Vietnam e-Visa Rejected? The 10 Most Common Reasons Australians Get Refused in 2026
Most Vietnam e-visa rejections have nothing to do with your travel history - they come down to a photo that misses the spec, a mistyped passport number, or a date that doesn't line up. The Vietnamese Immigration Department doesn't tell you why your application failed, and the USD 25–50 government fee is non-refundable, so a rejection costs you both money and time. This guide walks through the ten problems we see most often on Australian applications, and exactly how to fix each one before you hit submit.
First, the 2026 basics
Australian passport holders do need a visa for Vietnam - there is no visa exemption for Australians. The standard route is the government e-visa, applied for online at the official portal, evisa.gov.vn.
Item | Detail (2026) |
|---|---|
Visa type | E-visa (tourist) |
Maximum stay | Up to 90 days |
Entries | Single or multiple entry |
Government fee — single entry | USD 25 (approx. AUD 38) |
Government fee — multiple entry | USD 50 (approx. AUD 77) |
Standard processing | 3–7 working days |
Passport validity | At least 6 months beyond arrival |
Blank pages | At least 2 |
Refundable if rejected? | No |
AUD figures are approximate and move with the exchange rate. Always confirm the current fee on the official portal at the time you apply.
1. The photo doesn't meet spec (the number one cause)
Photos account for the majority of e-visa delays and refusals. The portrait must be:
Plain white background - no cream, no grey, no bedroom wall
4x6 cm portrait ratio, JPG, under 2 MB
Taken recently, face straight to camera, neutral expression
No glasses, no hats, no head coverings except for religious reasons
Even lighting, no shadow behind the head, both ears and the full jawline visible
The classic Australian mistake: a cropped selfie or a photo lifted from a driver's licence. Neither works. Get a proper passport photo taken at a pharmacy or Australia Post, ask for the digital file, and use that.
2. The passport bio page scan is unreadable
You must also upload a scan of your passport data page. Rejections here come from glare off the laminate, a corner cut off, a photo taken at an angle, or a resolution so low the machine-readable zone can't be parsed. Lay the passport flat, shoot straight down in daylight with the flash off, and check every character is legible before uploading.
3. Details don't match the passport exactly
Every field must mirror the passport, character for character. Common slips:
Middle names left out, or squeezed into the "given names" field incorrectly
The letter O typed instead of the digit 0 in the passport number
Date of birth entered in the wrong format
A married name used when the passport still shows the maiden name
If your passport shows a name across two lines, enter it as printed. Don't tidy it up.
4. Your passport expires too soon
You need at least six months of validity beyond your arrival date, not your booking date. A passport expiring in November won't support a September entry if you're staying into the new year. Renew first, then apply - the e-visa is tied to the passport number, and a new passport means a new application.
Planning a trip in the next few months? MyVisitVisa handles the whole Vietnam e-visa application for you - we check your photo, passport and dates against the current rules before anything is submitted. Start your Vietnam e-visa application.
5. The entry date is wrong or too far out
Your e-visa validity starts from the intended date of entry you nominate, and you cannot enter before it. Two errors we see constantly:
Entering the application date instead of the arrival date
Applying too close to departure and running out of processing runway
Apply at least two to three weeks out. If you nominate 12 August and your flight moves to 8 August, the visa is not valid - you'd need a fresh application.
6. You picked the wrong port of entry
The application asks for your intended entry checkpoint. Choose the one matching your ticket - Tan Son Nhat (Ho Chi Minh City), Noi Bai (Hanoi), Da Nang, and so on. Arriving at a checkpoint that doesn't align with your visa causes problems at the border, and it's not something you can amend after approval.
7. Duplicate or inconsistent uploads
The portal's review system flags duplicate images. Uploading your portrait photo into both the photo and the passport-page slot is a guaranteed return. Check each upload slot has the correct file before submitting.
8. Payment failed but the application went through
Card payments to the Vietnamese portal are a known friction point for Australian banks - international transaction blocks and 3D Secure failures are common. If payment doesn't complete, your application sits unprocessed and you'll see nothing on the status page. Notify your bank of an international transaction beforehand, and keep the payment receipt number.
9. You applied through an unofficial copycat site
Search results are full of lookalike domains charging heavy markups or, worse, collecting passport data and never lodging anything. The genuine government portal is evisa.gov.vn. If you'd rather have a person handle it, use a properly accredited agent (MyVisitVisa is IATA TIDS accredited and Australian Registered) rather than an anonymous website.
10. Immigration history problems
Less common, but real: a previous Vietnamese overstay, a prior deportation, or a name matching an entry on an immigration watchlist will get an application refused with no explanation. Under Decree 59/2026, effective 1 April 2026, overstays of 16 days or more can lead to deportation - which then blocks future applications. If you've overstayed in Vietnam before, get advice before applying.
Rejected - what now?
Step | What to do |
|---|---|
1 | Don't reapply immediately. Work out what failed first. |
2 | Re-check the photo against the spec - that's the likeliest culprit. |
3 | Compare every form field to the passport, character by character. |
4 | Confirm passport validity and blank pages. |
5 | Submit a fresh application (the fee is payable again). |
6 | If a second attempt fails, stop and get professional help - repeated refusals can create a pattern on your record. |
There is no formal appeal process for an e-visa refusal. Reapplying correctly is the path forward.
A few things a visa agent would tell you
Multiple entry is worth it if you're doing a side trip. Popping to Cambodia or Laos mid-trip on a single-entry visa means you can't come back. The extra USD 25 is cheap insurance.
The e-visa cannot be extended from inside Vietnam. The 90 days is a hard ceiling, not a renewable window. To stay longer you exit and apply again, or hold a multiple-entry visa from the start.
Print it. Airline check-in staff in Australia frequently ask for a paper copy before boarding. Don't rely on your phone.
Check the approved visa the moment it lands. If your name or passport number is wrong on the approval, fix it before you fly, not at the border.
FAQ
Do Australians need a visa for Vietnam in 2026?
Yes. There is no visa-free entry for Australian passport holders. Most tourists use the online e-visa, valid for up to 90 days.
How much does the Vietnam e-visa cost?
The government fee is USD 25 for single entry and USD 50 for multiple entry - roughly AUD 38 and AUD 77. Agent service fees are additional. The fee is not refunded if you're refused.
How long does the Vietnam e-visa take?
Officially 3–7 working days. Allow two to three weeks before departure to be safe, especially over Tet and peak season.
Can I get a refund if my Vietnam e-visa is rejected?
No. The government fee is non-refundable, which is exactly why getting the photo and passport details right the first time matters.
Can I extend my Vietnam e-visa while I'm there?
No - the e-visa is not extendable in-country. You'd need to exit and apply again, or hold a multiple-entry visa.
Is a photo taken on my phone acceptable?
Only if it genuinely meets the spec - white background, correct ratio, no glasses, even lighting. In practice, a professionally taken passport photo is far safer.
Ready to apply without the guesswork? MyVisitVisa is an Adelaide-based, IATA TIDS accredited visa service. We check your documents against current Vietnamese requirements before lodgement, so you're not gambling a non-refundable fee on a photo crop. Apply for your Vietnam tourist visa or read more visa guides.
Related reading
Sources
Official Vietnamese Immigration e-visa portal: evisa.gov.vn
Fees, processing times and rules were correct at the time of writing (21 July 2026) and should be verified on the official portal before applying.