I flew 33 hours to Vietnam but was denied entry because of a common travel mistake that I’ll never make again

The author (not pictured) made a travel mistake that almost derailed her travel plans.

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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.Luckily, I was able to buy an emergency visa because I had cash on hand.

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

I had landed in Ho Chi Minh City but could not leave the airport.

Prasit Rodphan / Shutterstock

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.