unfortunately no. A visa is a payable document. If a visa is waived it means you don't need a visa. So for instance, most Europeans don't need a visa for Thailand. That stamp in your passport is not a visa. Because in Suvarnabhumi airport there's a line for visa on arrival (for Chinese, for example) and a line for people who just have a visa waiver (i.e. don't need a visa).

Whatever, the point I was making is does a visitor need to show certain documents to get a stamp of whatever kind in his passport or can he steam in there and slap the customs officer around the face with his passport and have an immediate 15 day stay in Vietnam granted to him.

That's what the lad was asking (I think) and that was the point I was clarifying.

@Napoleon,

"Not to be nit picky but (...) A visa on arrival is what happens when you get to an airport/boarder and they give you a stamp in your passport upon the presentation of particular documents or a passport in agreement with the destination country's immigration policy."

That's incorrect. It's an entry stamp. -35 points face value. For info: people who require visas and those who are from countries that are exempt from visa requirements both get an entry stamp in their passport.
A visa on arrival is what happens when the visa (different format than an entry stamp) is put on your passport when you arrive in the country you're visiting rather than applying at an embassy or consulate of that country. You can apply for visas on arrival when you arrive in that country or before your trip online or by post. If online or by post, the visa will be put in your passport when you arrive there, then you fill up the yellow entry card and queue up again for an entry stamp.

Passport holders of countries that have visa requirements waived off don't need to apply in advance for a visa or fill in documents for a visa on arrival. They only need their passport and the small yellow entry card that you can fill at the airport or port of entry.

Also, free visa isn't the same as visa free. In the case of the article posted by voltaire above, those 5 countries don't need to apply for a visa (visa free). Whereas people from countries that get free visa still need to go to the embassy or consulate to apply for a visa that they don't need to pay for.

Yep I just meant heading to Hekou with my passport and valid Chinese visa. Do I need other documents or is my British passport enough to get the free fifteen day visa?

So, do I, as a US citizen, need to buy a visa at the Consulate here in Kunming? Or can I get a visa at the border? Like when visiting Laos or Thailand?

Consulate in Kunming or a travel agency in hekou or go online and apply with an agency for a visa on arrival at airport arrival only.

Further more Tourists from many Western countries will have extended times to stay in Vietnam

You can read more here www.vietnamtravel.co/[...]