⚡ Customs Quick Tip
Can I Take Vietnamese Dong Home? The 15 Million Line
⚡ Quick Answer
Up to 15 million VND — or US$5,000 in foreign currency — you walk out with it. Above either figure you must declare, and present a certificate issued by a licensed bank. The airport does not issue one.
Most guides stop at “declare above 15 million”. That is the arrival rule. On the way out there is a second requirement, and it is the one that cannot be fixed at the counter.
| Amount | What you need |
|---|---|
| Up to 15 million VND | Nothing |
| Over 15 million VND | Customs declaration + bank certificate |
| Over US$5,000 foreign currency | Customs declaration + bank certificate |
⚠️ The certificate comes from a bank branch, during banking hours. It authorises you to take the cash out of the country. There is no counter at the airport that issues one, and customs cannot substitute a form for it.
Fifteen million dong is less than it sounds once converted. It is an ordinary amount to be holding at the end of a trip if you changed money generously and then paid for most things by card.
✅ Usually the easier answer is to change it back. Dong is hard to exchange outside Vietnam and typically at a poor rate, so carrying a large amount home rarely makes sense anyway. Keep a few notes as souvenirs, change the rest.
Not sure whether your leftover cash is over the line? Ask before your last banking day, not at the airport.
Ask on WhatsApp →Do bank cards count towards the limit?
No. The threshold applies to physical cash only. Cards, traveller’s cheques, savings books and securities sit outside it entirely.
Is the limit per person or per family?
Per person crossing the checkpoint. Four travellers each have their own threshold — but one person carrying the family’s whole pile has one, not four.
Does the dong limit and the dollar limit add together?
They are separate tests. You can be under one and over the other, so check both rather than converting everything into a single figure.
Thresholds and the export certificate requirement are set by Circular 15/2011/TT-NHNN. As of 13 September 2026.
