Vietnam visa for United Arab Emirates citizens – Getting an emergency visa from the DXB, DPS, HKG… airports
Many United Arab Emirates travellers encounter the same issue, even when they are advised to apply for a Vietnam visa well in advance. The visa portal may confirm that your visa will be issued within 3 working days, provided there are no problems with your application or your previous entry history in Vietnam. However, if your application requires additional verification, the processing time may take longer than expected (up to 15 days, as warned by the Vietnam Immigration Department).
In this case, you have 2 options:
1. Change the flight to have more time for visa approval;
2. Accelerate your current visa application to get it done faster.
Changing your flight may result in the cancellation of services arranged in Vietnam, which can be especially costly if you are travelling with your family. In some cases, when a family member’s visa application is still pending by the time of departure, it could disrupt the entire trip. To avoid this, it is recommended to choose the second option: request a speed-up visa service so that your visa can be processed within a few hours.
The issues you may encounter when applying for Vietnam
Your visa application may have some typical issues as follows:
– Your scanned copy of passport and portrait photo are incorrect (blurry, glare or non-compliant images);
– Your entered information is not sufficient or incorrect (missing your middle name, wrong date of birth, passport number or passport’s date of expiry);
– Wrong date of arrival and departure: In Vietnam, the correct date format is DD/MM/YYYY. However, many travellers mistakenly enter the dates in the MM/DD/YYYY format, which can lead to errors in their visa applications. Moreover, if you enter the wrong exit date, your visa may be issued for a shorter duration (some people get 1 day visa validity) than expected, which could affect your travel plans;
– You applied for visas for the whole family, but combined the children’s visas with their parents’ visas. Children who have their own passports must also have their own visas to enter Vietnam, just like adults. Only children whose names are included in their parents’ passports may share the visa with their parents.
– You may have heard about the “visa on arrival” and assumed that it can be obtained directly at the airport in Vietnam without any prior preparation. Actually, a visa on arrival requires an official visa approval letter issued by the Vietnam Immigration Department before you can board your flight. Without this approval letter, you will not be allowed to board the plane and, therefore, will be unable to enter Vietnam as planned.
Are there any other issues that may affect United Arab Emirates citizens when applying for a Vietnam visa?
Yes, there are. Some United Arab Emirates travellers have passports that show only a first name without a middle or last name, while others have a date of birth listed as only the year. In such cases, it is recommended to apply for a visa on arrival, as immigration officers can manually verify your details and approve the visa accordingly. Please note that the e-visa application system does not accept entries with only a first name or a date of birth showing only the year. With a visa on arrival, this issue can be resolved, as immigration officers will record your date of birth as 01/01/YYYY instead of only the year YYYY, and they will approve your single first name as long as it matches the ICAO lines in your passport.
How to get an instant Vietnam visa from the Dubai International Airport (DXB)?
As soon as you discover an issue with your Vietnam visa while stuck at the airport, please contact the speed-up service team via telephone or Whatsapp. You may also complete the speed up service form to request a rush processing. Depending on your request, your visa can be processed within 2 working days, 1 working day, or even just a few hours. Here are the detailed steps to speed up the visa approval process:
Provide us with the visa registration number issued by the government visa portal, the email address that goes with the e-visa application and the selected entry port;
Make payment for the speed up service fee. It doesn’t include the visa application fee that you paid through the government visa portal;
After the period of time you have registered for the service with us (2 working days, 1 working day, 4 working hours or 2 working hours), you will receive your e-visa.
