• Visa

• Diplomatic visa

• Entry visa for persons of Vietnamese origin

• Legalisation

• Marriage

• Birth Certificate

• Consular services NOT provided by the Embassy

• Contact us

VISA

The Embassy of Vietnam in London is the sole authority responsible for issuing Vietnamese visas in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. We provide fully RELIABLE, SECURE AND FAST services that exceed your expectations.

Application for an entry VISA to Vietnam can be made in person or by post to the Embassy of Vietnam. Application in person can be made by the applicant or any representative. Application by post must be sent by Royal Mail Special Delivery.

Regarding visas on arrival and on-line visa application, please be advised that there have been so many cases in which airport authorities or border control posts do not allow travelers to board the planes or enter the country as they do not possess legitimate visas issued by the Embassy of Vietnam in London. Pre-approved letters which contain travelers' personal information are not sufficient documents. These cases are beyond the authority of the Embassy.

I. General requirements:

Documents to be submitted are:

1. Original PASSPORT whose validity must exceed that of the visa by at least one month.

2. One completed APPLICATION FORM F (download form here).Forms can be retrieved online or distributed at the Embassy.

3. One passport PHOTOGRAPH taken not more than one year ago, affixed to the application form. Both Vietnamese and British passport sizes are accepted

4. VISA FEE payment payable to the ‘EMBASSY OF VIETNAM’, all in British pounds sterling only.

        -  For Application in person: payment can be made in CASH only.

        -  For Application by post: payment should be by cheques, postal orders or bankers draft only. Your full name, passport number, contact address and telephone number must be provided at the back of the payment. Please DO NOT SEND CASH by post, the Embassy does not accept responsibility for any loss as a result of you sending cash.

        -  Visa fees vary according to the type of visas and length of stay and are regularly adjusted. Please contact the Embassy by email at consular@vietnamembassy.org.uk for relevant fee information.

5. In case of application by post, passport and visa will be returned by post by Special Delivery. A self-addressed envelope (not stamped) and postal delivery service charge are required.

6. The Embassy may request further supporting documents and will contact the applicant when necessary. Please do not send any unless contacted and explicitly requested to do so by the Embassy.

II. Processing Schedule:

* Normal Processing: Five working days (one week) are required for a normal processing of application made in person.

* Express Processing: Two working days for an express processing (additional fee required).

* Next Day Processing: One working day (additional fee required) if you can submit your application by fax/email/post or in person before 12.30 p.m.

-  Application by Fax/Email: Application by Fax/Email is considered as Express Processing. You can send the application form and the main page of your passport at least TWO WORKING DAYS in advance; and then collect the visa upon presenting your passport and paying for the visa fee at the Embassy.  

-In case of application by post, it takes five working days plus additional posting time (by Royal Mail Delivery Next Day), i.e the visa processing time will start from the date the application is received, not from the date it is dispatched by post.

-  Return charges (including handling fees) by post should be:

• one passport: GBP 8 per passport

• two or three passports (if only posted back in one package): GBP 6 per passport

• four to seven passports (if only posted back in one package): GBP 5 per passport

• from eight passports (if only posted back in one package): GBP 4 per passport

III. Important information:

• All required fields in the application form must be filled with care and precision. 

• Visa dates are not flexible. A visa will be valid from the entry date to the exit date as printed. You can visit and stay in Vietnam any time between these two dates, i.e. you cannot enter Vietnam before the entry date and you must leave by the exit date. Therefore, you should be clear about the DATES OF ENTRY AND EXIT on your application form.

• Visa rules and fees for children should follow the same procedure as adults if they have their own passports. Children who are included in parents’ passports do not need separate visas and are not charged (however, their names must be stated in their parents application form with one accompanying photograph). The parents must sign the applications on behalf of children under 14 years old.

• Changes and amendments of the visa can be done only when the visa is still valid. Additional fee is required.

• Fees and charges once received are not refundable, except in case of rejection.

IV. Dos and Don’ts:

• The Embassy recommends application by post so as to avoid long queue and save your time and ours.

• Please DO NOT purchase air tickets/holiday packages to Vietnam before you obtain a visa. The visa process is not bound by your travel plan.

• Please allow sufficient time for visa processing. Please take note of the time required to process your application and check carefully with your local post office to get hold of the posting time (applications sent from the Republic of Ireland may take up to three weeks for turnaround).

• The Embassy is not responsible for any loss or damage to redundant documents not required by us.

• For further enquiry, the Visa Section HELPLINE is open between 09.30 to 12.30 and again from 14.30 to 18.00, Monday to Friday, except Vietnamese and British holidays. Otherwise, please send us an email to consular@vietnamembassy.org.uk which we will reply within 24 hours.
  

DIPLOMATIC AND OFFICIAL VISA

• Holders of diplomatic and official passports who are based in UK and Ireland will be granted visas GRATIS unless otherwise endorsed.

• In addition to the procedure specified in VISA, applicant must submit a Note Verbale or an official letter from the UK Foreign Office or the Republic of Ireland Department of Foreign Affaris, or diplomatic missions accredited to UK, Ireland, and international organisations.

• British or Irish diplomats to be posted in Vietnam are requested to inform the Embassy of his/her Position, title at the mission in Vietnam, and name of the person that he/she is to replace. 
  
  

ENTRY VISA FOR OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE RESIDENTS IN THE UK AND IRELAND

 1. First time visit:

• Those who have never visited Vietnam since their emigration or their most recent visit to Vietnam was made more than 36 months ago are required to fill out FORM V1 (download form)

• Processing time: 15 working days, excluding posting time.

• Foreigners accompanying parents, spouses or children who are Vietnamese residing in the UK are required to fill the Application Form F for foreigners (download form)

2. For second time visit and those who have visited Vietnam within the last 36 months:

Please fill FORM V2 (download form)

• The visa can be issued within 02 (two) working days since the date of receipt of the application and relevant documents to prove the timing of the previous visit.

• Processing time: Two working days, excluding posting time. 
  
  

LEGALISATION

All documents need to be properly notarised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (for United Kingdom ), the Department of Foreign Affairs (for Ireland ) and the Legalisation Offices in the UK Crown Dependencies ( Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man ). Documents from UK Overseas Territories ( Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Island , Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Turks and Caicos Islands) must be legalised by the Legalisation Office in the Overseas Territory concerned befor being ligalised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Only then will the documents be legalised in turn by the Embassy of Vietnam in London.

You need to submit:

• Original documents

• Photocopies of the above documents to be retained by the Embassy

• Legalisation fees which is £25 per document. Payment should be in cash, postal order or bank draft made payable to 'Embassy of Vietnam'

It takes five working days to process your application, excluding posting time. Please add £10 and a self-addressed envelope if your application is to be sent and returnt by post (return would be by Special Delivery). 

MARRIAGE

A non-Vietnamese citizen, seeking to get married to a Vietnamese national, may submit in person or by mail his/her file of required documents for marriage registration to the Embassy of Vietnam in London for authentication before taking them to Vietnam for subsequent procedures.

Documents to be authenticated by the Embassy:

A Regular Dossier Includes:

• Application for Marriage Registration in Vietnam

• Certificate of No-marriage Records issued by the State Vital Statistics Office within the last six months certifying that no marriage license or marriage record of the applicant has been found for the period from the beginning of legal age for marriage to date.

• Medical Certificate issued by an authorized medical organization confirming that the applicant has no mental illnesses, or has a mental problem but not to the extent of losing consciousness of his/her own actions.

• Photocopy of the photo and signature pages of the Passport.

NOTE: The Certificate of No-marriage Records and Medical Certificate must be certified by a Notary Public and the signatures of the Notary Public must be subsequently certified by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office before the documents are sent to the Embassy for authentication.

For Divorced and Widowed Applicants: In addition to the above-listed documents,

• Divorcees are required to submit the Divorce Decree after it has been certified by a Notary Public, and subsequently authenticated by the the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

• Widows are to submit a photocopy of Death Certificate of the previous spouse after it has been certified by a Notary Public or and subsequently authenticated by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Power of Attorney for Submission of Application: The foreign party can, with a power of attorney , entrust his or her fiance(e) to submit the application package.

BIRTH CERTIFICATE

A Vietnamese Birth Certificate is granted to a child:

• born of two married Vietnamese citizens,

• one of the parents is a Vietnamese citizen

• whose mother is a Vietnamese citizen

Dossiers include:

• Application Form for Birth Certificate. For late applications, please download form here: FORM 1 FORM 2

• Photocopies of the parents’ passports.

• Photocopy of marriage certificate

• Photocopy of birth record by the hospital

• For a child born of a Vietnamese citizen and a foreign citizen, the foreign parent needs to submit a declaration stating his/her acceptance that the child may carry Vietnamese citizenship.

Processing Time: Five working days, excluding the posting time. 

CERTAIN CONSULAR SERVICES ARE NOT PROVIDED BY THE EMBASSY, INCLUDING:

• Duplicate Birth Certificate (for those who were born in Vietnam and their original birth certificates were not issued by the Embassy)

• Vietnamese Police Check.

Please do not contact the Embassy for the above documents. You must petition for them at the local authorities in Vietnam where the deed was performed.

CONTACT THE EMBASSY

Embassy of Vietnam (Consular Section)

12-14 Victoria Road,

London W8 5RD

Tel: 0207 937 1912

Fax:  0207 565 3853 or 0207 937 6108

Email: consular@vietnamembassy.org.uk

Direction to the Embassy: The Embassy is located on Victoria Road, off Kensington High Street and Kensington Gardens. Nearest Underground stations are High Street Kensington or Gloucester Road.

Opening Time: 09.30 to 12.30 ONLY, Monday to Friday

Please note that there is NO appointment system at the Embassy.

PUBIC HOLIDAYS 2012