Can you get a Vietnamese visa on arrival?

Can I get a Vietnam visa on arrival at the airport?

Okay, so Vietnam visa on arrival, right. It's a bit of a tricky one, not like just showing up at the airport and getting it stamped like in, say, Thailand or Cambodia, which can be super convenient.

You definitely need to sort it out before you even leave. I remember this one time, trying to figure it all out for a trip to Hanoi, thinking I could just do it at Noi Bai airport.

Turns out, no. You have to get this pre-approval letter. This means using a travel agency or a visa service. They send you the letter.

Then, you bring that letter to the immigration counter. That's when they put the actual visa sticker in your passport. It’s a two-step process, kinda.

So, yeah, you can get the visa stamp at the airport, but only if you have that pre-approval letter in hand. It's not exactly a "visa on arrival" in the simplest sense, if that makes sense.