[Vietnam Visa Run 2024] Procedures To Do Vietnam Visa Run To Cambodia & Laos | Documents, Requirements and Borders

When Vietnam has just granted E-visa 90 day for foreigners until now, visa border run is the best option to extend the stay. In case you wish to stay in Vietnam for longer than your visa duration and it’s difficult or costly to do a visa extension in Vietnam, a visa run is a perfect choice. Thousands of foreigners in Vietnam have used this way to extend their stay in Vietnam at least once to avoid overstaying their visa. In this article, we will learn about procedures to do a Vietnam visa run to Cambodia and Laos; required documents for Vietnam visa run; which Vietnamese land borders are accepted for visa border run.

1/ What is Vietnam visa border run

Vietnam visa run or border run is a way to renew your Vietnam visa which is about to expire soon. Because it’s hard to extend visa without leaving Vietnam like before Covid-19, visa run is chosen by a lot of people to prolong the stay in Vietnam. You have to leave Vietnam, get to a neighboring country (Laos, Cambodia, or China), and then turn back around and re-enter Vietnam with a new visa.

After re-entering Vietnam by the new visa, you will get a new duration of stay same as new visa’s validity.

2/ Which Vietnamese land borders are accepted for visa border run?

Because China is applying zero Covid policy, therefore, the borders between Vietnam and China are still closed now. Visa run to China is not available at this moment.

Those who want to do border run can consider to come to Laos or Cambodia depending on where they are.

These below are all land borders which you can come to do visa run:

To Laos:

• Cau Treo Landport (to Laos)
• Lao Bao Landport (to Laos)
• Bo Y Landport (to Laos)
• Cha Lo Landport (to Laos)
• La Lay Landport (to Laos)
• Nam Can Landport (to Laos)
• Na Meo Landport (to Laos)
• Tay Trang Landport (to Laos)

To Cambodia:

• Moc Bai Landport (to Cambodia)
• Ha Tien Landport (to Cambodia)
• Song Tien Landport (to Cambodia)
• Tinh Bien Landport (to Cambodia)
• Xa Mat Landport (to Cambodia)

Border run tip: If you are in Ha Noi, you should choose Cau Treo Landport. If you are in Da Nang, Hue or Hoi An, you should choose Lao Bao Landport. If you are in Ho Chi Minh city, you should choose Moc Bai Landport. These are 3 most popular land borders for visa run.

Lao Bao border gate

3/ What you need to prepare when doing Vietnamese visa run?

To successfully do the visa run from Vietnam, you need to prepare the following:

• Original passport (valid for at least 06 months);
• Valid visa for the next entry (you should apply e-visa at least 3 working days before come to the border.
• Bus ticket;
• A black or blue pen to complete the exit and entry form.

4/ How to do visa run for Vietnam to Cambodia or Laos

This way of doing a visa run from Vietnam is preferred by various foreigners in Vietnam as it’s cheap and easy. To do so, you need to follow the following steps:

• Get Vietnam e-visa at https://www.vietnam-evisa.com/apply/ before doing visa run
• Recheck whether your nationality need Laos/Cambodia visa or not. If required, you should apply that visa at Laos/Cambodia embassy or consulate in Vietnam or get visa on arrival at the border.
• Book a van or a bus ticket or simply drive on your own to the border. If you want to drive on your own and have no motorbike or car, just rent one in a store near your residence as it is very easy.
• Show your passport once you are at the Vietnamese border, and get the Vietnam exit stamp. After that, you’re officially not able to stay in Vietnam anymore.
• At the border, you pass one more passport control, and then you will head to Laos/Cambodia immigration office.
• Once you reach Laos/Cambodia immigration office, you need to show your original passport and Laos/Cambodia visa (if required) or get the visa on arrival (if available) and fill out the required forms. You will get the entry stamp of such a country on your passport.
• After that, you can get into the country for a few days’ trip or go back to the immigration counter to do the exit procedure to get the exit stamp. You’re done and successfully outside Laos/Cambodia and ready for a new Vietnamese visa!
• Once you reach the Vietnam border, the immigration will recheck your passport and Vietnam e-visa. After that, you will get the entry stamp.

Applying Vietnam e-visa online

Congratulations. Your visa run is completed.

5/ Is visa on arrival available at Vietnamese borders?

No. Before Covid-19, visa on arrival is available at the Vietnamese borders. But at this moment, visa on arrival at the borders is closed. You cannot enter Vietnam if you don’t prepare the e-visa in advance.

It is easy to get Vietnam e-visa online, but make sure that you get the e-visa before you do the border run.

For those who are not eligible for applying E-visa, you can contact Vietnam embassy or consulate in Laos/Cambodia to get visa before coming back to Vietnam.

6/ Can I apply Vietnam E-visa when I am still in Vietnam?

Many people think that they cannot apply the second e-visa when they are in Vietnam. In fact, you can apply new visa even that you are in Vietnam! Even your current Vietnam visa is still not expired, you still can apply the new visa.

The new e-visa should be applied online at least 3 working days before the current e-visa expires.

7/ How many time can I do the visa run? How many E-visa can I apply?

Actually, there is no limit for applying Vietnam e-visa in this period. You can apply Vietnam e-visa as many as you want and stay longer in Vietnam with visa run. The e-visa is valid maximum 90 days per each entry, but it will immediately be invalid when you leave Vietnam.

For visa run through the borders, there is no limit as well. You can do the border run each month to get the new duration of stay.

8/ How much does it cost for Vietnam visa run?

To do a Vietnam visa run, you need to pay the following items:

• Vietnam E-visa: You can check visa fee here https://www.vietnam-evisa.com/calculate-visa-fee/
• Visa fee to Cambodia, Laos (if required): Depending on your nationality, the fee will be different
• Bus ticket: Depending on your place, the transportation fee will be different
• You also should prepare some cash (around US $10) for immigration officer if you do the visa run at the land border.

The most common used borders that foreigners in Vietnam often choose for the cheapest visa run are Moc Bai (to Cambodia), Lao Bao and Cau Treo (to Laos). You can consider and choose the most suitable one for you.

To sum up, visa run is the good way to extend Vietnam visa in this period. Depending on the location, you can choose the borders between Cambodia/Laos and Vietnam to do the border run. If you have any more question about Vietnam visa run, just feel free to contact us through email info@vietnam-evisa.com