Vietnam Visa for Portuguese Citizens: E-Visa, Urgent Speeds and Lisbon Time Cutoffs

The Vietnam visa for Portuguese citizens surprises many travelers, because Spanish neighbours enter Vietnam visa-free and Portuguese passport holders do not. If you hold a Portuguese passport, you need a visa for every trip to the mainland, and the e-visa is the simplest route. This guide explains the rules, how to apply, the urgent speeds and prices if your trip is close, the cutoffs in Lisbon and Azores time, and what to do when something goes wrong.

Do Portuguese citizens need a visa for Vietnam?

Yes, for every trip to mainland Vietnam. Portugal is not on either of Vietnam's European exemption lists. Resolution 44/NQ-CP, valid to 14 March 2028, gives 45 days visa-free to 12 countries, including Spain, France and Italy. Resolution 229/NQ-CP, valid to 14 August 2028, adds 45 days for tourism to 12 more, such as Belgium and the Netherlands. Portugal is on neither list.

A Spanish or French residence card does not change this. The rule follows the passport you travel on. If you hold two passports and one of them is exempt, you can travel on that one, as long as you use the same passport at check-in and at Vietnamese immigration.

The one exception is Phu Quoc. Every nationality can stay up to 30 days visa-free on the island when arriving there directly from abroad and staying only on Phu Quoc. A trip that also includes Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi needs an e-visa. Our Vietnam visa exemption guide lists every exempt country.

Vietnam e-visa for Portuguese citizens: what does it offer?

Up to 90 days, with single or multiple entry.

The price is the same for 30 or 90 days, so ask for the full period if your plans may change. The e-visa is issued by Vietnam's Immigration Department and can be checked on the official e-visa portal. It works at the international airports, land borders and seaports listed in our Vietnam e-visa ports of entry guide.

How do you apply for a Vietnam visa for Portuguese citizens?

Online, before travel, in about 10 minutes.

1. Open the application form or the official portal, which files on the same system.
2. Upload a photo of your passport data page with both machine-readable lines sharp and all 4 corners visible.
3. Upload a recent portrait photo on a white background, without glasses, saved as JPG.
4. Enter your surnames and given names exactly as in the machine-readable lines.
5. Enter the date you land in Vietnam and the Vietnamese airport where you land.
6. Choose single or multiple entry, pick a speed and pay.
7. Save the application code and check the result when it arrives.

Documents are simple: a passport valid for at least 6 months from arrival with a blank page, the portrait photo, your arrival date and port, and an address in Vietnam. Our passport validity guide explains the passport rules. On the normal speed, apply at least a week before you fly.

Urgent e-visa for Portuguese citizens: speeds and prices

As fast as 30–60 minutes during Vietnamese working hours. Immigration works Monday to Friday, 08:00–11:30 and 13:30–18:30 Vietnam time (GMT+7). Vietnam has no daylight saving, so it is 7 hours ahead of mainland Portugal and Madeira in winter and 6 hours ahead in summer.

Prices are per person for single entry; multiple entry adds US$25. Your bank converts US dollars to euro at its own rate. Our urgent Vietnam visa service page explains how each speed works.

When is Vietnam open in Portuguese time?

From the middle of the night to late morning. Portugal moves its clocks on the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October. The Azores are 1 hour behind Lisbon all year, so every time below is 1 hour earlier there.

By lunchtime in Lisbon or Porto, Vietnamese offices are closed for the day. A file sent at 14:00 waits until 01:00 or 02:00 the next night. Friday morning in Portugal is already Friday afternoon in Vietnam, just before the weekend.

Which speed should Portuguese travelers choose?

The slowest one that still arrives before you leave for the airport.

• Flight in a week or more: normal speed, US$50.
• Flight in 2–4 days: 2, 3 or 4 working days, sent the evening before so it is in before 04:00 or 05:00.
• Flight tomorrow afternoon: the 1-day speed sent tonight, or 5 working hours sent before 01:00 or 02:00.
• Flight today in the afternoon: 2.5 or 1.5 hours, sent as early as possible.
• Already at Lisbon, Porto or Faro airport in the morning: 30–60 minutes, before 11:00 or 12:00.
• Saturday, Sunday or a Vietnamese holiday: the weekend and holiday service.

Vietnamese public holidays count, Portuguese ones do not. Vietnamese Culture Day on 24 November 2026, New Year from 1 to 3 January 2027 and Tet from 4 to 10 February 2027 are closed.

Which details cause problems for Portuguese applicants?

Long names, accents and routes.

• Several surnames. Portuguese passports often carry 2 or more surnames. Enter all of them in the order printed in the machine-readable lines, and do not drop "de" or "da" if the passport shows them.
• Accents and cedillas. Letters such as ã, ç and é appear as plain A, C and E in the machine-readable lines. Follow those lines.
• iPhone photos. HEIC files often fail to upload. Save the portrait as JPG.
• Hub routes. Lisbon to Doha, Dubai or Istanbul and on to Hanoi means the entry port is Hanoi, not the hub.
• Arrival date. Overnight flights land the next day; use the landing date, not the day you leave Portugal.
• Renewed passport. An e-visa issued for an old passport number is not valid for the new one.

What if your e-visa is still processing near departure?

Do not apply again; speed up the existing file. A second application means a second payment and two records for your passport. Read our guide on an e-visa stuck in processing, and check the status on the portal's Search page first.

Speeding up an existing application has its own lower price list: US$45 for 4 working days, US$90 for 1 working day, US$100 for 5 working hours and US$190 for 30–60 minutes. Our guide on how to speed up a Vietnam visa explains the steps.

If an approved e-visa has a wrong detail, a correction costs US$85; for some errors a new urgent e-visa is faster. See how to correct a Vietnam e-visa mistake. If the airline has already refused you at check-in, read our denied boarding help.

Is there a Vietnamese embassy in Portugal?

Yes, in Lisbon, since late 2025. Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported the inauguration of the Vietnamese Embassy in Portugal, and both governments agreed to open embassies in each other's capitals. Before that, Portugal was covered by the embassy in Paris. Tourists and business visitors do not need the embassy for the e-visa, which is applied for and issued online.

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