31 Mar Visa Run to the Thai Embassy in Hanoi
Our final Thai visa run took us back to our former home in Vietnam’s hectic capital, Hanoi. We relished the chance to hang out in our old city while painlessly applying for our final Thailand tourist visa before we head to Nepal in May. Here’s everything you need to know about applying for a visa at the Thai embassy in Hanoi, including the address, cost and what documents you’ll need.
When it comes time to top up a Thai tourist or business visa, most people tend to make a quick border run to Laos, Burma, Cambodia, or hop on a cheap flight to Malaysia. Vietnam isn’t generally a common option, despite the fact that budget airlines fly directly to both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from Bangkok. This might be because you normally have to organise a visa to enter the country. Luckily, when we visited new rules had been put in place allowing citizens from many countries, including the UK, to enter for free for 14 days.
However, if you do want to enter Vietnam for more than 14 days then we would recommend using Vietnam Visa Pro for your visa approval letter to obtain your Vietnam Visa on Arrival.
Pin me for later!
Where is the Thai Embassy in Hanoi?
We headed straight to the Thai embassy in Hanoi on our first morning in the city. We found that many websites still incorrectly list the old embassy address online, this is the one you actually need:
- Address: 26 Phan Bội Châu, Trần Hưng Đạo, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội
- Contact number: +84 4 3823 5092
If you’re staying in Hanoi’s Old Quarter then you can easily walk to the embassy, but a taxi will only set you back a few dollars. To avoid meter scams (which we’ve been caught by), look out for a green Mai Linh taxi. They may drop you outside the front entrance on Phan Boi Chau street, just walk around the corner to the office entrance on Ly Thuong Kiet.
How to apply for a Thai Visa in Hanoi
The Thai embassy accepts visa applications between 8.30am and noon, Monday to Friday. We arrived at around 9am and there were just a couple of other people in the office. You’ll find all the forms you need in the waiting area, along with examples of how to fill them out. Here’s what you’ll need to bring with you to apply for a tourist visa for Thailand, you may need extra documents such as work contracts if you’re applying for a business visa:
- Your passport with at least six months validity.
- Photocopy of the picture page of your passport.
- The $40 application fee, payable in US dollars (luckily the Thailand tourist visa fees had been suspended when we applied, so we didn’t have to pay).
- Two passport photos.
- Proof of onward flights from Thailand.
- A bank statement.
- Travel insurance certificate.
- An address in both Thailand and Vietnam to put on the application form. You can use hotel or apartment addresses.
The people at the embassy are friendly and will help you fill in the forms, however, I’ve heard conflicting reports about which documents they may request. We took everything listed above and had no problems with our application. We were told to come back the next business day at 4pm to pick up our passport and new visa.
Exploring Hanoi and beyond
While you’re waiting for your visa to be processed, enjoy Hanoi’s Old Quarter and museums, eat some noodle soup and head out to West Lake for a change of pace. There are also plenty of short trips to take from Hanoi if you want to extend your visa run for a few days, here are some of our favourites:
A local Vietnamese boatman on the river in Tam Coc
At the end of our visa run we flew back from Hanoi to Chiang Mai with Thai Lion Air and had no problems getting back into the country. After living in Thailand for eight months, here’s information about all of the visa runs and extensions we’ve done. Hanoi was definitely one of the smoothest:
- Preparing to Move to Thailand
- Getting a Thailand Visa Extension in Chiang Mai
- Getting a Thai Visa in Penang
Do you have any questions about Thai visa runs? Let us know in the comments below.
Roy
Posted at 08:58h, 05 AprilI assume travel insurance is for medical? Never been asked for that before when applying for a Thai visa. Where did you buy it and how much was it? Thx
Amy
Posted at 04:33h, 07 AprilHi Roy, yes, it’s just general travel insurance to cover everything from medical to repatriation, theft, etc. We haven’t needed it on any of our other visa runs so it seems like the Hanoi branch is just quite strict. However, some people say they weren’t asked for it, so it looks like it’s up to the individual official. We already had our insurance policy with Explorer, so all we had to do was print it off.
Robert Strefski
Posted at 03:47h, 21 AprilI’m planning to go for a visa run to the embassy in Hanoi by May 4th (as I assume that the embassy is closed during the Vietnamese national holidays on May 1st and 2nd).
The previous couple of visa’s I got from the Ho Chi Minh embassy of Thailand. There I never had to give them bankstatements and insurance papers.
The only thing needed were printed plane tickets to and from Thailand and a pasphoto, together with the application form. That’s all. So I hope Hanoi will be no different.
Amy
Posted at 11:48h, 21 AprilHi Robert, yes, I hope you won’t need them either. When I was researching I heard conflicting reports about what was needed, so we took everything to be on the safe side. Do let me know once you’ve made the visa run whether they accepted it without those documents.
Elsie
Posted at 07:37h, 16 JuneHeading to hanoi next week for a Thai visa run! Your page has been super informative and awesome! I’m exited to see all the cool places and explore.. thanks for making me feel at ease. I hope my visa application goes as well as yours did ☺️
Amy
Posted at 14:51h, 16 JuneHi Elsie, thanks for reading and I’m glad you found our site useful. Enjoy Hanoi and I’m sure your application will be as painless as ours was 🙂
Jeppe
Posted at 04:18h, 18 DecemberHi Amy
Since you didn’t mention anything I assume that the process was done as you were informed on the day of submission. So you submitted documents in the morning and was told you could pick up documents the following day (or the following working day), is that correct. Would that apply to any visa do you know that?
Andrew Wyatt
Posted at 09:49h, 18 DecemberHi Jeppe, yes, we picked up the documents the next working day. I believe that the Thai Embassy website has details about how long it takes to get different types of visas, so it’s best to check there. It’s always good to give yourself a few days to explore Hanoi though!
tony perez
Posted at 15:59h, 18 FebruaryHi, how and where do you get the trsvel isurance? Thanks
Amy
Posted at 00:55h, 22 FebruaryHi Tony, we have used many companies over the years for travel insurance, we’re currently using Explorer, a UK company. You could also try World Nomads. You’d need to print out a copy of your policy details and take them along to the embassy.
Olivia
Posted at 07:05h, 18 JuneHi Amy,
Your site is very helpful and is detailed too. Thanks for the help. I am planning to fly to Hanoi for a visa run but not for a tourist visa though, I am not sure if you have an idea, hopefully you can still help me. Would you happen to know if the same documents (as listed above) are gonna be required from me if I apply for a Non-B visa? I tried checking different sites, but found nothing close to my case. Hopefully you can help. Thanks a lot!
Amy
Posted at 19:37h, 25 JuneHi Olivia, sorry for the late reply. Yes, as far as I know you’ll need the same documents, plus a work contract I believe. It’s best to contact the Thai Embassy in Hanoi to check exactly what you need.
Sam
Posted at 10:12h, 15 AugustHi Amy,
Thank you so much for this super-informative article. It’s some great info, so thanks for putting that together!
I had a question about the time it took to process your visa application. I’d like to head down to Cat Ba for a couple of days while they process my application. It works out a real pain if I can’t pick my passport up until 4pm the following day, but it works out great if I can leave it there while I go rock climbing on Cat Ba, or pick it up earlier the following morning.
Do you think it will be possible to leave my passport at the embassy for several days while I travel within Vietnam? If not, from your experience do you think there’s a chance of getting it back before 4pm the next day?
Amy
Posted at 09:50h, 16 AugustHi Sam, thanks for your comment, that’s a great question. I can’t see that there would be a problem in leaving your passport at the embassy for a couple more days, however there may well be some weird red tape reason not to let you do that. It may be worth emailing the embassy to ask? There is plenty to do in Hanoi while you wait though 🙂
Peter Goldberg
Posted at 03:07h, 04 OctoberHi, is there a problem going to Ho Chi Minh for a tourist visa. I have been there 3 times in the last 2 years and had no problems, very quick service. You mention they are not as good as they were. In what way? Are they more strict with issuing tourist visas? My last visa was issued in America in March 2018 and i have been in Thailand since April 1. My visa extensions run out at the end of this month. Any help would be appreciated. My preference is to go to HCM City.
Thanks,
Peter
Amy
Posted at 17:23h, 07 OctoberHi Peter, sorry, since we haven’t been to HCMC for a visa run, I really can’t say how it compares. I have read that HCMC is a pretty smooth process, similar to Hanoi and you’ll need the same documents I believe. It might just be a bit stricter because more people go there to get their visas renewed than Hanoi. Anyway, good luck and let us know how it goes.
Jun
Posted at 09:53h, 06 NovemberI just dropped my application today. They didn’t ask for travel insurance.
They wanted:
– 2x Photos
– 1x Completed Application
– 1x Bank Statements (Mine are from an American bank)
– 1x Itinerary showing flights in and out of Thailand
– $40 USD
Not many people at the office when I arrived. They didn’t ask me any questions about my application, and I’ve been staying in Thailand since over a year on that passport. I did notice they were giving travelers a hard time when they a) Didn’t have a flight out of Thailand, B) Wanted to pay in local currency.
Amy
Posted at 14:45h, 06 NovemberHi, thanks for all this updated information, it’s really useful. Interesting that they were particularly interested in the flight booking. Glad you managed to get everything sorted.
Harvey Freedman
Posted at 15:28h, 15 FebruaryHi,
I assume the visa extension you got was for 60 days, only you did not stTe that in the bog, thanking you in advance for your time and patience
Cheers
Harvey
Amy
Posted at 15:42h, 25 FebruaryHi Harvey, sorry for the late reply. Yes, it was for 60 days.
Phil
Posted at 09:14h, 18 MarchIf possible you should update it to show 2x passport photos. I took one only to find out I needed another and had to go find a FujiFilm store since they don’t take them in the embassy.
Amy
Posted at 14:58h, 22 MarchHi Phil, thanks for the info, I’ll update the post.
Lizzy
Posted at 22:40h, 02 MayHi Amy,
I’m going to be in Vietnam a few weeks, then hong kong, then Laos, then Thailand. Just wondering if I can get a Thailand 60 day visa in Vietnam and then travel 2/3 weeks before I actually enter Thailand to start using it – does it work that way?
I won’t have much time in Laos to get the Visa so don’t want to leave it until then
Thanks!
Amy
Posted at 12:58h, 15 MayHi, thanks for commenting. I believe that you can use the visa within 3 months of getting it, but rules change often so it’s best to double-check that with the Thai embassy. Have a great trip!
Valerie
Posted at 09:53h, 26 JulyHi Amy,
I will go for a visa application in 2 weeks, but I can’t find this application form you mentioned.
Where did you find it?
Kind regards
Amy
Posted at 15:12h, 29 JulyHi Valerie, you’ll find all the forms you need at the embassy when you arrive there, along with examples of how to fill them out. Have a great trip!
Josh Mannen
Posted at 04:40h, 11 SeptemberAmy thanks for this blog. I had the same questions and concerns as most people on here and found this information quite helpful.
I wanted to post my experience. I showed up with all of my documents prepared and in order, but without proof of onward travel, as I was still waiting on a contract, Chinese visa and plane ticket from my new employer. I was asked for my proof of ticket leaving Thailand. I explained that I did not know when or how I was leaving yet. The helpful lady at the desk told me I needed to make a plan now “wink, wink“.
So I sat in the lobby and found the cheapest bus ticket I could find, at the end of 60 days. I ask her if I needed to print it out for her and she said it would be very hard to find a place to print and she would help me with that. She had me email a JPEG of the bus ticket purchase to her. After I left the embassy, my credit card was rejected for suspicion of fraud, so no bus ticket was actually purchase. I kind of sweated this all weekend, as I went in on a Friday. I had more concern because I had lived in Thailand for 2 1/2 years, so I figured there would be more questions about why I was returning a month later on a tourist visa. However when I showed up on Monday to pick up my passport. The visa was in it. I successfully returned to Thailand and now I am in Shanghai China. But getting a work visa for China… That’s a whole nother blog. Cheers!
Amy
Posted at 09:58h, 11 SeptemberHi Josh, thanks for sharing your experience, great to hear that they were so helpful and everything worked out. Good luck with the China visa!
Warren Clark
Posted at 02:08h, 28 DecemberMy wife is retired Thai government employee and I already have Thai insurance card. Do I still need travel insurance?
Do you need appt for Hanoi consulate?
Amy
Posted at 13:03h, 29 DecemberHi Warren, you don’t need an appointment, you just show up and take a numbered ticket. I’m not sure whether you need insurance – I would email the visa office directly to check that. Have a great trip.
Aurélien
Posted at 09:55h, 26 JanuaryHey Amy!
Thank you for the detailed info here.
I will go to Hanoi’s Thai Embassy later in February to apply for a non-immigrant O ‘volunteer’ visa.
But I can’t seem to find any info on the type of documentation that you need to submit there or any experience feedback doing it there. The only info I found is on the Thai Embassy website, but who knows if it’s up to date.
Any idea on that matter?
Suzanne
Posted at 06:12h, 13 OctoberHello, just a question about your site…when was it updated for the last time? This year?
We are interested in going to Hanoi for a new Thai visa, just curious if your information is recent ( 2023).
Amy
Posted at 12:59h, 16 NovemberHi Suzanne, we haven’t actually updated any info on that particular embassy, I can’t confirm if the information is still valid at this time. Please do let us know if anything is incorrect though. Thanks 🙂