- I travel often, but my recent trip to Vietnam was the first time I had issues entering a country.
- I was denied entry because my visa didn’t have my middle name but my passport did.
- I was able to buy an emergency visa because I had cash on hand.
After spending 33 hours traveling from Phoenix to Dallas to Tokyo to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, I was exhausted but thrilled to finally reach my destination.
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It’d been six months since I last visited Vietnam, and I was looking forward to exploring new cities in the beautiful country.
Upon deplaning, I headed to the passport-control area with my passport and a printout of the visa I’d applied for and been granted about six weeks earlier.
When I got to the front, I handed over my two documents and awaited the inevitable stamp of approval. Instead, the employee handed them back to me and said, “Denied.”
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I was so confused — I’ve traveled to 46 countries and had never had issues gaining entry to any of them before.
After bouncing around the airport and waiting in lines, I found an employee who would review my documents to tell me what the problem was.
It turns out the two documents didn’t match: My middle name was on my passport but not my visa.
I couldn’t believe such a tiny error would cost me
Visa applications can be denied if your name doesn’t match the one on your passport, and I’d missed this discrepancy.
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The employee told me I had two choices: I could fly back to Japan, where I’d just arrived from, or pay for a “very, very expensive” emergency visa.
I knew flying back to Japan wasn’t an option, as I was embarking on a river cruise out of Vietnam in less than 12 hours. So I chose the latter.
The form says “Given name” and “Surname.” I didn’t think to include my middle name in the same spot as my first because I’m used to seeing a separate spot for it on applications.
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From now on, though, I’ll remember that names on a passport and visa must match perfectly, which includes every detail — even if the application doesn’t ask for it in a way you’d expect.
I’m glad I was able to continue on my trip, and I’ll never travel again without money on hand for emergencies. Cash is still king in most places, and I’m lucky this mistake only cost me a few bills and a few hours.
