Arriving in Vietnam
A
tourist visa is required. Please contact the Vietnam
Embassy in Washington, DC (202-861-0737) or the Vietnamese
consulate in San Francisco, and allow at least one week
for processing. You may also download the information that
you will need for your visa from the Embassy webpage at www.vietnamembassy-usa.org.
Generally, you will need to provide the Embassy/Consulate
with a completed application form, two passport photos,
a check for the visa fee, your passport, and a return express
mail envelope. Visas are normally good for 30 days from
the date you specify that you will enter the country. You
must also decide your port of entry because this will be
written on your visa and cannot be changed later. If you
indicate that you will be traveling for tourist purposes
and arriving by air, your visa will usually permit you to
enter and exit by both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Because
you will be in Vietnam for a short visit, even if you extend
for a few days to visit local institutions, please apply
for a tourist visa. List the hotel where you will be staying
as your contact. It is not appropriate to list IIE because
as a foreign organization, we have no authority over you
and are unable to sponsor visas. If you list the Ministry
of Education and Training or a university, you will be required
to have them sponsor your visa, delaying your application.
When
you arrive in Vietnam, you will first go through immigration
where your passport and entry-exit card are carefully checked.
Next you will pick up your luggage and clear it through
customs. Do not bring videos, or lots of bulk materials
for fair distribution as this may cause delays. If something
is held at customs for review, ask for a receipt and pick
up the materials later (most often it is more trouble for
the customs officer to issue the receipt than it is to clear
the materials). Also, make sure to keep your entry-exit
card and customs form together with your passport as they
will be checked when you leave Vietnam.
After
clearing customs, follow the flow of passengers out of the
airport. Both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have done a good
job of clearing the immediate area outside the airport of
independent taxi drivers and hotel agents so you can get
into the city hassle-free.
In
Hanoi, if you do not have a hotel car waiting for you, cross
to the transit island directly across from the exit and
take either a Vietnam airlines or Noi Bai Transport taxi
desk. The standard fare into the city is $10. They will
assign a car and driver to you.
Leaving
Vietnam
Vietnamese visas specify from which point(s) you are permitted
to leave the country - usually Hanoi Noi Bai Airport or
Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat Airport. If you indicated
that you will arrive and depart by air, then your visa should
automatically reflect your ability to depart from either
airport. If you intend to exit from a place not specified
on your visa, make sure to have the immigration office adjust
your visa accordingly. It is essential to reconfirm your
departing flight as soon as you arrive in Vietnam. The hotels
can assist you. Departure tax is $14 payable in US dollars
or Vietnamese dong.
Traveling
inside Vietnam
If you have already booked in-country flights, it is essential
that you reconfirm them upon arrival. Vietnam Airlines,
the main carrier, has been known to delay, reroute or even
cancel local flights with little or no warning. It is recommended
that early morning flights be used if at all possible. Departure
tax at domestic airports has now been folded into the price
of the ticket.
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