Vietnam Visa for Canadians: E-Visa, Costs and Urgent Options

If you're leaving from Montreal, Quebec City or Gatineau, you'll often read on French forums that "Vietnam is visa-free". That's true for a French passport, not for a Canadian one. This guide covers what applies to you: the rules from Global Affairs Canada, the official Vietnamese fees, the situation of dual citizens and Vietnamese Canadians, and what to do if you're leaving in a few days.

01Do Canadians Need a Visa for Vietnam?

Yes. The Government of Canada's official Travel Advice and Advisories for Vietnam page, updated on September 9, 2026, is clear: Canadian tourists, business travelers, students and workers all need a visa to enter Vietnam.

The confusion comes from the 45-day exemption some Europeans enjoy. The Vietnamese government's Resolution 44/NQ-CP, valid from March 15, 2025 to March 14, 2028, exempts nationals of twelve countries from visas: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. Canada isn't on the list. Neither are the United States or Australia.

The practical consequence: a French-Quebec couple traveling together can end up under two different rules. The partner traveling on a French passport enters without a visa for up to 45 days; the one who only has a Canadian passport must have obtained an e-visa before boarding.

What If You Also Have a French Passport?

If you're a French-Canadian dual citizen, you can enter Vietnam on your French passport and use the 45-day exemption. Two common-sense rules:

• Travel on the same passport from start to finish: the one used to buy the ticket, to clear immigration on arrival and to leave the country.
• Check the validity of that passport: at least six months on the date of entry, according to the France Diplomatie entry/stay page.

Beyond 45 days, you need a visa, even with a French passport.

02The E-Visa: The Right Solution for Most Canadian Travelers

Since August 15, 2023, Vietnam has issued e-visas to nationals of all countries and territories, for a maximum of 90 days, with single or multiple entry (Resolution 127/NQ-CP, summarized by the Embassy of Vietnam in Japan). The Canadian page confirms it: Canadian passport holders can apply online for an electronic tourist visa, single or multiple entry, valid for up to 90 days.

What You Need to Have on Hand

• A valid Canadian passport. Note the nuance: Ottawa recommends a passport valid for at least six months beyond your expected departure date from Vietnam. That's stricter than the simple six-months-at-entry rule: a three-month trip therefore requires at least nine months of validity on the day you leave Montreal.
• A recent passport photo, facing forward, on a light background, in digital format.
• A clear scan of your passport's photo page.
• Your travel dates, an address in Vietnam (your first night's hotel, for example) and your planned port of entry.
• A credit card that accepts payments in US dollars.

The Port of Entry Matters

Global Affairs Canada's page points it out: the e-visa only allows entry through the port of entry shown on the approval notice. If you arrive in Hanoi while your e-visa lists the Ho Chi Minh City airport, you risk being refused entry. It's a common mistake on multi-stop trips (arriving by bus from Cambodia, for example). Check the port listed before you pay.

Single or Multiple Entry?

Choose multiple entry if you plan to leave Vietnam and come back during your trip: an excursion to Angkor in Cambodia, a detour through Laos, a stopover in Bangkok. For a simple round trip from Canada, single entry is enough.

03How Much Does a Vietnam Visa Cost for Canadians?

Fees are set by Vietnam's Ministry of Finance. Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC, in force since April 1, 2026, sets the following amounts (as of September 23, 2026):

The fees are charged in US dollars. Your Canadian bank converts them into Canadian dollars at the day's rate and may add foreign transaction fees: check your card's terms, as some don't charge any. Official fees are not refunded if your application is refused or if there's a mistake in the form.

For the details of the process, the fees and the pitfalls of the form, read our guide on how to apply for a Vietnam visa.

04Urgent Visa: What to Do If You're Leaving in a Few Days

Searches for an "urgent Vietnam visa" are common in Quebec, often because people discover the day before departure that a Canadian passport isn't exempt. Here's what can be verified:

1. The legal processing time for the e-visa is 3 working days after receipt of a complete application and payment (Law 51/2019/QH14, Art. 16a). The working days are Vietnam's: the time difference, weekends and Vietnamese holidays (Tet, April 30, September 2) stretch the real processing time.
2. The official portal doesn't sell an express option. There is no paid surcharge to speed up an e-visa on evisa.gov.vn.
3. Private services offer expedited processing for a service fee. They are not government services. Before paying, read our comparison of the official site vs a private service, which explains how to tell a reputable service from a site imitating the official portal.
4. If the timeline is too short, the only safe option is often to move your flight. No airline will let you board for Vietnam without a visa or valid proof of exemption.

If you'd rather hand off the application, visa-vietnam.app (a private service; visa-vietnam.app is run by the same publisher as this site) can take care of it for you. This service is not a government one: its fee comes on top of the official fees, which you can also pay yourself on evisa.gov.vn.

05Stays Over 90 Days, Work, Studies: What Changes

The e-visa covers 90 days at most. For a longer stay, Global Affairs Canada says you must obtain a visa from the nearest Vietnamese embassy before you leave. For a traveler from Quebec, there is no Vietnamese consulate in Quebec: Vietnam is represented in Canada by its embassy in Ottawa and a consulate general in Vancouver. Ask them directly about the required documents and processing times, which aren't reliably published online.

To work in Vietnam, a tourist visa isn't enough: you need a work permit and a work visa sponsored by a Vietnamese employer. Our guide to the Vietnam work visa details these steps. To stay several years, see also the temporary residence card.

Vietnamese Canadians: The Visa Exemption Certificate

This situation is specific to Canada, home to a large community of Vietnamese origin. People of Vietnamese origin living abroad, as well as spouses and children of Vietnamese citizens, can apply for a visa exemption certificate (giấy miễn thị thực), valid for up to 5 years, which allows stays of 6 months per entry (Decree 82/2015/NĐ-CP, Vietnamese government portal). The issuance fee is 10 USD according to Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC. You apply at the embassy in Ottawa or the consulate general in Vancouver; check the exact list of documents with them.

06Before You Leave: The Canadian Traveler's Checklist

• Passport valid six months beyond your departure date from Vietnam, with blank pages.
• Printed e-visa (and a copy on your phone), after checking the name, passport number, dates and port of entry.
• Registration of Canadians Abroad: this free Government of Canada service lets you be reached in an emergency.
• Digital arrival form: according to voyage.gc.ca, Vietnam encourages travelers to fill it in within three days before arriving at Tan Son Nhat airport (Ho Chi Minh City); it remains optional for now.
• Travel insurance covering medical care and repatriation. Your provincial plan (RAMQ in Quebec) only reimburses a small part of care received abroad. See our article on health insurance in Vietnam.
• Length of stay: overstaying exposes you to fines. To stay longer, read renewing your Vietnam visa.

If you run into trouble on the ground, the Embassy of Canada in Hanoi and the Consulate General of Canada in Ho Chi Minh City provide consular services to Canadians. They cannot intervene in a decision by Vietnamese immigration.

07Sources Consulted on September 23, 2026

• Government of Canada, Travel Advice and Advisories: Vietnam (updated September 9, 2026)
• Embassy of Vietnam in Japan: e-visa and exemptions
• Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC on entry and residence fees
• Decree 82/2015/NĐ-CP on visa exemption for overseas Vietnamese

Entry rules change regularly. Always check the Global Affairs Canada page and the evisa.gov.vn portal before booking.