Form NA1 is Vietnam's paper visa application, the form you hand in with your passport at a Vietnamese embassy or consulate, in person or by post, or at the border checkpoint that issues a visa on arrival. If you're applying for an eVisa, you don't need it: the online application is a separate form, NA1a, and the paper NA1 got a new version on July 1, 2026.
So if an embassy, a sponsor or a forum thread told you to fill in Form NA1 for Vietnam, check which route you're on first. And if the PDF you downloaded doesn't name Circular 70/2026/TT-BCA in its top right corner, it isn't the 2026 version.
Form NA1: Vietnam's Paper Visa Application
NA1's English title is Vietnamese Visa Application Form, and a line under it says it's for foreigners. The note at the foot of the form sets the rules: one form per person, handed in with your passport in person or by post at a Vietnamese mission abroad, or in person at the immigration unit of the international border checkpoint where you receive the visa. That's the whole list, and none of it happens online.
The English wording on the 2026 form muddies this. Its note reads "Submit in person or via portal service", which sends people hunting for an upload page. The Vietnamese line above it says dịch vụ bưu chính, which means postal service. Away from the border, you either walk NA1 into a Vietnamese embassy or consulate with your passport or mail both to it.
Who Needs It: NA1 and the Look-Alike Forms
You need NA1 when a Vietnamese embassy or consulate issues your visa, or when you collect a pre-approved visa at an airport or land border. Circular 70/2026/TT-BCA revised 24 of Vietnam's immigration forms at once, and these are the ones travelers confuse with NA1:
- NA1a is the eVisa application, completed entirely online.
- NA2 and NA3 are a sponsor's request to Vietnam Immigration, NA2 from an organization and NA3 from a person sponsoring a relative. Your sponsor files these, not you.
- NA5 is for foreigners already staying in Vietnam who need a new visa or a stay extension, filed through a sponsor.
- NA9 is the application for a visa exemption certificate, which overseas Vietnamese, and the foreign spouses and children of Vietnamese citizens or overseas Vietnamese, can hold instead of a visa.
- PAI, Vietnam Immigration's online Pre-arrival Information form at prearrival.immigration.gov.vn, is optional and isn't a visa.
NA1 isn't an entry or exit card either, whatever a search result calls it: it's a visa application form and nothing else.
The 2026 Version: What Changed on July 1
Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security signed Circular 70/2026/TT-BCA on May 25, 2026, and it took effect on July 1, 2026. The ministry's own summary of the circular names NA1, NA1a, NA2 and NA3 among the updated forms and says sponsors can now file by post or online as well as in person.
Old paperwork doesn't die overnight. Papers issued before July 1 stay valid until they expire, and files on the old forms that an authority received before that date are still processed. Anything you hand in now belongs on the 2026 form.
Check the top right corner of any copy you download. The current NA1 prints "Mẫu (Form) NA1" there, with Circular 70/2026/TT-BCA named underneath, and its note on dual nationality beside item 6 quotes laws amended in 2025, which no older copy can.
⚠️ Most NA1 PDFs in search results are older copies. Take the form from the circular as Vietnam's legal gazette printed it on June 30, 2026, or ask your embassy or consulate for the version it uses.
Filling It In: The 20 Items and Where People Slip
NA1 has 20 numbered items, labeled in Vietnamese with English underneath, and ends with a declaration that everything above is correct.
| Items | What the Form Asks | Get It Right |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | Name in capitals, sex, date and place of birth, nationality at birth, current nationality | Match your passport; dual nationals see item 6's note |
| 7 to 10 | Religion, occupation, employer, home address, phone and email | Answer every line; the declaration you sign covers them all |
| 11 | Parents, spouse, children and siblings, with sex, date of birth, nationality and address | The slowest box; collect the details first |
| 12 | Passport number, type, issuing authority and expiry date | Type means Ordinary, Official or Diplomatic |
| 13 | Date of your last entry into Vietnam, if any | Leave it blank only on a first visit |
| 14 to 16 | Entry date, length of stay in days, purpose and address in Vietnam | Keep these consistent with item 19 |
| 17 | Hosting organization or individual in Vietnam, with address and relationship | Your sponsor's details; blank only if no one sponsors you |
| 18 | Children under 14 on your passport | Each child gets a photo box on the form |
| 19 | Single or multiple entry, with valid-from and valid-to dates | The from date sets your earliest entry |
| 20 | Other requests | Then place, date and signature |
Three boxes deserve extra care. Item 11 includes siblings as well as parents, spouse and children, each with a permanent address, so ask relatives for theirs before you start. Item 13 asks when you last entered Vietnam, so find old stamps or your last eVisa PDF first. Item 19 matters most: the Washington embassy warns that you can only enter Vietnam from the entry date printed on the visa, so set the valid-from date on or before your arrival. Vietnamese law also wants the visa to end at least 30 days before your passport expires.
Bring two recent 4x6 cm photos on a white background, face straight, no hat, no glasses, in neat clothes (the form's English says "polite clothes"). Glue one onto the form and keep the other loose. A child under 14 on your passport goes in item 18, since under Vietnam's immigration law the child gets the visa with the parent.
Dual Nationals: The Note Beside Item 6
Item 6, current nationality, carries note (3), which quotes two laws as amended in 2025. Under the nationality law, on Vietnamese territory Vietnam recognizes only the Vietnamese nationality of its citizens who also hold a foreign one, in their dealings with Vietnamese authorities. Under the law on Vietnamese citizens' exit and entry, Vietnamese citizens must use Vietnamese-issued documents to leave and enter.
That note targets Vietnamese citizens who travel on another country's passport. If Vietnam still counts you as a citizen, a foreign passport plus an NA1 isn't the route the law expects. NA1a, the eVisa form, asks the same thing outright: whether you hold more than one nationality.
⚠️ Check your status before you apply for anything. If you hold, or once held, Vietnamese citizenship, ask the Vietnamese embassy or consulate that serves you how Vietnam treats you now. The answer decides whether you need a visa, a visa exemption certificate or a Vietnamese passport.
Embassy Versions: When Your Mission Uses Its Own Form
Not every mission hands out the gazette layout. The Embassy of Vietnam in Washington uses its own form, titled Visa Application (for non-Vietnamese passport holders), with a box for a visa approval or reference number and a 2x2-inch photo instead of NA1's 4x6 cm.
A different-looking form isn't a fake. Use the version your mission asks for and follow its photo rule. Washington, for one, says applicants staying under 3 months without an approval can leave the approval number blank, and the embassy will arrange it, with extra fees possible. Other missions set their own steps, so find yours among the Vietnamese embassies and consulates.
Sponsored Visas: NA1 Is the Last Step, Not the First
For most visas other than the eVisa, Vietnamese law requires an agency, organization or individual in Vietnam to invite or sponsor you. The sponsor moves first, filing NA2 or NA3 with Vietnam Immigration, with no government fee for that step. Immigration has 5 working days to answer and then notifies the Vietnamese mission abroad.
Only then does your NA1 matter. You hand the mission your passport, the form and a photo, and it issues the visa within 3 working days of receiving the notice from Immigration or the Foreign Ministry. Mail an NA1 before the sponsor's request clears and the mission has nothing to issue against, unless it arranges the approval itself.
Vietnam's two work visas follow this route. LD1 is for foreigners working in Vietnam who are confirmed exempt from a work permit, and LD2 is for those who need one. Both can be valid for up to two years and both need a sponsor. We don't handle work visas or work permits.
Visa on Arrival: NA1 at the Counter
Visa on arrival still exists, but only in specific cases and only with a pre-approval from Vietnam Immigration. The law lists six: departing from a country with no Vietnamese mission, passing through several countries first, a tour run by a Vietnamese international travel company, ship's crew leaving by another gate, a relative's funeral or serious illness, and emergencies.
A sponsor in Vietnam applies first, and Immigration has up to 3 working days to decide, or 12 working hours for funerals, serious illness and emergencies. Its reply, form NB3, is headed Pick up visa on arrival and lists every approved person in one table, with sex, date of birth, nationality, passport number and border gate.
At the counter you hand over your passport, the approval letter and a completed application form with a photo, and that form is NA1. The government fee is $25 for single entry or $50 for multiple entry. We don't process visa-on-arrival letters, and our page on what the approval letter is and why it's fading covers the rest.
⚠️ Check your own line on the NB3 reply before you fly. It covers the whole group, so if your passport number or date of birth on it doesn't match your passport, get your sponsor to fix it before departure, not at the counter. Fill in NA1 and glue on the photo at home.
The eVisa Route: Vietnam's National Electronic Visa System
Vietnam's National Electronic Visa system is the government's eVisa site at evisa.gov.vn, for foreigners outside Vietnam who apply personally. You fill in NA1a there instead of NA1, and the form says the eVisa is for people abroad, not foreigners already staying in Vietnam, and works only at border gates on the government's list.
By law, Vietnam Immigration has 3 working days to decide an eVisa once it has the complete application and the fee, and your eVisa is a PDF file downloaded from the government's eVisa site. The government fee is $25 for single entry or $50 for multiple entry. No sponsor is needed: NA1a only asks whether you plan to contact any agency, organization or individual in Vietnam, with details only if you tick Yes.
You can apply yourself and pay only that fee, or have us check and file NA1a for you; our guide to how the online eVisa application works covers each step.
A Few Parting Notes
Settle the route before you print anything. A tourist trip that fits inside an eVisa valid for up to 90 days never needs NA1. If you can't tell which route you're on, call us on +84 832 320 320 between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Vietnam time (GMT+7), seven days a week, before you pay anyone.
Vietnam Visa by BDA is a private company and isn't affiliated with the Vietnamese government, and approval is always Vietnam Immigration's decision. Prices start at $54 per applicant for a 1-month single-entry eVisa, with the Vietnam Immigration stamp fee included. More answers sit in our visa FAQs.