visas needed ? Vietnam and cambodia

[Lolotte]

We are going with ama in August and will arrive 2 days before the pre-tour in Hanoi, then will join the group.  We are canadians, do we need visas for Vietnam and Cambodia ?  Can we get them upon arrival ?

 

[gnome12]

36 minutes ago, Lolotte said:

We are going with ama in August and will arrive 2 days before the pre-tour in Hanoi, then will join the group.  We are canadians, do we need visas for Vietnam and Cambodia ?  Can we get them upon arrival ?

 

Yes, you need visas. If your route is the same as mine (Hanoi to Halong Bay, fly to Siem Reap then sail the Mekong to HCMC) you need a multiple-entry visa for Vietnam (you fly in and then will sail in from Cambodia) and a visa for Cambodia.  Ama will get you the Cambodian visa - 2 years ago it was $30 US and you need a picture. For Vietnam, You can arrange for the visa online with the embassy in Ottawa. You fill out a form, email a copy of your passport and a credit card authorization, and they will mail you a paper visa to put in your passport.

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, gnome12 said:

Yes, you need visas. If your route is the same as mine (Hanoi to Halong Bay, fly to Siem Reap then sail the Mekong to HCMC) you need a multiple-entry visa for Vietnam (you fly in and then will sail in from Cambodia) and a visa for Cambodia.  Ama will get you the Cambodian visa - 2 years ago it was $30 US and you need a picture. For Vietnam, You can arrange for the visa online with the embassy in Ottawa. You fill out a form, email a copy of your passport and a credit card authorization, and they will mail you a paper visa to put in your passport.

I will add, make sure you are on the official site. There are lots of visa agencies that will charge you an arm and 2 legs (while the embassy only charges you an arm and a leg).

 

Here is a link to the site.

https://vietnamembassy.ca/consular-services/visa-application/

There seems to be an online option now that wasn't there when I did this 2 years ago; I suggest you read all the general rules and how to apply, and figure out what works best for you.

[Hoyaheel]

I've been reading on this for our August Mekong cruise, and what specific visa you get for Vietnam depends on how you are arriving and if you need multiple entries, apparently. You can only do visa on arrival (VOA) at an airport. We need multiple entry and plan to do eVisa ahead of time (for Vietnam, you upload scans of your passport and they send back looseleaf visas- no need to send your passport away). Avalon does not want to do Cambodia visas on the river (they told us so specifically, even though others report they did it on the river...) so we will get that in advance as well....

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, Hoyaheel said:

I've been reading on this for our August Mekong cruise, and what specific visa you get for Vietnam depends on how you are arriving and if you need multiple entries, apparently. You can only do visa on arrival (VOA) at an airport. We need multiple entry and plan to do eVisa ahead of time (for Vietnam, you upload scans of your passport and they send back looseleaf visas- no need to send your passport away). Avalon does not want to do Cambodia visas on the river (they told us so specifically, even though others report they did it on the river...) so we will get that in advance as well....

Avalon's routing is different than Ama. Ama's southbound route flies into Siem Reap as a group, so enters Cambodia at the airport, not on the river. That might be why they were willing to do the Cambodian visa for us.

[Peregrina651]

53 minutes ago, Hoyaheel said:

I've been reading on this for our August Mekong cruise, and what specific visa you get for Vietnam depends on how you are arriving and if you need multiple entries, apparently. You can only do visa on arrival (VOA) at an airport. We need multiple entry and plan to do eVisa ahead of time (for Vietnam, you upload scans of your passport and they send back looseleaf visas- no need to send your passport away). Avalon does not want to do Cambodia visas on the river (they told us so specifically, even though others report they did it on the river...) so we will get that in advance as well....

 

OP asked about visas for Canadian citizens. The rules, costs and process for application are different depending on the citizenship of the traveler. In the US, we can find complete information on the Department of State website:   https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel.html (look under "Country Information.")

 

I don't know if the Canadian government offers a similar informational website but maybe someone will share the link.

[Lolotte]

Thanks !

[Hoyaheel]

23 hours ago, gnome12 said:

Avalon's routing is different than Ama. Ama's southbound route flies into Siem Reap as a group, so enters Cambodia at the airport, not on the river. That might be why they were willing to do the Cambodian visa for us.

Avalon does routes both directions but still don't want to do the river visas (from my single conversation with an Avalon CS rep). However, someone who did this trip just last year (on the northbound route I'll be doing) said Avalon did their visas on board on the river. So they've just recently changed their rules. (or, they had this rule last year but helped out people who didn't procure their own visas in advance anyway; can't speak to that possibility).

[WorldTravellerz]

Here is the Canadian Government website for Visas.  Just select the country, choose Exit and Entry requirements.   I confess don’t know a thing about River cruising but as far as ocean cruising...the ship obtained the necessary Visas for these 2 countries upon arrival.  Perhaps check with your River cruises line?

 

https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories

Edited May 31, 2019 by WorldTravellerz

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, WorldTravellerz said:

Here is the Canadian Government website for Visas.  Just select the country, choose Exit and Entry requirements.   I confess don’t know a thing about River cruising but as far as ocean cruising...the ship obtained the necessary Visas for these 2 countries upon arrival.  Perhaps check with your River cruises line?

 

https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories

Remember that if you are on a river cruise, at least for your first arrival, you are arriving on your own by air, and not by cruise ship. You absolutely need your own visa for that. You are also spending more time in the country, and that can make a difference.

 

While the site you are showing has the most recent information that Canada has, every country notes:

We have obtained the information on this page from the xxxxx authorities. It can, however, change at any time.

Verify this information with foreign diplomatic missions and consulates in Canada.