If you’re holding a Canadian passport, Vietnam has one visa lane for you, not several: apply online for the e‑visa before you fly, because Canada is not on Vietnam’s visa-exemption list. This guide walks through the $25-$50 e‑visa fee, the 90-day validity window, and the one distinction almost nobody explains clearly - Canadian permanent residents who travel on a non-Canadian passport are judged by that other passport, not by their Canadian PR card.
I run visa and transport support for travelers in Central Vietnam, and Canadian passport questions land in my inbox almost every week, usually from someone who assumed a short trip would be visa-free the way it is in parts of Southeast Asia. It isn’t, and the sooner that’s clear, the less stressful the paperwork feels.
Do Canadians Need a Visa for Vietnam?
Yes - every Canadian citizen needs a visa to enter Vietnam, for any purpose and any length of stay. Canada is not one of the countries on Vietnam’s unilateral visa-exemption list, so there is no visa-free allowance to plan around, unlike travelers from several European countries who get a short exemption window.
For nearly all Canadian travelers, the practical answer is the e‑visa: an online application through the government portal that replaces the older embassy-visit process. It covers tourism, family visits, and most short business trips, and it’s the route this guide focuses on.
How Much Does a Vietnam E‑Visa Cost, and How Long Is It Valid?
A Vietnam e‑visa costs $25 for a single-entry visa or $50 for a multiple-entry visa, and either option can be issued for up to 90 days of validity. The fee is paid directly on the official portal during the application, not to a middleman.
That 90-day maximum has been in place since Vietnam expanded e‑visa validity in 2023 - before that, e-visas topped out at 30 days. Choosing single- or multiple-entry only changes how many times you can cross the border on that same visa; it doesn’t change how long the visa itself lasts.
| E‑visa option | Entries allowed | Fee | Maximum validity | Standard processing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single-entry e‑visa | One entry, one exit | $25 | 90 days | 3-5 working days |
| Multiple-entry e‑visa | Unlimited entries within validity | $50 | 90 days | 3-5 working days |
| Either type, peak season | Same as above | Same as above | Same as above | Up to 10 working days |
Peak season and public holidays are the main reason processing slips past the standard window, so building in a buffer before a fixed departure date is worth the extra few days of patience.
What Documents Do You Need to Apply?
You need a passport valid for at least 6 months from your entry date with at least 2 blank pages, plus a portrait photo and a passport scan that meet the portal’s file specifications. Both files are uploaded separately during the online application.
The photo has to be a recent, plain-background portrait - 4x6 cm, JPG format, under 2MB, taken within the last 6 months, no hat and no glasses. The passport scan is a full image of your data page showing all four corners, with no glare and no cropping, also under 2MB. Applicants who reuse an old passport photo or crop the scan too tightly are the most common reason an application gets kicked back for correction.
How Do You Apply for a Vietnam E‑Visa?
Applying is a five-step online process that takes a few minutes of your time and a few days of official processing. Here’s the order that actually works:
- Go to evisa.gov.vn, the official portal run by Vietnam’s Immigration Department - not a third-party reseller site.
- Prepare your portrait photo and full passport-data-page scan as two separate JPG files, each under 2MB.
- Fill in the application form and pay online: $25 for single-entry or $50 for multiple-entry.
- Wait for processing - 3 to 5 working days is standard, up to 10 working days in peak season.
- Download the approved e‑visa PDF and print a physical copy to carry alongside your passport.
If you’d rather sanity-check your dates against a wider trip first, our general Vietnam e‑visa guide covers timing for other nationalities side by side.
Can Canadian Permanent Residents Use Their PR Card for a Vietnam Visa?
No - Vietnam’s e‑visa rules are based on the passport you’re traveling on, not on your residency or immigration status in Canada. A Canadian permanent resident who holds, say, an Indian or Nigerian passport applies under that passport’s nationality rules, not Canada’s.
This is simply how nationality-based e‑visa systems generally work: eligibility follows the travel document you present, not where you live or what status you hold there. I couldn’t pull the exact wording Vietnam’s portal uses for this rule during this round of research, so treat it as standard practice worth confirming on the current version of evisa.gov.vn rather than a direct quote - but the underlying principle is well established. If your PR status came with a different underlying passport than Canada’s, that’s the document that decides your visa fee, your processing time, and even whether you’re visa-exempt at all.
What Mistakes Do Canadian Applicants Make Most Often?
The two mistakes I see most from Canadian travelers are a declined payment card on evisa.gov.vn and a passport scan that gets rejected for glare or cropping, both of which cost days you don’t have before a flight. A blurry or reused photo is a close third. Timings and what’s actually included are laid out on our Vietnam e-visa 90 days page.
This is where I usually get pulled in. At BestBus Vietnam we process e‑visa applications every week, so we know which card networks the portal actually accepts, we re-shoot a photo that doesn’t meet spec before it gets rejected once, and we double-check the entry port listed on the approval against your actual arrival flight. You still need to send your passport details and travel dates - the rest is on us. Message me on Telegram and I’ll tell you what’s missing from your documents before you submit.
Can You Extend a Vietnam E‑Visa Once You’re There?
No - a tourist e‑visa generally can’t be extended from inside Vietnam through the standard immigration process. Travelers who need more time usually have to exit the country and apply for a fresh e‑visa, or arrange a Vietnam-based sponsor to convert to a different visa category.
Some visa-agency sites advertise an “e‑visa extension service,” which in practice usually means help applying for a new e‑visa or a sponsored conversion rather than a true extension of the visa you already hold. If your plans might run past 90 days, it’s worth planning the border exit and re-entry from the start rather than hoping an extension will be available later. Our visa run options from Da Nang walks through what that exit-and-return trip actually looks like.
Vietnam Visa for Canadians: What to Do Next
If your trip is under 90 days and you’re traveling on a Canadian passport, the single-entry e‑visa at $25 is the simplest option; if you’re planning to leave and re-enter Vietnam within that window - a side trip to Laos or Cambodia, for instance - the $50 multiple-entry version is worth the extra $25 upfront. Either way, apply through evisa.gov.vn directly and build in a few extra days beyond the standard processing window if you’re traveling near a public holiday.
You can absolutely fill out the application yourself - the portal is public and the form isn’t complicated once your photo and scan are ready. But if you’d rather not track processing days against a fixed flight date or double-check the entry port against your itinerary, send me your travel dates on Telegram and I’ll tell you what to submit and when.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a Canadian PR card instead of a passport to apply for a Vietnam e‑visa?
No. The e‑visa application requires an actual passport - the data page scan and passport number are mandatory fields. A Canadian PR card is not a travel document the portal accepts, so you’ll need the passport you plan to travel on, whatever its nationality.
What happens if I have Canadian PR but carry a different passport, like Indian or Nigerian?
Vietnam’s visa rules follow the nationality on your passport, not your Canadian PR status. An Indian or Nigerian passport holder with Canadian PR applies under Indian or Nigerian e‑visa rules, which may carry different fees, processing times, or exemptions than the Canadian-citizen path described in this guide.
Can I re-enter Vietnam on the same e‑visa after a short trip to Laos or Cambodia?
Only with a multiple-entry e‑visa, which costs $50. A single-entry e‑visa, at $25, is used up the moment you exit Vietnam, so a side trip across a land border would require a brand-new application to return.
Do I need to complete a Digital Pre-arrival Form as well as the e‑visa?
Canada’s own travel advisory mentions a Digital Pre-arrival Form for some airport arrivals, but whether it’s required alongside an e‑visa specifically wasn’t confirmed across multiple official sources at the time of writing. Check the current guidance on evisa.gov.vn before you fly rather than assuming either way.