Finally, the penny drops – just seen this on the Vietnamese Embassy website:
Starting from 1st Jan 2015, the Embassy of Viet Nam temporarily stop processing Business visa application due to the introduction of new Immigration Regulation. If you travel to Viet Nam for business purpose, your host organizations/partners/invitees in Vietnam will need to arrange your visa approval letter directly with the immigration office. The Embassy will issue business visa when the approval letter is submitted along with the application form and passport.
The Embassy may consider specific requests for business visa. Please contact us at consular@vietnamembassy.org.uk
Maybe the timing of all my requests coinciding with a change in visa regulations is contributing to the confusion about what exactly it is I’m supposed to do in respect of making an application for a Business Visa. I’m still very unsure about how to proceed. Will it be sufficient for me to supply a copy of the ‘Letter of Invitation?’ Will my host need to have direct communication with the immigration office, and what’s meant by that anyway? Is that in Vietnam, or in the UK?
I feel I can’t do much more immediately. I’m waiting for my legalised documents to be returned, I still have to get my police certificate returned to me, and I can’t speed up the medical health check as it has to be at my own GP and the earliest appointment I’ve been able to secure is a fortnight away. It’s agonising…. I think this visa malarkey is going to take some time to fathom, my date of departure is moving further and further out of reach.
Quietly Terrified 