General information and visa procedures at the Embassy

All applicants have to apply in person at the Embassy in Hanoi. It is not possible to send in an application by post or to hand it in at the Honorary Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City.

IMPORTANT: Please note that as of June 2011 all applicants have to make an appointment with the Embassy before visiting. More information regarding this can be found under "News from the Visa Section". 

All applicants have to pay the application fee through the Embassy bank account before applying and bring the receipt to the Embassy together with the application. The fee must be paid to the Embassy bank account at ANZ Bank, account number: VND 6143432, and account name; Embassy of Sweden-UM. For information on current fees, please consult the Application Fees page. Please note that the fees are non-refundable.

Booking an appointment with the Visa Section:
Monday - Tuesday, Thursday - Friday 08.30-10.00,   Tel: 0121-922 3595

Visa section telephone hours (general questions):
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday  and Thursday 15.00 - 16.00
Tel.: +84-4-3726 04 00
Fax: +84-4-3823 21 95

Visa section visiting hours:
By appointment only.

Handing out of passports
Monday - Thursday 13.00 - 14.00

E-mail: ambassaden.hanoi-visum@foreign.ministry.se

Please respect the phone hours as the visa staff are busy with processing applications during the mornings.

An application may be handed in to the Embassy at the earliest three (3) months before intended departure date and no later than 15 days before departure date. The Embassy can not guarantee that a visa will be ready on time if handed in later than 15 days before intended travel date.

A Schengen Visa may be granted for a period of 90 days within a 6 month period. There are different types of visa depending on the purpose of the stay. There is one if you wish to visit family members living in Sweden and another if you are going on business or attending a conference. If you are planning on visiting a friend in Sweden that you are not related to you should apply for a regular tourist visa. 

Please note that the application form is the same for all visas but the appendix varies depending on the purpose. Relevant documents can be found under respective heading on our website. They can also be downloaded from the Migration Board's website:
> Migrationsverket

If you are planning to stay in Sweden for longer than 90 days you should apply for a Residence Permit for visit. For more information, please visit the following page:
> Visits longer than 90 days

The Swedish Migration Board determines the guidelines that the Embassy use for granting or rejecting visa applications (visa practice). The Visa Practice is based on the knowledge which the Board has of the conditions in different parts of the world. Experiences from individual cases also affect the practice.

All decisions made by the Embassy and the are given to the applicants in oral form. If the applicants wish to have their decision in written form it will be provided upon request. Please note that the decisions made by the Embassy are in English and that it is up to the applicants themselves to have it translated into Vietnamese.

The decision on visas made by the Embassy can be appealed. The appeal must be submitted to the Embassy within three weeks of receiving the decision. If the appeal is submitted later than three weeks it will be dismissed.

The appeal should be handed in to the Embassy - or the Consulate in HCMC - in written form. Please do not forget to state your visa application number on your appeals letter. You can find this on your rejection notice given to you by the Embassy when you picked up your passport.

After receiving the appeal, the Embassy will go through the case once again in order to see if there are any reasons to amend previous decision. If the Embassy do not find a reason to change the decision, the case will be forwarded to the Administrative Court in Gothenburg, Sweden. 

If you have general questions regarding our visa procedures or if you have questions regarding an ongoing application, please contact the Embassy during our visa phone hours on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays between 15.00 - 16.00. Our staff speaks Swedish, English and Vietnamese.