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A visa run by private car from Ho Chi Minh City means leaving Vietnam at a Cambodian land border and coming back the same day, so that a new period of stay starts on your e-visa or visa exemption. This guide covers the current rules taken from Vietnamese government resolutions and the Immigration Department, the official list of land border gates that accept the e-visa, how to pick a gate based on where you start, and a step-by-step plan for a same-day trip with a driver who waits for you.
Please read this first: immigration rules can change at short notice, and only the border officers decide whether you are admitted. We provide the car and driver only. We do not handle visas and cannot promise any outcome. Check the official portal evisa.gov.vn and Cambodian official sources in the week before you travel.
Updated 21 October 2026. Written by the Car Rental Vietnam operations team from experience running trips to Tây Ninh and the Mekong Delta, checked against current legal texts. Immigration rules can change; check the official portals before you travel.
Expats use "visa run" for the routine of exiting Vietnam and re-entering to receive a fresh permitted stay. Vietnam's Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners does not prohibit leaving and coming back. Each entry is assessed on its own: you must meet the entry conditions and must not fall into any of the refusal grounds in Article 21. So a visa run is lawful in principle, but no single entry is ever guaranteed.
One rule changed in 2020. Visa-exempt visitors used to need a 30-day gap since their last exit before using the exemption again. According to a published answer from the Ministry of Public Security, Law 51/2019/QH14 abolished that rule from 1 July 2020. The remaining conditions are a passport valid for at least six months and not being barred from entry.
Since 15 August 2023, under Law 23/2023/QH15, Vietnam's e-visa is valid for up to 90 days, as single or multiple entry, and is open to citizens of every country and territory. Apply only through evisa.gov.vn or thithucdientu.gov.vn, the official domains the portal moved to on 11 November 2024. Look-alike agent sites are common.
Law 23/2023/QH15 sets a 45-day stay for citizens of countries Vietnam exempts unilaterally. Two resolutions are in force:
ASEAN citizens and a few other nationalities have bilateral exemptions of between 14 and 90 days. These have been adjusted before, so confirm yours with a Vietnamese embassy or the Immigration Department.
E-visa holders must enter and leave through international gates designated by the government. Resolution 127/NQ-CP (2023), extended by Resolution 389/NQ-CP of 2 December 2025, lists these land gates on the Cambodian border:
| Vietnamese gate | Province (post-2025 name) | Cambodian side | Cambodian e-visa accepted? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mộc Bài | Tây Ninh | Bavet | Yes |
| Xa Mát | Tây Ninh | Trapeang Phlong | No, visa on arrival |
| Tịnh Biên | An Giang | Phnom Den | No, visa on arrival |
| Vĩnh Xương (road and river) | An Giang | Kaam Samnor | No, visa on arrival |
| Hà Tiên (Xà Xía) | An Giang (formerly Kiên Giang) | Prek Chak | No, visa on arrival |
The 2025 resolution also added Bình Hiệp and Tân Nam (Tây Ninh), Thường Phước and Dinh Bà (Đồng Tháp) and Lệ Thanh (Gia Lai). Hoa Lư, in former Bình Phước and now part of Đồng Nai, is not on the e-visa list, so we do not suggest it for an e-visa run.
On the Cambodian side, the table published by the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in Berlin (updated 3 October 2026) shows Bavet as the only crossing on the Vietnamese border that accepts entry on a Cambodian e-visa. The others are open and issue visas on arrival. All travellers must also complete Cambodia's e-Arrival form before arriving.
| Starting from | Sensible gate | Approx. road distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Ho Chi Minh City | Mộc Bài | about 70 km | The usual choice; an easy day |
| Ho Chi Minh City (fallback) | Xa Mát | about 140–150 km | Longer day, via central Tây Ninh |
| Châu Đốc, Cần Thơ | Tịnh Biên, Vĩnh Xương | Châu Đốc to Tịnh Biên about 20–25 km | Good if you are already in the Mekong |
| Hà Tiên, Rạch Giá, Phú Quốc | Hà Tiên (Xà Xía) | Rạch Giá about 90 km | From Phú Quốc, take the ferry to Hà Tiên first |
The distances are road estimates. Real times depend on your departure hour, city traffic and queues at the border, and your driver confirms the route when you book. A same-day return from Ho Chi Minh City to Hà Tiên or Tịnh Biên is too long to be safe, so we do not offer it.
At busy times each direction can take an hour or more. Build in slack and avoid fixed plans for the evening.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| About 6:00 | Pickup in central Ho Chi Minh City, before the morning rush builds on the north-west exit roads |
| About 8:00 | Arrive at the Mộc Bài car park; the driver parks and you walk to Vietnamese exit control |
| 8:00–10:30 | Exit Vietnam, enter Cambodia at Bavet, exit Cambodia, re-enter Vietnam. Allow longer at peak times |
| 10:30–11:30 | Lunch or a coffee near the gate while you check the stamp and stay date in your passport |
| Early afternoon | Back in the city, ahead of the evening peak |
This is an example, not a promise. Queues, document checks and traffic vary from day to day. If you start from District 7, Thủ Đức or Bình Dương (now part of Ho Chi Minh City), the driver adjusts the pickup time. Before you leave the border area, check that the entry stamp or electronic record shows the right date and the stay you expected. Questions are much easier to raise at the counter than after you have driven back to the city.
Travel light with one shoulder bag. Suitcases can stay in the car, but keep documents, money and your phone on you.
Your driver collects you, drives to the gate, waits in the car park on the Vietnamese side for as long as the formalities take, and drives you back. The driver can point you to the entrance and stays reachable by phone.
The driver does not cross the border, does not hold your passport, does not handle paperwork and does not collect any visa fees. If someone claims to be "from your car company" and asks for your passport to speed things up, refuse and call your driver.
For one or two people a 4–5 seater is enough; groups or families can take a 7- or 16-seater. All cars are 2022–2025 models, and VinFast EVs suit the short Mộc Bài run. Chauffeur prices include fuel and tolls, every quote gets 10% off, and an 8% VAT invoice is available on request. We do not publish fixed prices; send the quick-quote form with your date, pickup and gate for an exact figure.
See also our car rental with driver page, the Tây Ninh day trip from Ho Chi Minh City, what a chauffeur price includes and self-drive or private driver.
This guide reflects the rules in force when it was updated in October 2026. Vietnamese and Cambodian immigration rules can change without notice. In the week before your trip, check evisa.gov.vn, the Immigration Department website and Cambodia's official sources (evisa.gov.kh or an embassy). If your situation is complex, for example you are working, have already overstayed or hold a residence card, ask the immigration authority or a lawyer instead of doing a visa run.
No rule forbids exiting and re-entering, but each entry is assessed separately and officers may refuse. Nobody can guarantee the outcome.
No. Your stay is granted up to the e-visa's expiry date, not beyond it.
No. That rule was abolished from 1 July 2020 by Law 51/2019/QH14.
No. The driver waits in the car park on the Vietnamese side while you walk through both posts.
On the Vietnamese border, Bavet opposite Mộc Bài is the only one, according to the Royal Embassy of Cambodia's table dated 3 October 2026. The others issue visas on arrival.
Hours are agreed between the two sides and can change. Go in the morning and let your driver confirm the day before.
No. We provide the car and driver only; we do not process visas or hold passports.
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