Vietnam e-visa costs $25 for single-entry or $50 for multi-entry and takes 3 business days to process through evisa.gov.vn. Russians and CIS nationals who want to stay beyond the standard 45-day visa-free period — or make regional side trips — need it. I’ve applied three times; here’s what the official instructions skip over.
When you actually need a Vietnam e-visa
Vietnam grants Russians 45 days visa-free. For a two-week holiday that’s more than enough. But for anyone staying 3 months, working remotely, or looping through Southeast Asia, the e-visa earns its keep in two ways:
90 days of continuous stay — three times the visa-free window, no border runs required.
Bank account access — BIDV and Vietcombank require a 90-day entry document to open an account. A visa-free stamp usually doesn’t qualify at most branches in 2026.
E-visa types and costs: $25 vs $50
Single-entry — $25. One way in. Exit Vietnam and the visa is finished.
Multi-entry — $50. Enter and exit freely within the 90-day validity. Worth it if you plan any side trip to Thailand, Laos or Cambodia — one exit already justifies the extra $25 over reapplying from scratch.
The payment wall that trips most people up
Filling out the application is easy. Paying is where things get complicated. Russian Mir cards are rejected. UnionPay doesn’t work either. You need a foreign Visa or Mastercard.
Cards that have worked reliably in 2025-2026:
- Bybit or OKX-issued Visa/Mastercard (crypto exchange cards, available to Russians)
- Cards from Armenian, Kazakh or Georgian banks
- Vietnamese-issued cards (Timo, Cake) if you already have one
If your card fails, switching browsers or connecting through a VPN to a different country sometimes fixes the gateway issue — it has geographic quirks.
No foreign card at all? Visa agencies will handle the full application and pay the $25-50 government fee, billing you in rubles. Add their service fee on top.
Sorting the card and that $25-50 government fee is the fiddly part, and once the visa is out of the way there’s still the actual trip to plan. That’s usually where I come in — I map out the route, book the transfers and hotels, and line up a guide who lives here so the days on the ground actually work. If you’d rather not piece it together yourself, tell me your dates on Telegram and I’ll draft an itinerary around them.
After you apply: tracking your approval
Processing takes 3 business days from submission — not calendar days. In practice it can stretch to 7 days. Apply at least two weeks before your arrival date.
After submission, you receive a confirmation email containing your register code. Keep it — you’ll need it to check status. Go to evisa.gov.vn/e-visa/search and enter your register code, email address, and date of birth.
When the status reads “Approved,” download your visa PDF from that same page. The visa is not sent by email — you must log back in and download it yourself.
Save the PDF and screenshot it on your phone. Printing is not technically required — border officers have the database — but a phone screenshot is useful backup at land crossings where connectivity is patchy.
One important limitation: you cannot apply for an e-visa from inside Vietnam. The system is designed for entry from abroad. Travelers who’ve tried submitting from within the country received automatic rejections.
Which border crossings accept the e-visa
The e-visa works at 83 designated international checkpoints — but not all of them. Before booking transport, verify your specific crossing is listed at evisa.gov.vn.
Airports (13 total, all accept e-visa): Tan Son Nhat (Ho Chi Minh City), Noi Bai (Hanoi), Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Cam Ranh (Nha Trang) and 8 others.
Land border crossings (16 total): Lao Bao (Laos border), Moc Bai (Cambodia), Ha Tien (Cambodia), Huu Nghi (China), Lao Cai (China) among others.
Seaports (39 total): Da Nang, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City and major cruise terminals.
At the checkpoint, show your passport and the e-visa document (printed or on screen). The officer scans the QR code.
Vietnam e-visa is straightforward once the payment step is solved. The 3-day processing window only becomes a problem when you leave it to the last minute — apply two weeks out and you’ll never notice the wait.
Have questions about living in Vietnam, visas or residency? Connect with the Samurai Tour team:
- Telegram @vietnam_samurai — message me for travel type and route picks
- Telegram @vietnam_samurai — direct questions about visas, residency and expat life in Vietnam
Useful reads: Vietnam E-Visa for Russians · How to Fill the E-Visa Form · Cost of Living Vietnam 2026