Entry Requirements & Customs

Entry Requirements

Residents of the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom need both a passport and a prearranged visa to enter Vietnam. A tourist visa lasts for 30 days and costs $65. You'll pay a bit more through an agent but will save yourself some paper shuffling. A visa takes 5 to 7 days to process. Applicants must submit an application, a passport, and passport photo. U.S. citizens can obtain a visa application from the Vietnam Embassy in Washington, D.C., online at www.vietnamembassy-usa.org, or by calling tel. 202/861-1297. Mail the completed application with your passport and your passport photos using an express carrier (Federal Express, US Express, or Priority Mail with delivery confirmation) to the embassy (1233 20th St. NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036) including a self-addressed stamped envelope from an express carrier (with delivery confirmation). Processing time is usually 5 days, but for a small fee, you can expedite it to as few as two, and even less in last-minute circumstances (call to see what you can arrange). The embassy is open Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 12:30pm. The fax number is 202/861-1297.

Although there's no official policy, once inside Vietnam, most tourists can extend their visa twice, each time for 30 days, but this is done on a case-by-case basis, and it's possible only through a travel agent (government-owned Saigontourist is a good bet; for more information, call tel. 08/824-4554 or go to www.saigontourist.net). If someone gives you trouble about extending your visa, stick to your guns and ask around. Multiple-entry business visas that are valid for up to 3 months are available, but you must have a sponsoring agency in Vietnam and it can take much longer to process. For short business trips, it's less complicated simply to enter as a tourist.

You no longer need to specify an entry point; Vietnam visas are good for any legal port of entry -- land, sea, or air -- but remember that your visa begins on the date that you specify on your application.

In a bid to boost investment and cooperation, Vietnam has just lifted visa requirements for Japanese and Koreans -- a good sign that visa restrictions for Western visitors might loosen up soon.

For an up-to-date country-by-country listing of passport requirements around the world, go to http://travel.state.gov.

Vietnamese Embassy Locations

In the United States--Vietnam Embassy: 1233 20 St. NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036 (tel. 202/861-0737; fax 202/861-0917)

Consulate General of Vietnam: 1700 California St., Suite 430, San Francisco, CA 94109 (tel. 415/922-1577; fax 415/922-1848)

Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations: 866 UN Plaza, Suite 435, New York, NY 10017 (tel. 212/644-0594; fax 212/644-5732)

In Canada--Vietnam Embassy: 470 Wilbrod St., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6M8 (tel. 613/236-0772; fax 613/236-2704)

In the United Kingdom--Vietnam Embassy: 12-14 Victoria Rd., London W8-5RD, U.K. (tel. 0171/937-1912; fax 0171/937-6108)

In Australia--Vietnam Embassy: 6 Timbarra Crescent, Malley, Canberra, ACT 2606 (tel. 2/6286-6059; fax 2/6286-4534; www.vietnamembassy.org.au)

Consulate General of Vietnam: 489 New South Head Rd., Double Bay, Sydney, NSW 2028 (tel. 2/9327-2539; fax 02/9328-1653)

In Thailand--Vietnam Embassy: 82/1 Wireless Rd., Bangkok 10500 (tel. 02/251-7202 or 02/251-5835; fax 02/251-7201 or 02/251-7203)

Customs

What You Can Bring Into Vietnam--The first and most important thing to remember is don't lose your entry/exit slip, the yellow piece of paper that will be clipped to your passport upon arrival. If you do, you might be fined. If you are entering the country as a tourist, you do not need to declare electronic goods and jewelry if these things are for personal use. Declaration forms are only to make sure you're not importing goods without paying a tariff. You must declare cash in excess of $3,000 or the equivalent. You can also import 200 cigarettes, 2 liters of alcohol, and perfume for personal use.

It is unlikely that you will be hassled in Vietnam for bringing anything in, but be careful if bringing excessive equipment. Adventurers with bicycles or special kites for kite surfing will have to prove that they will be taking their expensive items home with them and not selling them in Vietnam. Commercial photographers or amateurs who work with professional, high-end equipment should be wary of bringing the whole studio with them. The atmosphere is lightening up, but foreign journalists still provoke fear (the Communist Party still hopes to maintain their information vacuum). More than 30 rolls of film is suspect, but just play dumb and there'll be no problem.

What You Can Take Home from Vietnam--Restrictions on what you can take out of Vietnam are loose. Expect a red flag if you have any kind of plant materials or animals, but the most notable restriction has to do with antiques. To prevent the kind of wholesale looting of the region's treasures in the recent colonial past, you might be stopped if you are carrying any Buddhist statuary or authentic antiques or religious artifacts. This does not apply to tourist trinkets, however aged and interesting. Antiques cannot be exported, although the laws are vague and irregularly enforced. If you're buying a reproduction, have the shop state this on your receipt, just in case.

Returning U.S. citizens who have been away for at least 48 hours are allowed to bring back, once every 30 days, $800 worth of merchandise duty-free. You'll be charged a flat rate of duty on the next $1,000 worth of purchases. Any dollar amount beyond that is dutiable at whatever rates apply. On mailed gifts the duty-free limit is $200. Be sure to have your receipts or purchases handy to expedite the declaration process. Note: If you owe duty, you are required to pay on your arrival in the United States, either by cash, personal check, government or traveler's check, or money order, and in some locations, a Visa or MasterCard.

To avoid having to pay duty on foreign-made personal items you owned before you left on your trip, bring along a bill of sale, insurance policy, jeweler's appraisal, or receipts of purchase. Or you can register items that can be readily identified by a permanently affixed serial number or marking -- think laptop computers, cameras, and CD players -- with Customs before you leave. Take the items to the nearest Customs office or register them with Customs at the airport from which you're departing. You'll receive, at no cost, a Certificate of Registration, which allows duty-free entry for the life of the item.

With some exceptions, you cannot bring fresh fruits and vegetables into the United States. For specifics on what you can bring back, download the invaluable free pamphlet Know Before You Go online at www.cbp.gov (Click on "Travel," and then click on "Know Before You Go! Online Brochure"), or contact the U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20229 (tel. 877/287-8667) and request the pamphlet.

For a clear summary of Canadian rules, write for the booklet I Declare, issued by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (tel. 800/461-9999 in Canada, or 204/983-3500; www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca). Canada allows its citizens a C$750 exemption, and you're allowed to bring back duty-free one carton of cigarettes, one can of tobacco, 40 imperial ounces of liquor, and 50 cigars. In addition, you're allowed to mail gifts to Canada valued at less than C$60 a day, provided they're unsolicited and don't contain alcohol or tobacco (write on the package "Unsolicited gift, under $60 value"). All valuables should be declared on the Y-38 form before departure from Canada, including serial numbers of valuables you already own, such as expensive foreign cameras. Note: The $750 exemption can only be used once a year and only after an absence of 7 days.

U.K. citizens returning from a non-E.U. country have a Customs allowance of: 200 cigarettes; 50 cigars; 250 grams of smoking tobacco; 2 liters of still table wine; 1 liter of spirits or strong liqueurs (over 22% volume); 2 liters of fortified wine, sparkling wine, or other liqueurs; 60 cubic centimeters (ml) perfume; 250 cubic centimeters (ml) of toilet water; and £145 worth of all other goods, including gifts and souvenirs. People under 17 cannot have the tobacco or alcohol allowance. For more information, contact HM Customs & Excise at tel. 0845/010-9000 (from outside the U.K., 020/8929-0152), or consult their website at www.hmce.gov.uk.

The duty-free allowance in Australia is A$400 or, for those under 18, A$200. Citizens can bring in 250 cigarettes or 250 grams of loose tobacco, and 1,125 milliliters of alcohol. If you're returning with valuables you already own, such as foreign-made cameras, you should file form B263. A helpful brochure available from Australian consulates or Customs offices is Know Before You Go. For more information, call the Australian Customs Service at tel. 1300/363-263 or log on to www.customs.gov.au.

The duty-free allowance for New Zealand is NZ$700. Citizens over 17 can bring in 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, or 250 grams of tobacco (or a mixture of all three if their combined weight doesn't exceed 250g), plus 4.5 liters of wine and beer, or 1.125 liters of liquor. New Zealand currency does not carry import or export restrictions. Fill out a certificate of export, listing the valuables you are taking out of the country; that way, you can bring them back without paying duty. Most questions are answered in a free pamphlet available at New Zealand consulates and Customs offices called New Zealand Customs Guide for Travellers, Notice no. 4. For more information, contact New Zealand Customs, The Customhouse, 17-21 Whitmore St., Box 2218, Wellington (tel. 04/473-6099 or 0800/428-786; www.customs.govt.nz).

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Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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				Frommer's Vietnam, 2nd Edition Author: Sherisse Pham Pub Date: January 22, 2008 Price: $22.99				Related Titles: Comrades and Strangers: Behind the Closed Doors of North Korea Frommer's Beijing, 5th Edition Frommer's China, 3rd Edition