A Vietnam visa run with kids needs one extra document beyond what a solo traveler carries: proof of the child’s identity on the e‑visa application. If only one parent is traveling, add a consent letter from the parent who stays behind. Everything else about the trip to Lao Bao or Moc Bai stays the same, it just takes longer with a stroller and a nap schedule.
I’ve been running visa trips out of Da Nang since 2023, and family trips are maybe one in eight bookings. I’ll walk through exactly what changes when a child is on the booking, checkpoint by checkpoint.
Do Laos and Cambodia require a visa for children?
Yes, and neither country waives the fee for age. Laos requires an e‑visa or visa-on-arrival from most nationalities, and that requirement applies to infants the same as adults - a small number of nationalities get visa-free entry to Laos regardless of age, but that’s a passport rule, not a kids’ exemption. Cambodia is the same story: even a baby on your lap needs a $30 visa-on-arrival, paid in cash, and since children under 18 can’t apply for their own Cambodian visa, you file it on their behalf.
Budget the same crossing fee per child as per adult on both sides of the border. I’ve had parents assume the toddler travels free, and nobody at either checkpoint agrees with that assumption. If you haven’t picked a crossing yet, my comparison of Lao Bao, Moc Bai and Ha Tien breaks down which one makes sense from where you live.
What changes if my child has their own passport?
A child with their own passport pays exactly what an adult pays: $25 for single entry, $50 for multiple entry, both valid up to 90 days. There’s no child discount on the official government fee. I’ve seen forum posts quoting a flat child rate tied to a specific circular number - I checked, that circular doesn’t exist anywhere I could verify, so treat any “special kids’ price” claim as wrong until someone shows you the receipt.
Photo requirements are the part that trips parents up. The portrait needs a plain white background, no toy or hand visible in frame, and the child alone - no propping by a parent’s arm in the shot. For a baby who can’t sit up, lay them flat on a white sheet and photograph from directly overhead; closed eyes are accepted for infants who genuinely can’t hold their head up yet.
What documents does my child need for Vietnam’s e‑visa?
If your child is under 14 and listed inside your own passport, you don’t file a separate application - you tick the “accompanying child under 14” box on your own evisa.gov.vn form and upload one extra photo of the child. If your child travels on their own passport, they need their own e‑visa, filed the same way an adult’s is filed.
Either way you’ll need a scan of the child’s passport page (or the page in your passport where the child is listed) and a portrait photo taken separately from yours. The government portal doesn’t ask for a birth certificate directly, but I tell every family to carry the original anyway - Vietnamese immigration officers occasionally ask for it at land crossings, and airlines ask for it more often than the border does.
Does my child need a separate e‑visa application?
Only if the child has their own passport. A child listed inside a parent’s passport is covered by that parent’s single e‑visa fee - no extra government fee, no second application, one set of dates for both of you.
This only works for children under 14 whose passport data was formally added to a parent’s passport before travel. If your country stopped issuing that kind of combined passport, which most have by 2026, your child needs their own document and their own e‑visa regardless of age.
Lao Bao visa run with kids: step by step
This is the route I run most often with families, so I’ll give you the version that actually works with a child in tow rather than the theoretical one.
- Book the earliest departure from Da Nang - the organized sleeper bus leaves around 6 AM and reaches Lao Bao by roughly 11:30 AM, which puts you at immigration before the midday queue builds.
- Carry your child’s passport (or your own passport with the child listed), the printed e‑visa, and the original birth certificate in one folder, not buried in a backpack - immigration officers ask for documents in a specific order and shuffling through a bag with a fussy toddler costs you real time.
- If only one parent is traveling, hand over the notarized consent letter from the other parent when asked. It isn’t always requested, but when it is, having it ready avoids a second trip to the counter.
- Cross Vietnamese exit control, then Lao entry, keeping the child’s documents in the same folder the entire way - the two stamps happen minutes apart and officers on both sides ask for the same paperwork.
- Once stamped into Laos, turn around and repeat the process back into Vietnam on a fresh entry.
- Return to the bus for the ride back to Da Nang, arriving the same evening.
Build in an extra 30-45 minutes versus a solo run. That’s not a guess, it’s what I actually see with families: more time at the document check, more time getting a stroller through the gate, occasionally a bathroom stop that a solo traveler wouldn’t need.
Filing two applications with matching dates, chasing a notary for the consent letter, and reshooting a baby photo that got rejected once already - this is the exact pile of small tasks I usually end up handling for parents who’d rather spend that week packing than filling out forms. I take both applications, pay the government fee on a card the portal actually accepts, and hand back stamped e-visas for the whole family before you’ve had to think about it twice.
What mistakes do families make at the border?
The most common one is leaving the consent letter at the hotel because “we’re a family, they’ll see we’re together.” Officers can’t verify that from a shared last name, and a notarized letter is the one document that removes any doubt on the spot. Get it done before you leave, a lawyer or notary in Da Nang can produce one same-day, well before your travel date.
The second mistake is treating the child’s photo like an afterthought. A photo with a visible hand, a pacifier, or a colored background gets flagged during processing, and by the time you find out, you’re re-submitting the whole application days before you need to travel. Take the photo carefully the first time.
Families I’ve taken through Lao Bao usually land somewhere in the $70-90 all-in range per adult once you count transport, the Lao fee, and the return e‑visa. A child on their own passport adds close to the same again, while a child listed in your passport barely moves the total. If you’d rather hand the whole thing over, message me on Telegram with your dates and how many are traveling, and I’ll tell you what we can do this week.
Frequently asked questions
Do babies and infants need a visa to enter Vietnam?
Yes. There’s no age exemption - an infant listed in a parent’s passport is covered by that parent’s e‑visa at no extra fee, but an infant with their own passport needs their own e‑visa at the standard $25/$50 rate.
Can I put my child on my Vietnam e‑visa application, or does my child need a separate visa?
If your child is under 14 and listed inside your passport, tick the accompanying-child box on your own application - no separate filing. A child with an independent passport always needs their own e‑visa.
Do I need to translate or notarize my child's birth certificate for a visa run?
Vietnamese immigration doesn’t require it as an e‑visa upload, but I still tell families to carry the original - officers occasionally ask for it at land crossings, and airlines ask more often. A certified translation matters more for the consent letter than for the certificate itself if your child’s documents aren’t in English or Vietnamese. Timings and what’s actually included are laid out on our Da Nang visa run page.
Can one parent take a child on a visa run to Laos or Cambodia without the other parent present?
Yes, but carry a notarized consent letter from the parent staying behind, naming the child, the traveling parent, and the travel dates. It isn’t checked on every crossing, but when it is, you won’t get through without it.
Is there a family or priority lane for immigration at land borders like Lao Bao or Moc Bai?
Not confirmed - priority lanes for families are documented at Vietnam’s major airports, but Lao Bao and Moc Bai are small land facilities without a separate family queue. Budget extra time rather than count on a shortcut.
Does a child traveling on their own passport pay the same e‑visa fee as an adult?
Yes - $25 single entry or $50 multiple entry, identical to the adult fee, with no child discount on the government side.
