Search for "can I get a Vietnamese visa on arrival" and you will still see articles written before 2020 advising travellers to buy a US$15 "approval letter" from an online agency and pay a US$25 stamping fee at the airport counter.
For regular golf and leisure travellers in 2026, Vietnam's official 90-day Electronic Visa (E-Visa) has replaced that old agency Visa on Arrival (VOA) process in practice. Approval letters still exist through licensed sponsors, but there is little reason to use one when the E-Visa is issued online for a similar fee. If your passport requires a visa and you arrive at the airline check-in counter in Sydney, Los Angeles, London, or Singapore without a printed E-Visa, the airline will not let you board.
2026 Vietnam entry rules by passport nationality
| Passport nationality | Visa required? | Maximum stay | What to show at airline check-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Japan, South Korea; for tourism also Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, the Czech Republic and six other EU states | No (Visa-free) | Up to 45 days | Passport valid 6+ months and return/onward flight ticket |
| Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos | No (ASEAN exemption) | 21 to 30 days | Passport valid 6+ months and return ticket |
| Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, India, Ireland, China, Taiwan, UAE | Yes (Official E-Visa) | Up to 90 days (Single or Multiple) | Printed PDF E-Visa from official portal (US$25 single / US$50 multiple) |
| All nationalities staying only on Phu Quoc Island (PQC) | No (Island exemption) | Up to 30 days (Phu Quoc only) | International arrival into PQC (direct or transiting a Vietnamese international airport) without staying on the mainland |
Australian groups can find flights and AUD budgets in our Vietnam golf packages from Australia guide.
How to apply for the official 90-day Vietnam E-Visa
The top sponsored results on Google for "Vietnam E-Visa" are usually commercial middlemen charging US$85 to US$160 to submit the exact same form you can complete yourself in eight minutes. Follow these steps to apply directly:
Apply only through the official Vietnam Immigration Department portal (evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn). The government fee is US$25 for a Single-Entry E-Visa (valid up to 90 days) or US$50 for a Multiple-Entry E-Visa, which you need if your group leaves Vietnam mid-trip (for example, a side trip to Siem Reap) and flies back in. A domestic flight from Saigon to Phu Quoc, as on our Saigon and Phu Quoc itinerary, does not count as leaving the country, so a single-entry E-Visa covers it.
Standard processing takes three to five working days, excluding Vietnamese weekends and public holidays. Submit your application at least 14 days before your flight so nobody in your four-ball is waiting on paperwork the day before departure.
When filling out the form, type your full Given Names (First Name plus Middle Name) exactly as they appear in the machine-readable <<< line at the bottom of your passport photo page. Leaving out a middle name is the most common reason golfers get delayed at airport check-in counters.
Skipping the immigration queue with VIP Airport Fast-Track (US$35 to US$45)
Although E-Visa holders skip the old stamping window, regular passport control lines at Tan Son Nhat (SGN) and Noi Bai (HAN) still take 45 to 70 minutes when several widebody flights land between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM. During that hour, your golf travel bags are already sitting out on the oversized baggage floor.
With VIP Airport Fast-Track, a uniformed ground agent meets your group at the arrival gate with a name board, walks you through the Priority Immigration lane in five minutes, helps collect your golf bags from the oversized belt, and escorts you straight to your 16-seat golf van outside the terminal. If you plan to play an afternoon twilight round on arrival day, Fast-Track easily pays for itself.
Once your E-Visa is sorted, check domestic airline weight limits for golf travel bags in our guide: Flying with Golf Clubs to Vietnam: Oversized Baggage and Transfer Sizing.