Vietnam Pre-Arrival Information (PAI) 2026: Is It Mandatory, Which Airports, and How to Fill It In

Flying into Vietnam on a foreign passport? You've probably seen people arguing about the "pre-arrival declaration". Some say it's compulsory, some say it's optional, and both sides can point to an official-looking source. On 18 October 2026 I went through the government notices, the embassy and airline pages, and the official form's field list. This is what I could actually confirm.

The short answer

PAI is a free online form at prearrival.immigration.gov.vn, run by Vietnam's Immigration Department.
It covers five airports: Tân Sơn Nhất (Ho Chi Minh City), Nội Bài (Hanoi), Đà Nẵng, Cam Ranh (Nha Trang) and Phú Quốc.
You fill it in within three days before you land, or on arrival. You get a QR code to show at immigration.
Vietnamese government notices call it voluntary. The US Embassy and Vietnam's two biggest airlines tell you to do it. My advice: do it. It costs nothing and can get you into a shorter queue.

What PAI is, and what it isn't

PAI stands for Pre-Arrival Information. The Ministry of Public Security started it as a pilot at Tân Sơn Nhất on 15 April 2026. You enter your passport, visa and trip details before you fly, and the system gives you a QR code to show at immigration.

It is not a visa. The ministry says plainly that the system does not take or process visa applications. If you need an e-visa, you still apply separately on the official portal, evisa.gov.vn.

It's not a health declaration either. A health quarantine decree (165/2026) took effect on 1 July 2026, but the Ministry of Health said health declarations apply only when it orders them for a specific disease, not to every arrival. It also said it does not use the site tokhaiyte.vn.

Mandatory or optional? What each source says

The sources don't agree. In date order:

Ministry of Public Security, 13 May 2026: "optional rather than mandatory for international air travellers". About 70% of foreign arrivals at Tân Sơn Nhất used it anyway.
Vietnamese Embassy in New Delhi, 21 May: a "voluntary, non-mandatory" pilot.
Phú Quốc, from 1 June: Vietnam's aviation magazine reported that the Immigration Department made the declaration compulsory for everyone arriving at Phú Quốc. Thanh Niên newspaper described the same launch as a pilot.
US Embassy, 17 June: calls it a "mandatory pre-arrival personal information declaration", expanding "to all airports in Vietnam", for everyone without a Vietnamese passport.
Singapore Embassy in Hanoi, posted 25 June, updated 7 October: visitors are "encouraged" and "strongly advised" to complete it. Lists the five airports.
Vietnamese Embassy in Poland, 16 July: use is voluntary and not mandatory.
Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet: foreign passengers landing at the listed airports "need to" declare. Vietjet says Vietnamese nationals and transit passengers are exempt.

I couldn't find a decree or circular that makes PAI a legal requirement or sets a fine for skipping it. So as of 18 October 2026, Vietnam's own wording is "voluntary, strongly encouraged", while the US Embassy and the airlines treat it as required. For you as a traveller it changes little: filling it in is free and takes ten minutes.

Which airports

On 18 October 2026 the official form's arrival-airport list has exactly five entries: Tân Sơn Nhất (SGN), Nội Bài (HAN), Đà Nẵng (DAD), Cam Ranh (CXR) and Phú Quốc (PQC). Tân Sơn Nhất came first in April, then Phú Quốc, Hanoi, Da Nang and Cam Ranh during June. Trackers disagree on the exact June dates, and I couldn't find an official notice for each.

Landing somewhere else, like Cát Bi in Hải Phòng or Cần Thơ? The form has no option for it, so you use the normal queue. The form also lists 14 seaports and the Đồng Đăng land border with China, but I've seen no official announcement for those yet.

When to submit

The ministry's window is "within three days" before entry. The US and Singapore embassies say you can also do it on arrival; the US Embassy mentions QR codes and paper forms at the airport. After a long flight, you won't want to, so do it before.

Watch these:

The arrival date is in Vietnam time (GMT+7) and the form uses DD/MM/YYYY. A flight that lands at 00:40 lands on the next day.
If you land on a Friday, Wednesday or Thursday is safely inside the window. A week early is too early.

What the form asks for

These are the fields on the live form as of 18 October 2026. Names may change.

Trip: how you're arriving, arrival airport, expected arrival date, airline and flight number (there's an "Other" option for airlines not listed), planned departure date, purpose of travel, type of stay (hotel, residential, other) and its address, email and phone.
Each traveller: surname, given name, gender, date of birth, nationality, passport type, number and expiry. There's also a field for a passport photo.
Visa: type, number, issue date, expiry and place of issue. Visa-free entry, Phú Quốc's visa exemption, ABTC and residence cards are all options.

You can add family or friends to one submission and pick each person's relationship to the lead traveller.

How to fill it in

Type prearrival.immigration.gov.vn into your browser yourself. Don't click ads.
Have ready: passport, visa or e-visa, flight booking, hotel address, and an inbox you can open right now.
Fill in the trip section, then each traveller. Along the way you'll solve a CAPTCHA and enter a code the site emails you.
Review everything, tick the box confirming it's correct, and submit.
Save the QR code: screenshot it and print a copy (there's also a PDF). Don't bank on airport Wi-Fi at the immigration desk.
Need to change something later? The site has a section to look up and update a declaration.

Errors people keep hitting

Flight number rejected. The ministry said one reason declarations failed in the pilot was a flight code that didn't match the airline's booking data. Of 161,596 attempts in the first 15 days, 119,854 went through. Type the number exactly as on your booking. On a codeshare, try the number of the airline flying the plane.
"Visa issue date cannot be after the expected arrival date." The form compares your visa's issue date with the arrival date in the trip section. One of them is wrong: day and month swapped, wrong year, or the expiry date typed into the issue-date box. The visa expiry can't be before your arrival either.
E-visa number refused. For an e-visa the form wants a 9-digit number, digits only. If yours bounces, the site shows a picture of where to find the right number on your e-visa.
Can't find your hotel's district. Vietnam merged provinces and abolished districts on 1 July 2025, so the form asks for province and ward or commune. Booking sites often still show the old district. Most Old Quarter streets, like Hàng Bạc and Hàng Đào, are now in Hoàn Kiếm ward. If unsure, ask your hotel.
The site hangs. Tripadvisor has threads about a "glitchy" site. Try another browser or a laptop, or try later. Don't let it push you onto a paid site.

Fake sites and paid "helpers"

In May the ministry warned that it had found several fake websites copying PAI to steal credit card details. The official form has no payment step. If a site asks for your card, it isn't the government.

Private services will also fill it in for a fee. Some say clearly they aren't connected to the government; others bury it. You don't need them. Red flags: a .com address, a "processing fee", a countdown timer, or "risk of entry denial" in capital letters.

At immigration

Vietnam Airlines says passengers who have declared use a priority area at the pre-arrival information counter. I haven't confirmed the lane layout at Nội Bài since the change, so follow the signs and ask staff. Have the QR code ready with your passport and visa or e-visa; it doesn't replace either. Forgot? Do it on arrival and expect to wait longer.

Last checked: 18 October 2026. These rules have changed several times this year. Check the official site and your airline's page the week you fly.

Vietnam Pre-Arrival Information (PAI) 2026: Is It Mandatory, Which Airports, and How to Fill It In

The short answer

What PAI is, and what it isn't

Mandatory or optional? What each source says

Which airports

When to submit

What the form asks for

How to fill it in

Errors people keep hitting

Fake sites and paid "helpers"

At immigration

Sources

Read next

The short answer

What PAI is, and what it isn't

Mandatory or optional? What each source says

Which airports

When to submit

What the form asks for

How to fill it in

Errors people keep hitting

Fake sites and paid "helpers"

At immigration

Sources

Read next

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