Customs in Vietnam
If you enter Vietnam by air, customs clearance is usually quick and superficial. Unless the x-ray machine indicates that your backpack is full of guns or heroin, it's a matter of minutes.
On the other hand, if you arrive by land, expect a rigorous search. Your luggage can be completely emptied. As if Vietnam really doesn't want visitors arriving by road.
You have the right to import duty free, 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars or 250 grams of tobacco, 2 liters of alcohol, up to $ 50 in gifts, plus a reasonable amount of luggage and personal effects. On the other hand, it is forbidden to bring in opium, weapons, explosives, and cultural material unfit for Vietnamese society. Currency in cash (paper money, metal and tourist checks) must not exceed 7,000 USD or other currencies of equivalent value. The sum in dong (Vietnamese currency) in cash must not exceed 15,000,000 dong.
At the height of the 1996 campaign against "social evils", customs inspectors received a circular listing fines of Dong 20 million for importing or exporting any product that gave Vietnam a negative image. This included guides, the popular Vietnam CD-Rom: all music tapes or CDs produced by Vietnamese living abroad. Fortunately this rule is not scrupulously applied and the psychosis of social evil seems to have subsided. It’s best not to leave things like this out. Tourists can bring an unlimited amount of foreign currency. They must declare them on arrival on the customs forms. Theoretically, when you leave the country, you should have with you the receipts for any foreign currency you have spent, but in practice the authorities don't care.
Precious metals (especially gold), jewelry, alcoholic beverages, cameras, video and electronics must also be declared. Customs taxes apply on gold, jewelry and diamonds. Declare these formalities on return, but remember that you may be asked to show them when you leave to prove that you did not sell them on the black market. If visitors are carrying more than 3,000 grams of gold, they must leave that amount of gold in the customs warehouse and that amount of gold must be re-exported.
In practice, you don't run into trouble unless you are carrying a huge amount of goods or something of great value. The import and export of Vietnamese currency and live animals are prohibited.
Before leaving Vietnam, in the event that the quantity of gold exceeds 300 grams, visitors must make a declaration and obtain permission from the State Bank in order for them to leave Vietnam. Visitors are not allowed to leave Vietnam with: weapons, ammunition, explosives, drugs, ancient artifacts, wild animals, rare plants, or documents relating to national security.
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