Vietnam visa for French citizens

Count the arrival and departure days in a French passport itinerary

France's entry guidance confirms a visa exemption for visits of no more than 45 days, subject to the entry conditions. It counts the first and last days of the visit. A booking described as a six-week holiday is therefore worth checking against its actual flights rather than its marketing description.

Use the date you cross into Vietnam, rather than the date you leave Paris. Keep a small planning margin instead of treating the final possible day as spare time for an extra excursion.

For more than 45 days, prepare the visa before the trip

A 50-, 60- or 90-day holiday does not fit the short-visit exemption. An eligible French traveller can use Vietnam's e-visa route for a permitted stay of up to 90 days. Choose single entry for one Vietnamese arrival, or consider multiple entry when the visa is intended to cover leaving and returning within its approved period.

Compare the international movements separately from domestic travel. Hanoi to Hue is still inside Vietnam. A side trip to Laos followed by a Vietnamese return creates another entry. List both crossings on your own itinerary before selecting the package, and compare the expected return with the eventual visa dates.

Read the entry and exit port guidance before finalising a land crossing. A convenient town name on a tour itinerary is not enough to identify the actual international checkpoint.

Show the longer-stay visa and check the arrival stamp

France Diplomatie's 2026 notice highlights a practical problem: travellers holding an e-visa should present evidence of it at passport control, then check the admitted-until date recorded in the passport. Do not assume that having an approval stored in an email means the officer has admitted you under that visa.

Prepare an accessible copy before boarding, with the passport number and validity dates easy to find. After the arrival inspection, compare the stay recorded with your planned departure. Raise an apparent discrepancy promptly with border officials rather than discovering it at the end of a longer holiday.

Separate passport questions from a request for extra time

The French entry guidance requires at least six months of passport validity on arrival for the exemption and describes it as applying regardless of passport type. That statement does not establish that every temporary document can use every electronic application procedure. If you hold an emergency or replacement document, confirm its exact acceptance before selecting an ordinary-passport application.

France also warns against planning on an in-country renewal of a tourist exemption or e-visa. Build the longer visit correctly before leaving. The French passport e-visa application is useful when your trip needs a visa; review its saved details against the passport before proceeding. A qualifying shorter visit can use the exemption without purchasing an unnecessary application.