Vietnam Customs Procedures
What to do before departure?
Before booking a flight to Vietnam, what you need to do is to make sure your passport is valid at least 6 months from the date of arrival, and that you have your Vietnam visa already or the Vietnam visa apprpval letter available in hand to get the visa at arrival airport in Vietnam (called Vietnam visa on arrival).
The easiest way to get Vietnma visa is to apply vietnam visa for the mentioned Vietnam visa on arrival so that you could save your precious time and money. Before departure, you just need to print out the Vietnam visa onrrival letter and bring it with 2 photos + passport to Vietnam to get the visa stamped at the airport and enjoy your time in Vietnam.
What to do upon entry/exit?
Upon entering or exiting Vietnam, all visitors to Vietnam must complete the entry / exit and customs procedures. They have to fill out the new entry & exit form NA1 submit to the Immigration Officers, show all the required documents (passport, plus visa approval letter & photos in case you use Vietnam visa on arrival) and wait a couple of minutes until the procedures are completed to enter or exit the country.
To quickly fulfill the entry/exit form without any mistakes, please be noted with the following information:
-The goods, luggage & personal possessions brought to Vietnam must be sufficient for personal use only.
- Luggage of travelers as declared at Customs on arrival must be shown again at Customs when leaving Vietnam (except for those having been consumed or given as gifts).
And remember to specify in the entry/exit form those following stuffs (if any):
- Video cameras, recorders and electronic devices not for personal use;
- Gold, silver, gemstones and jewelleries not personal belongings;
- Foreign currency in cash (paper, coins and traveller’s cheques) over US$ 7,000 or equivalent in other currencies; over 5,000,000 Vietnamese Dong in cash.
- Gold (over 300 g): If more than 3,000 g, you are required to deposit and re-export the surplus;
- Other commodities out of duty-free luggage.
Duty-free goods allowed to bringing into Vietnam: 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, 150g of tobacco threads, 1.5 litres of alcohol, and other items which are not prohibited with total value not exceeding US$ 300.
Prohibited goods for import or export from Vietnam (if without permit): weapons, ammunition, explosives, inflammables, firecrackers of all sorts, opium and other narcotics, toxic chemicals, antiques, rare fauna and flora, documents related to national security, cultural items improper to Vietnamese traditions and customs, and toys that have negative effects on children’s character developments etc.