British passport holders can visit Vietnam visa-free for up to 45 days. Here is exactly how the visa-free entry works, when you still need an eVisa, and how we can arrange one for a longer stay.
No visa needed for short stays. British citizens can visit Vietnam visa-free for up to 45 days per entry, so most holidays and short business trips need no visa at all. You only need the eVisa (valid up to 90 days, single or multiple entry) if you plan to stay longer than 45 days or want multiple entries. The UK is Vietnam's largest European source market, with over 279,000 arrivals in 2024, up roughly 21% year-on-year.
No, not for a short trip. British passport holders can enter Vietnam visa-free for up to 45 days per stay. The exemption covers tourism, business, family visits, and transit, and it is honoured at airports, land borders, and seaports. You only need a visa — most simply the online eVisa — if your stay will run longer than 45 days, or you want the flexibility of multiple entries.
Here is exactly how the 45-day visa-free entry works, and the conditions to meet before you fly:
British citizens enjoy a unilateral 45-day visa exemption, first introduced on 15 August 2023 and currently extended by Resolution 44/NQ-CP (7 March 2025), valid from 15 March 2025 through 14 March 2028.
The visa exemption covers most short trips, but the eVisa is the right call in these cases:
The Vietnam eVisa is an electronic visa issued by Vietnam's Immigration Department and emailed to you as a PDF, valid up to 90 days, single or multiple entry, and accepted at all 83 designated entry points. You can apply yourself at the official portal, evisa.gov.vn, or let us handle the whole application for a small service fee. The government fee is identical either way; what we add is a review of every field before submission, error correction, faster processing options, and a real person to email if anything looks off.
Apply for a longer-stay eVisa →
| Option | Validity | Our fee (per applicant) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Month Single Entry | 30 days from arrival | $54 |
| 1 Month Multiple Entry | 30 days from arrival | $84 |
| 3 Month Single Entry | 90 days from arrival | $94 |
| 3 Month Multiple Entry | 90 days from arrival | $104 |
All prices include the Vietnam Immigration Department's stamp fee, with no hidden add-ons. The official government fee is USD 25 (single entry) or USD 50 (multiple entry) and is non-refundable even if an application is rejected, which is exactly why our pre-submission review matters. Your card is charged in USD, so your bank applies its own exchange rate to pounds. See the full fee breakdown and currency estimator →
Times start when our team submits your application to Immigration, usually within 2 business hours of payment during office hours (08:00 to 21:00 GMT+7). Apply at least 2 to 3 weeks ahead where you can, and add a buffer around Vietnamese public holidays such as Tet, when the Immigration Department is closed and even urgent processing pauses.
Single entry is enough for a one-way visit, even with domestic flights inside Vietnam (Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc all count as one entry). Multiple entry is the right choice if you plan to leave and re-enter, for example a regional itinerary through Cambodia, Laos, or Thailand, or a cruise that calls at several Vietnamese ports. Both options carry the same 90-day maximum, so if there is any chance you will leave and return, choose multiple entry.
⚠️ British National (Overseas) passports are treated differently. The 45-day visa exemption and the standard eVisa both apply to British Citizen passports. BNO passport holders are not covered and must arrange a visa through a Vietnamese embassy or an authorized visa-on-arrival operator. If you hold both, travel on your British Citizen passport.
⚠️ Do not overstay. Under the December 2025 fine schedule, overstays draw tiered penalties rising to as much as VND 40 million for the most serious cases, plus possible deportation and a future entry ban. On arrival, check that the exit date stamped in your passport matches your permitted stay, and leave on or before that date.
A non-compliant photo or bio-page scan is the single most common cause of a stuck or rejected application. Our team checks yours against the requirements before anything is filed.
See the full walkthrough on our How to Apply page.
Your visa-free entry and the eVisa are both accepted at these gateways:
No. British Citizen passport holders can enter visa-free for up to 45 days per stay under Vietnam's unilateral exemption, currently valid through 14 March 2028.
No. British National (Overseas) passports are excluded from both the 45-day exemption and the standard eVisa, so BNO holders need to arrange a visa separately before travelling.
If you want to stay longer than 45 days, or need multiple entries for a trip that loops through neighbouring countries, an eVisa (up to 90 days, single or multiple entry) is the better option.
Because we review every application before submitting, we catch most issues up front, such as a passport expiring within 6 months. If we spot a problem — or we anticipate that Vietnam Immigration would deny your application — we refund you in full before submitting and suggest alternatives. See our Terms and Conditions.