Visa extension and visa renewal are two ways to prolong your stay in Vietnam effectively. However, a lot of people don’t know much about processing time and the suitable time for submitting it. How long before the expiry date is the best time for visa extension and visa renewal submission?
At first, you should know clearly that it normally takes 5 working days to process a visa extension/ renewal. This processing time can be shorter or longer depending on type of visa you are holding, how long you want to extend/ renew, type of service you want to process. So, you should take action at least 7 working days before your visa expiry date.
However, taking action above does not mean you have to submit visa extension at least 7 days before expiry date. It means you should prepare all required documents well and know the procedure to process Vietnam visa extension clearly before submitting date. You can submit visa extension/renewal 1 day before the expiry date. The immigration law requires to SUBMIT BEFORE EXPIRY DATE, but not requires GET APPROVED BEFORE EXPIRY DATE. Even your visa extension/renewal get approved later than expiry date, it’s still ok of you submit successfully before expiry date.
Secondly, it is strongly note that, Vietnam government will have a lot of strong restrictions for those who are overstayed. You will not be entered Vietnam for the next time, listed as black list, or paying the fine if you are overstayed. Therefore, doing a visa extension/renewal before expiry date is a MUST.
Thirdly, you also need to know that the new valid date will begin from the date of submission, not the expiry date of old visa. Therefore, you should submit it as near as the expiry date to get more valid date for new permission. If you find difficulty in preparing documents, procedures for Vietnam visa extension/renewal, you can pay for a small service fee and ask a visa agency to do for you.
Last but not least, Vietnam immigration department will be off at weekend (Saturday and Sunday) and Vietnam holidays. Therefore, please take action soon if your visa expiry date is on weekend or holidays.
Any more question, you can chat with us through email info@vietnam-evisa.com