Does Vietnam have an arrival card, and do you have to fill it in?

The short answer: yes, but it is not compulsory (yet)

For years Vietnam had no arrival card at all for most visitors: you showed your passport and visa and walked through. That changed on 15 April 2026, when the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security started the Pre-Arrival Information (PAI) system as a pilot at Tan Son Nhat. By June it covered Noi Bai, Da Nang, Cam Ranh and Phu Quoc as well.

The ministry's own announcement calls it not yet mandatory. The Singapore Embassy in Hanoi says foreign visitors are strongly advised to complete it to avoid longer queues, and the UK government says Vietnam encourages it but does not currently require it, warning that this may change. A 2 November 2026 report in Báo Pháp Luật said the pilot is encouraged, not compulsory, that current law has no rule requiring foreigners to declare before entry, and that the ministry has proposed adding one. About 66% of foreign arrivals at those airports were already using it by the end of September 2026.

Some news reports in April 2026 described PAI as required at Tan Son Nhat. The official wording is voluntary; the practical difference is speed.

Should you fill it in anyway?

If you are landing at one of the five pilot airports, yes. It takes a few minutes, costs nothing on the official site, and the point of the system is to cut queuing at the immigration desk. Vietnam Airlines says passengers who have declared use a priority lane.

• Flying into Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Nha Trang (Cam Ranh) or Phu Quoc: file it inside the 3 days before you land.

• Arriving overland from Cambodia, Laos or China, or by sea: land borders are not part of the pilot as of November 2026, so there is nothing to file.

• Transit passengers who stay airside, and Vietnamese passport holders, are not covered.

If you forget, nothing stops you entering. The Singapore Embassy notes you can also complete it on arrival, and QR codes for the site are posted in the arrival halls.

How to fill out the Vietnam pre-arrival form

The ministry describes three parts: passenger information, visa information and trip information. Have your passport, your e-visa (if you need one) and your flight number ready.

• 1. Type prearrival.immigration.gov.vn into the browser yourself, or scan the official QR code. It is the only official address.

• 2. Passenger information: your details exactly as in your passport.

• 3. Visa information: your e-visa details, or that you are entering under a visa exemption.

• 4. Trip information: your flight, arrival date and arrival airport.

• 5. Submit. The system generates a confirmation QR code. Save it on your phone or print it, and show it with your passport at immigration.

File within 3 days before you arrive. If your flight changes to a different day or airport, submit again with the new details.

Fake pre-arrival and e-visa sites

The Ministry of Public Security says fake websites copying the PAI system have already been found, set up to take money through card payments, and tells travellers to use only prearrival.immigration.gov.vn. The Indian Embassy in Hanoi issued a similar warning in May 2026.

The same applies to the e-visa, where the scam sites are older and better at ranking. Vietnam's official e-visa portal is evisa.gov.vn; the Vietnamese Embassy in Canada lists more than a dozen lookalikes, some with "gov" in the name but not ending in .gov.vn.

• Official Vietnamese government addresses end in .gov.vn. Not .com, .org, or .govt.vn.

• The pre-arrival form is not a visa. A site that sells it as one, or bundles it with a "visa approval letter", is not the government.

• The official e-visa fee is US$25 single entry or US$50 multiple entry, with nothing added for "processing".

What you actually need to enter Vietnam

The pre-arrival form is optional. The visa is not.

• E-visa: needed by citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries not on the exemption lists. Apply at evisa.gov.vn: US$25 single or US$50 multiple entry, valid up to 90 days. Our Vietnam e-visa guide walks through it.

• 45 days visa-free: the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Japan, South Korea and Russia until 14 March 2028, and Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland until 14 August 2028.

• Customs: declare cash over US$5,000 or 15 million dong, as well as anything prohibited or taxable. Most tourists have nothing to declare.

• Health declaration: a decree in force since 1 July 2026 allows Vietnam to require one during specific disease outbreaks. The Ministry of Health said on 30 June 2026 that it is not a routine requirement for every traveller, and that tokhaiyte.vn is not its site.

Our Vietnam visa guide covers which group you are in, and things to know before visiting Vietnam covers money, traffic and SIM cards for the first day.

Frequently asked questions