Expediting Vietnam Visa for Saudi Arabia: Urgent E-Visa Options for Saudi Passport Holders

More Saudi travellers are choosing Vietnam for family holidays, honeymoons in Phu Quoc and Da Nang, and business trips to Ho Chi Minh City. Saudi passport holders need a visa for Vietnam. Expediting a Vietnam visa from Saudi Arabia needs a little extra planning for two reasons. First, there is no regular non-stop flight, so you connect through a hub. Second, the Saudi weekend (Friday and Saturday) is not Vietnam’s weekend (Saturday and Sunday).

In short, this guide explains the two fast options, the order times in Saudi time, and how connections and weekends affect your timing.

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

Two ways of expediting a Vietnam visa from Saudi Arabia

Getting from Saudi Arabia to Vietnam

Saudi Arabia is not on Vietnam’s visa-exemption list, and most trips involve one stop:

• Through the Gulf hubs: Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha all have non-stop flights to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.
• Through Southeast Asia: connections through Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore are also common.
• Vietnam Airlines and Saudia have had a codeshare since July 2025 on itineraries linking Riyadh and Jeddah with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

In general, with a connection, the total journey usually takes 10 to 15 hours. Therefore, your e-visa must be approved before you check in for the first flight in Riyadh, Jeddah or Dammam. In fact, airlines check it at the start of the journey, not at the transfer.

Your passport decides, not your residence permit

In fact, many residents of Saudi Arabia are not Saudi citizens, and Vietnam looks only at the passport you travel on:

• Saudi passport: this guide applies to you.
• Resident with another passport: however, your Iqama does not change the rules. For example, Indian passport holders in Riyadh follow our guide for India, and the hub by nationality covers the other main passports.
• Families: as a result, each person applies on their own passport, including children.

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

People expediting a Vietnam visa from Saudi Arabia are usually in one of these situations:

• In Riyadh, Jeddah or Dammam, flying this week. First, count Vietnamese working days to your first departure, not to your arrival.
• Planning a trip over Eid or Saudi National Day (23 September). Also, many families travel at the same time. Saudi holidays do not stop Vietnam Immigration, but order early anyway.
• Travelling as a large family. However, each person needs their own visa. Send all passports in one order, so the results arrive together.
• Combining Vietnam with Thailand or Malaysia. If you will leave Vietnam and come back, a multiple-entry e-visa saves a second application.
• 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 Saudi Arabia: order times in Saudi time

Saudi Arabia is 4 hours behind Vietnam all year, with no daylight saving time. 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 Saudi Arabia without losing a day. In practice: order the evening before, and an 8-working-hour result arrives by 14:30 Saudi time.

Friday and Sunday: the weekend mismatch

• Friday is your weekend, but a normal working day in Vietnam. A Thursday-evening order can bring the result on Friday.
• Sunday is your first working day, but Vietnam is closed. Waiting for Monday costs a day, so use the weekend service if you fly on Sunday or Monday.

Prices and time slots for an urgent new e-visa

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

For travellers in Saudi Arabia, that means ordering by mid-morning and receiving the result by early afternoon, including on Sunday. 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 Saudi Arabia 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 Saudi Arabia 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. Emails to the portal rarely change the timing.
• 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.
• Different weekends. Saudi Arabia rests on Friday and Saturday, Vietnam on Saturday and Sunday. If you wait until Sunday to act, you may lose a day.

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 Saudi Arabia

• Name in English letters. Enter your name exactly as on the two lines of letters at the bottom of your passport photo page. Long names with several parts are easy to shorten by mistake, so copy every part in the same order.
• Passport validity. In addition, your passport should be valid for at least 6 months, with blank pages for stamps.
• Photo. Also, use a clear, recent photo with a plain light background and no glasses. If you wear a headscarf, keep your face fully visible from chin to forehead.
• Entry airport. Finally, choose the airport where your last flight lands in Vietnam.

Other routes, and when they make sense

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

• Embassy of Vietnam in Riyadh: 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 Saudi Arabia

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 Saudi Arabia

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

For expediting a Vietnam visa from Saudi Arabia, choose an urgent new e-visa with the 2-working-hour option, ordered before 04:00, 06:00, 10:00 or 11:00 Saudi time on a Vietnamese working day.

Do I need the visa before my connecting flight?

Yes, because the airline checks it when you check in for your first flight, so it must be approved before you leave Saudi Arabia.

Can I get a Vietnam visa on Sunday?

Yes, also on Saturday 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 10:30 Saudi time for a result by 14:30 the same day.

Do Eid holidays delay my Vietnam visa?

No. In fact, only Vietnamese working days and public holidays count. Still, more people apply before Eid, so order as early as you can.

How long can Saudis 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, Vietnam Airlines’ codeshare announcement with Saudia and our price list.