the official government visa portal for more than 3 working days and received a confirmation of successful visa application, their visa status still appeared as “Processing” when they reached the airport. Without an official Vietnam visa, airlines cannot check passengers in for flights to Vietnam. Please note that the standard processing time will take 3-5 working days, and it may take longer if further verification from the Vietnam Immigration Department is required.
3. Unpaid visa application: The applicants submitted an e-visa application in advance, but didn’t notice that it was unsuccessful due to a failed payment. In this case, the visa application cannot be processed in time for the travellers’ flight. To avoid this issue, applicants are advised to check their visa application status immediately after completing the form. Please conduct the payment again if you find the status is “Unpaid”.
4. No visa ready in hand: Surprisingly, several Portuguese nationals arrive at the airport unaware that they need a visa to enter Vietnam. Due to confusion about Vietnam’s visa exemption policies for certain nationalities – of which Portuguese passport holders are not included – or reliance on unofficial online sources, many travellers do not realise a Vietnam visa is required until they reach the check-in counter in Dublin.
How to fix the visa details at the last minute?
If Portuguese citizens have applied for and received their Vietnam e-visa through the government portal but later discover mistakes in the visa, and their flight to Vietnam is approaching with only a few hours before check-in closes, they should immediately contact a trusted Vietnam visa support.
Common visa mistakes we encounter:
- Spelling errors in the name – missing or extra characters;
- Incorrect passport number or date of birth;
- Wrong passport expiry date entered;
- Unpaid e-visa applicaion.
In urgent cases, we can assist by promptly coordinating with Vietnam immigration officers to correct the data in the system, ensuring you can board your flight and enter Vietnam without disruption.
