Avoid this visa mistake that almost ruined my trip, warns travelers

• I travel often, but my last trip to Vietnam was the first time I had problems entering a country.
• I was refused entry because my middle name wasn’t listed on my visa, but it was on my passport.
• I was able to purchase 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 also excited to finally reach my destination.

It had been six months since I last visited Vietnam and I was looking forward to exploring new cities in the beautiful country.

After disembarking, I went to the passport control area with my passport and a printout of the visa I had applied for and received about six weeks earlier.

When I arrived at the front, I handed over my two documents and waited for the inevitable stamp of approval. Instead, the employee gave it back to me and said, “Rejected.”

I was so confused – I have traveled to 46 countries and have never had a problem entering any of them before.

After bouncing around the airport and waiting in line, I found an agent who checked my documents to tell me what the problem was.

It turned out that the two documents didn’t match: my middle name was on my passport but not on my visa.

I couldn’t believe that such a small mistake would cost me

Visa applications can be rejected if your name doesn’t match the one on your passport, and this discrepancy was lost on me.

The agent told me I had two options: I could fly back to Japan, where I had just arrived, or I could pay for a “very, very expensive” emergency visa.

I knew that flying back to Japan wasn’t an option since I would be taking a river cruise from Vietnam in less than 12 hours. So I chose the latter.

Related stories

I breathed a sigh of relief when I learned that my new visa would cost $130 – I was expecting it to cost much more. But I panicked again when I pulled out my credit card and the employee told me they only accepted cash.

I found a few $20 bills in my pocket. After a stressful wait, I received my new visa and was able to set off.

I learned two valuable travel lessons that I will never forget

I still don’t understand how my visa application was even approved – I had to submit a photo of my passport to get it – but now I know I have to be extra vigilant.

Later I also realized why I had forgotten to give my middle name: there was no special place marked for it on the electronic visa application.

The form says “first name” and “last name”. I didn’t think to put my middle name in the same place as my first name because I’m used to seeing a separate place for it on applications.

However, from now on I will remember that the names in the passport and the visa must match perfectly, down to the smallest detail – even if the application does not ask for it in the way you would expect.

I’m glad I was able to continue my trip and will never travel again without money for emergencies. Cash is still the be-all and end-all in most places, and I’m lucky that this mistake only cost me a few bills and a few hours.