The El Salvador citizens are required a visa to travel to Vietnam for purposes of tourism, business, family visit or study. Those transiting at Vietnam's airport and not crossing immigration area do not need the visa. Besides, Phu Quoc's visitors are exempted from visa if staying no more than 30 days. This is just applicable for those who travel to Phu Quoc Island only, not go to other parts of Vietnam.
Vietnamese government allows El Salvador citizens to obtain the visa in 2 ways:
Two options for Salvadoran nationals to apply for a Vietnam visa
- Apply online for a Vietnam Visa on Arrival
Salvadoran passport holders can apply Vietnam Visa on Arrival online from anywhere outside of Vietnam. The Vietnam visa will be picked up upon arrival at the Vietnam airports by showing up the printed out of the approval letter.
The approval letter will be sent via email within 1 or 2 working days (normal case), 4 working hours (urgent case) or even 30 minutes (emergency case) depending on which option the applicant chooses when submitting online application form.
The aim of Visa on Arrival is to make the trip to Vietnam simpler and more economical. It is applicable only to those traveling by air to Vietnam. Vietnam Visa on Arrival is especially an advantage to those living far from the Vietnam Embassy/Consulate in El Salvador.
By using this mode of getting Vietnam Visa on Arrival, the Salvadoran does not need to wait too long for processing to get a pre-approval letter approved by Vietnam Immigration Department, which acts as an official permission of getting the visa upon arrival.
In order to get a Vietnam visa, Salvadoran should pay two types of fee: the service fee and the stamping fee.
Service fee: The service fee is for visa approval letter processing.
Stamping fee: The stamping fee is paid in cash to the Vietnam Immigration Officer at the arrival airport to get the visa stamp. Credit cards are not accepted. If applicants have booked full package, this fee would not need paying anymore.
- Apply for Vietnam visa directly at the Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate
For those who want to get a Vietnam visa beforehand or want to travel to Vietnam by land or sea, they can go to the nearest Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate.
At the moment, in El Salvador, there is no representative office of Vietnam's government. Therefore, Salvadoran should contact the Embassy of Vietnam in the nearest neighboring country to make visa code or get visa stamped.
Embassy of Vietnam in nearby country: Panama, Cuba & Mexico
Useful notes:
- Before applying for a Vietnam visa, Salvadoran citizens should make sure that their passport has at least 6-month validity and left pages from travel date.
- Visa on Arrival is only applicable to those traveling by air to Vietnam.