Unless you are from the countries which have signed bilateral or unilateral visa exemption agreement with Vietnam, including South Korea, Japan, Scandinavians and most Asean countries, you need a passport (valid for at least six months) and an tourist visa in order to visit Vietnam. You can obtain the visa yourself by applying to a Vietnamese Embassy/Consulate in your country. If not any or you find it rather difficult to deal with paper work yourself, online service is at your hand. Most Vietnam travel agencies can easily get you a “ visa upon arrival”. The service is definitely worth your money.
Check out www.vietnam-embassy.org for a list of Vietnam embassies. A few locations follow.
Australia (tel 02-6290-1549; www.au.vnembassy.org; 6 Timbarra Crescent, O’Maley, ACT 2606)
Canada (tel 613-236-0772; www.vietnamembassy-canada.ca; 470 Wilbrod St, Ottawa)
UK (tel 171-937-1912; [email protected]; Victoria Rd 12-14, London W8 5RD)
USA (tel 202-861-0737; www.vietnamembassy-usa.org; 1233 20 St NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036)
Visa extension: Tourist visa is valid from 15 to 30 days and can be extended easily. See more at http://www.myvietnamvisa.com
Customs
Vietnam entry declaration procedure is recently quite simple due to implementation of single-window or one-stop customs policy. Unless you carry banned goods or your luggage exceeds duty-free quota, it takes you just a couple of minutes. For more information on luggage concessions and prohibited goods, visit http://www.customs.gov.vn/Default.aspx?tabid=839