Requested wrong dates on Evisa

    Hi all.
This forum was recommended by a friend who received help previously.

Have ran into an issue with my Evisa and am hoping someone might have some experience or knowledge. I am currently at a loss as what to do.

I am traveling in South east Asia prior to settling in Sydney.

Somehow while applying for my Evisa I put my date of Exit as the 16th of Dec instead of the 22nd of Dec (flight is booked for that date). This has now been stamped on my passport.

I only entered the country on the 4th of Dec.

I have already emailed the immigration office in HCM.
I see some options of things to do, maybe getting an extension on my visa, maybe doing a visa run or there is talk of a fine of around 80 dollars if only overstaying by a few days which would be fine provided it wouldn't completely prevent me from re entering in the future.

Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated as it's hard to tell what is true or not on the web and we had an interesting experience entering via land border from Cambodia (the notorious coffee money).

Thanks again.
   

    -@BLtravel

No extensions or renewals allowed with E-Visas.

Unless you can change your flight date, you'll need to apply for a new evisa to cover the additional time in country, and then do a border run (nearest to HCMC is Mộc Bài. It will take you the better part of a morning to do the round trip).

FYI, it's not necessary to limit an evisa to less than 90 days and only apply for the day you enter and the day you leave.

From what you've written, it appears you wanted an evisa from December 4th till December 22nd?

(for the casual reader)

Always get the maximum time available if the price is the same.

That way, if you experience an emergency here, you won't have to panic about needing extra days in country.

If you want to do this the easy way, send a PM to user goodolboy and ask for his trustworthy agent contact in HCMC.

Good luck!

O.B.

@BLtravel

Agree with OceanBeach92107's points.

Apply today for your new eVisa (Link), or contact member goodolboy for his agent's details (goodolboy is a well trusted member of expat.com). By the time you read this you'll have only 5 working days before your current eVisa expires, so time is of the essence.

In a worst case scenario where your eVisa approval has not been received by the 16th, you'll spend a day or two in beautiful Cambodia before reentering VN with it. That said, Vietnam immigration is doing well on their stated 3-day approval time, so you will likely receive your approval ~13th or 14th. I realize that this would be cutting it close, so the use of an agent would be the prudent choice.

Good luck, and please let the forum know how everything works out for you.

@OceanBeach92107 thank you very much for your reply.

Is it possible to apply for the new Evisa while still in Vietnam?  I am currently trying to apply for my new Evisa however down the bottom it is asking me if I have ever been in Vietnam before. I am trying to put in from 04/12/23 to my new exit date 15/12/23 however it says that the date of Exit cannot be after today's date. Could I put in today's date or would this come against me?

Planning to fly from hanoi to Bangkok on 15th and re enter on 16th

Your help is much appreciated!

@Aidan in HCMC Thanks very much Aidan.

Will try fly from Hanoi to Bangkok provided I can get the new e visa in time for the 15th and they don't have any issue applying for a new evisa while in the country on my previous one.

Thanks again

@BLtravel

I just took a look at the application.

Under

"Have you been to Viet Nam in the last 01 year? "

For the "From" line, input the start date of your current eVisa (or the date of your arrival).

For the "to" line, input today's date. note: this "to" date must be the same as the date you submit this application

The system will not accept any future  date to be input as a date where you have been in Vietnam, before  and will generate the error "Issue date should not before today" (sic)

@Aidan in HCMC thank you very much for the clarification Aidan.

    @Aidan in HCMC thank you very much for the clarification Aidan.
        -@BLtravel

You're quite welcome.

I'm hoping this clears things up for you and relieves some of the stress. When you have time, please let the forum know of the results of your application. We'd very much appreciate it.

Feel free to ask any additional questions which might arise. Many helpful folk here at expat.com.

Things change all the time in Vietnam and Evisa is one that has changed recently.

Please note you can no longer apply for a new Evisa while still in country.

Warm regards Dirty Pierre. TripAdvisor Destination Expert for HCMC.

    Things change all the time in Vietnam and Evisa is one that has changed recently.
Please note you can no longer apply for a new Evisa while still in country.
Warm regards Dirty Pierre. TripAdvisor Destination Expert for HCMC.
        -@DirtyPierre

If you don't mind, and if it is available to you, would you please provide your source for this information?

Also, when you say "...you can no longer apply for a new Evisa while still in country", what does your source report as the date this change was implemented?

    Things change all the time in Vietnam and Evisa is one that has changed recently.
Please note you can no longer apply for a new Evisa while still in country.
Warm regards Dirty Pierre. TripAdvisor Destination Expert for HCMC.
   

    -@DirtyPierre

Hi DP,

Congratulations on your TripAdvisor designation for HCMC 👍

Did you and Kim ever get married?

In the Huế/Đà Nẵng/Hội An region, most people and the main local agent are reporting success with applications submitted while physically here in Việt Nam.

However, as I surmised in a lengthy post in this thread:

"My (questionable) advice to anyone applying for a TOURIST visa here: NEVER list Vietnam as your residence and always be prepared to use an address in the nation of your passport."

This is an anecdotal observation from foreigner neighbors and social media (I moderate 2 FB groups in my area) but it seems that when people list their residence as being here in Việt Nam, that's when they often run into problems.

In a different thread I hypothesized that immigration may be cracking down, now that it's more than 90 days since the newest rules were implemented on August 15th.

Because, yes, a strict reading of the application does indicate it's for "foreigners outside Việt Nam".

As an aside, my two visa agent friends (here and Hà Nội) report only rare problems when applying well in advance for clients physically here in Việt Nam, but they also both report that they can no longer do last minute evisa applications (3 days or less in advance of arrival) but they must instead apply for a limited Visa On Arrival, the length of which varies from one foreign nation to another.

It's a great time to hold a 3-year TRC...

Cheers!

O.B.

@Aidan in HCMC

Go to Tripadvisor and search for problems with Evisas while still in country and you will be able to read first hand examples of people being refused a new Evisa while still in Vietnam.

    @Aidan in HCMC
Go to Tripadvisor and search for problems with Evisas while still in country and you will be able to read first hand examples of people being refused a new Evisa while still in Vietnam.
   

    -@DirtyPierre

We've been reading those here in the forum.

It's just that those who continue to be successful appear to easily outweigh those experiencing problems.

That's why we are kindly questioning your absolute & unqualified declaration of fact.

Cheers!

        @Aidan in HCMCGo to Tripadvisor and search for problems with Evisas while still in country and you will be able to read first hand examples of people being refused a new Evisa while still in Vietnam.        -@DirtyPierre

We've been reading those here in the forum.

It's just that those who continue to be successful appear to easily outweigh those experiencing problems.

That's why we are kindly questioning your absolute & unqualified declaration of fact.

Cheers!
   

    -@OceanBeach92107

To be more specific, we have one major visa agency here in the Huế/Đà Nẵng/Hội An region, and they are successfully sending a bus full (not a van) of foreigners to Lao Bảo twice a week with new evisas approved while still physically here in country, some through their own online applications and some with the help of the visa agent.

Others are taking direct flights to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur with new evisas already in their possession.

Friends in Vũng Tàu & HCMC are successfully making the Mộc Bài run with new evisas in their possession before stepping across the border.

Even foreigners in Quy Nhơn & Nha Trang & Đà Lạt are reporting successfully managing difficult border runs utilizing evisas approved prior to departure.

I've even read one lengthy account of a guy in Hà Nội successfully making a monster bus trek from there to Lao Bảo & back again, with a new evisa approved in country before departure.

I understand that there are a lot of voices on the Internet saying it's not possible, but we have to be careful not to allow the tail to wag the dog and stir up more naysayers when the facts on the ground here say it's still more likely than not that an evisa application made while physically here will be approved without any problems.

@Aidan in HCMC

Hi All.

Just wanted to come back and give an ending to my Vietnam Evisa story.

Based off guidance from this forum I abandoned attempts to get an extension/speak to immigration in Vietnam (had sent multiple emails and rang several office numbers) and applied for an Evisa straight away (while I was in the country) (6/12/23)

This came back on 9/13/23 needing amending due to the photograph not being in colour (silly mistake). Resent in application with amendment and it returned on the 14/12/23, the day before I was due to fly out to Bangkok.

Flew to Bangkok, got an exit stamp for the 15/12 (day before my visa expired) and flew back in on the morning of the 16/12 with new Evisa. No issues at all entering.

Have just left Vietnam again and both times I was asked by immigration officers at Hanoi and HCM airports for my Evisa on exiting - seemed to be routine.

Many thanks again, in the future push out exit date on Evisa application and FYI nil issue applying for Evisa while in the country following advice I received above.

    @Aidan in HCMC
Hi All.

Just wanted to come back and give an ending to my Vietnam Evisa story.

Based off guidance from this forum I abandoned attempts to get an extension/speak to immigration in Vietnam (had sent multiple emails and rang several office numbers) and applied for an Evisa straight away (while I was in the country) (6/12/23)

This came back on 9/13/23 needing amending due to the photograph not being in colour (silly mistake). Resent in application with amendment and it returned on the 14/12/23, the day before I was due to fly out to Bangkok.

Flew to Bangkok, got an exit stamp for the 15/12 (day before my visa expired) and flew back in on the morning of the 16/12 with new Evisa. No issues at all entering.

Have just left Vietnam again and both times I was asked by immigration officers at Hanoi and HCM airports for my Evisa on exiting - seemed to be routine.


Many thanks again, in the future push out exit date on Evisa application and FYI nil issue applying for Evisa while in the country following advice I received above.

    -@BLtravel

And a big THANK YOU, BLtravel, for reporting back to the forum.

Very happy everything worked out well for you.

p.s. now then, don't be a stranger. would be great to receive reports of your experiences while in Vietnam

Thank you too as valuable member with excellent advices together with other members :-)

@Aidan in HCMC Hi Aiden and Pierre, I was chatting with s travel agent about visa extensions for Viet Nam and she said they don't do them, any news on this ? is she correct or ignorant ? of reality.

    @Aidan in HCMC Hi Aiden and Pierre, I was chatting with s travel agent about visa extensions for Viet Nam and she said they don't do them, any news on this ? is she correct or ignorant ? of reality.
   

    -@MarkinNam

Totally correct.

That's reality.

crap !

@MarkinNam So    it's renew every 3 months with a border run ?

@MarkinNam Been doing some digging and this is current as far as I can see, https://www.vnmvisas.com/news/extend-vi … %20issued. so who is right ?

    @MarkinNam So    it's renew every 3 months with a border run ?
   
    -@MarkinNam

Negative.

One must apply for a new eVisa.

At the end of its valid "To" date, a current eVisa is suitable only for framing, or sending home to family as a Christmas gift

    @MarkinNam Been doing some digging and this is current as far as I can see, https://www.vnmvisas.com/news/extend-vi … %20issued.so who is right?   -@MarkinNam

Current? They've been saying essentially the same thing since Aug 2nd, 2023. See the entry on internet archive, snapshot of their page 20:08:53 02/08/2023, here.

A "whois" lookup show they registered their company name 2023-05-04. I'm unsure whether that's Apr 5th, or May 4th. In either case, it's suspiciously close to the first posting they made of your linked page (an undated web page, I might add).

If you do pursue this, please let us know how it pans out for you. We'd be very interested in your findings.

    @MarkinNam Been doing some digging and this is current as far as I can see (link deleted) so who is right ?        -@MarkinNam

YOU must be right; you and the commercial websites you keep quoting while ignoring the official government website and REPUTABLE agents who say otherwise.

Congratulations!

You've found another spurious website to tell you exactly what you WANT to hear and not distract you with what you NEED to know.

By all means Mark, PLEASE apply for a visa extension through that website or any other website you can find that offers the service.

Anyone else reading this thread, please DON'T follow my advice.

@OceanBeach92107 It begs the question, why are they doing the border run if new evisa is in their possession ?

Yeah, time to suck hard, I sent the link to Viet embassy in Canberra and they denied knowledge of who or what it was, sorry for my ignorance        @MarkinNam Been doing some digging and this is current as far as I can see (link deleted) so who is right ?        -@MarkinNamYOU must be right; you and the commercial websites you keep quoting while ignoring the official government website and REPUTABLE agents who say otherwise. Congratulations! You've found another spurious website to tell you exactly what you WANT to hear and not distract you with what you NEED to know.By all means Mark, PLEASE apply for a visa extension through that website or any other website you can find that offers the service. Anyone else reading this thread, please DON'T follow my advice.        -@OceanBeach92107

    @OceanBeach92107 It begs the question, why are they doing the border run if new evisa is in their possession ?
   

    -@MarkinNam

WHAT???

A new visa is NOT an extension.

That's what you asked about.

Everybody legal does a border run to activate a new visa.

Anybody offering an in-country extension is a scammer.

(Did your account get hacked?)

@OceanBeach92107 NO I haven't been hacked!!!!!!! just trying to figure things out. Only done through research and not sarcasm thanks. I saw in another thread the visa needs to be stamped and I had not considered this in my last statement, Did YOU read my apology ?