For foreigners traveling to an unfamiliar country like Vietnam, you must learn to adapt to the local laws and regulations, especially the immigration laws pertaining to visas and stay permits. All types of Vietnam visa, including business visa, tourist visa and work permit have their own validity and the validity may differ based on the type of visa and which country you are from.
Find out about Cekindo’s Immigration & Visa Services for Foreigners in Vietnam
Just like almost every other country in the world, if your visa that allows you to stay in Vietnam is expired, you need to extend it or get a new one. Period. Overstaying a visa in Vietnam is a pretty bad idea because the penalty can be severe such as monetary fines, blacklisting or deportation. Worse, you will never be able to come back to Vietnam again in the future.
The best thing to do is of course to take note of your visa validity and make sure not to let yourself overstay your visa in Vietnam.
In this article, Cekindo will walk you through some important points if you do overstay your Vietnam visa by accident.
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Consequences of Overstaying Your Visa in Vietnam
According to the Immigration Law of Vietnam, the penalty of overstaying a visa varies, depending on the type of visa and specific circumstance.
Oftentimes, the penalty can range from a minimum fine of VND 500, 000 to VND 5,000,000, or even more. Furthermore, as discussed earlier, overstaying your visa may also lead to an enforced blacklisting or deportation.
How Much Fine do You Have to Pay when You Overstay Your Visa?
In Vietnam, the fines of overstaying a visa are charged by days if your overstaying is not too serious, for instance, only for a few days.
However, if you are determined by the Vietnamese government that you overstay your visa for a long time on purpose, and have repeated this offense several times, the punishment can be severe. Deportation is a sure thing in this case.
Here are some of the estimates of the fines for overstaying your visa:
- Overstaying for no more than 10 days: VND 1,250,000 (US$ 55 USD)
- Overstaying for no more than 30 days (1 month): VND 4,000,000 (US$ 175)
- Overstaying for more than 1 month but fewer than 3 months: VND 10,000,000 VND (US$ 440)
- Overstaying for one year: more than VND 16,000,000 VND (US$ 700), along with deportation and prohibition to enter the country for a specified period
Extending Your Visa in Vietnam when It Has Already Expired
If your visa overstaying in Vietnam is only few days and unintentional, you can extend your overstayed visa, provided that you have given honest declaration and an acceptable reason for your overstay.
For overstaying a business visa, you will require an agency that can provide a visa sponsorship in order to extend it. In this case, the extension period is limited.
Recommendations if You Overstay Your Visa in Vietnam
The most convenient way to solve the problem is to pay the fine when you only overstay for one or two days. Payment can be made to the immigration officer at the airport when you exit the country. The fine is approximately VND 500,000 or US$ 25.
Though convenient, this is not the best way because your passport will be marked by the officers with regards to the overstaying, which might affect your visit to the country in the future. Our advice is to avoid paying the fine at the airport. It is always a better choice extend your expired visa even though it takes a few more days.
Final Note
Always check your visa expiration date and prepare the documents for visa extension earlier if you want to stay in Vietnam longer.
What kind of Vietnam visa is the right one for you to enter Vietnam? Read this article about Vietnam visa types.
NOTE: At this time Cekindo is not accepting single use requests for Visa applications or extensions. If you want a investor visa or business visa you can only do so when requesting a Company Registration, Secretarial Services or Product Registration services.
