Hanoi Visa Extension Guide
WARNING: The availability of extensions for business visas procured through travel agencies has fluxuated wildly in the last few years. Six-month extensions used to be automatic, but now may be impossible. However, the regulations have been changing literally week-by-week. Start checking into extending your visa two weeks before the date it expires, and check the New Hanoian website to see the current situation and which agencies have had good results recently.
Tourist visas can be extended once for 30 days.
A business visa can be easily extended with the support of your company or sponsoring organization.
If you are visiting or working in Vietnam independently, it used to be easy to extend a business visa through one of the many travel agents who offer visa services in Hanoi. However, the availability of extensions for business visas procured through travel agencies is quite inconsistent and the regulations have been changing literally week-by-week. Start checking into extending your visa two weeks before the date it expires, and check the New Hanoian website to see the current situation and which agencies have had good results recently. (http://tnhvietnam.xemzi.com/en)
If you are able to extend a visa through a visa agent you don’t need anything but your passport and your money–not even new passport photos. The process takes about a week.
A few brave souls venture into the Vietnamese bureaucracy to extend their visas without the help of an intermediary, but in general this is extremely inconvenient and saves little money–you may end up having to pay bribes equal to or greater than an agent’s surcharge. You can think of visa agents as having already greased the wheels of the process, and without their help you have to push it forward on your own. Keep in mind that many Vietnamese officials make almost literally no salary, and it’s understood that they supplement their incomes with bribes.
Here are a few tried and true visa services you can start with:
Tropical Tours
Nha N°1 hem 36
ngach 16 ngo 66
Duong Ngoc Thuy,
Long Bien
Tel: 84-4 38 71 70 73
http://www.tropicaltours.vn
Asiana Travel
159 Phuong Mai Street,
Đống Đa
+84 35736748
http://www.asianatravel.com.vn
Aurora Travel Vietnam
91B Ly Nam De
Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Tel: (+84) 4 3747 2597
http://www.auroratravel.asia/
