Vietnam 90 Day E-Visa and DL Tourist Visa
A 90 day tourist visa available to all nationalities, issued online for USD 25 or USD 50 depending on entries.
This is the route most foreigners in Vietnam are actually on, including a large number who are working. It is not a residence permit, it does not convert into one, and remote work is not authorised by it. The gap between what it permits and what people do with it is where the fines and deportations come from.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | Tourists and short stay visitors of any nationality. DL visas are issued at embassies and through sponsoring travel agencies |
| Route family | Visa-free stay, not residence |
| Validity | 90 days maximum for the e-visa. DL up to 3 months, single or multiple entry |
| Stay per entry | 90 days |
| Threshold | USD 25 single entry or USD 50 multiple entry, 2026. No financial proof and no insurance requirement |
| Renewal | Cannot be extended inside Vietnam in the ordinary case. Exit and re-enter, or apply for a new e-visa from abroad |
| Settlement | None |
| PR clock | None. Tourist days do not build residence |
| Citizenship clock | None |
| Family | No. Each person applies separately |
| Local employment | No |
| Tax headline | Non-resident. Days still count toward the 183 day test if you stay long enough |
| Processing | About 3 working days, officially up to 5 |
Application flow
- Apply on the official portal, evisa.gov.vn or thithucdientu.gov.vn. The portal moved in November 2024 and lookalike sites charge double.
- Declare your entry gate. The e-visa is tied to it, and some ports require a new application if you arrive elsewhere.
- Pay USD 25 or USD 50.
- Receive the e-visa electronically, normally in about 3 working days.
- Enter within the validity window and stay up to 90 days.
- Leave before expiry. There is no in-country extension in the ordinary case.
Good fit
Tourists, and short stay visitors who genuinely are not working. Also people doing a visa run who understand they are accumulating nothing. It is cheap, fast and needs no sponsor, which is why it is the default for everyone the system does not serve.
Poor fit
Anyone planning to live in Vietnam. Anyone working remotely, since the visa does not authorise work. Anyone who needs a bank account, a long lease in their own name, or a settled address. And anyone who assumes 90 days plus a border run is a renewable long stay.
Watchpoints
- Border runs reset the clock, not the status. Cambodia, Laos and Thailand are the usual exits. Repeated runs can be refused, and none create residence or count toward permanent residence.
- Work is prohibited, including remote work for foreign clients. Vietnam has fined and deported foreigners found working on tourist status. Enforcement is sporadic, which is not the same as legal.
- No extension in the ordinary case. The old practice of extending a tourist visa in country has largely closed. Plan the exit before you arrive.
- The entry gate is declared and enforced. Arriving at a different airport or land crossing from the one on the application can mean a new application.
- Agents overcharge for a USD 50 document. The old “3 month multiple entry tourist visa” is the multiple entry e-visa. Anything beyond USD 50 plus a small service fee is margin.
- Lookalike portals. Only evisa.gov.vn and thithucdientu.gov.vn are official.
Sources
- Vietnam Immigration Department, e-visa portal, checked 2026-10-22
- US Embassy Hanoi, Vietnamese visas and entry exit guidance, checked 2026-10-22
- Law 47/2014/QH13 Article 8 as amended by Law 23/2023/QH15, checked 2026-10-22