- 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 on it, but my passport did.
After nearly a day-and-a-half of flights that took me from Phoenix to Dallas to Tokyo to Ho Chi Minh City, I was exhausted but thrilled to finally reach my destination.
It had been six months since I last visited Vietnam and I was looking forward to exploring new-to-me cities in this beautiful country.
Upon deplaning, I headed to the passport-control area with my passport and a print-out of the visa I had applied for — and was 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."
I was so confused — I've traveled to 46 countries and had not 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 they didn't match: My middle name was on my passport but not on my visa.
I couldn't believe such a tiny error had cost me
Visa applications can be denied if your name doesn't match the one on your passport, and I'd missed this discrepancy.
Eventually, 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.
I let out a sigh of relief when I learned my new visa would be $130 — I'd expected 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.
Fortunately, I found a few $20 bills shoved in my bag. After a stressful wait, I had my new visa and was free to go.
I learned 2 valuable travel lessons I'll never forget
I still don't understand how my visa application was approved in the first place — I had to submit a photo of my passport to get it — but now I know to be extra vigilant.
Later, I also realized why I'd forgotten to include my middle name: The electronic visa application didn't have a specific spot labeled for it.
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.
From now on, though, I'll remember that names on a passport and visa must match perfectly, which means including 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 few hours.