Yes. Every foreign visitor needs a valid passport plus a visa or a visa exemption, and for the eVisa, Vietnamese law says your passport has to stay valid at least 30 days past the visa's end date. Visa-free entry needs six months, and the U.S. State Department, Britain's Foreign Office and the Government of Canada all tell their travelers to carry six months, so plan on six months and two blank pages.
Most confusion about Vietnam passport requirements lives in that gap between the legal floor and the advice. The rest is edge cases, the ones that strand people: an emergency passport, a renewal after approval, a child on a parent's passport, a second nationality. If you're still working out what the Vietnam eVisa is and who needs one, start there.
The Short Answer: A Passport Plus a Visa or an Exemption
Citizens of every country and territory can apply for a Vietnam eVisa, and that's been the rule since August 15, 2023. The Immigration Department sets three conditions for granting one: you're outside Vietnam, you hold a valid passport and you don't fall under the entry bans in Article 21 of Vietnam's entry and exit law. That first condition is why you apply before you fly: Vietnam Immigration issues the eVisa to people outside Vietnam, not to visitors already in the country.
Some passports skip the visa. Citizens of 12 countries, including the UK, Germany, France and Japan, get 45 days visa-free for any purpose under Resolution 44/NQ-CP of March 7, 2025; 12 more, including the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland, get 45 days for tourism only under Resolution 229/NQ-CP of August 8, 2025; and 15 others have bilateral agreements of 14 to 90 days. Americans aren't on any of those lists. The U.S. State Department says a visa is required, with one exception: stays of 30 days or less on the island of Phu Quoc. The lists change, so check whether your nationality needs a visa before you assume either way.
Passport Validity: The 30-Day Rule and the Six-Month Habit
Vietnam's rule for visa holders is short: a visa has to end at least 30 days before the passport expires, under Article 9(8) of Law 47/2014/QH13. The eVisa form enforces it and refuses dates that leave a shorter gap, so a passport expiring on June 30 can carry an eVisa that ends no later than May 31. Six months is Vietnamese law for visa-free entry under the 45-day exemptions, and it's what Washington, London and Ottawa tell their own citizens, each counting from a different day:
| Situation | Minimum passport validity | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Holding an eVisa (Vietnamese law) | 30 days past the eVisa's end date | Law 47/2014, Art. 9(8) |
| Visa-free entry under a 45-day exemption (Vietnamese law) | 6 months | Law 47/2014, Art. 20(1)(a) |
| U.S. State Department advice | 6 months beyond your arrival date | travel.state.gov |
| UK government advice | 6 months after the date you arrive | gov.uk |
| Canadian government advice | 6 months beyond the date you expect to leave | travel.gc.ca |
| Vietnam Visa by BDA's check (our policy, not law) | 6 months beyond your planned exit | Our How to Apply page |
So can you travel to Vietnam with less than six months on your passport? On an eVisa, legally yes, as long as the passport outlasts the visa by 30 days. For visa-free entry under Resolution 44 or Resolution 229, no. In practice, count six months from the day you leave Vietnam: that satisfies Washington, London and Ottawa at once, and it's the rule we apply to every application. If you're American, our page on the Vietnam eVisa for U.S. citizens covers the rest of your checklist.
⚠️ Don't plan around the legal minimum. The U.S., British and Canadian governments all advise at least six months' validity, and airlines often apply that rule, so a passport that passes the form can still be a problem at check-in.
Blank Pages and Damage: Small Things That Stop People at the Desk
Vietnamese law doesn't set a blank-page rule. The page count comes from foreign advice: Britain's Foreign Office asks for at least two blank pages, and the State Department's Vietnam page gives two different figures, "1 blank page available per stamp" in its summary and "at least 2 blank pages required for stamps" further down. Go with the stricter one: two clean pages answers both governments.
Damage is the one people underestimate. Britain's Foreign Office warns that "British nationals have been denied entry and exit due to passport damage", so the problem can surface on the way out as well as the way in. A torn photo page, water damage or a binding that's coming loose is a reason to replace the passport before you apply, not after, because the eVisa is issued against that passport's details.
Emergency and Temporary Passports: The Ones the eVisa Won't Take
Vietnam's eVisa portal publishes a short list of passport types that can't be issued a visa: temporary passports, emergency passports, BNO passports and diplomatic passports used for entry on diplomatic business. If you hold one, the eVisa isn't your route.
The State Department warns Americans that Vietnam may not accept the 12-page U.S. emergency passport for eVisa entry. The Government of Canada says different entry rules may apply to temporary passports and emergency travel documents. BNO holders get caught twice, because British National (Overseas) passports aren't covered by the UK's 45-day exemption either. If your passport is on this list, talk to a Vietnamese embassy or consulate before you book anything you can't refund.
Renewals, Losses and Domestic Flights: One Passport From Start to Finish
Vietnam expects one passport for the whole trip. The State Department puts it plainly: you must enter and exit on the same passport, and domestic travel has to be done on that passport too. The Government of Canada adds that if you use a different passport, you may be refused boarding. Book your internal flights with the same passport details you used for the eVisa.
That's why renewing after approval is a trap. Your eVisa carries the details of the passport you applied with. The Government of Canada says Vietnamese visas in expired Canadian passports aren't valid and have to be transferred to the new passport, and Vietnam's fee schedule, Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC, charges US$5 to transfer a still-valid visa to a new passport. We haven't found a Vietnamese source that explains how that transfer works for an eVisa PDF, so if you've renewed since approval, contact Vietnam Immigration before you travel.
⚠️ Renew first, then apply. If your passport is anywhere near the six-month line, replace it before you start the eVisa. Applying on the old passport and renewing later leaves you holding a visa tied to a document you can't travel on.
Losing the passport in Vietnam is the expensive version. The State Department says a U.S. citizen whose passport is lost or stolen there needs both a replacement passport and a replacement Vietnamese visa to stay or leave legally. A new visa from inside the country can't be an eVisa and needs a sponsor in Vietnam to apply for it, which isn't something we handle. The same State Department page says to keep the passport in a hotel safe and carry paper and digital copies.
Children: Shared Passports and Their Own
A child under 14 who's on a parent's passport can be added to the parent's eVisa in section 7 of the form, and the form rejects older children there. A child with their own passport needs their own application, and the form warns against adding a child to a shared passport once that child has a separate one.
The State Department also tells U.S. parents to bring a copy of each child's birth certificate or other evidence of the legal relationship. When one parent travels alone with a child, the State Department calls a notarized consent letter from the other parent a best practice, and says the airline may require it.
Dual Nationals and Vietnamese Passports: Pick One and Stick With It
If you hold two passports, the form asks about both. Section 1 asks whether you have multiple nationalities and whether you've ever entered Vietnam on a different passport, and section 3 asks whether you hold any other valid passport. Answer them truthfully, apply on the passport you'll actually carry and keep using it until you've left.
Whether Vietnam recognizes your second nationality is a nationality-law question, not a visa one, and it belongs with a Vietnamese embassy or consulate. If one of your passports is Vietnamese, the Embassy of Vietnam in Washington's visa application form is marked "NOT APPLY TO VIETNAMESE PASSPORT HOLDERS", so the foreign-visitor visa isn't your route.
Overseas Vietnamese, and foreign spouses and children of Vietnamese citizens or overseas Vietnamese, can apply for a visa exemption certificate instead. Under Decree 82/2015/ND-CP it lasts up to five years and ends at least six months before your passport expires, and you need a passport with at least one year of validity left to apply. That's a stricter passport rule than the eVisa's.
The eVisa Form: Where Your Passport Does the Typing
The Immigration Department's eVisa application starts with two uploads: a portrait and a photo of your passport's data page. The system reads the passport and fills in the passport fields, and you're expected to check them. Two warnings can appear at this stage: "No MRZ detected in the passport image" and "The portrait and passport photos have a low match rate", each followed by "Your application may be rejected." Neither one blocks you, which is what makes them easy to ignore.
The MRZ is the machine-readable zone, the two lines of letters, numbers and chevrons along the bottom of the data page. Photograph the whole page flat, in good light, with those lines sharp and nothing cropped. Passport type is a dropdown with four options: Ordinary passport, Diplomatic passport, Official passport and Other. Almost every tourist picks Ordinary.
Then check every auto-filled character against the passport. The State Department tells Americans that the eVisa must match the passport exactly and that an error on it can mean immigration won't let you enter. The Government of Canada spells out what "exactly" covers: your full name and date of birth, in the order they appear on the passport. If your passport prints only a year of birth, the date-of-birth field has an "Only year is known" option, so don't invent a day and month to fill the box.
Pre-Arrival Information: The 2026 Change That Isn't a Visa
The new entry step travelers ask about in 2026 isn't a passport rule at all. Vietnam Immigration's online pre-arrival form, Pre-arrival Information (PAI), was piloted at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City from April 15, 2026. You can submit it up to three days before you arrive, and you get a QR code to show on arrival.
The Ministry of Public Security calls PAI optional rather than mandatory and says it can speed up immigration on arrival. It isn't a visa and doesn't replace one: you still need an eVisa or an exemption. The State Department's page goes further and tells Americans arriving by air to fill in a pre-arrival declaration no earlier than three days before arrival, so if you're American, filling it in is the sensible call either way.
⚠️ Only use prearrival.immigration.gov.vn. The Ministry of Public Security warns that fake PAI sites exist.
Before You Apply Online: A Few Parting Notes
Check the stamp before you walk away from the immigration desk. Your passport is stamped on entry with the date you have to leave by, and Britain's Foreign Office tells travelers to check it before leaving border control, because a wrong date can get you accused of overstaying. Print your eVisa and keep a copy on your phone: Vietnam's immigration law describes printing it from the portal, and the State Department tells Americans to print it, so paper is the safe choice.
When you apply for your Vietnam eVisa online through us, we ask for a passport valid at least six months beyond your planned exit from Vietnam. Our checkout runs four steps (Applicant Info, Trip Detail, Review, Payment), and our team transfers your details to the government form for you. If we spot a passport problem before we submit, you get a full refund, as you do if you cancel within 5 to 10 minutes of applying. Once the eVisa is issued, it's non-refundable and any amendment is charged separately, one more reason to get the passport right first.
Vietnam Visa by BDA is a private company. We're not affiliated with the Vietnamese government, and the decision on every eVisa belongs to Vietnam Immigration.