Customs & Baggage

Coffee, tea, cashews, silk and ceramics travel home without trouble. Lighters, anything shaped like a weapon and genuine antiques do not — and packing them in the hold makes it worse. Plus how to claim the VAT back.

Walking the green channel is itself a declaration that you are within every allowance. The five thresholds that send you to red, why random X-rays on green are normal, and why declaring cash costs you nothing.

Vietnam’s alcohol allowance is banded by strength, not a single figure: 1.5 litres above 20% ABV, 2 litres at or below, 3 litres of beer. Tobacco is one carton or 20 cigars or 250g — a choice, not a list. What happens if you are over.

CPAP machines, insulin pumps and syringes all travel to Vietnam without difficulty. The battery is the part with a hard limit: over 160Wh is banned outright, 100–160Wh must be declared, cabin only. Plus the liquid-medication exemption and what paperwork actually helps.

A pet needs three separate approvals that do not talk to each other: Vietnam’s Department of Animal Health, your airline, and the customs authority where you are landing. The order things must happen in, and why we do not print the timeframes other guides do.

Vietnam puts almost no restriction on taking food home. The two places it actually gets confiscated are security screening — liquids over 100ml and anything unlabelled — and customs in your own country. What travels, and how to pack it.

Engraved lighters, shell-casing keyrings, replica weapons and genuine antiques are sold openly in Vietnamese markets and cannot be flown home — in hand luggage or checked. Why the hold is not the answer, and what to buy instead.

Vietnam’s tourist VAT refund moved to Circular 84/2026/TT-BTC on 1 July 2026. The six conditions goods must meet, the 2 million VND threshold, why you get 85% rather than all of it, and the one step that kills most claims: checking your bags first.

Over US$5,000 in foreign currency or 15 million VND, and leaving Vietnam requires more than a declaration: you need an export certificate from a licensed bank, issued at a branch during banking hours. The leftover-dong trap and how to avoid it.

One lighter per person, carry-on only, never in a checked bag. But the count is the easy part — torch and jet flame lighters are banned from both cabin and hold, and so is lighter fuel. A type-by-type breakdown of what survives screening and what does not.

Vietnam caps controlled medication at 7 days’ supply for narcotics and 10 days for psychotropics — far less than the month most travellers pack for a month-long trip. Which category your drug falls in, exactly what your prescription must say, and the two routes for a longer stay.

Vietnamese law doesn’t treat pepper spray the way most Western countries do. It falls under “support tools” — equipment reserved for authorised agencies, with no civilian self-defence exemption. Here’s how the classification works, what actually happens at airport screening, and what solo travellers carry instead.

Vietnam banned vapes and heated tobacco completely from 1 January 2025 — import, possession and use, with no exemption for tourists. Devices are confiscated at the border and using one costs 3–5 million VND. Carry-on or checked makes no difference.

Vietnam prohibited items 2026: weapons, drugs (including CBD), fireworks, anti-state material, and ivory are banned. Cash over ,000 USD must be declared. Full customs checklist for travelers.

Bringing a drone to Vietnam in 2026 requires a permit from Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defence — even for sub-250g drones. Flying without a permit is illegal and can lead to confiscation.

Bringing prescription medications to Vietnam 2026: most are allowed for personal use with original packaging. Controlled substances (tramadol, benzodiazepines, ADHD meds) need a doctor’s letter.