Vietnam's pre-arrival declaration (PAI)
6 steps · Updated
Vietnam's pre-arrival declaration started on 15 April 2026 as a voluntary pilot at Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City, and by mid-June Da Nang had become the fourth airport in the pilot. By October the form also listed Cam Ranh, the airport for Nha Trang. The US Embassy now calls it mandatory at every airport, while the UK's travel advice still says it isn't. Vietnam itself hasn't published a nationwide rule. We'd fill it in before any flight: if the stricter reading is right you need it, and if it isn't you've spent a few minutes on an online form.
The timeline
PAI pilot starts at Tan Son Nhat airport, voluntary in its first weeks
then
US Embassy says every foreign passport holder landing at Tan Son Nhat must file it
then
Da Nang joins as the fourth pilot airport, after Tan Son Nhat, Phu Quoc and Noi Bai
then
then
then
The form's own list of arrival airports shows a fifth: Cam Ranh, for Nha Trang
What to watch next
The Ministry of Public Security says the system will go nationwide after the pilot, and that it is studying land borders too, but it has given no date. Watch for a ministry notice that sets a start date or makes the form compulsory, and for the UK page to change its wording.