Vietnam customs
Apply for visa
Free import
• For travelers aged 18 or older: 1.5 L of spirits with 20% alcohol or more, or 2 L of alcoholic drinks under 20%, or 3 L of beer or other alcoholic drinks. A single bottle that goes over the limit by no more than 1 L is duty-free as a whole.
• For travelers aged 18 or older: 200 cigarettes or 20 cigars or 250 g of tobacco.
• Personal effects in quantities that suit the purpose of your trip.
• Other goods worth up to VND 10,000,000 in total, if they are not banned or subject to import conditions.
• Goods above these allowances are taxed and must be declared to customs on arrival.
Currency
• Cash over USD 5,000 (or the equivalent in other currencies) or over VND 15,000,000 must be declared to customs on arrival. The limit does not apply to traveler's cheques, bank cards or other payment instruments.
• If you want to pay foreign cash of USD 5,000 or less into a bank account in Vietnam, you must also declare it on arrival.
• Gold jewelry and gold articles weighing 300 g or more in total must be declared. Gold bars and raw gold may not be brought in: foreign visitors must leave them in a customs warehouse until departure or send them abroad at their own cost.
Prohibited
• Narcotics and illegal drugs
• E-cigarettes (vapes) and heated tobacco products
• Weapons, ammunition, explosives and military equipment
• Fireworks, sky lanterns and devices that jam traffic speed cameras
• Publications and cultural products banned from circulation in Vietnam
• Used consumer goods for trade, such as used clothing, electronics and household appliances
• Specimens and products of rhinoceros and African elephant (for example, rhino horn and ivory)
• Fresh or raw animal products carried in your baggage
Restricted
• Pets: you may bring up to 2 animals as pets. Register them with the animal quarantine office at the border on arrival and carry a veterinary health certificate from the country of departure. Animals that have not been vaccinated against serious infectious diseases will be vaccinated at the border. For more than 2 animals, register with the Department of Animal Health in advance.
• Processed animal food: up to 5 kg for personal use, subject to animal quarantine at the border.
• Wild animals and plants protected under CITES, and products made from them, need CITES permits.
• Prescription medicines worth more than USD 100 in total must be declared. Carry them in your hand luggage with a copy of the prescription. Medicines that Vietnam classes as addictive or psychotropic are limited to 7 days of treatment: bring the prescription and a doctor's letter with your name, age, the medicine name, dosage and amount.
• For travelers aged 18 or older: 1.5 L of spirits with 20% alcohol or more, or 2 L of alcoholic drinks under 20%, or 3 L of beer or other alcoholic drinks. A single bottle that goes over the limit by no more than 1 L is duty-free as a whole.
• For travelers aged 18 or older: 200 cigarettes or 20 cigars or 250 g of tobacco.
• Personal effects in quantities that suit the purpose of your trip.
• Other goods worth up to VND 10,000,000 in total, if they are not banned or subject to import conditions.
• Goods above these allowances are taxed and must be declared to customs on arrival.
Currency
• Cash over USD 5,000 (or the equivalent in other currencies) or over VND 15,000,000 must be declared to customs on arrival. The limit does not apply to traveler's cheques, bank cards or other payment instruments.
• If you want to pay foreign cash of USD 5,000 or less into a bank account in Vietnam, you must also declare it on arrival.
• Gold jewelry and gold articles weighing 300 g or more in total must be declared. Gold bars and raw gold may not be brought in: foreign visitors must leave them in a customs warehouse until departure or send them abroad at their own cost.
Prohibited
• Narcotics and illegal drugs
• E-cigarettes (vapes) and heated tobacco products
• Weapons, ammunition, explosives and military equipment
• Fireworks, sky lanterns and devices that jam traffic speed cameras
• Publications and cultural products banned from circulation in Vietnam
• Used consumer goods for trade, such as used clothing, electronics and household appliances
• Specimens and products of rhinoceros and African elephant (for example, rhino horn and ivory)
• Fresh or raw animal products carried in your baggage
Restricted
• Pets: you may bring up to 2 animals as pets. Register them with the animal quarantine office at the border on arrival and carry a veterinary health certificate from the country of departure. Animals that have not been vaccinated against serious infectious diseases will be vaccinated at the border. For more than 2 animals, register with the Department of Animal Health in advance.
• Processed animal food: up to 5 kg for personal use, subject to animal quarantine at the border.
• Wild animals and plants protected under CITES, and products made from them, need CITES permits.
• Prescription medicines worth more than USD 100 in total must be declared. Carry them in your hand luggage with a copy of the prescription. Medicines that Vietnam classes as addictive or psychotropic are limited to 7 days of treatment: bring the prescription and a doctor's letter with your name, age, the medicine name, dosage and amount.