The Vietnam arrival card is a free online declaration you submit up to three days before you fly. It is required at Tan Son Nhat (SGN) since 15 April 2026 and at Noi Bai (HAN) since June 2026. You get a QR code to show at immigration instead of a paper form.
This guide walks through the whole submission screen by screen, with the exact wording you will see on the government portal at each step. It also covers the two fields people get wrong most often: visa type, and departure country on a connecting flight.
Before you start Have your passport, your flight number, and your first-night hotel address ready. The whole submission takes about five minutes if you have those three things to hand.
Vietnam's Immigration Department operates an online Pre-Arrival Information Submission system at prearrival.immigration.gov.vn. It is the digital replacement for the paper arrival card that used to be handed out on the plane.
Three things worth knowing before you begin:
| Airport | Status | Since |
|---|---|---|
| Tan Son Nhat, Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) | Required | 15 April 2026 |
| Noi Bai, Hanoi (HAN) | Required | June 2026 |
| Da Nang (DAD) | Announced, no date confirmed | |
| Cam Ranh (CXR), Phu Quoc (PQC) | Not yet included | |
| Land and sea border gates | Under study |
Vietnamese passport holders and passengers who stay airside on a transit are exempt. Everyone else arriving at SGN or HAN on a foreign passport needs to submit, including visa-exempt nationalities and e-visa holders.
📌 Expert Insight:
Rules at the smaller airports are moving quickly. Check prearrival.immigration.gov.vn a few days before you fly rather than relying on what a friend did last season.
Go to the official Pre-Arrival Information Submission website:
https://prearrival.immigration.gov.vn/home-page
On the homepage you will see three options. Select "Create & Submit Pre-arrival Information".
A CAPTCHA screen appears next. Enter the characters exactly as displayed, then click Verify to continue.
From the dropdown, select the nationality of the passport you will actually enter Vietnam on. This is the step that decides which visa options appear in Step 3, so getting it wrong costs you a restart.
💡 Important Select the nationality on your travel passport, not your country of residence. Dual nationals: pick the passport you will hand to the officer.
This section collects your personal and document details.
The form only accepts submissions within three days of your arrival. The system shows three date options; pick the one that matches your landing date, not your departure date from home.
Upload a clear, well-lit photo of your passport data page. The system reads your full name, passport number, date of birth, nationality and expiry date from it. After the auto-fill, add manually:
This is where most submissions go wrong. Tick the box "I have read and understood this information", then match your situation to the table below.
| Your situation | Select this visa type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Visa-free nationality (Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and others) | Default visa exemption by country | See the full exemption list |
| Vietnam e-visa holder, issued through the official portal | Electronic Visa (E-Visa) | Number format: E260126NLDNWKRFLPxxxx |
| Paper visa from a Vietnamese embassy or consulate | Visa | |
| Permanent or temporary residence card, issued by MPS | Permanent / Temporary Residence Card | |
| APEC Business Travel Card holder | ABTC Card |
Not sure which one you hold? Our guide on how to get a Vietnam e-visa shows what an official e-visa looks like, and visa on arrival explains the counter process if that is your route.
👥 Travelling as a group? Click "Add Passenger +" to include companions in the same submission. Each person still needs their own passport details entered.
Once every passenger is entered, click Trip Information to continue.
This screen covers your itinerary and where you are staying. Here is the whole form before we go field by field:
Example shown: a Singapore passport holder flying into Tan Son Nhat. Your flight code and border gate will differ.
Enter the country you fly in from immediately before Vietnam. On a connecting itinerary this is your last transit country, not where your journey started.
📌 Expert Insight:
Connecting flight example. Routing Moscow to Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City: enter Hong Kong as the departure country. This single field causes more rejected submissions than any other on the form.
Select what actually describes your trip (Travel, Business and so on) and your mode of arrival: Air, Land or Sea.
Search your flight number in the dropdown. If it is not listed, choose Other and type it manually. Valid formats look like TR302, MH801, JL79 or VN123.
Select the airport you land at: SGN - Tan Son Nhat International Airport for Ho Chi Minh City, or HAN - Noi Bai International Airport for Hanoi.
Enter your first-night accommodation. To get the ward and district right, search the hotel on Google Maps and copy the full address, including ward or commune and city or district.
Keep that address to hand. You will be asked for it again at the counter, and it is the same address you give when booking a private airport transfer to your hotel.
Search the hotel name on Google and copy the address exactly as it appears, including ward and district.
The last field on the screen. If you know when you leave Vietnam, enter it. It can be left blank.
Click Review & Submit. The system shows a full summary of everything you entered, both passenger and trip information. Read it properly before submitting, because corrections after submission mean starting again.
⚠ Legal declaration notice You must declare personal information, luggage and goods truthfully. Your passport must be valid for at least six months. This form does not replace the temporary residence registration your accommodation files for you.
When everything checks out:
Submission generates two things. Save both to your phone before you fly:
📌 Expert Insight:
Email the screenshot and the PDF to yourself, and take a photo of the QR code on a second device if you travel with one. Arriving with a flat battery and no offline copy is the most common way this goes wrong.
When you reach immigration at Tan Son Nhat or Noi Bai, have the QR code open on your screen. The officer scans it and your details are already in the system, so there is no paper form to fill in at the counter and no clipboard to hunt for.
It does not move you up the queue. This is the point most guides skip, and it is the one that affects your first two hours in Vietnam.
At peak arrival banks the general immigration line at Tan Son Nhat runs 45 to 60 minutes, and Noi Bai is similar when several wide-bodies land together. The arrival card removes the paperwork step; the line in front of you is unchanged.
If your schedule cannot absorb an hour standing still, that is a separate service. Fast track immigration at Tan Son Nhat puts you in the priority lane with a member of our team meeting you inside the terminal, and most passengers clear in under 30 minutes. The same applies at Noi Bai fast track in Hanoi. Both are paid services, and both are separate from this free declaration.
Welcome to Vietnam. We hope the rest of the trip is smoother than the paperwork.
Yes, at the two airports where it has been rolled out. It has been required at Tan Son Nhat (SGN) since 15 April 2026 and at Noi Bai (HAN) since June 2026. Da Nang has been announced but no date is confirmed. At other airports and land borders you may still be given a paper form.
Nothing. It is free on the government portal. Any website charging a processing fee is a third party reselling a free form.
Within three days of your arrival date, so a 72-hour window. Submitting earlier than that is not possible; the system will not show your date.
Select Other and type it manually. Valid formats include TR302, MH801, JL79 and VN123.
The country of your last departure before Vietnam, not where you started. London to Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City means you enter Singapore.
Yes. Use Add Passenger + in the passenger step to add each traveller. Everyone is covered by one submission, but each person needs their own passport details.
No. It is a declaration, not permission to enter. You still need a valid visa, e-visa, or qualifying visa exemption.
It removes the paper form at the counter, which saves a few minutes. It does not shorten the queue. Skipping the line is a separate paid service.
You will normally be directed to complete the declaration on arrival, which means doing it on your phone while standing in the hall. It is not a boarding requirement, but arriving without it costs you time at exactly the moment you have least patience for it.
Best visited during dry season (November to April) for ideal weather.
Book accommodations in advance during peak travel season.
Carry local currency (Vietnamese Dong) for markets and small vendors.
Respect local customs and dress modestly when visiting temples.
Phu Quoc International Airport, Phu Quoc
A Sondax host meets your group inside Terminal 2 at Phu Quoc and walks you to the priority immigration lane, on arrival or departure.
Da Nang International Airport, Da Nang
A Sondax host meets your group inside the international terminal at Da Nang and walks you to the priority immigration lane.
Cam Ranh International Airport, Nha Trang
A Sondax host meets your group inside Terminal 2 at Cam Ranh and takes you to the priority immigration lane, arrival or departure.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Beat the immigration queue at Tan Son Nhat Airport. Our team escorts you through priority lanes — arrival or departure done in under 30 minutes.
Hanoi, Vietnam
Walk past the immigration queue at Noi Bai Airport. A dedicated Sondax escort guides you through priority lanes — typically done in under 20 minutes.
