Direct Answer
Dutch citizens need a visa for Vietnam — a Dutch ID card isn't sufficient, only a passport works. The e-visa application itself takes about 10–15 minutes once your documents are ready, from $50 standard. Below is the complete walkthrough: every field, every document, the tussenvoegsel surname issue specifically, family applications, and what euro payment actually looks like.
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Passport, Not ID Card — the First Thing to Confirm
Dutch residents are used to a Nederlandse identiteitskaart covering most everyday travel needs across the EU and a handful of additional destinations (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, among others). Vietnam is not on that list — the identiteitskaart cannot be used for the e-visa application, and it cannot be used to enter Vietnam even with an approved visa. You need your actual passport (paspoort), valid at least 6 months beyond your Vietnam entry date, with at least 2 blank visa pages.
If your passport is close to expiring, or you've been traveling on your ID card so much that you're not sure where your passport currently is, this is worth checking before anything else — everything downstream depends on it.
Documents to Have Ready
| Passport | Valid 6+ months from entry, 2+ blank pages, scan of the full bio-data page |
| Digital photo | Recent, plain background — see our full photo requirements guide |
| Travel dates | Entry date and exit date, matching your actual booking |
| Entry port | Your actual Vietnam arrival airport — not your Dutch departure airport, and not a transit hub along the way |
| Payment card | Any major card supporting international/foreign-currency transactions |
The Form, Section by Section
The application itself is short — most of the real work is having accurate documents ready before you open it. Here's what each section actually asks:
- Personal details: full name (see the surname section below), date of birth, nationality, passport number
- Passport details: issue date, expiry date, issuing authority — all read directly from the passport, not typed from memory
- Travel details: intended entry date, exit date, entry port, purpose of visit
- Visa type: single or multiple-entry, 30 or 90 days — both choices are made here and can't be changed after approval
- Contact details: an email address you'll actually check, since your approved e-visa arrives there as a PDF
- Payment: government fee plus any processing-speed fee, charged together
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The Surname Field: Where Dutch Applicants Most Often Slip Up
Two genuinely distinct issues show up here for Dutch names, and it's worth understanding both separately.
Issue one: tussenvoegsel (van, de, van der, van 't, ten, ter)
If your surname is "van der Berg," "de Vries," or similar, international forms not built with Dutch naming in mind sometimes mishandle the prefix — auto-capitalizing it, splitting it into a separate field, or dropping it entirely. None of those outcomes match your passport. The rule: check the machine-readable zone (the two lines of text at the bottom of your passport's photo page) and enter the surname exactly as it appears there, prefix included, in the same grouping.
| Everyday Writing | Machine-Readable Zone | Enter on the Form |
|---|---|---|
| Johan van der Berg | VAN DER BERG / JOHAN | Surname: VAN DER BERG |
| Anke de Vries | DE VRIES / ANKE | Surname: DE VRIES |
Issue two: multiple given names
Separately, Dutch passports frequently carry more than one given name — Johannes Wilhelmus, for example, where the person might normally go by just "Johan" or "Wim" day to day. Every given name on the passport needs to go on the application, in full — shortening "Johannes Wilhelmus" to just "Johannes" is a mismatch, the same way a dropped tussenvoegsel is. These are two separate name-formatting risks, not the same issue wearing two names — worth checking both independently against the machine-readable zone before you submit.
Applying as a Family
A common assumption worth correcting early: there's no single household or family application. Each traveler — including children — needs their own individual e-visa tied to their own passport. What you can do is coordinate: one parent gathers everyone's documents and submits them as a batch, but Vietnamese immigration processes each application on its own.
A practical tip for larger Dutch families with long, compound surnames across multiple children: keep a simple tracking list (name, passport number, registration code) as each application comes back approved — it's easy to lose track of which code belongs to which child otherwise, especially once several tussenvoegsel-heavy surnames are involved.
Your Departure Airport Doesn't Matter — Your Vietnam Entry Port Does
Whether you're flying out of Schiphol, Eindhoven, or Rotterdam The Hague Airport has no bearing on your e-visa application — the form doesn't ask about your departure point at all. What genuinely matters is the entry port field: this needs to match the specific Vietnamese airport, land border, or seaport where you'll first clear immigration, not a transit stop along the way. See our full Amsterdam routing guide for a breakdown by common transit hub.
Paying in Euro: the Actual Mechanics
The government fee is denominated in USD — $25 for single-entry, $50 for multiple-entry. Your Dutch bank or card issuer converts this to euro at the exchange rate in effect at the moment of the transaction, which means:
- The exact euro figure on your statement won't be a perfectly round number, and will vary slightly day to day
- Some Dutch banks apply a small foreign transaction fee on top of the conversion — worth a quick check of your own card's terms if you'd rather avoid it
- The charge appears from the payment processor, not directly labeled "Vietnam visa" in every case — don't be alarmed if the merchant name on your statement looks unfamiliar
If Your Timeline Is Tight
| Processing Time | Fee (government fee included) |
|---|---|
| Standard (4–6 days) | $50 |
| 3 days | $90 |
| 1 day | $110 |
| 30–60 minutes (fastest) | $215 |
Full 9-tier list on our urgent Vietnam visa service page. For exact CEST/CET cutoff times converted to Dutch time, see our full Vietnam eVisa for Dutch citizens guide.
If Something's Already Wrong
Caught a mistake after submitting — a name field, a date, an entry port that doesn't match your booking? This is genuinely fixable in most cases, not a reason to panic or start over from scratch.
- Contact support with your registration code
- Point to exactly what's wrong and what the correct information is
- Most formatting or detail corrections don't require paying the government fee a second time
See our full guide to fixing wrong information for the process by error type.
What We Actually Stand Behind
Miss the timeframe you paid for, and the processing fee comes straight back — no conditions beyond that. What no one can honestly promise, us included, is Vietnamese immigration's own decision timing, since that part of the process genuinely isn't within any agency's control.
Why Dutch Applicants Work With Us
Tussenvoegsel, multiple given names, ID-card confusion — these are the specific, quiet details that turn a routine application into a stuck one, and most services don't think to flag them until it's already gone wrong. Beyond catching these before submission: support genuinely available around the clock, pricing that doesn't hide anything past the first number you see, and a public review record you can check yourself — 4.9 out of 5 across 150+ Trustpilot reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Dutch citizens need a visa for Vietnam?
Yes — Netherlands passport holders are not visa-exempt. A visa is required for tourism, business, or any short-term visit, regardless of trip length.
Can I use my Dutch ID card (identiteitskaart) instead of a passport?
No — a Dutch ID card is only valid for travel within the EU/Schengen area and a small number of additional countries. Vietnam requires a passport; the ID card alone cannot be used for the e-visa application or entry.
How do I enter a surname with tussenvoegsel, like "van der Berg"?
Enter it exactly as your passport's machine-readable zone shows it, with the prefix grouped into the surname field, not split off or treated as a middle name.
What does the e-visa actually cost in euros?
The government fee is set in USD ($25 single-entry standard), so the euro amount charged depends on your card issuer's exchange rate at the time of payment — typically close to but not fixed at a round euro number.
Can my whole family apply together in one Dutch household application?
No — each family member, including children, needs their own individual e-visa application and their own passport. One parent can coordinate submitting everyone's documents, but the applications themselves are separate.
I'm flying from Rotterdam or Eindhoven instead of Schiphol. Does that change anything?
No — your departure airport in the Netherlands has no bearing on the e-visa application itself. What matters is your entry port in Vietnam, which must match your actual arrival airport there.
What if I make a mistake after submitting?
Most errors — a name field, a date, an entry port — can be corrected without paying the government fee again, as long as you catch it and act before your flight.
Related Guides
- 👉 Vietnam eVisa for Dutch citizens: CEST deadlines & AMS routing
- 👉 Wrong information on your Vietnam visa? How to fix each error
- 👉 Managing Vietnam visas for the whole family
- 👉 Vietnam e-visa form fields: the exact format each one needs
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VietnamVisaEasy.com is a private travel agency, not affiliated with the Vietnamese government. We charge a fee to assist with visa applications. If you don't need assistance, you can apply directly on the official government website, evisa.gov.vn. For questions, visit our contact page.