Planning a Vietnam Visa Run from Ho Chi Minh City

A visa run is simple on paper: leave Vietnam, enter a neighbouring country, come back in. In practice it goes wrong when people start too late or skip a check. This guide gives you a timeline to work back from.

Start with one date: the end of your permitted stay

Everything in your plan depends on the last day you're allowed to stay in Vietnam. That's the stay you were granted on entry, shown on your entry stamp or e-visa details. It isn't always the same as the end date printed on a visa, and it isn't the date you'd like to leave.

Write the date down. Then work backwards.

Three to four weeks before: decide whether a visa run is right

A visa run fits when you are visiting, you plan to stay longer, and you can re-enter on a new visa or visa exemption. It doesn't fit every situation:

• If you are working in Vietnam, the answer is a work permit and the matching visa, not repeated tourist entries.
• If you have already overstayed, get advice before you plan anything.
• If you've made many back-to-back entries, expect questions at the border and consider whether another type of visa would suit you better.

Our page on who the service suits goes into this in more detail.

Two to three weeks before: check both sets of rules

You'll be entering two countries: the neighbouring country, then Vietnam again. Check each one for your nationality.

The neighbouring country

Find out whether your passport is visa-exempt there, can get a visa on arrival, can use an e-visa at the specific land checkpoint on your route, or needs a visa in advance. Use that country's official government source. For Cambodia, that is the official e-visa site linked in our checklist.

Vietnam

Check whether you are visa-exempt for Vietnam and for how long. If you need a visa, the usual route is the official e-visa portal, evisa.gov.vn. Also confirm that the Vietnamese border gate on your return route accepts e-visas. The Government publishes that list, and it was expanded in December 2025.

Two weeks before: choose a route and book

Pick the route that works for your passport and your dates, not only the nearest one. On our routes page each route shows the border gates used, the trip length and what's included, so you can compare.

Book with enough time to fix problems. If your e-visa application needs correcting, you want days in hand, not hours.

One week before: apply for, or confirm, your return visa

If you need a Vietnam e-visa, it should be applied for by now, with a margin for processing. When it's approved, check:

• Your name, date of birth and passport number match your passport exactly.
• The validity period covers your return date.
• Single or multiple entry is what you intended.

Print a copy and keep one on your phone.

Two or three days before: final checks

• Go through the visa run checklist line by line.
• Confirm pickup time and place.
• Get cash for any fees payable at the border, in the currency accepted there.
• Save your trip organiser's number in your phone.

On the day

Keep your passport and printed documents on you, not in a bag in the vehicle. At each counter, present your own documents and answer questions honestly. Our how it works page walks through what happens at each stage.

After you're back

Look at your new entry stamp or e-visa record and note the end date of your new permitted stay. That is the date your next plan starts from.