Vietnam Visa Requirements for Chinese Citizens 2026: Entry Procedure, Customs and Exit Rules

We are a private visa service, not the Vietnamese government or an embassy. The Vietnam Immigration Department decides every visa. You can always apply for an e-visa yourself on the official portal evisa.gov.vn for the government fee only. This guide is for mainland Chinese passports; Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan passports follow different rules. Facts checked in November 2026.

Vietnam visa requirements for Chinese citizens at a glance

Do Chinese citizens need a visa for Vietnam?

Yes. Holders of ordinary mainland Chinese passports need a visa for mainland Vietnam, whether for tourism, business or a family visit. China is not on Vietnam’s visa exemption list. Diplomatic and service passports follow a separate agreement, so check with the Vietnamese Embassy.

There are two exceptions:

• Phu Quoc island. All nationalities can stay on Phu Quoc for up to 30 days without a visa when arriving there directly from abroad. Leaving the island for the mainland requires a visa.
• Airside transit. If you change planes in Vietnam without leaving the international transit area, you do not need a visa.

The loose-leaf visa for Chinese e-passports

Most mainland Chinese e-passports (passport numbers starting with E) print a map with the nine-dash line. Vietnam does not recognise that map, so officers do not stamp a visa into these passports. Instead, they issue a loose-leaf visa, a separate sheet that you keep with your passport and hand back when you leave.

Do not lose the loose-leaf visa. You need it at exit passport control. Keep it in your passport cover, together with your e-visa printout. Download the NA1 form (PDF), and see our NA1 form guide for each field.

Vietnamese Embassy and consulates in China

Vietnam has one embassy and five consulates general in mainland China. Apply at the office for the province where you live or work.

Also, for full addresses, emails and websites, see our guide to the Vietnam Embassy and consulates in China.

How to apply at an embassy or consulate in China

1. Confirm the visa type, documents, fee and submission hours by phone.
2. Prepare your original passport (valid for at least 6 months, with blank pages), the application form, 2 recent colour photos (4 × 6 cm, white background), and supporting documents for business, work or family visas.
3. Submit in person, pay, and collect the visa on the date you are given.

Fees. Under Circular 163/2026/TT-BTC, a single-entry visa costs USD 25 and a multiple-entry visa of up to 3 months costs USD 50. Urgent processing within 24 hours costs 50% more. Offices may collect the fee in yuan.

Before you go to the consulate

• Distance. Only six cities have an office. From other provinces, a visit can take a day or more.
• Your passport is held while the visa is processed.
• Holidays. Offices close for both Chinese and Vietnamese holidays. Around Spring Festival, when both countries celebrate the Lunar New Year, they can close for several days.
• Apply early. Allow 2 to 3 weeks before your trip.
• Choose the right visa type. A tourist visa does not allow work. Work, investment and long stays need a sponsor in Vietnam.

Vietnam e-visa for Chinese citizens: the easiest option

For most travellers, the e-visa is the easiest way to meet the Vietnam visa requirements for Chinese citizens. You apply online, and the approval arrives as a PDF. Then, at the airport, you convert it to a loose-leaf visa if you hold an e-passport.

What you need:

• A clear scan of your passport photo page.
• A recent portrait photo, 4 × 6 cm, looking straight at the camera, without glasses.
• Your entry and exit dates, and the airport, seaport or land border where you will enter.
• Your hotel address in Vietnam.
• A way to pay.

Cost and time. The government fee is USD 25 for single entry and USD 50 for multiple entry. The official target is 3 working days, but busy periods take longer. Through our service, a 30-day single-entry e-visa starts at 60 USD in 4 working days, government fee included, and you can pay by Alipay or PayPal.

Apply when? At least 2 to 3 weeks before you travel, and earlier before Spring Festival, Labour Day and National Day Golden Week.

Check your e-visa status and print it

• Save your registration code when you submit. You need it, with your email and date of birth, to check the status on evisa.gov.vn.
• Check the status yourself. The portal does not always email you when it asks for a correction, so a status that stays “In processing” can hide a request for more information.
• Print two copies of the approved e-visa, and check every field against your passport before you fly.
• Your e-visa dates are the limit. You can enter and stay only between the “from” and “to” dates on the e-visa.

Common e-visa mistakes by Chinese applicants

• Names in pinyin. Enter your surname and given name in pinyin exactly as printed in the passport. Do not add Chinese characters or an English name.
• Wrong passport number. Use the current passport. If you renew it, you need a new e-visa.
• Entry port. You must enter through the airport, seaport or land border listed on your e-visa. This matters at land borders, where travellers often change plans.
• Forgetting the NA1 form. E-passport holders who skip the visa on arrival counter are sent back to it, which costs time.
• Look-alike websites. The official portal is evisa.gov.vn. Other sites, including ours, are private services that charge a service fee. Be careful with any site that promises guaranteed approval, shows countdown timers, or asks for your passport before it states its full price.

For more examples, see our guide to Vietnam e-visa mistakes.

Need a Vietnam visa urgently?

Vietnam is 1 hour behind Beijing time. New e-visas can also be processed at weekends and on Vietnamese public holidays through our Vietnam urgent visa service. If you applied yourself and the status still shows “In processing”, a speed-up of your application costs less than a new one. See our guide for a Chinese e-visa still in processing.

Vietnam visa on arrival for Chinese citizens

With a visa on arrival, you first get an approval letter, arranged before you travel by an agency such as ours. Then you collect a 15-day, single-entry visa at the counter of the airport, seaport or land border on your letter. With an e-passport, this visa is a loose-leaf visa.

On arrival, you also pay USD 25 in cash. Bring US dollars, because yuan may not be accepted at the counter. You also need the NA1 form with 1 photo attached, plus 1 spare photo. Read more in our guide to the visa on arrival for Chinese e-passports and the Vietnam visa on arrival guide.

Which Vietnam visa is best for Chinese citizens?

Pros and cons:

• E-visa. Pros: online, up to 90 days, multiple entry possible, free conversion on arrival. Cons: the details must match the passport exactly.
• Visa on arrival. Pros: quick approval letter. Cons: only 15 days and single entry, plus USD 25 in cash.
• Embassy visa. Pros: needed for work and long stays. Cons: you visit the office in person, and your passport is held.

Our advice: Tourists and business travellers should choose the e-visa. Choose multiple entry if you will cross the border more than once, for example on a trip that combines Guangxi and northern Vietnam. Tour groups should apply together, early, so that every name and passport number is checked before the trip.

Entering Vietnam by land from China

Many Chinese travellers cross at a land border instead of flying. The main crossings are:

The steps are the same as at an airport: Chinese exit control, then Vietnamese immigration and customs. However, check two things:

• Your e-visa must list that border gate. Otherwise, you cannot enter there.
• E-passport holders still need the loose-leaf visa step, with the NA1 form and a photo, at the border’s visa desk before immigration.

Residents of the border provinces can also use a border pass for the border areas. It does not cover travel to the rest of Vietnam, so check its conditions with the local Chinese authorities.

Entry procedure: Vietnam entry requirements for Chinese citizens at the airport

Before you land: the pre-arrival declaration

The pre-arrival declaration is not a visa, but it is now part of the Vietnam visa requirements for Chinese citizens at the main airports. Vietnam’s free pre-arrival declaration at prearrival.immigration.gov.vn applies at Noi Bai (Hanoi), Tan Son Nhat (Ho Chi Minh City), Da Nang, Cam Ranh (Nha Trang) and Phu Quoc. Complete it within 3 days before you land. If you travel on a visa on arrival, complete it at the airport after the visa counter, because it asks for your visa details.

Step by step from the aircraft

1. Leave the aircraft and follow the “Arrivals” and “Immigration” signs.
2. Visa on arrival counter, for every e-passport holder and every visa on arrival traveller: hand in the NA1 form and photo (and USD 25 for a visa on arrival), then wait for your loose-leaf visa.
3. Passport control. Show your passport and the loose-leaf visa. Then check the dates before you leave the counter.
4. Baggage claim. Report a missing bag at the airline desk before customs.
5. Customs. Green lane for nothing to declare, red lane for cash, gold or goods above the limits.
6. Arrivals hall. Buy a SIM card, withdraw dong, and find your transport.

Read our full Vietnam entry procedure guide.

Which airports have the longest queues?

From our airport team’s experience, queues are longest at these airports, from worst to lightest:

1. Tan Son Nhat (SGN), Ho Chi Minh City: late evening and early morning.
2. Noi Bai (HAN), Hanoi: evening peaks.
3. Da Nang (DAD): evening waves of flights from China and Korea.
4. Cam Ranh (CXR), Nha Trang: when charter flights from China land together.
5. Phu Quoc (PQC): shorter, but growing fast.

Because e-passport holders also queue at the visa on arrival counter, the wait can be longer than for other passengers. With our Vietnam airport fast track, our staff meet you before immigration, help at the visa counter, and take you through the priority lane, from USD 45 per person. Book at least 24 hours before your flight. Bookings made later carry an urgent surcharge.

Avoid scams at the airport

• Use official transport. Choose the taxi rank, a Grab ride booked in the app, or well-known taxi companies such as Vinasun, Mai Linh or Xanh SM.
• Agree the fare first, or check that the meter is on.
• Change only a little money at the airport. Rates are usually better in the city.
• Keep your passport and loose-leaf visa with you. No one in the hall needs them to “help” you.
• Count your change. The VND 20,000 and VND 500,000 notes are both blue and easy to mix up.

Vietnam customs rules for Chinese citizens

Customs checks are the last of the Vietnam visa requirements for Chinese citizens on arrival. In fact, the rules are the same for every nationality, but some items that travellers often pack cause trouble.

Points for Chinese travellers:

• Cigarettes. The limit is 200 cigarettes, one carton, per adult. Extra cartons as gifts are taxed or held.
• Vapes. Vietnam bans e-cigarettes and heated tobacco from 1 January 2025, including possession. Customs can confiscate them.
• Items with the nine-dash line map. Vietnam does not accept this map. In past cases, customs officers confiscated T-shirts, books and other items printed with it.
• Medicine. Bring Chinese and Western medicine in the original packaging, for your own use, with a prescription when you have one.
• Drones. You can usually bring a small camera drone, but flying it needs a permit.
• Cash in yuan. Count yuan and other currencies together. If the total is above USD 5,000, declare it.

For more details, read the complete Vietnam customs rules guide.

Leaving Vietnam: exit requirements for Chinese citizens

Departure step by step

1. Arrive 3 hours before an international flight, more if you claim a VAT refund.
2. VAT refund: show your goods and invoices at the customs refund desk before check-in.
3. Check in and drop your bags.
4. Exit passport control: hand over your passport and the loose-leaf visa.
5. Security, then duty-free shops and your gate.

Duty-free shopping and VAT refund

After passport control, airport duty-free shops sell goods without Vietnamese taxes. For shopping in the city, you can claim part of the VAT back:

• Buy at shops with a “Tax Refund” sign, and show your passport when you pay.
• Each invoice must be at least VND 2 million, and dated within 60 days before you leave.
• You receive 85% of the VAT paid; the refund bank keeps 15% as a fee.
• Refund desks can have long queues, especially when several flights leave together. Arrive early so you do not miss your flight.

What you cannot take out of Vietnam

• Antiques. Genuine antiques need an export permit. Keep the receipt for reproductions.
• Wildlife products. Ivory, rhino horn, turtle shell, pangolin scales and many corals are banned, in both Vietnam and China.
• Cash and gold above the limits: more than USD 5,000 or VND 15 million in cash, or 300 g or more of gold, without your arrival declaration or a bank paper.
• Drugs and weapons, without exception.

Do not overstay your Vietnam visa

Finally, the Vietnam visa requirements for Chinese citizens also apply on the way out. Leave by the last day on your loose-leaf visa, e-visa or entry stamp. From 15 December 2025, Decree 282/2025/ND-CP sets these fines:

For an overstay of 16 days or more, the authorities can also deport you, and deportation can lead to a ban on future entry.

If you have overstayed:

1. Contact the Immigration Department or the immigration office of the provincial police before you go to the airport or border.
2. Pay the fine, and get the exit visa or paperwork you need to leave.
3. Then travel, so you are not stopped at passport control.

Lost your passport or loose-leaf visa? Report it to the local police first. Then contact the Embassy of China in Hanoi or the Consulate General of China in Ho Chi Minh City for a new passport or travel document. Finally, take it to the Vietnamese immigration office for a new visa or exit visa before you leave.

For travel agencies, tour operators and companies

Do you send Chinese tour groups, charter passengers or business teams to Vietnam? We prepare e-visas, visa on arrival approval letters and airport fast track for groups, with one contact person and one invoice, payable by Alipay. Email us at info@visa-vietnam.hk with your expected number of travellers per month to receive our partner rates.

FAQ: Vietnam visa requirements for Chinese citizens

Do Chinese citizens need a visa for Vietnam?

Yes, for mainland Vietnam. The only visa-free option is Phu Quoc island, for up to 30 days, when you arrive there directly from abroad.

Why do I get a loose-leaf visa instead of a stamp?

Because Vietnam does not stamp visas into Chinese e-passports that print the nine-dash line map. The loose-leaf visa works like a normal visa.

Does the loose-leaf visa cost extra with an e-visa?

No. The conversion is free. You only need the NA1 form and 1 recent photo at the visa on arrival counter.

Can I use my e-visa at the Mong Cai or Huu Nghi border?

Yes, if that border gate is listed on your e-visa. Choose it when you apply.

How long can Chinese citizens stay in Vietnam?

Up to 90 days per entry with an e-visa, 15 days with a visa on arrival, and up to 30 days without a visa on Phu Quoc island only.

Can I pay for the e-visa with Alipay?

The government portal takes international cards. Through our service, you can pay by Alipay or PayPal.

Facts checked on 9 November 2026: mission contacts from the offices’ official websites and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs list of foreign missions, Circular 163/2026/TT-BTC, Decree 282/2025/ND-CP as summarised by Khanh Hoa provincial police and Bao Tay Ninh, and the official pre-arrival portal. Rules can change, so check official sources before you travel.