Paid a copycat e-Visa site
Use only evisa.gov.vn. Agent sites charge several times the fee.
Do South Africans need a visa for Vietnam?
e-Visafor South African passports
South Africans need an e-Visa for Vietnam. Apply online at least a week before you fly; it costs US$25 for a single entry.
StayUp to 90 days
Single-entry e-VisaUS$25, about R410
Difficulty 3 of 5
Last checkedChecked17 Oct 2026
What you need
Tick these off as you go. Your ticks are saved on this device.
How to do it
- Apply on evisa.gov.vn with a passport scan and photo.
- Pay by card; the fee isn’t refunded if you’re refused.
- Print the approval and check every detail matches your passport.
Official site:
Airlines decide whether you can board using a database called Timatic. Before you fly, check your route on the IATA Travel Centre.
What it costs in rand
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Single-entry e-Visa | US$25, about R410 |
| Multiple-entry e-Visa | US$50, about R830 |
Rand amounts use the exchange rate on 9 October 2026 (R16.53 to the US dollar, R18.50 to the euro, R21.87 to the pound) and are rounded. Work out your whole trip in the budget calculator.
Common problems and fixes
A typo on your e-Visa
A wrong passport number can get you refused boarding. Check the approval carefully and apply again if needed.
Plan your trip
Best timeFebruary to April
MoneyDong (VND)
Return flight from Johannesburg (rough guide)R11,000–R16,000
Daily budget per person (rough guide)R600–R1,100
Three trip ideas
Hanoi and Ha Long Bay
The old quarter, then a night on the bay.
Hoi An
The lantern-lit old town and tailors.
Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta
Street food and river markets.
Good to know
- North and south have different weather: check both.
Book
Some of these links earn us a small commission, at no extra cost to you. How we make money.
Sources and checks
Checked17 Oct 2026
Checked on 17 Oct 2026. The official page was silent on some details or couldn’t be opened from our checker, so those details are confirmed by at least two independent sources.
- officialVietnam National Electronic Visa system · Immigration Department, Vietnam · no date shown
- secondaryMore detailed information about Vietnam’s e-visa · VnEconomy · published 20 Feb 2025
- dataPassport Index Data (visa matrix for 199 passports, updated 17 Feb 2026) · imorte, continuing the dataset by Ilya Ilyankou (MIT licence) · published 17 Feb 2026
How we check: our method and every source we use.
Spotted a change?
Rules change often. If something here is out of date, tell us and we’ll check it.
Hear it first
Visa rules change every few months. Get the changes by email: one a week at most, plus urgent ones. Unsubscribe with one click.
Visa alerts
Opens our email sign-up form. We only keep your email address and the date you agreed. Unsubscribe any time.