As a foreigner in Vietnam, your stay in the country is only limited to a certain number of days, depending on the type of visa that you hold. For instance, if you are holding an E-visa, then you are only allowed to stay in the country for a maximum of 30 days. If you have the Visa on Arrival that’s good for 90 days, then that means you have to go out of the country before the 90-day period ends. But what happens if you wanted to extend your stay? In this case, you should get your visa extended or renewed.
To process a visa extension or renewal, you need to do it through the Immigration Department of Vietnam. Thankfully, they have many offices all over the country so you don’t need to travel far. If you are based in the city of Can Tho, you can simply go to the Vietnam Immigration Office in Can Tho City, which is located at 9A Tran Phu, Cai Khe ward, in Ninh Kieu district. But before you visit their office, it’s important that you determine ahead of time what the requirements are.
Your visa extension application will be approved for as long as the total length of your stay is less than six months. For instance, if you are currently holding the Vietnam Visa on Arrival that is valid for three months when you apply for a visa extension, the visa will only be extended for three months more. Thus, the total length of your stay in the country is only six months.
In addition, your visa extension is only valid for a single entry. Once Vietnam Immigration approves your visa extension, your passport will be stamped indicating your new period of stay. Take note that you can only extend your original visa two times. After the second extension, you have to get out of the country and apply for a new visa to enter Vietnam again.
To apply for a Vietnam visa extension at Can Tho City, you need to submit your passport. It should be valid for at least six months from the time of your visa extension. The passport must have two blank pages for the new visa stamp.
The Vietnam visa renewal is almost similar to a visa extension. It allows you to extend your stay in the country without the need to go out of Vietnam. If Vietnam Immigration will grant your visa renewal, they will attach a new visa sticker and stamp in your passport and will indicate the new duration of your stay. This is why the fees for visa renewal is more expensive than the visa extension since you will also be paying for the new stamping fee and sticker fee.
Just like with applying for a visa extension, you are also required to submit your passport when applying for a visa renewal at Can Tho City. Your passport should remain valid for at least six months from the date of your renewal application. It should have two blank pages for the new sticker and stamp.
Visa extension and renewal are almost similar. Both processes will allow you to stay in the country longer than the initial length of stay that’s indicated on your visa. But these two are different. Also, some nationalities are not eligible for a visa extension.
If you are about to go out of Vietnam since your visa is about to expire, but you plan on coming back again, you can request a visa extension. That way, you can immediately go back to Vietnam after you exit the country. Also, the new period of your stay must not exceed the initial period that your first visa allows. For example, if your first visa will let you stay in Vietnam for up to 30 days when you request for a visa extension, the Vietnam Immigration will let you stay in the country for up to 30 days only.
If you do not want to go through the hassles of exiting Vietnam but would like to extend your stay, you can choose the Vietnam visa renewal. With this option, you will be granted a new visa sticker and stamp on your passport. For visa renewal, the maximum length of stay is three months. But since you will be issued a new visa sticker, the cost for visa renewal is usually higher than the cost of visa extension. The visa renewal is applicable to those nationalities who entered Vietnam under the visa exemption policy. Since you were not issued a visa initially, when you apply for the visa renewal, they will give you a new visa sticker.
