in your passport they stamp how long you can stay in the country and the date you must leave. if you stay a day passed this, you have overstayed. this is true for every country you will travel to. even if it's visa-free, they still will stamp how long you're allowed to stay there.
Hey Nick, I know you’re trying to be helpful so thank you 🙏 we’ve travelled to 29 countries in the last 1.5 years and that’s actually not true. Many countries including Vietnam just stamp the date of entry and do not indicate on the stamp when you have to leave. But some countries do as you say, just not all. It’s definitely our responsibility to check and know!
@@MaxandJacqueline I've been living in Vietnam for 8 years, not only do they stamp "allowed to remain until.." in your passport but it also says the date on your Visa approval letter. I've been to about 15 countries and almost every single one, except for Hong Kong, stamps in your passport how long you're allowed to remain, it's the norm for 90% of countries.
but definitely one of the biggest problems of immigration here is that there is very little reliable information online, there's no one to hold your hand and a lot of times the information is outdated
Have you even considered the government website? The Vietnam embassy website in Australia if they have one? Going online and type how to obtain VN visa and just click on any link is not doing research.
@@MaxandJacqueline You're wrong. I have worked as an immigration officer of Vietnam for 10 years. In the visa or the stamp, we always clearly show the duration that we allow you to stay. Not only do we stamp "allowed to remain until....." in your passport but it also says the date on your Visa approval letter, in your passport visa,... Say the truth!
We have been following your Vietnam vlogs for a while now and we’re enjoying them very much. Thank you for sharing this video as well, what a terrifying experience it must have been. We’re planning to go to Vietnam next year and are planning to take our drone with us. We saw that the two of you are using a drone as well and are wondering you brought your drone to Vietnam? Did you take the drone apart, or were you able to bring it in one piece in your luggage? We saw that the drone rules have become very strict lately and get confiscated a lot.
Hey 👋 wow thank you so much, we loved Vietnam but yeah the visa situation is strange, we also got a comment since we left saying the visa is now for 90 days? But we’re not sure if that info is correct 😅 We took our drone all in one piece in our carry on. We didn’t have any issues with it and we’re under the impression they are allowed. But given the lack of information Vietnam Gov provide I couldn’t be sure!
Thank you for sharing your experience. We LOVE Vietnam, but my Son is still scared to return after a spelling error in his visa very nearly saw him deported back to Sydney by himself as a thirteen year old with no family in Sydney to meet him!! It took all our energy and whatever Australian and Vietnamese cash we had on us to prevent this from happening 😩 My Son is autistic and struggles to communicate 😢. He was taken into a room with officials who repeatedly asked him questions he didn’t have the answers to, and they refused to allow us to be with him or help 😡😡 He was absolutely terrified, and said he’d never go back 😢 Vietnam is a beautiful country with majority authentic and genuine people, and I’m determined to replace his traumatic experience with a positive one ✅💖 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
Hi Corinne, what a traumatic experience indeed. Im so sorry your son had to go through that, it must have really been scary for him and you. It is such a shame there are so many border/visas issues in what is a very beautiful country. Im sure he will find the strength to go back one day and come back with a much better impression of the country. Thank you for sharing your story as well as sparing some time to check out our video. Max and Jacqueline ❤️
It was an honest mistake that happens every day at border crossings. You were terrified because it happened to you for the first time, but all they (not just Vietnam) could do was hold you overnight until your next flight and impose a fine. However, for drug-related and other serious offenses, the situation is different. Remember that you always have your embassy in the visiting country to rely on. Consider it as an experience that contributes to a wide spectrum of emotions while visiting Vietnam, from the best to the worst. Happy and safe travels. :)
Why did your boyfriend get a fine? Did he also overstay, I thought he only got 15 days? This also happened to me when I went I Vietnam lucky I worked out while I was in the country that I had to leave early. Because like you I thought the visa started from the day I arrived. Sucks this happened to you guys, safe travels.
9:25 I wouldn’t blame you for this. You aren’t dumb at all. I would just email the embassy directly if you are not 100% sure. If I have any doubts about entry requirements from websites, I always call or email the embassy.
Good advice, we made a big mistake not being thorough enough but it seems to be a common problem so hopefully they can make their info clearer in the future. Vietnam is such a beautiful country and this was not a great way to end our trip 😅
As a Vietnamese - weak passport holder, I need to get visa for virtually every where except for SEA. Also, I take care of visa issue for my foreign colleagues at work. So I'm a little bit more exprienced in this matter. First of all, your detention on arrival is completely avoidable if the departure airlines ground worker at check-in counter has done their job properly. They should have known what document you need to enter the arrival country and checked accordingly. I myself on my recent trip to Italy was checked even twice, once at the check-in counter in Vietnam, once at the transit gate in Dubai. An American friend of mine was refused to board a flight to Vietnam, at the counter, for making exactly the same mistake as you. Honestly I don't blame you as I believe the communication of visa could have been clearer. As far as I understand, visa on arrival is issued only if you have applied and got the approval for visa BEFOREHAND. As for the overstay penalty, I am really sorry for you. I understand it can totally happen especially for strong passport holders who are not familiar with visa validity rules. I just wish the whole experience could have been less traumatizing for you, but I guess the characteristic Vietnamese monotonic accent in such circumstances didn't help. Anyway, they were flexible, because by the laws if you overstay, you will have to go to the Immigration Dept in the city to pay the penalty, not at the airport. I hope you feel better now even just a little bit. Cheers!
Yes my cousin who is married to a Vietnamese stuggpes a lot to get visas so we do not want to sound ungrateful its a mistake/situation we made which we were lucky to get out of
Well 1000.0000 under the table will be more than enough if you know Vietnam, it's definitely cheat,by bus the wouldn't even care about you have a passport or not if you have 500.000 dong it will be your passport
Will you guys be coming to Malaysia any time soon. By Malaysia, I meant Peninsular, not Borneo, specifically Kuala Lumpur. Best city to visit in Southeast Asia
Hi there, thank you very much for the comment. If you look at some of our older videos you'll see that we actually made our way in KL we went inland as well as down the coast 😀
@@MaxandJacqueline Thanks for the reply. I've just stumbled upon your KL videos. It was only a 2-day trip sadly, which definitely was too short of a trip! Well, but at least you guys made it here. Sorry for the traumatic experience you guys had in Vietnam. Wishing you guys only the best in your endeavor! Do let me know the next time you're here again in KL, I'll make sure it'll be an unforgettable one. Cheers!
Actually it’s not that complicated, it’s just that they do not make it clear so mistakes are made and of course we had to pay a “fine” but no receipt or paperwork for that 😅
The first time I went to visit Viet Năm 21 years ago the first paperwork my friend was given to them at the workers at the airport was $$50 so they were taking care for us to the taxi
Thanks for pointing out, I think Vietnam is generally strict with visa due to the complexity of the region compared to EU. I hope they would improve it to be more flexible in the future, and experience like this is just bad :(
It’s completely understandable to have rules, they just need to clearly explain how the visa works on the website so everyone can understand. We were not the only people paying a fine for overstaying their visa so it’s clearly not uncommon.
So sorry for your experience It’s even confusing for Viet citizens the rules and everything. So even though Vietnam is a beautiful country itself, the people leading the country are the opposite, that’s pretty sad tbh
I'm really really confused. I have an e-visa and it says on the e-visa that it is valid from 25/04/2024 to 31/05/2024. As long as I'm entering and leaving within these dates, shouldn't I be ok?
!Yes, I believe so AND as long as you enter via the port you selected on your e-visa. But double check it’s not a 30 day visa as that’s more than 30 days.
Are you sure you are experienced travellers? - You should access information from your own official government website and use the official links provided. You admit it was your own fault and then go on to say it left a 'nasty taste in your mouth'. Only yourself to blame ....
😑 if you had watched the video you would have heard me say it’s 100% my fault but that the Vietnam government needs to do better to advise the laws to foreigners. Considering even the customs staff told us this happens everyday! And there were others also paying fines for overstaying I would say this is a ‘lack of information’ issue more than anything, this video was to make sure other travellers don’t make our same mistakes ✌️
Viet nam is a country beware of new people to visit not know much about their systems, the first paperwork that they would serve you better is usd money in your passport
It is so interesting your reaction. I very clearly accept fault in this video and have made (even though I found it embarrassing) to make sure others don’t make the same mistake I did. After travelling to 40 countries this is the first time I have ever made a mistake, in my opinion, that indicates the information available is not clear enough. My intention is to make sure others don’t make my same mistake but you still leave an angry comment towards me? I wonder why this makes you so angry? We’re all human and we all make mistakes 🫶
Là 1người Việt Nam, tôi cảm thấy rất tiếc vì những trải nghiệm chưa trọn vẹn về sự hài lòng của bạn. Mong bạn thông cảm bởi vì đó là luật, và quốc gia nào cũng có luật lệ của riêng nó. Dù sao tôi vẫn chào đón bạn đến Việt Nam lần nữa để đất nước tôi có thể được cải thiện hình ảnh trong mắt bạn. Cảm ơn bạn rất nhiều!
15/8/2023 Việt Nam sẽ nâng thời hạn của tất cả các loại thị thực(bao gồm cả visa du lịch và e-visa lên 90ngày). Mong rằng đó sẽ là động lực để bạn quay lại và giới thiệu Việt Nam cho bạn bè và người thân của mình
😑 clearly we did not know the rules… this video is to make others aware so they avoid the mistakes we made. Not to whine and I don’t recall trying to get out of the fine we were trying to not be detained in the country and begged to pay a fine instead… perhaps you didn’t actually watch the video before leaving this comment..
in your passport they stamp how long you can stay in the country and the date you must leave. if you stay a day passed this, you have overstayed. this is true for every country you will travel to. even if it's visa-free, they still will stamp how long you're allowed to stay there.
Hey Nick, I know you’re trying to be helpful so thank you 🙏 we’ve travelled to 29 countries in the last 1.5 years and that’s actually not true. Many countries including Vietnam just stamp the date of entry and do not indicate on the stamp when you have to leave. But some countries do as you say, just not all. It’s definitely our responsibility to check and know!
@@MaxandJacqueline I've been living in Vietnam for 8 years, not only do they stamp "allowed to remain until.." in your passport but it also says the date on your Visa approval letter. I've been to about 15 countries and almost every single one, except for Hong Kong, stamps in your passport how long you're allowed to remain, it's the norm for 90% of countries.
but definitely one of the biggest problems of immigration here is that there is very little reliable information online, there's no one to hold your hand and a lot of times the information is outdated
Have you even considered the government website? The Vietnam embassy website in Australia if they have one? Going online and type how to obtain VN visa and just click on any link is not doing research.
@@MaxandJacqueline You're wrong. I have worked as an immigration officer of Vietnam for 10 years. In the visa or the stamp, we always clearly show the duration that we allow you to stay. Not only do we stamp "allowed to remain until....." in your passport but it also says the date on your Visa approval letter, in your passport visa,... Say the truth!
lol try turning up to Australia without a visa or overstay your visa in Australia. You get send to immigration detention in Australia too.
Absolutely! We definitely made a huge mistake we just wish there had been better information on the immigrations website
We have been following your Vietnam vlogs for a while now and we’re enjoying them very much. Thank you for sharing this video as well, what a terrifying experience it must have been. We’re planning to go to Vietnam next year and are planning to take our drone with us. We saw that the two of you are using a drone as well and are wondering you brought your drone to Vietnam? Did you take the drone apart, or were you able to bring it in one piece in your luggage? We saw that the drone rules have become very strict lately and get confiscated a lot.
Hey 👋 wow thank you so much, we loved Vietnam but yeah the visa situation is strange, we also got a comment since we left saying the visa is now for 90 days? But we’re not sure if that info is correct 😅
We took our drone all in one piece in our carry on. We didn’t have any issues with it and we’re under the impression they are allowed. But given the lack of information Vietnam Gov provide I couldn’t be sure!
Thank you for sharing your experience.
We LOVE Vietnam, but my Son is still scared to return after a spelling error in his visa very nearly saw him deported back to Sydney by himself as a thirteen year old with no family in Sydney to meet him!!
It took all our energy and whatever Australian and Vietnamese cash we had on us to prevent this from happening 😩
My Son is autistic and struggles to communicate 😢. He was taken into a room with officials who repeatedly asked him questions he didn’t have the answers to, and they refused to allow us to be with him or help 😡😡
He was absolutely terrified, and said he’d never go back 😢
Vietnam is a beautiful country with majority authentic and genuine people, and I’m determined to replace his traumatic experience with a positive one ✅💖
🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
Hi Corinne, what a traumatic experience indeed. Im so sorry your son had to go through that, it must have really been scary for him and you. It is such a shame there are so many border/visas issues in what is a very beautiful country. Im sure he will find the strength to go back one day and come back with a much better impression of the country. Thank you for sharing your story as well as sparing some time to check out our video. Max and Jacqueline ❤️
It was an honest mistake that happens every day at border crossings. You were terrified because it happened to you for the first time, but all they (not just Vietnam) could do was hold you overnight until your next flight and impose a fine. However, for drug-related and other serious offenses, the situation is different. Remember that you always have your embassy in the visiting country to rely on. Consider it as an experience that contributes to a wide spectrum of emotions while visiting Vietnam, from the best to the worst. Happy and safe travels. :)
Hey Hermes, yeah just a very uncomfortable moment for us both. Definitely a good lesson for us. Thank you very much for your kind comment 😍
Why did your boyfriend get a fine? Did he also overstay, I thought he only got 15 days? This also happened to me when I went I Vietnam lucky I worked out while I was in the country that I had to leave early. Because like you I thought the visa started from the day I arrived. Sucks this happened to you guys, safe travels.
We got another 30 days visa for him too but his approved later which resulted in a smaller overstay penalty
9:25 I wouldn’t blame you for this. You aren’t dumb at all. I would just email the embassy directly if you are not 100% sure. If I have any doubts about entry requirements from websites, I always call or email the embassy.
Good advice, we made a big mistake not being thorough enough but it seems to be a common problem so hopefully they can make their info clearer in the future. Vietnam is such a beautiful country and this was not a great way to end our trip 😅
As a Vietnamese - weak passport holder, I need to get visa for virtually every where except for SEA. Also, I take care of visa issue for my foreign colleagues at work. So I'm a little bit more exprienced in this matter.
First of all, your detention on arrival is completely avoidable if the departure airlines ground worker at check-in counter has done their job properly. They should have known what document you need to enter the arrival country and checked accordingly. I myself on my recent trip to Italy was checked even twice, once at the check-in counter in Vietnam, once at the transit gate in Dubai. An American friend of mine was refused to board a flight to Vietnam, at the counter, for making exactly the same mistake as you. Honestly I don't blame you as I believe the communication of visa could have been clearer. As far as I understand, visa on arrival is issued only if you have applied and got the approval for visa BEFOREHAND.
As for the overstay penalty, I am really sorry for you. I understand it can totally happen especially for strong passport holders who are not familiar with visa validity rules. I just wish the whole experience could have been less traumatizing for you, but I guess the characteristic Vietnamese monotonic accent in such circumstances didn't help. Anyway, they were flexible, because by the laws if you overstay, you will have to go to the Immigration Dept in the city to pay the penalty, not at the airport.
I hope you feel better now even just a little bit.
Cheers!
Yes my cousin who is married to a Vietnamese stuggpes a lot to get visas so we do not want to sound ungrateful its a mistake/situation we made which we were lucky to get out of
Corruption in Vietnam is very bad, if you can give those police officers some money they would let you go, but under the table don't let anyone know.
Yeah not sure where our money went but it got us out
Well 1000.0000 under the table will be more than enough if you know Vietnam, it's definitely cheat,by bus the wouldn't even care about you have a passport or not if you have 500.000 dong it will be your passport
@@MaxandJacqueline China is much much better, you don't have to give money to any police officers, just like a different world.
I just got back from Vietnam. When I left Australia, Vietnam Airlines checked my evisa, and wouldn't let me on the plane if it wasn't correct.
That’s what they’re supposed to do but we can’t fault the airline, human error is bound to happen sometimes
Will you guys be coming to Malaysia any time soon. By Malaysia, I meant Peninsular, not Borneo, specifically Kuala Lumpur. Best city to visit in Southeast Asia
Hi there, thank you very much for the comment. If you look at some of our older videos you'll see that we actually made our way in KL we went inland as well as down the coast 😀
@@MaxandJacqueline Thanks for the reply. I've just stumbled upon your KL videos. It was only a 2-day trip sadly, which definitely was too short of a trip! Well, but at least you guys made it here. Sorry for the traumatic experience you guys had in Vietnam. Wishing you guys only the best in your endeavor! Do let me know the next time you're here again in KL, I'll make sure it'll be an unforgettable one. Cheers!
Ooh yes we will definitely let you know!! Thank you 😊
Vietnam is losing tourists because of involved entry procedures. Lost money.
Actually it’s not that complicated, it’s just that they do not make it clear so mistakes are made and of course we had to pay a “fine” but no receipt or paperwork for that 😅
The first time I went to visit Viet Năm 21 years ago the first paperwork my friend was given to them at the workers at the airport was $$50 so they were taking care for us to the taxi
Ha how times have changed yet still some things remain the same 😄 thank you for your comment and time 🙏
That must be scary ! I almost did the same thing but I applied for the E-Visa just in case, it was easy and very quick. $20
The e-visa is so easy to apply for! Just wish it provided better instructions for how it actually works 😅
Thanks for pointing out, I think Vietnam is generally strict with visa due to the complexity of the region compared to EU. I hope they would improve it to be more flexible in the future, and experience like this is just bad :(
It’s completely understandable to have rules, they just need to clearly explain how the visa works on the website so everyone can understand. We were not the only people paying a fine for overstaying their visa so it’s clearly not uncommon.
So sorry for your experience
It’s even confusing for Viet citizens the rules and everything.
So even though Vietnam is a beautiful country itself, the people leading the country are the opposite, that’s pretty sad tbh
Vietnam is A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY we had an amazing time there, just sad for the way out but its ok.Thank you for your love and comment 😍
I'm really really confused. I have an e-visa and it says on the e-visa that it is valid from 25/04/2024 to 31/05/2024. As long as I'm entering and leaving within these dates, shouldn't I be ok?
!Yes, I believe so AND as long as you enter via the port you selected on your e-visa. But double check it’s not a 30 day visa as that’s more than 30 days.
Surprised the airline allowed you to board.
Us too! But I guess human error 🤷♀️
Probably. The Air Asia check in agent asked for my supporting documents for my flight to Vietnam. This was back in 2010.
We have to pay attention to the visa and stamp.
Oh yes we do 😳
Are you sure you are experienced travellers? - You should access information from your own official government website and use the official links provided. You admit it was your own fault and then go on to say it left a 'nasty taste in your mouth'.
Only yourself to blame ....
Thanks for the feedback
Please don't blame Vietnam. Your fault your mistake.
As we say in the video "entirely my fault" You should watch the video again 😉
@@MaxandJacqueline - You do but then went on to say that it left ' a nasty taste'
Well yes because that's the memory we will have of Vietnam as our last memory
Corrupted veitnam, many people experienced it. Don't go there.
People are trying to rob you from immigration to street vendors.
Yeah all this is 100% your fault... should only be mad at yourself/ promise Australia does the same for people who dont have visa/ overstay
😑 if you had watched the video you would have heard me say it’s 100% my fault but that the Vietnam government needs to do better to advise the laws to foreigners. Considering even the customs staff told us this happens everyday! And there were others also paying fines for overstaying I would say this is a ‘lack of information’ issue more than anything, this video was to make sure other travellers don’t make our same mistakes ✌️
The struggle we are having with africans passports .... you need visa for almost every country ... pain in the ass
😔 Not always easy I can imagine
Viet nam is a country beware of new people to visit not know much about their systems, the first paperwork that they would serve you better is usd money in your passport
🙈
You said you did your research, but you didn't know this? Do better research, it is not an excuse.
It is so interesting your reaction. I very clearly accept fault in this video and have made (even though I found it embarrassing) to make sure others don’t make the same mistake I did. After travelling to 40 countries this is the first time I have ever made a mistake, in my opinion, that indicates the information available is not clear enough. My intention is to make sure others don’t make my same mistake but you still leave an angry comment towards me? I wonder why this makes you so angry? We’re all human and we all make mistakes 🫶
Lol just dont go to Vietnam
Vietnam has so many amazing things to offer, just be sure about the visa details!
In this country if you have lots of money and you can unlock lot of laws of them to rule out
It's unfortunate yet we were fortunate that day that there are such things
Là 1người Việt Nam, tôi cảm thấy rất tiếc vì những trải nghiệm chưa trọn vẹn về sự hài lòng của bạn. Mong bạn thông cảm bởi vì đó là luật, và quốc gia nào cũng có luật lệ của riêng nó. Dù sao tôi vẫn chào đón bạn đến Việt Nam lần nữa để đất nước tôi có thể được cải thiện hình ảnh trong mắt bạn. Cảm ơn bạn rất nhiều!
Thanks a lot Tuan, appreciate the comment 🤩 We had an amazing time in Vietnam
15/8/2023 Việt Nam sẽ nâng thời hạn của tất cả các loại thị thực(bao gồm cả visa du lịch và e-visa lên 90ngày). Mong rằng đó sẽ là động lực để bạn quay lại và giới thiệu Việt Nam cho bạn bè và người thân của mình
Ồ, đó là một tin rất tốt. Cảm ơn bạn đã cho chúng tôi biết
You over stayed your visa....now your whining and crying to get out of the fine. You knew the rules.
😑 clearly we did not know the rules… this video is to make others aware so they avoid the mistakes we made. Not to whine and I don’t recall trying to get out of the fine we were trying to not be detained in the country and begged to pay a fine instead… perhaps you didn’t actually watch the video before leaving this comment..
Sounds like a bribe
Sounds like a bribe indeed 😅
@@MaxandJacquelineum it’s not. Stop lying and playing victim. It’s pathetic
This is a standard fine if you overstay in many countries . She’s just an idiot