To make a Vietnam visa application from India, you apply for the e-visa yourself on the official government portal, evisa.gov.vn, in about 20 minutes: upload a photo and your passport page, fill the online form, pay USD 25 (about INR 2,390) for single entry, and wait for the approval email. No agent is required, and every website other than the two official domains adds a mark-up or a risk. This guide from Zurich Kotak General Insurance, an IRDAI-registered general insurer in India and part of the Zurich Insurance Group, walks through the evisa.gov.vn application step by step as verified on 2026-07-09, with the mistakes that trip up Indian applicants. For eligibility, visa types and the wider rules, start with our guide to the Vietnam visa for Indians .
Before you start: what you need on hand
You need three things to apply for a Vietnam e-visa online: a scan of your passport’s bio page, a compliant portrait photo, and a card that works for international online payments. Having all three ready before you open the form matters because the application cannot be edited after submission (Vietnam Immigration Department, accessed 2026-07-09).
· Passport bio page image. A clear, full-page photo or scan of the data page showing your photo, details and the two machine-readable lines at the bottom. Your passport should be valid for at least 6 months from your arrival date (Vietnam Embassy in India, accessed 2026-07-09).
· Portrait photo. 4x6 cm, white background, facing straight, no glasses. Full specs and sizing help are in our Vietnam visa photo size and specs guide.
· Payment card. An international-enabled credit or debit card. Indian cards are a known pain point; more on that in the mistakes section below.
These two uploads are all the portal asks for. For the wider paperwork worth carrying to immigration, such as return tickets and hotel proof, see the full Vietnam visa document list .
How to apply for the Vietnam e-visa on evisa.gov.vn
The official flow has three stages: fill the application form accurately, pay the fee, and receive the result by email or on the portal (evisa.gov.vn, accessed 2026-07-09). Here is how to apply Vietnam visa online from India, broken into the five steps you will actually click through; for Indians, every Vietnam visa apply-online route ends at this same portal.
Step 1: open the official portal (and how to recognise lookalike sites)
Go to https://evisa.gov.vn or https://thithucdientu.gov.vn; these are the only two official application domains, run by the Vietnam Immigration Department since 2024-11-11 (Vietnam Immigration Department, accessed 2026-07-09). The Vietnam Embassy in India puts it bluntly: all other websites are invalid (Vietnam Embassy in India). Lookalike sites rank well and follow a pattern: the same words with extra letters or a different ending (.com, .org, .vn instead of .gov.vn), or “official” and “govt” bolted into the name. They charge USD 50 to 100 or more for a USD 25 visa. Search results for “Vietnam evisa apply online” are full of these lookalikes, so check the domain character by character before you type anything. On the portal, choose the option for foreigners applying individually, tick the declarations and enter the captcha to open the Vietnam e-visa application form.
Step 2: fill the application form
Fill the form exactly as your passport reads, because the e-visa is checked letter by letter against it at the airport. Two fields catch Indian applicants most often:
· Name order. Enter your full name exactly as it appears in the machine-readable (ICAO) lines at the bottom of your passport’s bio page, in capital letters, surname first (evisa.gov.vn FAQ, accessed 2026-07-09). If your middle name is part of your given name in the passport, it stays with the given name; do not shuffle names to match what your ticket shows.
· Port of entry. You must select the checkpoint where you will first land or cross, and the granted e-visa is tied to it; you may exit from a different gate, but you cannot enter through one that is not on your visa. Vietnam accepts e-visa holders at 83 checkpoints after Resolution 389/NQ-CP of 2025-12-02 expanded the list from 42 (Vietnam Government Portal, accessed 2026-07-09). Book your flight first, or be certain of your arrival airport, before you apply.
The rest of the form covers personal details, passport data, dates of stay, your accommodation address in Vietnam, and declarations of previous visits and past violations; the portal warns that dishonest information leads to denial, and you can apply up to 1 year before your planned entry date (evisa.gov.vn, accessed 2026-07-09).
Step 3: upload your photo and passport page
Upload the 4x6 cm white-background portrait photo and the full bio-page image where prompted; the photo must show your face straight-on without glasses, and the passport image must show the complete page including the machine-readable lines (Vietnam Embassy in India). Sizing, format and rejection reasons are covered in our Vietnam visa photo size and specs guide.
Step 4: pay the fee
Pay USD 25 for a single-entry e-visa or USD 50 for multiple entry, roughly INR 2,390 and INR 4,780 at the exchange rate of 1 USD = INR 95.6 on 2026-07-09 (Vietnam Immigration Department, accessed 2026-07-09; Exchange Rate API). The fee is charged in US dollars through the portal’s payment gateway, which accepts international cards, and it is not refunded if the visa is refused: Vietnam’s fee schedule states that the collecting authority is not required to return the charge when an applicant is disqualified (Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC, Article 6, Ministry of Finance of Vietnam, effective 2026-04-01). Full fee detail is in our guide to Vietnam visa fees for Indians .
Step 5: note your registration code and wait
After submission you receive a registration code by email from the Immigration Department; save it, because the code plus your email and date of birth are how you track the application and download the visa. The official processing time is 3 working days from complete submission and payment (Vietnam Immigration Department, accessed 2026-07-09), though the Vietnam Embassy in India advises allowing 5 to 30 working days and applying well ahead of travel (Vietnam Embassy in India, accessed 2026-07-09). What affects the timeline, and when to apply, is covered in our guide to Vietnam visa processing time .
Common mistakes that get e-visa applications delayed or rejected
Most e-visa problems come from five avoidable mistakes: mismatched passport data, the wrong entry port, a non-compliant photo, a failed payment, and applying on a third-party site. Each costs time and often the full fee, because the application cannot be edited after submission and the fee is non-refundable (evisa.gov.vn, accessed 2026-07-09).
1. Passport data that does not match. A single transposed digit in the passport number, or a name entered ticket-style instead of ICAO-line style, means a fresh application and a fresh fee.
2. Wrong port of entry. Landing in Ho Chi Minh City with an e-visa issued for Hanoi does not work. If plans change after grant, you apply again.
3. Photo failures. Shadows, glasses, a non-white background or a cropped bio page are routine rejection triggers.
4. Payment failures on Indian cards. Travellers, including Indian cardholders with international usage enabled, report card declines at the gateway, whose own error message states that a failed or cancelled payment means creating a new application (Tripadvisor Vietnam forum, accessed 2026-07-09). Enable international online transactions before you start; if a payment fails, travellers report success with a card on a different network or bank, retrying later, or switching device or browser.
5. Applying on a lookalike site. You pay a mark-up and share your passport data with an unknown operator, and the same government approval still decides the outcome.
After you apply: tracking and receiving the e-visa
After you apply, track the application on the portal’s e-visa search using your registration code, registration email and date of birth; once the status shows granted, download the PDF. Carry a printed copy: the Vietnam Embassy in India advises presenting a printed e-visa, and travellers report airlines and immigration counters asking for paper rather than a phone screen (Vietnam Embassy in India, accessed 2026-07-09). The status labels, realistic timelines and what to do if the decision is delayed or negative are all in our guide to check your Vietnam visa status .
Sorted your visa? Sort your cover next
An approved e-visa gets you into Vietnam, but it carries no medical cover, and the USD 25 to 50 fee is non-refundable if the application is refused. A travel insurance for Vietnam policy from Zurich Kotak covers the bigger risks of the trip itself, emergency medical care, baggage and disruptions, and its Visa Cost Cover benefit reimburses the visa fee if your visa is rejected, provided the policy is in place before the decision.
Travelling to Vietnam? Get covered before you fly. Get a quote for travel insurance for Vietnam
FAQ
Q: How do I apply for a Vietnam e-visa from India?
A: You apply directly on the official portal evisa.gov.vn; no agent or embassy visit is needed. Fill the online form, upload your passport bio page and a 4x6 cm photo, select your entry port, pay USD 25 or USD 50 by card, and track the result with the registration code emailed to you.
Q: Which website is the official Vietnam e-visa site?
A: The only official Vietnam e-visa application sites are evisa.gov.vn and thithucdientu.gov.vn, both run by the Vietnam Immigration Department; the Vietnam Embassy in India states that all other websites are invalid. Lookalike domains that add words or change the .gov.vn ending are commercial agents or scams charging a mark-up.
Q: Can I pay the Vietnam e-visa fee with an Indian card?
A: Yes, the portal’s gateway takes international credit and debit cards, but Indian cardholders commonly report declines even with international usage enabled. Enable international online transactions before you start, and if the payment fails, try a card on a different network or bank; note that a failed payment means starting a new application.
Q: What documents do I upload for the e-visa?
A: Only two uploads are required: your passport bio page image and a compliant 4x6 cm white-background photo. For everything else worth having ready for the application and for immigration on arrival, see the full Vietnam visa document list.
Q: What happens after I submit the application?
A: You receive a registration code by email, and you use it with your email address and date of birth to track the application on the portal; the granted e-visa is downloaded as a PDF from the same search. Keep the code safe and check the status after the 3-working-day official window.
