Need-to-knows
One hundred and sixty-five answers about visa runs from Ho Chi Minh City: the same-day Moc Bai – Bavet loop, Cambodia visa questions, 90-day e-visa add-ons, and the edge cases everyone forgets to ask about. If your visa has already expired, start with the overstay fines guide instead.
The basics
A visa run from Ho Chi Minh City means leaving Vietnam and re-entering to reset or extend your stay when your visa is close to expiring. Our same-day service drives you from Saigon to the Moc Bai–Bavet border crossing, exits Vietnam, crosses into Cambodia, and returns with a fresh entry stamp so your Vietnam stay legally restarts.
Expect 11–12 hours door-to-door. We collect riders between 04:00 and 06:00, reach Moc Bai around 08:00, clear both border posts with our Tay Ninh fixers by late morning, stop for lunch, and get you back to Saigon in time for dinner. It is genuinely a same-day trip, every day of the week.
It goes to the Moc Bai (Vietnam) – Bavet (Cambodia) border crossing on National Highway QL22 in Tay Ninh province, about 70 km northwest of central Saigon. Moc Bai is the closest international land border to Ho Chi Minh City, which is why a same-day loop is possible.
Vietnam does not let you extend most tourist e-visas or visa-exemption stamps while you are in the country — you must exit and re-enter to get a new period of stay. A visa run to Moc Bai is the cheapest and fastest way to do that from HCMC, and you can pair it with our 90-day e-visa desk so you come back with a fresh long-stay visa.
Digital nomads, expats, long-stay tourists, and anyone on a 30- or 90-day visa whose stay is about to expire. It also suits people whose visa was denied an extension, travelers waiting for a new e-visa approval, and families who want the border handled by someone who does it daily.
Book at least 24–48 hours ahead so we can confirm your pickup slot and prepare your paperwork checklist. If your visa expires within 3 days, message us on WhatsApp (+84 369 308 237) — we regularly accommodate same-day and next-day requests when seats are available.
Car transportation to Moc Bai is 2,000,000 VND per private car, which carries up to 4 travelers. The 90-day Vietnam e-visa add-on is 2,400,000 VND (single entry) or 3,100,000 VND (multi-entry), and the Cambodia visa add-on is 1,100,000 VND. Bundling transport with both visas saves 200,000 VND at 5,300,000 VND total, and the full bundle with onsite guided assistance is 6,000,000 VND. Government fees are paid separately — we send the full cost breakdown when you book.
Yes. Moc Bai is only about a 2-hour drive from central Saigon, and the border is open daily from 07:00 to 22:00. Departing before 06:00 gives you a comfortable same-day round trip with time for lunch and border formalities on both sides.
Border & immigration
Pickups run between 04:00 and 06:00 depending on your zone — Thao Dien and District 7 are usually first, District 1 mid-window. We confirm your exact pickup window by WhatsApp the evening before, and our driver waits at your apartment or hotel lobby.
Yes — we run every day, including Saturdays, Sundays, and Vietnamese public holidays. Note that Vietnam's e-visa portal and consular processing pause on Vietnamese holidays, so if you need a new e-visa, plan the application around those dates even though the border itself stays open.
You exit Vietnam at Moc Bai, walk or drive the short no-man's-land into Bavet, Cambodia, then re-enter Vietnam through the same gate. Our Tay Ninh fixers queue for you on the Cambodian side, handle the departure/arrival forms, and escort you through both checkpoints so the whole crossing takes roughly 45–60 minutes instead of hours.
Moc Bai (Vietnam side) and Bavet (Cambodia side) are open daily from 07:00 to 22:00. Our runs are scheduled to arrive around 08:00, right after opening, when queues are shortest. If you ever drive yourself, never plan a crossing after 20:30 — you may not clear both sides before closing.
Only if your nationality requires one. Many nationalities get Cambodia visa-on-arrival at Bavet for around US$30–35 (plus a photo), and ASEAN, UK, US, and EU passport holders can get e-visas or VOA depending on their country. Our fixer completes the VOA form and pays in cash USD for you; nationalities that don't need a Cambodia visa walk straight through with our escort.
About 70–80 km via National Highway QL22, roughly 2 hours by car in early-morning traffic. The route is a straight, well-paved highway through Hoc Mon, Cu Chi, and Trang Bang, with one main toll gate. That short distance is exactly why Moc Bai is the best border for a same-day HCMC visa run.
Yes. Moc Bai is the nearest international land border to Ho Chi Minh City at roughly 70–80 km, compared with Xa Mat (~90 km) or the much longer routes to Ha Tien or Vung Tau ferry crossings. For a same-day run, Moc Bai is the standard and fastest choice.
Bring your passport valid for 6+ months with your current Vietnam visa page, your departure/entry slip (the small paper given on arrival), two spare 4x6cm photos if you'll request Cambodia visa-on-arrival, and proof of onward travel if your new Vietnam visa requires it. We send a full checklist 48 hours before departure.
Vietnam rarely checks onward travel at land borders, and Cambodia does not require it for a same-day visa run — your car ride back is effectively your return. However, if you entered Vietnam by air and are returning on a fresh 90-day e-visa, an airline or immigration officer may ask about your plans, so it is smart to keep a copy of your e-visa approval and any onward booking on your phone. Our fixers carry the standard paperwork set that both border sides expect.
The entry slip (to khai) is sometimes requested at exit, though immigration can usually re-issue it on the spot. Tell your fixer the moment you realize it is missing and they will handle the declaration at Moc Bai rather than letting you queue without it. It is not a reason to cancel your run, but bring any photos of the slip you have and arrive a few minutes early if you need a replacement.
Yes — Moc Bai is one of the 27 land border gates where Vietnam e-visas are accepted, part of the expanded 83-port list under Resolution 389/NQ-CP (December 2025), and you select it as your port of entry when applying. Keep the approval PDF printed or saved offline before you cross, because immigration scans its QR code at the gate. Many riders pair the crossing with our 90-day e-visa desk: we submit your application the moment Cambodia stamps you out, and you either wait for approval in Bavet or re-enter on a new e-visa once it lands, all coordinated with your run.
Border officers can ask about your exit purpose, but a standard visa run exit/entry is legal and routine. Our fixers are known at the gate, keep your paperwork in order, and stay with you through both checkpoints. If an officer has a question, our bilingual team answers it immediately.
There is no minimum stay — a border run of 30–60 minutes in Cambodia is completely normal and legal on both sides. You simply need to exit Vietnam, spend enough time to get stamped into Cambodia (and get your Cambodian exit stamp), then re-enter Vietnam.
Yes. Moc Bai–Bavet is a busy, officially operated international crossing used by thousands of travelers and truckers daily. With our service you never queue alone: the driver, fixer, and bilingual coordinator stay with you from pickup to drop-off, and you avoid the common scams of unofficial money-changers and taxi touts at the gate.
Costs & what's included
Private SUV or shared van, a bilingual driver, fuel, QL22 tolls, Tay Ninh fixer fees, cold water and towels, and WhatsApp updates through the day. Cambodia visa-on-arrival fees (if required) and Vietnam e-visa government fees are separate, and we itemize them before you pay.
District 1, District 3, Binh Thanh, Phu Nhuan, Thao Dien/Thu Duc, and District 7 (Phu My Hung) are included in the base fare. If you're further out — north of Thu Duc or in Binh Duong — we'll coordinate a central meetup point or quote a short feeder ride.
Car transport is priced per private car — 2,000,000 VND covers the car for up to 4 travelers, so a couple or family sharing pays far less per person. Groups of 5–8 simply take a second car. We can also arrange a shared van for larger teams when available; the booking form shows live availability and computes your total automatically.
Pay in cash (VND or USD) or Vietnamese bank transfer when you return to Saigon; shared-seat riders settle before departure. E-visa fees can be paid in VND, USD, or via Wise/Revolut. There's no deposit for most bookings, and we confirm payment details on WhatsApp the day before.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before pickup. Same-day cancellations incur 50% of the fare because the driver and fixer are already on-site. Shared seats can be rebooked at no charge if we can fill your spot, and weather or border closures always reschedule free.
Almost always, yes. A same-day Moc Bai run is 2,000,000 VND per private car (up to 4 travelers, about US$79) plus border fees, while a Bangkok round-trip costs several hundred dollars in flights, hotels, and airport transfers. The only reason to fly would be if you need a full new visa from an embassy rather than an e-visa or visa-exemption.
Practical tips
Your passport, your current visa and entry slip, spare passport photos, a pen, light layers for the air-conditioned car, and cash in VND or USD for border fees. Leave valuables and unnecessary cards at home. We send the complete packing checklist 48 hours before departure.
Message us on WhatsApp immediately — we'll try to catch you at the next zone or turn the car around if we're still close. Because the run is timed to hit the border at opening, a late start can cost the same-day loop, so please be in the lobby 5 minutes early.
Yes — a daypack or small suitcase fits easily in the SUV or van. If you're combining the run with a move to Cambodia, tell us in advance and we'll bring a larger vehicle. There's no extra charge for normal luggage.
It's extremely rare — Moc Bai only closes for national emergencies. If a crossing becomes impossible, we reschedule you at no charge for the next available day or arrange the alternative Xa Mat crossing. Your safety and a legal stamp are the priority, not the clock.
Yes — you can book for friends, employees, or family members. Fill in each traveler's passport details in the booking form so the fixers can pre-register the group, and add their WhatsApp numbers for individual updates. Corporate groups with invoices are a regular part of our service.
It's not required at the Moc Bai border, but we recommend travel/health insurance that covers Vietnam and Cambodia. If anything delays you — a missed connection, illness, or an unexpected overnight in Bavet — insurance turns a stressful situation into a minor expense.
Yes — the run is mostly seated with short walks at the border, and we schedule family and senior groups for the earliest pickup to avoid the midday heat. If you are pregnant or have mobility or health conditions, tell us in the booking notes and we will assign a private car, plan extra rest stops, and keep the crossing as short as possible. Bring any medication you need for the day, since the border area has no guaranteed pharmacy.
Visas & special situations
You can, but the overstay must be settled before you exit — Vietnam fines overstays at the border and can refuse exit or impose an entry ban if you try to ignore it. Under Decree 282/2025, an overstay of under 16 days costs roughly 500,000–2,000,000 VND paid at the gate, while 16 days or more means a visit to the immigration office first, fines rising to 30,000,000–40,000,000 VND for a year or more, and possible deportation or a 1–3 year blacklist. If you are already overstaying, contact us on WhatsApp before booking: we will confirm which bracket applies and arrange a safe exit with the fine handled correctly.
If your e-visa is still processing, you have two options: stay in Cambodia (or return on a visa-exemption stamp if eligible) until approval, or have us switch your application to Rush processing. Our visa desk monitors the portal and tells you exactly which option fits your dates before you leave Saigon.
Yes — every traveler, including infants and children, needs their own passport, visa/entry stamp, and seat. Family groups are welcome; we provide child seats on request at no extra charge. Babies don't need a Cambodia VOA in most cases, but the Vietnam entry stamp is mandatory for everyone.
Minors can cross Moc Bai, but under-18s traveling without a parent or legal guardian may need consent documentation depending on their nationality and the Cambodian side's rules. For family runs we provide child seats and keep the group together at both checkpoints. If a minor is traveling alone, message us before booking so we can confirm exactly what the border officers will require.
Yes — if your nationality is one of the 13 countries with the 45-day visa exemption (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Belarus), exiting at Moc Bai and re-entering the same day starts a fresh 45-day period. The 30-day waiting rule between exemption entries belonged to the old 15-day scheme and no longer applies, though immigration officers can still question very frequent back-to-back loops. If you are not eligible for a new exemption, our desk will file a 90-day e-visa instead so you are never stuck at the gate.
There is no published legal limit on the number of visa runs you can do, but immigration officers can question frequent same-day border loops, especially if you never stay out of Vietnam long enough to reset. The safest pattern is spacing runs apart and holding a valid 90-day e-visa rather than stacking short exemption stamps, because every entry is ultimately at the officer's discretion. Our fixers review your stamp history before each run and will flag a pattern that could attract questions at the gate.
Upload your passport scan and a white-background headshot in the booking form. Our visa desk pre-fills the official application, submits it the moment Cambodia stamps your exit, and tracks it for you. Choose Standard (3–4 business days), Fast (1–2 days), or Rush (4h/2h/1h), and we deliver the approval PDF to your inbox and WhatsApp.
The official Vietnamese government fee is US$25 for a single-entry 90-day e-visa and US$50 for a multi-entry 90-day e-visa. Our assisted filing service is 2,400,000 VND on top of that, covering document prep, submission, and monitoring — many travelers prefer it because a single rejected photo or typo can cost days.
Yes. We file both single-entry and multi-entry 90-day e-visas. A multi-entry e-visa is ideal if you'll leave and return to Vietnam more than once — for example border runs to Cambodia or trips to Thailand — because you won't need a new visa each time.
Vietnam's e-visa covers citizens of most countries, but a small number of nationalities still cannot apply online and need a visa issued by a Vietnamese embassy instead. If you are in that group, a border run can still reset a current visa or exemption, but you need to plan around a paper visa rather than an e-visa. Message us on WhatsApp with your passport nationality before booking and we will confirm your eligibility, because arriving at Moc Bai without a valid entry right can be costly.
No — a valid Vietnam temporary residence card lets you stay and re-enter without a visa, so you don't need a Moc Bai run. However, if your TRC is expiring and its renewal is delayed, a border run on your passport can bridge the gap. Message us on WhatsApp and we'll check which option fits your situation before you book.
Damaged passports can be rejected at immigration, and most visas require at least 2 blank pages. Check your passport before booking; if it's torn, water-damaged, or nearly full, get a replacement first. If it's borderline, send us a photo on WhatsApp and we'll give you an honest yes/no before you commit.
Yes, many families bring babies on the run. The baby needs their own passport and entry stamp (children are registered on their own passport, not a parent's). Bring the birth certificate and any custody documents if traveling with one parent. We schedule family groups for the earliest pickup so the border is crossed before the heat of the day.
Yes. For LD (work) visa holders we coordinate the exit/entry so your new stamp matches your permit, and we can pair the run with a 90-day e-visa if your employer prefers that route. If your work permit renewal is mid-process, tell us — we'll advise whether a border run or an extension at immigration is correct.
A visa run itself only gives you a new entry stamp — the visa type you return on is whatever your new e-visa, exemption, or embassy visa grants. If you want to switch from a tourist visa to a business (DN) or work (LD) visa, that must be arranged with a sponsor and approved before you cross. We can coordinate the border timing so you exit, get the new visa approved, and re-enter on the correct type in a single trip — tell us your target visa when you book.
First, report the loss to Bavet or Moc Bai immigration and get a written report — it's required for a replacement passport at your embassy. Our fixer will translate and accompany you through the report process. For lost valuables, our drivers check the vehicle before every return leg, and we share dashcam footage if needed.
A Vietnam blacklist (exit/entry ban) is normally linked to overstays, unpaid fines, or immigration violations, and a border run will not clear it — attempting to cross with an active ban can lead to detention at the gate. If you suspect you are on a list, send your passport details to us on WhatsApp before booking and we will check your record where possible. For minor past overstays that were already fined, most travelers cross without issue.
Booking & comparisons
A DIY run means a 2-hour Grab or bus to the border, waiting in the Cambodian VOA line, handling forms in a language you may not speak, and negotiating with touts — often 4–6 hours at the border. With us, a fixer holds your place in the queue, completes the paperwork, and you're through in under an hour, with a car waiting on the return side.
Xa Mat (Tay Ninh) is slightly further at ~90 km and busier with truck traffic; Ha Tien is a 5+ hour drive. Moc Bai is the shortest, fastest, and most traveled option from HCMC — which is why it's the standard for same-day runs. We can use Xa Mat as a fallback if Moc Bai has an issue.
We send you a screenshot of the official portal confirmation with the application code, plus WhatsApp updates at each stage — submitted, under review, approved. You can verify the status yourself on the Vietnam Immigration e-visa portal with the code we give you.
You'll get a fresh entry stamp with a new valid-until date, and (if you used our desk) your approved e-visa is already in your inbox. We drive you home, and you're legally settled for another 30 or 90 days. We also send a follow-up message 2 weeks before your new expiry — just in case you need a repeat run.
Use the booking form on hcmcvisarun.com — pick your date, pickup zone, number of travelers, and any e-visa add-on — or message +84 369 308 237 on WhatsApp. We confirm your slot, send the checklist, and coordinate your exact pickup time within a few hours.
Yes — we issue receipts and can provide a proper invoice for corporate bookings, including for expat staff whose companies reimburse visa-run transport. Just note your company details in the booking form and tell us which documents accounting needs. Corporate groups can also settle by bank transfer and receive a single consolidated invoice for the whole team.
Yes. Our base pricing is per private car (up to 4 travelers per car), so a group of 8 books two cars and a group of 12 books three, all traveling together as a convoy with one coordinator. We can also arrange a shared van for larger teams when available. Add your group size in the booking notes and we will confirm the vehicle plan and a single pickup point before you pay.
Bringing a passport with under 6 months validity or no blank pages, forgetting the entry slip, arriving at the border after 20:00, and using unofficial money changers who shortchange. Our checklist and fixers eliminate all four — you'll see why first-timers regularly become repeat customers.
Practical extras
Yes — it's the cheapest DIY option. Moc Bai is about 80 km and 2 hours from central Saigon up National Highway QL22, and a round trip costs only 100,000–150,000 VND in fuel (or 150,000–250,000 VND for a day rental). You still pay the same Cambodia visa and border fees, and you must leave early enough to clear both checkpoints and ride back before dark. Our car service costs more but handles the driving, the queues, and the paperwork, so you can relax instead of watching for truck traffic on QL22 all day.
Riding your own motorbike is the cheapest at roughly 1,000,000 VND all-in including fuel and a Cambodia visa. Without a bike, the public bus from Ben Xe Mien Dong (Binh Thanh district) toward Tay Ninh and Moc Bai takes 2.5–3 hours and costs about 200,000 VND round trip — but the last bus back leaves in the afternoon, so border delays can force an expensive xe om ride home. Our 2,000,000 VND private car (up to 4 travelers) sits above those DIY options but includes a fixer who queues for you, which is what makes same-day timing reliable. See the full cost breakdown on our cheapest visa run from HCMC page.
Yes — bring a printed copy of your approved e-visa plus your passport. Immigration at Moc Bai scans the QR code on the approval page and stamps your passport; a photo on your phone is a backup, not a substitute. Print two copies: one for the Vietnam side and one to keep with your Cambodia entry papers, and keep the PDF saved offline in case you need to show it again.
No. Vietnam's visa-on-arrival letters are only valid at international airports — at Moc Bai you must hold an e-visa, a visa issued by a Vietnamese embassy, or a visa-exemption stamp. If you already paid for a VOA letter, don't waste the trip: our visa desk can file a 90-day e-visa (US$25 single entry) so you cross legally at the land border instead.
Bring US dollars for the Cambodia visa-on-arrival (US$30–35 in cash plus a photo) and Vietnamese dong for any Vietnam-side fees and incidentals. Both currencies are accepted at the official exchange counters at the gate, but rates from touts are poor and shortchanging is common. Carry small bills — US$20s and 100,000–200,000 VND notes — and keep your main cash hidden until you are back in the car.
Denied re-entry is rare and almost always stems from an overstay, a blacklist record, or arriving on a visa type you do not actually hold. Before you leave Saigon we verify your stamps, visa validity, and overstay history precisely to avoid this. If it ever happens at the gate, stay calm: you can wait in Bavet while our fixers check your records and escalate, or contact your embassy for a replacement visa.
The Cambodia visa-on-arrival at Bavet is single-entry and valid for 30 days — long enough for a border run, but it expires the moment you leave Cambodia back into Vietnam. If you plan several border runs in a short period, tell us: we can coordinate Cambodia e-visa applications or advise on multi-entry options so you do not pay the visa-on-arrival fee repeatedly.
Don't book one. The full run takes 11–12 hours, returning to Saigon around 17:00–18:00, and border queues can push that later. The only safe way to fly the same day is a red-eye after 22:00 — and even then a border delay makes it stressful. Book flights for the next day, or message us and we'll schedule the earliest pickup so you maximize your buffer.
Don't ignore it. Under Decree 282/2025, an overstay of under 16 days costs roughly 500,000–2,000,000 VND payable at the border, while overstays of 16 days or more require a visit to the immigration office first, with fines rising in brackets up to 30,000,000–40,000,000 VND for overstays of a year or more. Message us on WhatsApp immediately: we'll tell you whether to pay at the gate on run day or fix it at immigration first, and we arrange a safe exit either way. See our Vietnam overstay fines guide for the full Decree 282/2025 schedule.
Yes. Official exchange counters at the Moc Bai gate change USD and VND, and ATMs are available on the Cambodian side around Bavet, including at the casino complexes. Still, don't rely on them: bring enough USD and VND to cover both border fees before you leave Saigon, because ATM limits, withdrawal fees, and exchange rates at the border are rarely in your favor.
2025–2026 updates
No — Vietnam does not require you to spend a set number of days outside the country for a same-day visa run to count. What matters is the exit stamp and a fresh entry stamp (or a newly approved 90-day e-visa) when you cross back through Moc Bai. That is why the same day visa run from HCMC to Moc Bai works: you are typically out of Vietnam for about an hour at the border and back home the same evening.
A single-entry e-visa is consumed the moment you exit Vietnam, so the visa you came in on cannot be used for re-entry — which is exactly why a visa run pairs the crossing with a new 90-day e-visa. Our desk files it while you are on the road so it is approved and waiting when you re-enter through Moc Bai. If you hold a multi-entry e-visa, check how many entries are left before you book — you may be able to use one of them instead of applying for a new visa.
In practice Vietnam's e-visa portal only accepts a new application once you are outside the country, so applying from Saigon usually ends in rejection or a wasted fee. On the HCMC to Moc Bai run we submit your new application the moment Cambodia stamps you out, filing it legally while you are abroad. Standard processing takes about 3 business days, so most riders book the run a few days before their visa expires and re-enter once the approval lands — or use our Fast and Rush tiers if the deadline is tight.
Thirteen countries get 45 days of visa exemption per entry under Resolution 128/NQ-CP: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Belarus. Moc Bai is a valid port for that exemption stamp, so if you have used up your 45 days, a same-day Ho Chi Minh visa run resets the clock. If your nationality is not on the exemption list, you can still cross Moc Bai on a 90-day e-visa — most nationalities are eligible.
Use the passport that gives you the smoothest entry into Vietnam — usually the nationality with a 45-day visa exemption or an approved e-visa — and use the same passport for the entire run, from the Vietnam exit stamp through the Cambodia visa to the re-entry stamp. Switching passports mid-run confuses both border systems and can trigger extra questions at Moc Bai. Tell us both nationalities when you book and we will plan the crossing around the stronger passport.
Not while it is valid — an EX5 (the 5-year visa exemption for overseas Vietnamese and their foreign spouses and children) lets you stay up to 180 days per entry without any visa. You do need to exit and re-enter once every 180 days of continuous stay to refresh the stamp, and a Moc Bai run is a cheap way to do that if your next trip abroad is months away. If your EX5 is close to expiring, message us on WhatsApp before booking — renewing it at immigration may cost less than a run.
Yes — under Decree 282/2025, in force since 15 December 2025, overstays of 16 days or more can lead to deportation, and serious violations can bring a blacklisting of 1 to 3 years. The fine scale now climbs steeply with duration: roughly 500,000–2,000,000 VND for under 16 days, 5,000,000–10,000,000 VND for 16–29 days, and up to 40,000,000 VND for very long overstays. If you have already overstayed, WhatsApp us before going to the border so we can tell you whether to pay at the gate on run day or fix it at immigration first.
Nothing carries over — unused days on a single-entry e-visa or exemption stamp are lost when you exit, and the new stamp starts a fresh period the day you re-enter. That is fine for most travelers, because a visa run is about buying a new 90-day window rather than saving the old one. If you hold a multi-entry e-visa with unused entries, exiting early does not cancel the visa — check the remaining entries before booking, since a multi-entry visa may mean you do not need a run at all.
A rejection usually comes from a photo or passport-scan error, a mismatch in personal details, or applying while still inside Vietnam. Our visa desk re-checks every file before submitting and, if an application is refused, we correct the issue and resubmit — most travelers are approved on the second attempt within a few days. If you are already booked on a run, message us immediately: we keep your transport slot and re-file so you can re-enter as soon as the new approval lands.
For a pure visa reset, the Moc Bai run is faster and far cheaper: car transport from HCMC is 2,000,000 VND per private car (up to 4 travelers) and you are back the same evening, while a return flight to Phnom Penh typically costs US$120–200 plus airport transfers, and you still pay the Cambodia visa fee on arrival. Flying only makes sense if you want to combine the border exit with a short trip abroad. See our flight vs land border comparison for the full hour-by-hour and cost breakdown.
Decree 286/2026, effective 15 September 2026, replaces Decree 64/2015 and makes immigration, visa, work-permit and residence data flow between agencies in real time — it does not change e-visa fees, the 90-day validity, or which nationalities are exempt. For a genuine traveler doing a routine Moc Bai crossing, nothing changes: a clean exit, a valid new e-visa and a normal re-entry look exactly the same in the new system. What the decree tightens is the grey area — repeated same-day loops while working without a permit — so keep your stamps clean and your paperwork honest, and the run stays routine.
The dry season from December to April is the most comfortable — cooler mornings and no rain delays on QL22 — while the May to October rainy season can slow the drive with heavy afternoon showers. For crowd planning, weekday mornings are quietest; the border surges around Tet (January–February), national holidays and long weekends, so book those dates one to two weeks ahead. E-visa processing also pauses on Vietnamese holidays, so apply for your new visa before the break even though the border itself stays open.
Crossing practicalities
On the Vietnamese side Moc Bai is a large modern border complex with air-conditioned immigration halls, restrooms, a duty-free shop, cafes and a currency counter; across no-man's-land, Bavet has the Cambodian visa window, a covered walkway and casino-front cafes. Our driver waits with the car while your fixer walks the counters with you, so you always have a base to come back to. With us the whole crossing takes roughly 45–60 minutes, including the wait for your exit stamp.
Yes — pedestrians cross both checkpoints on foot every day, and the two immigration buildings are only a few hundred metres apart across no-man's-land. Travellers on our private cars normally drive through the vehicle lane, but walking the gap is easy and sometimes quicker when the lanes are backed up. Either way your fixer stays with you, so you are never queueing alone at an unfamiliar counter.
A normal weekday morning usually means 15–45 minutes at the Vietnamese exit desk and a similar wait at the Cambodian visa counter; weekends, Tet week and public holidays can push each side past an hour. That is why our runs reach Moc Bai around 08:00, ahead of the tour-bus wave. Buffer time is built into the schedule, so a slow counter never costs you your same-day return to Saigon.
They are the two halves of one crossing: Moc Bai is the Vietnamese checkpoint in Tay Ninh province and Bavet is the Cambodian town on the far side of the line. You exit Vietnam at Moc Bai, pick up your Cambodia visa at Bavet, then re-enter Vietnam through Moc Bai again. Drivers and officers use the two names interchangeably, so do not be thrown if both come up in the same conversation.
The Vietnamese departure hall is the first building you reach on the Moc Bai side — you hand your passport, entry slip and departure card to the officer, who stamps you out. Our fixers escort you to the right window, pre-fill the forms and translate if a question comes up, then walk you over to the Cambodian desk. Keep your passport in your own hands until an officer in uniform behind the counter asks for it.
Yes — our cars stop at a highway service area on QL22 with restrooms and coffee, usually around Trang Bang about 45 minutes out of Saigon, and again for lunch after the border. The 15-minute stop is already part of the schedule, so it never eats into your same-day return. If you need an extra break, just tell your driver — the car is yours for the day.
There is a small duty-free shop inside the Moc Bai border complex, mostly alcohol, tobacco, perfume and cosmetics, and Bavet has its own shops and supermarkets on the Cambodian side. Remember that on re-entry to Vietnam your duty-free allowance is limited — roughly 1.5 litres of spirits and 200 cigarettes per adult — and anything above that has to be declared. Shopping is your own errand and does not affect the border formalities.
Expect a few hundred metres of walking in total between the two immigration buildings, plus standing time at the counters; the paths are paved and level but partly uncovered, so a hat and light layers help. Our private car can drive through the vehicle lane to cut the walking down to the counter areas, and officers assist travellers who need it. Tell us at booking if you use a wheelchair or cane, or if someone in the group is elderly, and we will plan the crossing around them.
Documents & edge cases
No, and no visa desk can fix it: Vietnam requires at least six months of passport validity for entry on an e-visa, and Cambodia asks for the same at Bavet, so a short-validity passport can be refused on either side of the crossing. Renew your passport first, then run on the new one — tell us your expected issue date when you book and we will time the trip to it. Even where an officer lets you in, your permitted stay can only run as far as your passport remains valid.
Plan on at least two blank pages — one for the Cambodian visa sticker at Bavet and one or two for the Vietnamese exit and entry stamps. The Cambodian counter can refuse to issue a sticker when no clear page is left, and Vietnam needs space for its own stamps. If your passport is nearly full, say so when you book so we can flag the risk before you travel; frequent visa runners are usually better off renewing early.
The officer at Moc Bai compares your e-visa with your passport character by character, so a single wrong letter or digit in your name, passport number, date of birth or passport expiry will stop the crossing. Send us photos of both documents on WhatsApp before your run date and we will re-file the e-visa or advise the fastest fix. Never travel knowingly on a mismatch — a typo on the e-visa is one of the most common reasons a same-day run fails at the gate.
Yes. A Vietnam e-visa is not tied to Moc Bai; it can be used at any of Vietnam's listed entry ports, including Tan Son Nhat airport, so plenty of riders exit at Moc Bai, fly out and later fly back into Saigon on the fresh visa. File the new e-visa after your exit stamp and time the approval to your return date. If your plans involve an overnight outside Vietnam, tell us when you book and we will build the return leg into the plan.
Yes — you need your passport, your current stamp or e-visa, and a valid e-visa or visa exemption to re-enter on; nothing else. We do ask for a pickup address (a hotel, apartment block or even a street landmark works) and a phone or WhatsApp number so the driver can reach you in the 04:00–06:00 pickup window. Travellers just passing through HCMC use their hotel's address, and there is no proof-of-residence requirement for a visa run.
Small differences from a new haircut, glasses or a beard are not an issue as long as the photo is a genuine image of your face and recognisable. Officers are looking for a different person, not an out-of-date style. Pack two spare passport photos anyway, tell your fixer if you have changed a lot since the photo was taken, and we will deal with any question at the counter on the spot.
Emergency and temporary passports issued by your embassy in Ho Chi Minh City are accepted for exit and re-entry when they carry a valid Vietnamese visa or exemption, but the Cambodian counter at Bavet can be slower with them and some nationalities cannot enter Cambodia on a temporary document at all. Send us a clear photo before you book and we will confirm with our Tay Ninh fixers first. If the document will not pass, you hear that from us before you pay anything.
Before you travel
We can collect you at Tan Son Nhat or any hotel if your arrival fits the 04:00–06:00 pickup window — add your flight number when you book and the driver will track it. Riders based outside the city (Bien Hoa, Vung Tau, Mui Ne, Da Lat) normally meet the car at a central HCMC point, or we add a feeder leg for a small extra charge. Tell us your starting point and group size and we will quote the door-to-door total before you commit.
Our drivers and Tay Ninh fixers speak Vietnamese and English, and our booking desk handles everything in English over WhatsApp, email or the booking form on this site. During the run you keep the same WhatsApp thread with our coordinator on +84 369 308 237, who answers while you are standing at the counters. That is your lifeline if an officer asks something you do not understand — message us instead of guessing.
Cash is simplest — Vietnamese dong or clean US dollars — and Vietnamese bank transfer works for larger or corporate bookings; we do not take card payments at the border, where the counters themselves are cash-only. E-visa add-ons can be settled in VND, USD or by transfer before your run date. We confirm the final amount, including any government fees, on WhatsApp the day before, and most bookings need no deposit.
No — live animals need export and import permits plus health certificates on both the Vietnamese and Cambodian sides, and a same-day border loop gives you no time to process any of it. If you are travelling with a pet, use a licensed pet-transport service and sort its paperwork well in advance, then book your own run separately. We will still handle your border formalities on the same morning so you and your pet travel on the same schedule.
Yes, that is your call and plenty of travellers do it — Bavet has a row of casino hotels within minutes of the border, and Phnom Penh is roughly 2.5–3 hours further on. The Cambodia visa issued at Bavet is a 30-day single-entry tourist visa, and you still need a valid Vietnam e-visa or exemption to re-enter. Tell us at booking if you plan to sleep over so we can plan the return leg around your new crossing time.
Practically yes — a border bounce is traveller slang for exiting and immediately re-entering to reset your stay, which is exactly what the Moc Bai loop does. The difference is the execution: a guided run includes door-to-door transport, fixers who queue for you and help with the e-visa, while a DIY bounce leaves you to find the bus, the Cambodia visa and the right counters by yourself. Same legal mechanism, far smaller margin for error with us.
A normal pattern of same-day runs is not held against you as such, but your entry and exit history is recorded and coming back the same day dozens of times can invite questions at the gate. The cleanest record comes from holding a 90-day e-visa and spacing runs out rather than stacking short exemption stamps. Overstays, unpaid fines or a deportation entry on your file are what genuinely damage future applications — our fixers review your stamp history before each run and will say so honestly if a pattern looks risky.
Not for the classic same-day loop: it works because the car is at Moc Bai by early morning and you are back in Saigon for dinner, and a 13:00 start means crossing with the day's longest queues. If your new e-visa is already approved and you cannot travel early, we can still run a same-day trip with an afternoon border slot — the return simply lands after dark. Tell us your constraint when you book and we will pick the safest window for your date.
On-the-day timing
Expect around 12 hours door to door. Pickup is between 04:00 and 06:00 at your hotel, the car reaches Moc Bai about 08:00, you clear the Vietnamese exit desk and the Cambodian visa counter by late morning, lunch follows on the Tay Ninh or Bavet side, and you are back in Saigon by early evening. The drive is roughly 70 km each way on QL22, so most of the day is road and border queue rather than paperwork.
We confirm your slot on WhatsApp the day before, with the driver's name, the plate number and a 15-minute window, usually somewhere between 04:00 and 06:00. Be at your hotel gate or in the lobby ten minutes early with your passport, and keep your phone on, because the driver calls when he turns into your street. Hotel front desks in District 1, 3 and 7 are used to our cars waiting out front, which is easier than having the driver find you inside.
Book 24 to 48 hours ahead for a guaranteed seat, because the 04:00 to 06:00 departures fill first. Same-day and next-day requests are regularly possible when seats are open, so message us on WhatsApp (+84 369 308 237) even if your visa expires tomorrow. If your new e-visa still has to be filed, remember that standard processing runs 3 to 4 days, so the booking becomes a timing decision as much as a seat one.
Yes, families do it, but be honest about the shape of the day: two drives of about two hours with a border stop in between and a long lunch. Bring snacks, water, a change of clothes and a car seat if you use one, and tell us at booking so the driver can space the rest stops and keep the walking at Moc Bai short. Each child needs their own passport and their own e-visa or exemption stamp for re-entry, and children occupy a seat in the four-passenger car.
Yes. The car is yours for the day, so riders are dropped at a different hotel, at Tan Son Nhat airport or at their office inside the HCMC pickup area at no extra cost. If your evening stop is outside the city, Bien Hoa, Vung Tau or Mui Ne for example, say so when you book and we quote the feeder leg separately. Only the closing time changes, so plan that drop-off after the border and lunch rather than before.
Tell us the deadline when you book and we build the day backwards from it: the earliest 04:00 pickup, straight to the border for the 07:00 opening, and lunch taken as a takeaway on the road if needed. On a normal day the 11 to 12 hour loop puts you back early evening, so a 19:00 or 20:00 commitment is comfortable. Anything before about 17:00 is tight and only works when the counters are quiet, and we will tell you honestly whether your date supports it.
Yes. Transport is priced per private car at 2,000,000 VND for up to four travellers, not per person, so two riders sharing a car pay 1,000,000 VND each for the drive. Each traveller still has their own 90-day e-visa add-on (2,400,000 VND single entry, 3,100,000 VND multiple entry) and their own Cambodia visa add-on (1,100,000 VND). Four passengers fill the car exactly and reach the lowest transport cost per head.
You need the approval before you re-enter Vietnam, not before you set off. Our desk files the new application the moment Cambodia stamps you out at Bavet, and standard processing takes 3 to 4 days, with a fast tier at 1 to 2 days and rush tiers that can land in hours. Most riders book the run a few days before the old visa expires so the approval is waiting when they drive back through Moc Bai, or they exit on a multi-entry visa and use a remaining entry.
Border fine print
Cambodia's tourist visa on arrival is officially US$30 at Bavet, paid in USD cash at the counter, and the officer normally wants one 4 x 6 cm passport photo with the form. Our Cambodia visa add-on is 1,100,000 VND, about US$43, and covers the forms, the queueing and the fixer handling the counter; the US$30 itself is the government fee you hand over at the window. Bring clean, unfolded notes, because damaged or torn bills are refused more often than you would expect at a land border.
Yes. Bavet is one of the land checkpoints where Cambodia's official e-visa is accepted, so you can arrive with the printed PDF instead of queueing for a sticker; apply at evisa.gov.kh, allow about 3 business days, and budget roughly US$36 including the processing fee. The visa on arrival route is usually faster at Bavet when a fixer runs the counter for you, and it needs no pre-planning at all. Whichever you choose, print two copies and check that your name, passport number and passport expiry match your passport exactly.
Cambodia restricts visa on arrival to a short list of nationalities that must apply for a visa at a Cambodian embassy in advance; the list is commonly cited as Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Syria. If you hold one of those passports, sort the embassy visa before your run date and tell us when you book so we can time the crossing around it. Everyone else, including ASEAN citizens entering visa-free, crosses at Bavet without a problem.
No. Vietnam does not charge an exit fee or a stamping fee for a land departure at Moc Bai, so the only official money you hand over at the border is Cambodia's US$30 visa on arrival plus an optional fee if you buy photos at the counter. The Vietnam side of your paperwork, including the e-visa government fee, is handled through our desk and paid to the immigration system, not at the gate. Anything else requested at the counter is not a published fee, and our fixers are standing beside you if it comes up.
It is rare on a routine run, but it happens when a traveller has a Cambodia overstay, a damaged passport or a document mismatch, and the officer turns you back at the Bavet counter. You walk back to the Vietnamese side with your fixer and re-enter on your existing visa or exemption, so a refused Cambodia entry does not automatically end the day as long as your Vietnam document is still valid. The usual causes are screened before you travel, so tell us about any past Cambodia overstay or unpaid immigration debt when you book rather than at the window.
Pay only at the official windows and never offer extra money yourself, which is exactly why our Tay Ninh fixers walk both counters with you. If an unofficial request is made, stay calm, do not argue and do not hand over cash; message our coordinator on WhatsApp (+84 369 308 237) while you are still standing there so we can handle it through the queue. Keep any counter receipt you are given. On the Vietnam side the published cost of the crossing is nothing at all, and on the Cambodia side it is the US$30 visa fee.
Only above the thresholds: foreign cash over US$5,000 or the equivalent, Vietnamese dong over 15,000,000 VND, or gold jewellery and artistic gold of 300g or more must be declared to border customs on both exit and re-entry. The thresholds themselves have not moved, but Decree 169/2026, in force from 1 July 2026, sharply raised the penalties for not declaring or declaring inaccurately: up to 50,000,000 VND on exit and up to 20,000,000 VND on entry. A same-day run passes customs twice, so if you carry that much, ask the fixer for the declaration form and hand it in, which takes five minutes.
Photography is forbidden inside the immigration halls and across the border zone, and phones stay in your pocket while you are at the counters. Mobile signal works on both sides and the cafes on the Moc Bai and Bavet sides are fine for calls or for pulling up your e-visa PDF if you need to show it. Keep a printed copy of the e-visa as well, so a dropped signal at the wrong moment never leaves you scrolling at the window.
Fit and frequency
A visa run does not fix an overstay, an unpaid fine, a blacklist entry, an exit ban or a passport with less than six months of validity, and all of those need sorting at immigration or with a new passport first. Travellers with a work permit or TRC decision pending are usually better off letting that file finish, because a fresh tourist stamp can complicate it. Anyone planning to work in Vietnam on a string of tourist stamps should hear the honest version: a run resets your stay, not your legal right to work.
It can carry you for a long time, but it is maintenance rather than status, because you are resetting tourist or exemption stays instead of holding a work-permitting residence. The cleanest long-stay pattern is a 90-day multiple-entry e-visa (3,100,000 VND through our desk) refreshed with a run every three months, keeping every stamp clean and every overstay at zero. If you are settling in for years, a TRC through an employer or a spouse-based EX5 is the better endgame, and we will say so when a run stops being the sensible answer.
Most tourist e-visas and exemption stamps cannot be extended in-country, so the practical route is exit and re-enter, which is what the Moc Bai loop does in a single day. Where an extension is possible through a sponsoring agency it usually costs more than a run and does not give you the clean 90-day window that a new e-visa does. Our visa run vs visa extension page compares the two line by line, and the desk will quote whichever is cheaper for your expiry date.
Yes, applicants do it regularly, but keep the exit and re-entry clean and tell us at booking that a permit or TRC file is open. Your re-entry stamp has to match the stay your file expects, and under Decree 286/2026 immigration, labour and residence data are shared in real time, so a contradiction surfaces quickly. If the card is only weeks from issue, waiting is usually cheaper than spending a day on the road.
Space the runs out with the longest stay you can legally hold: a 90-day multiple-entry e-visa and one run every three months reads very differently in the system to a same-day loop every 30 days on exemption stamps. Keep every exit and entry clean, keep your receipts, and if you are working from Vietnam, get the permit or TRC so your stamps and your income tell the same story. Our fixers review your stamp history before each run and will flag a pattern that looks risky before you spend the day.
A couple sharing one car spends roughly 4,500,000 VND each per run: 2,400,000 VND for the single-entry 90-day e-visa, 1,100,000 VND for the Cambodia visa add-on, and 1,000,000 VND each for their half of the 2,000,000 VND car, with the two government fees on top. Four runs a year on a 90-day cycle is about 18,000,000 VND each, close to US$710, so the two of them budget around 36,000,000 VND. Booking the e-visa together with the transport takes another 200,000 VND off each e-visa, which saves a recurring runner around 800,000 VND a year.
Yes. We run corporate bookings for teams based in HCMC with a single VND invoice for the company and one WhatsApp thread for your HR or office manager. Groups of eight or more need a van or two cars, and we can stagger the runs so the office is never short of people in the same week. We also flag staff who should be on a work permit or TRC rather than repeat runs, because stacking tourist stamps for employees is the wrong fix.
Usually not. If you are flying out in under a month and your current stamp or e-visa already covers that time, a run buys a fresh period you will never use and costs a full day plus at least 4,500,000 VND with the visas. It becomes worth it when your exit date falls after your expiry, or when you want to come back later on a new 90-day e-visa. Send us both dates and we will tell you plainly whether the run saves you money or just burns a day.
Customs & cash
Vietnam's customs threshold is US$5,000 in foreign currency, 15,000,000 VND in dong, or 300 g of gold, and anything above that has to be declared on the red-channel form. The threshold applies twice on a same-day loop: once when you exit Vietnam and again when you re-enter with whatever is left. Keep your cash near the limit rather than under it, and if you are close, declare it in writing and keep the stamped copy.
Under Decree 169/2026, which took effect on 1 July 2026, customs penalties for undeclared currency and goods were raised, with reported fines of up to 50,000,000 VND on exit and 20,000,000 VND on entry, plus confiscation of the amount that should have been declared. The thresholds themselves did not change (US$5,000 / 15,000,000 VND / 300 g gold), so the risk is much bigger than it used to be. Declaring at the red channel costs nothing but a few minutes.
Vietnam's duty-free allowance under Article 6 of Decree 134/2016 is 1.5 L of spirits at 20% ABV or above, or 2 L below 20%, or 3 L of beer, plus 200 cigarettes, 250 g of tobacco or 20 cigars. The allowance is for travellers aged 18 and over and only for personal use. Anything above that is dutiable and has to be declared, and on a same-day run the officer can apply the same-day rule strictly.
Yes. Goods bought in the duty-free shop inside the Moc Bai zone are counted against the same allowance when you re-enter Vietnam later the same day, so a bottle bought on the way out is not a free extra on the way back. The simplest approach is to buy what you want on the return leg and stay inside the 1.5 L / 200-cigarette limits. Our fixer will tell you the current limits before you go into the shop.
No. Vietnam has banned the import, sale and use of vapes, e-cigarettes and heated-tobacco products since 1 January 2025, and Decree 371/2025 carries fines of 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 VND plus confiscation of the device. Customs officers at Moc Bai do check bags for them. Leave the device at home rather than losing it and paying a fine on the way back.
Bring prescription medicine in its original packaging with a doctor's letter or copy of the prescription, and use amounts consistent with a personal supply for your trip. Declare it verbally if you are asked, and carry it in hand luggage rather than a bag that goes under the seat. Anything that looks like a commercial quantity, or unlabelled loose pills, is what gets questioned at the counter.
A drone needs permission from Vietnam's Ministry of Defence and civil aviation authorities before it can be brought in, so it is not worth carrying on a same-day run. Laptops, cameras and normal photographic gear need no declaration and are routinely waved through. If you genuinely need a drone in Vietnam, arrange the permit well ahead rather than testing it at the border.
Cambodia's visa counter at Bavet and Vietnamese banks both apply a clean-note rule: notes with tears, tape, ink marks, heavy creases or the older small-head design are commonly refused or accepted only at a bad rate. That is why a torn US$20 can leave you short at the counter. Ask for crisp, unmarked notes when you buy dollars in Saigon and keep them flat in a separate pocket.
Budget 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 VND for the day, which covers food, water, any small fees and a little extra, and keep US$30-50 in clean notes completely separate for the Bavet visa counter. Only about US$30 of that is spent unless you choose the add-on Cambodia e-visa service. There is no ATM at the gate, so arriving without cash is the mistake that costs you the most time.
Packaged, processed food for personal use is normally fine. Fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, seeds, plants and soil are restricted under Vietnam's plant and animal quarantine rules and can be confiscated or fined, even in a hand bag. If you are unsure about something, declare it and let the officer decide rather than carrying it through the green channel.
Bags go through X-ray on re-entry and a percentage are opened by hand. Undeclared items above the allowance are confiscated and fined under Decree 169/2026, and the fine can end up bigger than the value of the goods. It also creates a customs record against your passport. For a day trip the only things worth buying are things inside the duty-free limits.
Change in Saigon. The exchange points at Moc Bai and on the Cambodian side quote noticeably worse rates than District 1 changers or a Vietnamese bank, and there is no ATM at the gate itself. Spend in dong on the Vietnam side and keep clean US dollars for the Bavet counter only. Cambodian riel is not needed for a same-day loop.
Life after the stamp
Yes. Every time you get a new entry stamp, your stay has to be declared again as a temporary stay (khai bao tam tru) under Circular 87/2026/TT-BCA, which took effect on 24 July 2026. Your host files it electronically and there is no fee for the guest. The new 90 or 45 day period runs from the entry stamp date, not from the day the declaration is filed, so file it promptly and keep the confirmation.
The host files it: a hotel or homestay at check-in, a landlord through the online residence system, or an employer for staff housing. If a landlord will not do it, the cheap workaround is one paid night in a hotel so the hotel files the declaration and you keep the receipt, then sort the landlord out afterwards. A host who fails to declare a guest can be fined 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 VND, and guests who refuse to hand over their passport for it can be fined too.
No. Vietnamese tax residency is measured on days you are present in the country over a calendar year, not on visa stamps, and a same-day border loop does not take a full day off the count. Four or five runs a year still leaves you comfortably over the 183-day line. A visa run fixes your immigration status, not your tax position, and the two are handled by completely different authorities.
The two real options are eight 45-day exemption resets a year, or four 90-day multiple-entry e-visas with one run at the end of each. The 90-day route wins on almost every count: fewer 12-hour days on the road, fewer border fees, a bigger gap between runs, and a far cleaner stamp history. On our desk a 90-day multiple-entry e-visa is 3,100,000 VND and the single-entry version is 2,400,000 VND, and the 1,100,000 VND Cambodia visa add-on applies either way.
As soon as you are actually working from Vietnam. A string of tourist stamps is the wrong legal basis for earning here, and from 10 September 2026 Decree 283/2026 sets fines of 15,000,000 to 25,000,000 VND for the foreigner and 30,000,000 to 75,000,000 VND per head for the employer. A work permit plus a TRC gives you one or two years of residence, a tax code that matches your income, and no more 04:00 pickups.
The usual set is how long you have been in Vietnam, where you live, what you do here and who pays for your travel. Officers are not looking for a tourist story from someone on their sixth loop of the year, so answer plainly and consistently with your stamps and your registered address. Our fixer is standing at the counter with you and goes over your answers and your documents before you reach the window.
Yes. Decree 252/2026 introduced exit suspension for tax debts from 1 July 2026, with the reported trigger figures around 50,000,000 VND for individuals and 500,000,000 VND for businesses, issued after a 120-day reminder. Unpaid overstay fines also surface at the counter, because Decree 286/2026 shares immigration, tax and residence data in real time. If you have any unresolved debt or fine, deal with it before booking the run.
Photograph the exit stamp and the re-entry stamp, keep the e-visa approval PDF, the tam tru confirmation or NA17 slip, and the day's receipts in one folder in cloud storage. Work permit, TRC and visa applications all ask you to show a continuous legal stay, and reconstructed proof is much harder to produce later. It takes two minutes at the border and saves a week of paperwork.
On the single-entry 90-day pattern, one person pays about 5,500,000 VND a run: 2,400,000 VND for the e-visa, 1,100,000 VND for the Cambodia visa add-on and the 2,000,000 VND car, plus the two government fees. Four runs is roughly 22,000,000 VND a year, near US$870 on their own. Share the car with another traveller and the annual figure drops to about 18,000,000 VND each, around US$710. Booking the e-visa through our desk at the same time as the transport takes another 200,000 VND off each e-visa.
There is no automatic bar, and plenty of people run for a year and then get a permit without a problem. What matters is that you never overstay, your passport is in order and your record is clean. What does hurt is presenting a long run of tourist stamps as your history of living here, because a permit file wants a company sponsor, a job description, degree or experience papers and a health check, not a stack of exit stamps.
Not if you hold the 5-year visa exemption certificate (EX5) or a marriage-based temporary residence card, which is coded TT. Both let you stay for long periods without leaving the country, so the same-day loop becomes unnecessary. If you are still on tourist or exemption stamps, the exemption certificate is applied for at the immigration department in Ho Chi Minh City, and our desk can walk you through the paperwork and the marriage documents it needs.
The visa rules themselves set no annual cap on runs, but the practical limits are real. Past 183 days you are a Vietnamese tax resident, entry is always at the officer's discretion, and a pattern of very frequent same-day loops invites questions. The sensible long-stay ladder is a 90-day multiple-entry e-visa, then a work permit and TRC or a family-based exemption. Overstay is the one hard line you never want to cross.
Saigon prep
Bank branches such as Vietcombank, BIDV or ACB in District 1 sell dollars over the counter, and the licensed gold-shop changers around Bui Vien and Pham Ngu Lao will too, usually with a smaller spread. Vietnamese ATMs dispense dong only, so a cash machine is not a source of dollars. Ask specifically for new, unmarked notes, because the Bavet counter applies a clean-note rule and will reject a torn or inked bill.
Any photocopy shop will do it, including the ones along Bui Vien, Nguyen Trai and in Binh Thanh, at roughly 1,000 to 3,000 VND a page, and most hotels print for a small fee. Print two paper copies and also keep the PDF on your phone. The paper copy is what the officer at Moc Bai wants to stamp and compare, and a dead phone at the counter is not an acceptable substitute.
Bring two 4x6 cm photos with a white background, which is the size the Bavet visa-on-arrival form asks for, plus a spare in case one is rejected. Saigon photo shops produce a set in ten minutes for about 40,000 to 80,000 VND and will cut them to any size you ask for. The photo has to show your full face without glasses, and a selfie cut out with scissors is the classic reason a form gets sent back to the end of the queue.
Four things: at least six months of validity beyond your planned entry, at least two completely blank pages, an intact photo page and MRZ lines with no water damage or delamination, and a name that matches your e-visa exactly. Check the exit stamp area too, because a full page can force the officer to stamp over an existing mark. If any of those fail, fix the passport first, not the visa.
Replace it before you travel. A swollen, stained or delaminated passport can be refused at Moc Bai even with a valid e-visa, because the officer cannot read the MRZ cleanly, and a refusal on your record is worse than a delayed trip. For most nationalities the replacement is handled by the embassy or consulate in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi and takes two to four weeks. A run on a damaged passport is a gamble with the whole day.
An e-visa is tied to the passport number it was issued against, so it is no longer valid in the new book. File a fresh e-visa on the new passport number, or ask us to do it, and allow the standard processing time before your run date. Vietnamese immigration can also transfer a still-valid visa to a replacement passport for a US$5 document fee at the immigration office, which is the cheaper route if the old visa has months left on it.
Save the e-visa approval PDF, a photo of your passport page and current visa stamp, your booking confirmation and your tam tru slip in one offline folder. QL22 has dead spots between Trang Bang and the border, so a document that only exists behind a live data connection is not really with you. Screenshot your exit stamp at the border before you drive off, and back the folder up to the cloud when you are back on wifi.
A Vietnamese SIM or eSIM with data covers most of the route, but expect gaps in the last stretch before the border, so nothing critical should depend on a live connection. Carry a charged power bank and a cable, because a 12-hour day with maps, photos, WhatsApp and the e-visa PDF drains a phone fast. Make sure WhatsApp works before you leave Saigon, since that is the channel our team uses to reach you during the run.
Passport and cash in separate pockets or pouches, and both on your body rather than in a bag left in the car. Our driver stays with the vehicle, but a border car park is still a car park, and the fixer only needs the documents at the counter, not custody of them. A money belt or zipped inside pocket is the practical answer, and it also keeps your hands free for the queues.
Leave anything you could not replace: a second passport, jewellery, extra bank cards and large amounts of cash that are not needed for the day. Take one card, the cash you budgeted and your phone. Before you go, send yourself and one person at home a cloud link with scans of your passport, e-visa and itinerary, so a lost bag does not become a lost trip.
Pay in dong for everything on the Vietnamese side, including food, water, the rest stop and any service fee, because dong is what everyone quotes. Keep clean US dollars for the Bavet visa counter, which is priced in dollars and is happiest with a single US$20 or the exact amount. You do not need Cambodian riel or Lao kip for a same-day loop, and changing money at the gate gives you the worst rate of the day.
Message us on WhatsApp straight away with a photo of the problem rather than turning up and hoping. Most night-before issues, a missing printout, a name typo on the e-visa, a photo that no longer looks like you or a booking in the wrong name, can be sorted before the 04:00 to 06:00 pickup, or the run can be moved a day or two. Fixing it in Saigon costs a few hundred thousand dong, while being turned back at Moc Bai costs the day and the fees.
Chat with us 24/7 on WhatsApp or email book@hcmcvisarun.com for a tailored plan. You can also read the Ho Chi Minh visa run guide.