If you, being a Spanish citizen, intend to stay in other countries within 15 days and your arrival date does not fall within 30 days following your exit date of your last staying in Vietnam with visa exemption, then you do not need to apply Visa. Otherwise, a visa is compulsory for your trip.
There are, at the moment, up to three ways to apply Vietnamese visa for Spanish, each of which has different advantages and disadvantages. You can consider which is the best way so you can have a visa on hand and enjoy the journey to new land.
1. Visa on arrival
It is the most common strategy that almost all travelers choose when entering Vietnam by air.
Vietnam visa on arrival for Spanish citizens
Advantages of Vietnamese visa on arrival for Spanish:
Firstly, it has been requested because of its convenience. Spanish are allowed to pick up the visa as soon as you land at Vietnam international airport, which means you do not need to visit Vietnam embassy. This Vietnam visa type saves a lot of time and money as it prevents you from waiting outside the Embassy for hours just to get the official visa.
Secondly, visa on arrival is secure since it guarantees your privacy when it does not demand any original document to the Immigration Department of Vietnam for visa approval.
Disadvantages:
However, visa on arrival is acceptable for air travelers only. Thus, if you want to get to Vietnam in land or sea way, you will have to get visa at Vietnam embassy traditionally.
Another disadvantage of visa on arrival is that sometimes the time for getting visa stamped can be long and applicants will have to wait at the long queue at Vietnam airport.
Click here for full process of Vietnam visa on arrival for Spanish.
Before apply:
• Make sure your passport has at least 06 months validity. Many airlines don’t let you fly with a passport of less than 6 months validity regardless that you already got the visa stamp.
• Remember that purpose of your trip is not a concern. You are advised to select types of visa based on length of stay and number of entry.
• The visa application can be submitted up to 6 months in advance of the travel date. Your visa becomes effective from the intended arrival date in application, not from the visa issue date. And you can start the trip anytime you want as long as the visa is valid.
2. Vietnam visa at Vietnam Embassy in Spain
Advantages of Vietnam visa applied at Vietnam embassy:
One of the first advantages is that you already have your visa stamped on your passport before the flight. In addition, you can deal with Vietnam Embassy in person directly.
Disadvantages:
However, this type of visa has some disadvantages. It not only has your personal information sent away but also takes you at least 5 days to get your visa. It can be self applied which is considered an advantage but this leads to difficulty for those who lives far from Vietnam Embassy.
To discover if there is any office of Vietnam Embassy/Consulate close to your place, see https://www.vietnam-visa.com/embassy/spain
Here are more contacts to the Vietnam Embassy in Spain:
Vietnam Embajada en Madrid, España
C/ Segre, 5, 28002 MADRID – ESPAÑA
Tel : 0034 91 5102867 – Fax : 0034 91 4157067
Website : www.embavietnam-madrid.org
Consulado General de Vietnam en Canarias, España
PaseoMilicias de Garachico, 5 – (Edificio Plaza San Francisco, Oficina 4)
38002 Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Tel/Fax: 0034 922 275 224
Website : www.vietnamembassy.es
3. E-visa
Advantages of E-visa to Vietnam:
An e-Visa can be easily obtained anywhere as long as Spanish visitors are provided with an internet connection. Applying E visa saves much time that you would otherwise spend on visa applications.
Moreover it’s cost saving and time saving as your personal information is considered online, no more face to face with the employees in Vietnam Immigration Department just like Visa on arrival.
Disadvantages:
However, the E-visa covers 30 days in Vietnam with single entry and for tourist purpose only. It takes you no sooner than 3 working days to know whether your Vietnam visa application is approved or not.
Since this kind of visa of which some certain airlines may not be aware, they may refuse it is also not familiar to immigration staff, you should check with your airlines in advance to avoid troubles.
Finally, each ways of applying visa has its own advantages and disadvantages. Hopefully, it is a great base for you to make your own decision on which one is best for you.