Hello,

I am in Cambodia and applied for a 30 day visa through a travel agent in Siem Reap (World Express Tours & Travel - DO NOT USE THESE PEOPLE) - they charged me about $40 and told me to pick it up in Phnom Penh in 4 days. So I picked it up today and they DID NOT give me a 30 day visa - instead I was shocked to find a Category D Visa valid for ONLY 15 days!!

They swore up and down that I would get 14 days from ARRIVAL in Vietnam and could leave AFTER the visa expired. Does anyone know if this is true?

They also claimed this Category D visa could be extended for $5 in Vietnam - any truth to this?

Any help is GREATLY appreciated! If I get 14 days from arrival in Vietnam I am probably OK, but if not I will not have enough time on this visa.

Again the name of the travel agent in Siem Reap awas World Express Tours & Travel Co. - beware of this travel agent.

I don't know - sounds like you got a pretty decent deal. I paid $65 for my visa and they only gave me 10 days!

As for the visa duration, doesn't your visa say "Valid from____" "Until______" on it? If it does, that would be the valid period for the visa, and therefore it would not start when you actually arrive.

As far as extensions, I don't know - as it turns out 10 days was more than enough for me in Vietnam. I never tried.

I find it very hard to believe that you would be able to leave after the visa expired without repercussions, though. Kinda defeats the purpose of a visa, right?! Cambodian travel agents who will never see you again are not going to be your most reliable source for Vietnam immigration answers.

Well, best of luck!

Don't panic you can extend your Visa

If you are now in Vietnam and would like to stay some more days out of your current visa duration, change visa type, renew or extend your visa, you should get to the Vietnam Immigration Department on your own at:

* In Hanoi: No. 40A Hang Bai Str., Hoan Kiem Dist., Hanoi
* In Da Nang: No. 7 Tran Quy Cap Str., Danang
* In Hochiminh City (Saigon): No. 254 Nguyen Trai Str., Dist.1, Hochiminh City

I've pasted this from a websitehttp://www.vietnam-visa.com/blog ... -extension
We had a similar problem when our hotel said we couldn't have any more than 15 days when we knew we could get 30 days so we arranged ours in Phnon Phen with an agent who actually charged us less for the 30 days than the hotel was going to charge for the 15 days.
Best of Luck and keep safe
Jean