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Problem with e-visa Captcha
Hi, I am traveling on the Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand trip in October. I started the e-visa process. Pictures uploaded and I got a green check, entered all the required information, but when I got to the security Captcha, it just goes into a loop. Trying to hit NEXT, displays "Notification Captcha Invalid". I have tried clearing cache, rebooting, updating Chrome, using my phone, and finally, trying using Safari with a clean cache, etc. Nothing works. Any ideas? My next step may be to use VisaCentral and pay to have someone do it for me.
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Are you using the correct website?
I have read that sometimes waiting a day or two can help when they are having website issues.
My husband and I used our IPhones to get our Vietnam EVisas.
Thanks for the replies. I am using the correct website, per Tauck's directions. I worked on this both Sunday and Monday. I tried my IPhone, but may try that again tomorrow.
I hope you get your visa soon. It's a great trip - you'll enjoy it. If you have time, take an evening local tour and see the "Train Street" when the train come through. You can set it up through the concierge.
MikeHenderson, Thanks for the tip. I read that the train street has been closed off, but will check with the concierge about it.
MandM - Was your issue with the Vietnam visa? I had an issue too - although it had to do with the photo file. Oddly enough, what worked was making sure the file extensions on the photos matched. At first they both were .jpg. I changed them both to a .jpeg and voila! It was very strange but that’s all it took. That may not be the source of your problem, but I thought I would mention it as it might be worth a try? I did it on my laptop.
@MandM - If you want a preview of the trip, I blogged the trip when we went in 2024. See https://www.mikeandjudytravel.com/2024-1Vietnam-01.htm
I imagine they still do most of the same things.
buonviaggio, I had converted the pictures to .jpeg to start with, but thanks.
MikeHenderson, I will take a look at your trip once I get past this e-visa issue.
At this point, I am going to go with VisaCentral. Thanks everyone.
No don’t do that. There is a cheat sheet I’ll try to find it
https://share.google/SbMx1RLQO7xiFF2Im
That is what we used. It was on my iPad but I deleted it so goggled it just now
MandM, FYI, here is what my fee-based Claude says:
That "Notification Captcha Invalid" loop on the Vietnam e-visa portal (evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn or immigration.gov.vn) is a known, recurring problem — it's not something you're doing wrong. A few things commonly cause it:
Likely culprits:
Ad blockers / privacy extensions — even with cache cleared, extensions like uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, or built-in browser tracking protection can block the captcha's scripts from loading correctly, so it silently fails validation. Try an incognito/private window with all extensions disabled.
VPN or unusual IP routing — if you're on a VPN, corporate network, or even certain ISPs, the captcha service sometimes rejects the session.
Session/token timeout — the captcha token can expire if you take too long filling out the form before submitting; by the time you hit Next it's already stale.
Server-side overload — this portal has been unreliable for extended periods; sometimes it's not client-side at all, and everyone hits the same loop regardless of browser/device.
Things to try before paying a service:
Disposable/incognito window, zero extensions, on a stable non-VPN connection.
A different network entirely (e.g., phone hotspot instead of home wifi).
Try at a different time of day — early morning US time (evening Vietnam time) sometimes has less load.
Some travelers report success switching to Firefox specifically.
If you've genuinely exhausted all of that, going through VisaCentral (or a similar visa service) isn't a bad fallback — it's a legitimate, well-known workaround for this exact portal problem, and plenty of people use it just to avoid the captcha headache rather than any legal complexity. It typically costs more than the $25 e-visa fee but saves the frustration.
One more option: some travelers have had luck getting the visa on arrival (VOA) with a pre-approval letter from an agency instead of the e-visa — worth comparing cost/timing against VisaCentral if you want a backup plan.
Mike, I just read your VCT journals — thank you for sharing them!
The visa on arrival is really only for emergency situations. I wonder if the Tauck people can help, they have a special department called something like ‘Journey preparation’. A regular forum member talked about it sometime ago, maybe she is reading this and can help.
Tauck Journey Preparation Center 866-951-0077 (this department deals with VISA information needed for trips-- it's more direct than having customer service send this department an email)
I would try to use a different computer -- it does not have saved temporary file or info that's on the original computer that you used where you used and got an error message. This might work.
(Note: I also use a different computer when looking for airline tix because sometimes the cookies remember you and give you a higher airline tix price)