As if the yellow fever snafu was not enough, I had a visa issue as well in Bangkok and had to pay dearly for a solution.
Yesterday, I had to get from Bangkok (where my cheap Ethiopian Airlines Business Class ticket ended) to Ho Chi Minh City (where my cheap Qatar Airways Business Class ticket began). I booked a ticket on Vietjet, a low-cost carrier, because the time was ideal, I had only a small carry-on bag, and I don’t need any service on a one hour flight.
But I was denied boarding at check-in. Reason given: no visa to Vietnam.
“Sir, we are a low-cost carrier. You cannot transit without visa.”
“But I am connecting directly to another flight. I won’t leave the terminal. Here is my connecting flight information.”
“Sir, it doesn’t matter. We are a low-cost carrier.”
“You mean you arrive in a different terminal? I recall there being only one terminal in Ho Chi Minh City.”
“Sir, this is a low-cost carrier.”
“Yes, I get that. Is there someone I can talk to?”
“No, this is our rule. But you can get the visa and then we will put you on our later flight.”
“I cannot take the later flight–I have a connection in Ho Chi Minh City.”
“I know sir, but this is a low-cost…”
“Yes, I know. So you will not be able to accommodate me on this flight?”
“No”
What is VietJet Transit Visa Policy?
I assume the agent was referring to the following VietJet policy:
Vietjet is a point-to-point carrier, passengers with connecting flight are required to have sufficient valid documents for entry at stop-over point, transit point in the journey. In addition, passengers are also required to receive the checked baggage (if any) and to complete check-in procedure for connecting flight.
The regulation is fairly clear: I needed a visa to enter Vietnam. But I had only hand baggage and already had checked in for my connecting flight. All flights arrive in the same terminal in Ho Chi Minh City and it is quite easy to transit without a visa. Bottom line, a visa was totally unnecessary and merely a punitive punishment for booking on a LCC.
Finding an Alternate Solution
I had to think quickly on my feet. I deliberately booked this flight instead of the later Jetstar flight in case of delay. Now it looked like I would have to take Jetstar because of the Vietjet visa policy.
It was too late to book online, so I headed over to the Jetstar ticket counter to book a seat on the flight. The online price was about $50, but they wanted about $110 at the counter. Fine…
But as the agent began to book my ticket, she took my passport and leafed through it, presumably looking for my visa.
“Sir, where is your visa?”
“I don’t have one.”
“Oh, then we cannot take you on this flight.”
“But I have a direct onward connection.”
“Oh, where is your ticket?”
<I presented my ticket>
“I’m sorry sir. You need visa.”
“No, I don’t need a visa.”
“You should check with Thai Airways. You don’t need visa with them.”
Now I was in panic mode, knowing that if I did not get to Saigon in time I would never be able to fly on my Qatar ticket.
I found a website that promised a Vietnam visa-on-arrival approval letter within 10 minutes for $200. I had a solution, at least. Then it dawned on me that Vietnam Airlines might have a flight.
A Solution on Vietname Airlines
Darting over to the Vietnam Airlines counter, I confirmed there was a 2:25p flight to Ho Chi Minh City and no visa was needed. Slight problem: it was 1:17p and Vietnam Airlines had no airport ticketing capabilities.
I was advised to book a refundable fare online for the evening flight and then they could move me to this flight.
That worked like a charm, though I was sad to see that restricted business class was the same price as flexible economy class–I would have enjoyed flying up front, even on a short flight. The ticket cost $223.
Boarding pass in hand, I darted through immigration and security and still managed to have lunch in the Oman Air Lounge prior to boarding my flight.
> Read More: Oman Air Lounge Bangkok (BKK) Review
I’ll review the Vietnam Airlines flight in a future post, but I made it to Ho Chi Minh City and connected to my Qatar Airways flight. Not without drama on my flight, though…
CONCLUSION
It may be (and is) stupid policy, but if you are flying on a low-cost carrier into Vietnam, you need a visa even if you are just connecting without leaving the airport. Full-service carriers like Thai Airways and Vietnam Airlines allow transit without visa.
Do not make the same mistake I did. Wow, that’s a common theme lately…
You could’ve booked a hidden-city, eg. BKK-SGN-KUL.
@Woj: On what airline? You mean on VN to save some money?
Because on Vietjet or JetStar it would not have worked — you cannot even TWOV on their own flights.
Oh wow, in this case this wouldn’t help. I was thinking taking advantage of TWOV because of a connecting flight. Glad it worked out in the end and I’m super jealous about the Qsuite
I got burned on this last year. Though I knew to get it in advance, it was during the six weeks when Vietnam visa cost over $150.
The visa restriction (regardless of the airline you are flying) seems to be clear: you cannot board the flight ending in Vietnam without the visa if visa is needed. However, some airlines let you board if you show onward separate tickets as a courtesy and they do not have to do it. I am just a bit shocked why you relied on low cost airlines’ courtesy so much. Also, you are a lawyer, you should know that the first sentence is very clear: you need to show the visa if visa is required. I am not sure how you are combining two sentences to justify your case. The second sentence starts with “In addition”, and it is not trying to give a reason why for the first sentence. You are either playing dumb in this case or you really are…I am a bit disappointed in this article to be honest…Keep the good work as a lawyer, we are happy to see your logic and angle, not like other bloggers.
Ken, your reading may be more natural than mine, but I could not grasp the absurdity of such a position on the part of Vietjet. All flights land in the same terminal in SGN. All passengers proceed to the same point. There is a clearly-marked facility for transit passengers. A visa is therefore 100% unnecessary and seems merely a punitive punishment for booking a LCC.
of course logically speaking you are right but legally speaking airlines are not required to board you unless you show a visa. Maybe you don’t encounter this often because you don’t need a visa for most countries but people with less privileged passports go through this pain so often (yes I am talking about mega airlines such as Lufthansa, BA, SQ, QR, EK etc not only LCCs). Recently I was traveling from JFK to Turkey through frankfurt on separate tickets, the first ticket was on SQ, and the check-in agent at JFK asked for a visa to Schengen even when I showed the onward ticket. Luckily, I had the visa but the agent really insisted. So the same thing for SQ. The rules are clear: if the ticket involves transit points, transit rules regarding the visa should apply. For example Canada and UK require transit visa for some nationalities even when they only transit… If the ticket ends at an airport, the visa rules for that country apply. In your case, as far as Vietjet is concerned, the ticket ends in Vietnam, thus the entry rules to Vietnam apply. Visa rules have nothing to do with whether you have a checked luggage or not.
well if you fly thai or vietnam air you can just transfer without a visa. i tried viet jet with just a carry on and they said i needed a visa. never said that when i bought it and when i flew into ho chi min i just transfered to fly to bangkok without a visa so i thought it was ok. cost me 1500 to change my flight, lost the money for my viet jet ticket, missed my transfer in usa that ended up costing much more. the kicker is at the desk at viet jet they said if i had flown vietnam air or thai airways i wouldn’t have needed a visa to transfer. ticket for vietnam was only like 40 bucks more lol.
You in Doha atm? I am.
Was in DOH last night for two hours.
I would never have known such a policy exists if not reading this post. Thanks for posting your experience. People learn from mistakes, of their own or others. I’m grateful I have learned from yours, in this case.
Thanks Angie. That’s why I write stories like this — so you don’t make a similar mistake. It did not even dawn on me that Vietjet would hassle me over a visa until I checked in.
@Ken
Agree with you 100%. The legality part of it has nothing to do with the pragmatic part of it. Now having learned Matthew is a lawyer, I too, am disappointed on how he interprets this fiasco. There is really no excuse on making this basic mistake when a transit visa is specified very clearly. The main line airlines do not always as accommodating as you mentioned. I always check Timatic on countries that we are not familiar with to avoid similar mistakes.
@FLL, I respectfully disagree.
First off, according to the Timatic (the only thing I did check), I was fine and did not require a visa. It would have made my life easier if I had read the fine print on Vietjet’s website (I didn’t even book directly through Vietjet because it was cheaper on Ctrip), but it was not clearly laid out. I found the rule after being denied boarding.
Second, I specialize in the gray areas of law. To some degree, pragmatism plays into the execution and interpretation of every “black and white” law. Sometimes you just need to make a strong case. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. We’ve all had rules bent for us I the past due to creative interpretations. This particular rule is a petty airline ploy and I wasn’t interested in capitulating to it. Sadly, the agent I dealt with held firm to his interpretation of the rule.
I’m not disputing that the rule can be interpreted in the way you and Ken do. I am asserting that there is room to interpret as I did, to my own advantage (of course).
@Matthew
As Ken has explained to you TWICE – the ticket you bought from Vietjet shows you ARRIVE in Vietnam – that is ALL they see in their system regardless how your onward itinerary is.
You can keep twist the fact to suit your argument but that only makes me and may be others even more disappointing to your blog.
While writing this article serves some purpose to remind others that one needs to check the visa requirement before travel, the fact that you make it as Vietjet hassled you is Completely WRONG in my book.
You made a mistake in checking Timatic because you either do not realize your ticket on Vietjet shows you ARRIVE Vietnam NOT transiting thru Vietnam due to you are holding that QR ticket, (cannot understand why a blogger writes travel blog would make such mistake but that is another story), or you later realize it but feels that in all pragmatic matter, it is indeed a Transit because you would not the sterile area during the whole time. So you blame Vietjet for being not understanding, i.e. bend the rules to suit your specific situation.
That latter part is the part I have the most trouble to accept. An oversight even though should not happen given your specialty, is acceptable – we all slip in things we can do with closing eyes, happens. The inability to own up that mistake and keep finding excuses on that, is indeed a troubling trait in my book. I will just call a Spade a Spade.
I blame Vietjet for asinine and illogical rules, just as I condemn others — like the TSA in the USA — for what I deem to be their illogical and asinine rules. That’s what I do on this blog.
Whether you believe it or not, I was transiting in Vietnam, i.e. continuing to a third country within 24 hours. That’s an undisputed fact and your repeated attempts to twist it by saying Vietjet only saw me going to Saigon when I presented evidence to them of the contrary is simply obfuscation at this point.
But understand something– I abided by the rules. I bought a new ticket. I am not disputing the Vietjet charge. I made a mistake. I owned up to it, which is why I wrote this blog post. I could have easily just photoshopped the dates on my last visa invite letter and been happily on my way. I didn’t.
But that won’t stop me from attacking Vietjet for a policy that lacks empathy and sound judgement, especially when they justify it based on their LCC status rather than on any official rules.
Vietnam has a set up a system in which passengers without visas can transit between tickets. Vietjet should be ashamed of itself for adding arbitrary rules for fear of illusory fines that never are implicated if an agent simply validates an onward ticket.
Well, well, well. The fact that you showed a piece of paper with reservation details on another airline is NOT an UNDISPUTED FACT for Vietjet agents. You mentioned one can photoshop these documents. As I said earlier, Vietjet does not have means to check the validity of the QR ticket on their system. Actually, they are not required to and should not check the validity of the tickets on other airlines as far as rules are concerned. Maybe it is a fact to you but not to others. I am again disappointed how you argue here as a lawyer.
It definitely was not Vietjet’s fault or mistake. It was yours. And your post and subsequent comments essentially blamed Vietjet. If you made a post, clearly saying hey I made a mistake and don’t do it guys, then it is fine. But you are blaming the Vietjet agent. That is the part I don’t feel very comfortable with about this post. You can point out the illogical rules by many governments, that is fine and I would appreciate it but don’t blame an agent who is simply doing his/her job according to the rules given to them. They are not the ones who set the visa rules.
He’s not blaming the agent – and he’s accepted that he made a mistake in the first place so calm down. He is still entitled to an opinion as to whether or not this is a stupid procedure. And stop banging on about his being a lawyer. I’m a lawyer too – and probably have been longer than Matthew, we still make mistakes. He is entitled to call this out as a stupid policy – note the point he makes that non-LCCs (i.e Vietnam Airlines) do not apparently have this policy in the first place. Also it’s not the author’s fault that his passport means that he experiences less hassle in this area than some others. I think this is a very useful and helpful article – and I don’t always think that about this blog.
The visa rule on your vietjet is very clear in timatic because you were not transiting as per vietjet ticket. So you cannot apply transit rules. You buy a ticket to ARRIVE in vietnam and the visa rule to enter vietnam applies to your vietjet ticket and the agent enforced the rule as many other airlines would do. As i said in my earlier re-reply, even nonlccs enforce this rule. I have the same experience with SQ and LH. Not very surprising because the agents at one airline have no way of checking the validity of other airlines tickets with 100% certainty. if i remember correctly airlines face hefty penalty if they let passengers go and get stuck in a foreign land. So they have less incentive to help people without proper visa documents for their part of the ticket. I dont like it just as you are hating it now. But its black and white as far as the rule is concerned,
As i said earlier, you used the sentense about checkin luggage to justify yourself. That part is a bit off.
Matthew, I echo Angie’s remarks. Very helpful post. Being deported is no fun; neither is the deportation holding room.
Helpful post, I sometime combine LCC short-haul with business long-haul. I usually allow an overnight in Asia for cases like this, because you just never now how this works out…
With regards to your “logic” argument and “grey” zone, I disagree with you: just because you don’t know the rules doesn’t mean that it’s illogical: while I don’t know the HCMC situation, I know that at some regional airports the airlines have to pay for the transfer service and some (LCC) choose not to. The LCC are also very strict on Visa issues to avoid penalties/cost, in case a passenger is denied entry. Lastly, having lived in SE Asia for 5y (and worked for 20y), I can tell you that frontline hospitality staff often is not nearly as empowered as in the US or Europe, so your chances of somebody “bending the rules” for you are much smaller. Even SQ ground staff will hit you with their 100 pound rule book – business class and PPS Elite or not!
My advice is to know the rules, follow them closely and allow a night or several hours to account for issues and delays when connecting from LCC – or have a plan B to buy a new ticket quickly, as you did…
Always someone else’s fault…
And what’s the title of the post?
So we should just read the title and ignore the rest of the post?
I stand by what I wrote.
I had my visa fun in BKK on the way to RGN. Of course, much less problems transiting in the destination then with just paperwork on departure, but had fun trying to weasel myself in.
Thank you for the “heads up,” even if others choose to scold you for what was ultimately a mistake easily made by many when you assume the people on the other side of the counter will be reasonable or helpful. I agree with you that it comes across as extortion or punishment for using an LCC in the obviously selective application of the rules.
In my eyes you resolved a potential mini catastrophe masterfully.
Again, I have always said that I learn a lot more from mistakes than when everything goes smoothly (as if it ever does 🙂
Just a quick question, please: What flight search tool is in the screenshot?
Thanks for your kind comment. First screenshot is Vietnam Airlines’ website, second is Orbitz.
Typical Vietnamese stupidity. I’ve never heard of such an absurd rule. I’ve flown one many repositioning flights, including destinations that require a visa on LCC and have never seen anything like that. I’d never fly Vietjet since I don’t trust their maintenance nor their punctuality, but good thing to learn for future reference. Thank you.
just happened to me this morning. ended up having to pay 1500 us to change my flight on korean air even the the second leg on my trip to seattle was the exact same flight. I’m so angry and i know i have just been screwed and theres nothing i can do about it. there was never any warning from viet jet, i would of got the visa no problem if i had known. it was only like 40 dollars more to fly vietnam air and because i used viet jet it cost me 1500.
Hi, that is scary indeed. Can someone please help me out with a similar situation? We are planning to book a Vietjet Air ticket from Delhi to Bali, which has a 1h 55 minutes layover in Ho Chi Minh City. It is one ticket, unlike Matthew’s case. Do we still need a transit visa for Vietnam? (Additional potential complication is that Indians have a visa exemption in Bali, so there won’t be an onward visa on our passports). Thanks in advance. Anurag.
Have you reached out to Vietjet? I’d be very cautious since my understanding of the rules would still require you to hold a Vietnam visa.