Expediting Vietnam Visa for Ireland: Urgent E-Visa Options for Irish Passport Holders

Irish travellers often add Vietnam late: a stop on a gap year around Southeast Asia, a trip from Australia during a working holiday, or a cheap fare from Dublin through the Gulf. Many are surprised to learn that Irish passport holders need a visa, because British, French and German travellers do not. Expediting a Vietnam visa from Ireland also means working across a 7-hour time gap: most of Vietnam’s working day happens while Ireland is asleep.

In short, this guide explains the two fast options, the order times in Irish time, and a few Irish-specific details, such as dual Irish and British citizenship.

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

Two ways of expediting a Vietnam visa from Ireland

Why Irish passports need a visa when British ones do not

To begin with, Vietnam grants visa-free entry for up to 45 days to citizens of a list of European countries, including the UK, France, Germany and Spain. Ireland is not on that list, so Irish passport holders need an e-visa for every trip.

• Dual Irish and British citizens: Vietnam looks at the passport you enter with. On your British passport, you can enter visa-free for up to 45 days. However, on your Irish passport, you need a visa. Therefore, use the same passport for the airline, the entry and the exit.
• Irish Passport Card: however, it is valid only for travel within the EU, the EEA, Switzerland and the UK. For Vietnam, you need your passport book, and the e-visa must be issued for that passport number.
• Embassy: Vietnam opened its embassy in Dublin in March 2026. Even so, for short trips the e-visa is faster than any embassy route.

Expediting a Vietnam visa from Ireland: where are you right now?

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

• In Ireland, flying this week. There is no direct flight, so you will connect in London, a Gulf hub or another European city. Count Vietnamese working days to your departure from Dublin, Shannon or Cork, not to your arrival.
• Backpacking in Thailand, Cambodia or Laos, and adding Vietnam. If you will cross into Laos or Cambodia and come back, a multiple-entry e-visa saves a second application.
• On a working holiday in Australia, and taking a break in Vietnam. In that case, your Irish passport rules apply, not Australian ones, so follow this guide.
• Coming to Vietnam for a job or to teach English. However, a tourist e-visa is not a work permit. Therefore, ask your employer which visa you need before you travel.
• At the airport, and the airline will not board you. 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).

Expediting a Vietnam visa from Ireland: order times in Irish time

In winter (late October to late March), Ireland is 7 hours behind Vietnam; in summer, 6 hours. 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 Ireland without losing a day. In practice: order before you go to bed, and an 8-working-hour result arrives by 11:30 the next morning, Irish time. However, an order placed after 08:00 on a weekday morning in Ireland usually waits for the next Vietnamese working day.

Prices and time slots for an urgent new e-visa

These are the prices for expediting a Vietnam visa from Ireland 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 Ireland is still possible on those days with a new e-visa application, through our weekend and holiday service:

For Irish travellers, that means ordering early in the morning and receiving the result before lunch. 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 Ireland 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 main guide for e-visas in processing explains the status in detail.

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

Of course, if your trip is weeks away, applying yourself on the official portal 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 holidays.
• There is no hotline that speeds up your file. Irish consular staff cannot speed up a Vietnamese e-visa either.
• Also, small errors restart the process. A name that does not match the passport, a photo with glasses or glare on the passport scan can mean a new application and a new fee.
• The time difference works against you. Vietnam’s working day is mostly over before you wake up.

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. PayPal keeps its transaction fee (about 5%). See our refund policy.

Details that slow down expediting a Vietnam visa from Ireland

• Name with a prefix or a fada. Enter your name exactly as on the two lines of letters at the bottom of your passport photo page. For example, Ó Briain or Seán may appear there as O BRIAIN or SEAN, and prefixes such as Mac, Mc or Ó must keep the same spacing.
• Passport validity. In addition, your passport should be valid for at least 6 months, with blank pages for stamps.
• Entry and exit points. Finally, enter through the airport, seaport or land border you chose, and check overland exit points if you continue to Laos or Cambodia.
• Print the approval. Also, many travellers keep a printed copy of the e-visa, in case it is asked for at the border.

Other routes, and when they make sense

When you are expediting a Vietnam visa from Ireland, the e-visa is usually the fastest route. However, the alternatives below fit only some trips:

• Embassy of Vietnam in Dublin: suitable for some special visa types, but slower than an urgent e-visa.
• Visa on arrival approval letter: 15 days, single entry, with a stop at the landing visa counter on arrival.
• Phu Quoc only: visa-free for up to 30 days if you fly there directly from abroad and stay on the island.

How to order: expediting your Vietnam visa from Ireland

1. First, choose the service: urgent new e-visa or speed-up of an existing application. At weekends and on holidays, email info@vietnamimmigration.org.
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 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 Ireland

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

For expediting a Vietnam visa from Ireland, choose an urgent new e-visa with the 2-working-hour option, ordered before 01:00, 03:00, 07:00 or 08:00 Irish time (winter) on a Vietnamese working day.

I have Irish and British passports. Do I need a visa?

No, not if you enter on your British passport for up to 45 days. On your Irish passport, yes.

Can I get a Vietnam visa on Saturday?

Yes, also on Sunday and Vietnamese public holidays, as a new application. Email info@vietnamimmigration.org for the fastest reply, or use our weekend and holiday form. Order before 07:30 Irish time (winter) for a result by 11:30 the same day.

Can I use my Irish Passport Card for Vietnam?

No, because it is only valid for travel within the EU, the EEA, Switzerland and the UK.

How long can Irish citizens stay on a Vietnam e-visa?

Up to 90 days, with single or multiple entry. After that, you need a new visa.

Facts checked on 8 November 2026 against evisa.gov.vn, the Irish Passport Card page on ireland.ie, VTV’s report on the new Vietnamese embassy in Dublin and our price list.