Vietnam Visa for Netherlands: 45 Days Visa-Free or E-Visa

For a Vietnam visa for Netherlands passport holders, the short answer is that most trips need no visa at all: Dutch citizens can enter Vietnam visa-free for up to 45 days for tourism until 14 August 2028. Stay longer than 45 days and you need a Vietnam e-visa, which costs 25 USD for a single entry. The rest of this guide covers which option fits your trip, what the border officer actually checks, and the small mistakes that send people back to the check-in desk at Schiphol.

Do Dutch citizens need a visa for Vietnam?

No, not for a holiday of up to 45 days. Since 15 August 2025, the Netherlands is one of 12 European countries whose citizens can enter Vietnam without a visa for tourism, regardless of passport type. The waiver lasts until 14 August 2028, and each entry gives you up to 45 days.

The waiver comes from Resolution 229/NQ-CP of 11 August 2025, part of a government programme to stimulate tourism. The same resolution covers Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland. Before August 2025, Dutch travellers had no exemption at all and every trip needed an e-visa, which is why many older blog posts and some visa agency pages still tell you to apply. If a page asks you to pay for a visa for a 2 week trip in 2026, it is either out of date or selling you something you do not need.

Two limits matter. The waiver is for tourism, so a work assignment, a paid conference role or a job interview needs the right visa. And it is temporary: it is a 3-year programme, not a permanent treaty, so trips after 14 August 2028 depend on whether the government renews it.

Your three options compared

Dutch travellers have three ways to enter Vietnam: visa-free entry, the e-visa, and a visa on arrival arranged through an approval letter. For a normal holiday under 45 days the first is the obvious choice. The other two only matter when the trip is longer, involves work, or needs a very fast decision.

Sources: Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (vietnam.travel), Resolution 229/NQ-CP; e-visa fees per the Vietnam Immigration Department portal evisa.gov.vn. Checked October 2026. Exchange rate about 26,000 VND per USD.

A quick rule of thumb: count the nights from the day you land to the day you fly out. If the number is 45 or below, you need nothing. If it is higher, or if you want to cross into a neighbouring country and come back on the same document, the multiple-entry e-visa is the cleaner route.

How the 45-day visa-free entry for Dutch citizens works

Visa-free entry for Dutch citizens is automatic at the border: you show your passport, the officer stamps you in, and your 45 days start on the date of entry. There is no form to file for the exemption itself, no fee, and no rule that you must wait 30 days between two visa-free visits.

That last point surprises people who read older guides. The 30-day gap rule was dropped in August 2023, so if you fly Hanoi to Bangkok for a week and come back, a new entry gives you a fresh 45 days. Officers can still ask about your plans if your stamps show you living in Vietnam on back-to-back exemptions, so this works for genuine travel, not for a long stay disguised as tourism.

What the officer looks at: a Dutch passport with at least 6 months of validity remaining, at least 2 blank pages for stamps, and sometimes an onward or return ticket. Airlines check this before boarding at Schiphol, and a passport that expires in 4 months is the most common reason a Dutch traveller is refused at check-in rather than at the Vietnamese border.

Nationality is what counts, not residence. A Moroccan, Turkish or Indian national living in Amsterdam on a Dutch residence permit is not covered by this waiver and needs an e-visa. Families with mixed passports should check each member separately; our page on which other passports skip the visa lists the full set. Our Hanoi team often sees this at Noi Bai: one partner breezes through on a Dutch passport while the other is sent to the visa counter.

When you need the Vietnam e-visa for Dutch citizens

You need the Vietnam e-visa for Dutch citizens when your stay will be longer than 45 days, when you travel for work, or when you hold a residence permit rather than Dutch nationality. The e-visa allows up to 90 days, single or multiple entry, and is handled entirely online through the official portal evisa.gov.vn.

The application takes about 15 minutes if you have everything ready. You need a photo of your passport data page, a recent passport-style photo on a white background, your planned entry date, the airport or land border you will use, and a card to pay the fee. Processing usually takes about 3 working days, but allow a full week around Dutch and Vietnamese public holidays. For screenshots of each field, see our full e-visa walkthrough.

The trap is the copycat site. Search results are full of pages with official-looking flags that charge 60 to 150 USD for the same 25 USD visa. Some offer real extras like urgent processing; many just resubmit your form. The official portal address ends in gov.vn, and no other site is the government.

Sondax tip: when the approval arrives, download the PDF, print it, and keep a copy offline on your phone. Wifi at the arrival hall is not always quick, and officers at smaller airports still prefer paper.

Visa on arrival for Dutch citizens: when it still makes sense

A visa on arrival for Dutch citizens is rarely the best choice now. It needs an approval letter from an agency before you fly, then a stamping fee paid in cash at the airport counter. For tourism it is slower and dearer than visa-free entry, and for most longer stays the e-visa does the same job.

It still has a place in a few situations: a business visit where the inviting company arranges the paperwork, or an urgent case where an agency can get a letter issued faster than the e-visa portal. Expect a queue at the landing-visa counter on top of the normal immigration line. Our guide on how the approval letter process works explains the steps and the counters at each airport.

Fees, processing times and the Vietnam embassy in the Netherlands

The government fee for the e-visa is 25 USD for a single entry and 50 USD for multiple entries, non-refundable even if the application is refused. Visa-free entry is free. Agency services add their own fee on top, which is where most of the price differences you see online come from.

Sources: evisa.gov.vn, agency price ranges from public price lists of 4 visa agencies. Checked October 2026.

The Vietnam embassy in the Netherlands is in The Hague, at Nassauplein 12. You only need it for visa types the e-visa does not cover, such as some long-term work or family visas, or for a lost-passport problem before departure. For a holiday, there is no reason to visit or post your passport there.

Why trips go wrong: refusals and overstays

Most problems for Dutch travellers are not refusals but small mismatches. An e-visa is rejected or becomes useless when the passport number has a typo, the photo is a selfie, or you enter at a different airport than the one on the form. On the visa-free route, the main risk is overstaying the 45 days.

Check these before you submit an e-visa: the passport number matches the new passport if you renewed after applying; the entry date is not later than your real arrival; the port of entry is the one on your ticket; and your name is spelled exactly as in the machine-readable line. An e-visa tied to an old passport is not valid with a new one, so renew first and apply second.

Overstaying is treated as an administrative violation: you pay a fine at exit, and a long overstay can delay your departure and affect future entries. If plans change mid-trip, deal with it before day 45, not at the airport. Our page on extending a stay or doing a visa run covers the options and their costs.

Arriving in Vietnam: arrival card and airport queues

Since April 2026 Vietnam has been rolling out a digital arrival card called Pre-Arrival Information. It started at Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City on 15 April, became mandatory at Phu Quoc in June, and was extended to Noi Bai in Hanoi and Da Nang the same month. You fill it in up to 72 hours before landing.

It is not a visa and costs nothing on the official portal; it asks for your personal details, flight and first address in Vietnam, then gives you a QR code to show at the immigration desk. Our step-by-step guide to the Vietnam pre-arrival form shows where to find the official portal and how to avoid paid copies.

Visa-free arrivals and e-visa holders join the same immigration line, and after a long-haul flight from Amsterdam via Doha, Dubai, Istanbul or Singapore you often land in a cluster of other long-haul flights. At Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat, the morning wave between roughly 6am and 9am can mean 45 to 90 minutes in the queue. What our team tells friends flying in: sit near the front of the plane, have the passport, QR code and hotel address ready before you reach the hall, and do not join the landing-visa counter unless you have an approval letter.

FAQ

Do Dutch citizens need a visa for Vietnam in 2026?

Not for tourist trips of up to 45 days. Dutch passport holders have visa-free entry from 15 August 2025 to 14 August 2028. You need an e-visa only if you plan to stay longer than 45 days, travel for work, or are entering on a passport from a country that is not on the exemption list.

Can I stay 60 days on a Dutch passport?

Not on the visa exemption. For 60 days, apply for a 25 USD single-entry e-visa valid up to 90 days before you fly. Entering visa-free and trying to extend once inside is possible in some cases but is slower and less certain than applying for the e-visa from home.

I live in the Netherlands but have a different passport. Am I covered?

No. A Vietnam visa for Dutch citizens rule follows nationality, not residence. A Dutch residence permit does not give visa-free entry, so check whether your own passport is on Vietnam’s exemption list, and if not, apply for the e-visa about 2 weeks before departure.

What happens if my trip runs past 14 August 2028?

The current waiver covers entries until that date. If you enter on 10 August 2028, the government has not said whether the full 45 days still apply, so for trips that cross the end date, either check the renewal news a month before you fly or simply apply for the e-visa.

Is a Dutch ID card enough to enter Vietnam?

No. The Dutch identity card works inside the Schengen area but not for Vietnam. You need a valid Dutch passport, and airlines will refuse boarding without one. An emergency passport issued by the municipality or the Royal Marechaussee is accepted for travel, but check its validity date against the 6-month rule.

Do children on a Dutch passport get the same 45 days?

Yes. Every Dutch passport holder, including babies, gets the same visa-free entry. Each child needs their own passport, as children can no longer be added to a parent’s document. Pack a copy of the birth certificate if the child travels with only one parent.

What else should I sort out before flying?

Beyond entry rules, the practical list is short: a data plan, some Vietnamese dong for the first taxi, travel insurance and your first night booked. Our first-timer checklist for Vietnam covers the rest.