Expediting Vietnam Visa for China: Urgent E-Visa, Speed-Up and Visa on Arrival for Chinese Passport Holders

China sends more visitors to Vietnam than any other country, and many trips are planned at short notice: a weekend in Da Nang, a business trip to Hanoi, a tour group to Ha Long Bay, or a drive across the border at Mong Cai or Lao Cai. If you are expediting a Vietnam visa from China, or you are a Chinese passport holder already abroad, you have three fast options instead of two, and the right choice depends on how you enter Vietnam.

This guide explains the urgent new e-visa, speeding up an e-visa already in processing, and visa on arrival, with order times in Beijing time and the loose-leaf visa rule that affects Chinese e-passports.

We are a private visa service, not the Vietnamese or Chinese government. Vietnam Immigration decides every visa, so no service can guarantee approval.

Three ways of expediting a Vietnam visa from China

The loose-leaf visa rule for Chinese e-passports

Vietnam does not stamp visas into Chinese e-passports that print the nine-dash line map. Instead, it issues the visa on a separate sheet, a loose-leaf visa, at the landing visa counter. This also applies when you travel with an approved e-visa, so plan a stop at that counter before passport control.

Where are you right now?

People expediting a Vietnam visa from China, or travelling on a passport from China elsewhere, are usually in one of these situations:

• In China, flying in the next few days. For example, direct flights from many Chinese cities take two to four hours. Therefore, your deadline is your departure, often the same morning.
• Driving or taking the train to a land border, such as Mong Cai, Huu Nghi (Friendship Pass) or Lao Cai. Choose that crossing as your port of entry when you apply, whether for an e-visa or a visa on arrival approval letter.
• Travelling with a tour group. However, each traveller needs their own visa. Simply send all passports together, and we process the group as one order.
• Already in Southeast Asia, for example Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur, and adding Vietnam. You are 1 hour behind China time, the same as Vietnam.
• At the airport, and the airline asks for a visa. Even so, on a Vietnamese working day, the 2-working-hour option may still save the flight. Also, at the weekend or on a Vietnamese public holiday, a new application can still be processed (see the weekend section below).
• Only visiting Phu Quoc. Foreign visitors who fly directly to Phu Quoc and stay on the island can usually enter visa-free for up to 30 days. Any trip to the mainland needs a visa.

Order times in Beijing time

China is 1 hour ahead of Vietnam. Vietnam Immigration works Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 18:00, Vietnam time:

These cut-offs are the key to expediting a Vietnam visa from China without losing a day.

In practice: order before 09:00 Beijing time for the 8-working-hour option, and the result arrives by 19:30 the same evening. Orders after 16:00 move to the next Vietnamese working day. Chinese holidays such as Golden Week do not stop Vietnam Immigration, but they fill flights and border crossings.

Prices and time slots for an urgent new e-visa

These are the prices for expediting a Vietnam visa from China with a new application.

As a rule, these slots run Monday to Friday, Vietnam time. Prices are per person in US dollars and include the government fee.

Weekends and Vietnamese public holidays: yes, urgent visas are possible on those days too. See the next section.

Urgent Vietnam visa on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays

Vietnam’s government offices are closed at weekends and on public holidays. Even so, expediting a Vietnam visa from China is still possible on those days with a new e-visa application, through our weekend and holiday service:

For Chinese travellers, that means ordering by mid-afternoon Beijing time and receiving the result the same evening. Prices include the government fee.

Who can use the weekend service?

The weekend and holiday service is available for citizens of 92 countries and territories, and China is one of them.

Which days are covered?

Every Saturday and Sunday, and these Vietnamese holidays: New Year’s Day (1 January), Tet (Lunar New Year, dates change each year), Hung Kings’ Commemoration Day (10th day of the third lunar month), Reunification Day (30 April), Labour Day (1 May), the Public Security Traditional Day (19 August, when the Immigration Department is closed) and National Day (2 September).

How the weekend service works

1. First, send us your passport scan, portrait photo, home address, address in Vietnam and email, either through the weekend and holiday form or by email to info@vietnamimmigration.org.
2. Then we check your details and confirm the slot by email, with a PayPal payment link (cards accepted).
3. Next, pay before 14:30 Vietnam time.
4. Finally, your e-visa arrives by email by 18:30 Vietnam time the same day.

Good to know before you order

• New applications only. On these days, a speed-up of an application already in processing waits until the next Vietnamese working day. So if you cannot wait, a new weekend application is the way to get your visa the same day.
• Left Vietnam only a few days ago? Send a photo of the exit stamp in your passport as well. New exit records sometimes take a few days to appear in the system, and the stamp helps avoid a delay.
• Weekend and holiday orders go through our partner site, vietnamimmigration.org. The booking form runs on a third-party form tool that does not load well in every browser. For the fastest reply, email your request directly to info@vietnamimmigration.org. Our team watches this inbox 24/7, including weekends and public holidays, and replies as soon as an urgent visa request arrives.

If the button does not open your email app, copy the address info@vietnamimmigration.org and send your request from Gmail, Outlook or any email account you use. Write “Urgent weekend e-visa request” in the subject line.

Prices for speeding up an application in processing

In this case, you keep the application and government fee you already paid. Speed-ups run Monday to Friday only:

For this, we need your registration code, the email you used, your date of birth, entry date and entry port. Our guide for a Chinese passport with an e-visa still in processing covers the status in detail. For visa on arrival, see our visa on arrival service.

Expediting a Vietnam visa from China yourself: why it is risky

Of course, if your trip is weeks away, applying yourself is fine. When time is short, it is risky:

• There is no paid express option on the government portal. Instead, the official target is 3 working days, counted only from a complete, error-free application. In our experience, many applications take 5 to 7 working days, and longer before Tet.
• The portal is in English and Vietnamese. Small misunderstandings in the form, such as the order of surname and given name in Pinyin, are common.
• Also, errors restart the process. A refusal or correction request means a new application and a new government fee.
• Land-border trips have less room for error. If your e-visa is late or wrong, there is no visa on arrival at the border.

In contrast, we have handled urgent Vietnam visas for more than 10 years. We check every detail before submission, follow the application through each Vietnamese working session and show the expected result time before you pay. If we miss that time, or the visa is refused, we refund the amount we received. You can pay by Alipay or by card through PayPal. See our refund policy.

Details that delay Chinese applications

• Name in Pinyin. Enter your name exactly as printed on the two lines of letters at the bottom of your passport photo page, surname first.
• Entry point. Enter Vietnam through the airport, seaport or land border you chose in the application.
• Photo. Also, use a plain light background, no glasses, and a recent, clear face photo.
• Passport validity. Your passport should be valid for at least 6 months.

How to order: expediting your Vietnam visa from China

1. First, choose the service: urgent new e-visa, speed-up of an existing application or visa on arrival.
2. Next, choose the time option. The form shows the expected result time and the total before you pay.
3. Then upload your passport scan and photo, or enter your registration code.
4. Finally, pay by Alipay or by card through PayPal. We email the result as soon as Vietnam Immigration releases it.

Before you land, read our Vietnam entry procedure guide (step by step from the aircraft to the arrivals hall) and our Vietnam customs rules guide (duty-free allowance, cash limits and banned items).

FAQ: expediting a Vietnam visa from China

What is the fastest way to get a Vietnam visa from China?

For expediting a Vietnam visa from China, choose an urgent new e-visa with the 2-working-hour option, ordered before 09:00, 11:00, 15:00 or 16:00 Beijing time on a Vietnamese working day.

Is visa on arrival faster than an e-visa?

It can be, for trips of 15 days or less with a single entry. You still queue at the landing visa counter and pay USD 25 in cash on arrival.

Can I use visa on arrival at Mong Cai or Lao Cai?

Yes. Mong Cai and Lao Cai are on the list of ports where you can pick up a visa on arrival. Choose the crossing as your port of entry when you apply, then collect the visa at the border gate’s visa counter and pay USD 25 in cash. For stays over 15 days or multiple entries, choose an e-visa that lists your crossing.

Do I still stop at the landing visa counter with an e-visa?

Yes, if you hold a Chinese e-passport with the nine-dash line map. You collect a loose-leaf visa there before passport control.

Can I get a Vietnam visa urgently on a Sunday?

Yes, also on Vietnamese public holidays, as a new application. Email info@vietnamimmigration.org for the fastest reply, or use our weekend and holiday form. Order before 15:30 Beijing time for a result by 19:30 the same day.

Can I pay with Alipay?

Yes. We accept Alipay and cards through PayPal.

Facts checked on 7 November 2026 against evisa.gov.vn and our price list. The loose-leaf visa rule as confirmed by our operations team.