Holidaymakers have been warned to pay careful attention to their visas after a simple spelling mistake left an Australian tourist almost £400 out of pocket.
Lynne Johnston, from Geelong West, Victoria, had recently set off on a whirlwind trip to Vietnam, a country that requires Australians to secure a visa ahead of their arrival.
Many Australian visitors typically apply online for e-visas, though the document can be obtained through the Vietnamese embassy or on arrival with varying fees and processing times.
Having heard plenty of horror stories of tourists falling victim to ‘dodgy’ online providers charging $500 for emergency visas, she placed her confidence in the official Vietnamese government website and paid the standard $25 e-Visa fee.
After ‘meticulously’ entering her personal details, she sent off for the document and awaited its arrival, which came just a week later.
In a contribution post to The Sydney Herald, Lynne said she thought nothing appeared out of the ordinary on her visa – that is, until she was stopped at the airport.
Officials, who noticed her surname had been misspelled as ‘Johnstonton’ rather than ‘Johnston’, informed her she would be unable to fly unless the name on the document matches that of her passport.
In a last-ditch attempt to make her flight on time, Lynne revealed she was forced to fork out the equivalent of £378 for an emergency visa.
Lynne Johnson, from Geelong West, Victoria, shared her near-disastrous start to a trip to Vietnam (pictured) after her e-Visa had arrived with spelling errors
The Australian traveller said she was stopped at the airport by officials who’d spotted her surname, Johnston, had instead been spelled as ‘Johnstonton’
She wrote: ‘We still had time to nick over to Flight Centre at the airport and to take $500 to pay for it. We were not her first casualty that day.
Lynne explained that a fellow traveller at the Flight Centre was also left ‘$500 poorer’ after discovering too late that her middle name had been omitted from her visa.
In a final word of caution to holidaymakers and visa holders, she stressed: ‘Don’t just glance at your visa and throw it in with your passport. Go over it carefully.
‘You may be up-to-date with scams, but don’t think you are so clever that something else won’t trip you up.’
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The simple visa error that could cost you $500
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