Vietnam, new digital declaration required upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh City

Who flies in Vietnam and lands at Ho Chi Minh City will have to watch out for a new mandatory procedure: in fact, the Vietnam Pre-Arrival Declaration, a digital statement to be completed prior to arrival in the country.

This is a solution quite similar to that required to enter Singapore for years or also recently introduced in Thailand, Indonesia and many other locations in Southeast Asia and does not provide for any Economic outlay compared to the procedure to enter the UK Or in the United States.

Beware, however, of a key detail: this procedure does not replace the visa. Who needs a e-visa, an exemption certificate or another entry permit will have to continue to apply separately. The change concerns only prior registration for immigration.

Who should fill out the Vietnam Pre-Arrival Declaration.

The requirement currently applies to international arrivals at the airport in Tan Son Nhat (SGN) and concerns:

• i foreign nationals entering Vietnam, either with a visa or without a visa requirement;
• i Vietnamese nationals living abroad traveling with foreign passport And with a valid visa.

Instead, they are excluded:

• i Vietnamese citizens traveling with Vietnamese passport;
• i transit passengers Who do not pass through immigration controls.

In practice, those who fly, for example, with a unique itinerary such as Milan-Ho Chi Minh City-Bangkok, with both boarding passes already issued and checked baggage to the final destination, does not have to fill out the form.

On the other hand, those who enter Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City and then proceed to other domestic destinations will need to have already completed the declaration upon first arrival in the country.

New procedure applies only in Ho Chi Minh City

For now, the system applies only to Ho Chi Minh City, that is, at the airport in Tan Son Nhat. Vietnam's other major international airports, such as. Hanoi e Da Nang, are not yet involved.

However, the portal already contains fields related to other entry points and also to arrivals by land or sea. A detail that suggests a possible future nationwide extension, although no official date has been announced.

How to fill out the online form before arrival

The procedure is developed in four steps.

1. It is necessary to enter the personal data, including expected arrival date, passport number, expiration, full name, gender, date of birth, nationality, phone number, email, and visa or entry document details. Optional uploading of the passport image to pre-fill part of the fields is also available.
2. The travel data: Country of departure, reason for travel, means of transportation, flight number in case of air arrival, point of entry, address of accommodation, place of work if any, and expected date of exit from Vietnam.
3. The traveler must check all the data entered and complete the validation with a six-digit OTP code sent via email.
4. Once the procedure is completed, the system generates a file number and a downloadable confirmation with QR code, to be shown at immigration upon arrival.

When you can send the digital declaration

The declaration can be completed the day of arrival or in the previous two days. The system does not allow selection of dates further away.

To give a concrete example: who lands the April 25 will only be able to submit the form from the April 23.

Those who forget to complete it before departure can still do so at the airport, thanks to a QR code available in SGN's arrivals area that links directly to the form. Authorities, however, advise doing this in advance because completing everything at the last minute risks lengthening the time.

What you should do to avoid immigration problems

The most useful advice is simple: save the QR code to your phone, also make one screenshot and, if possible, bring along a hard copy.

If you lose your confirmation email or dump your phone right at the time of the checks, having a copy ready can prevent wasted time and unnecessary complications at the immigration desk.