Vietnam Launches Digital Pre-Arrival Declaration for Tourists: How the PAI System Works and What Travelers Should Expect

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Marta Skylar
Aviation News Editor
21.05.2026 21:43

Vietnam Launches Digital Pre-Arrival Declaration for Tourists: How the PAI System Works and What Travelers Should Expect

Vietnam is moving to a new stage of digitalization of entry for foreign travelers. In May 2026, the Immigration Department of the country's Ministry of Public Security detailed the Pre-Arrival Information system, or PAI, which is already being tested at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. For the tourism market, this is not just a technical update: it is a change in the very approach to border clearance, where part of the data is submitted before arrival, and passenger verification begins online rather than at the control desk.

For tourists, the main conclusion is simple: even if the system is currently operating as a pilot mechanism, preparing for a trip to Vietnam now requires more attention. Before departure, it is no longer enough to simply have a passport, visa, or confirmation of visa-free regime and booking. The country's authorities are gradually building a model in which a prior digital declaration becomes an important part of the itinerary, and therefore travelers should include it in their standard list of pre-travel actions.

What Exactly Happened

According to an official announcement from the Immigration Department, the PAI system was launched in test mode at Tan Son Nhat Airport on April 15, 2026. However, it was over the past week that the authorities publicly summarized the first results of the service's operation, explained its logic, and effectively made it clear that the pilot is seen as a basis for wider national deployment. According to published data, over 161 thousand declarations passed through the system in the first 15 days, of which nearly 120 thousand were successfully submitted. The usage rate among foreign passengers reached approximately 70%.

The idea of PAI is that a foreign traveler enters basic information about themselves, their passport, itinerary, and trip in advance via the official immigration service portal. Submission is possible within three days before arrival. After this, the system generates a QR code, which can be shown on a smartphone or in printed form during post-arrival procedures. For the border service, this means early access to passenger data, and for the airport and airlines — potentially faster processing of passenger flow during peak load hours.

Why This News Is Important Right Now

At first glance, the launch of a single digital form at one airport may seem like local administrative news. But in reality, the significance is broader. Tan Son Nhat is one of Vietnam's main international air hubs and an entry point for a large part of tourists, business travelers, and guests who then fly domestic flights to resort regions. If the digital model shows stable results here, it has high chances of spreading to other international gateways of the country.

The timing is also important. Vietnam continues to strengthen its position as one of the most dynamic tourism markets in Asia, and competition for international tourists in the region is only growing. Southeast Asian countries are simultaneously simplifying visa regimes, moving part of the procedures online, and trying to reduce the time spent at airport controls. That is why PAI should be viewed not as a separate technical experiment, but as part of a broader struggle for travel convenience and visitor flow management.

Who the PAI System Applies To

According to Vietnamese official and specialized sources, the system is primarily aimed at foreigners and persons of Vietnamese origin entering with foreign documents and undergoing immigration formalities after arrival. At the same time, various interpretations have already appeared in the public sphere regarding whether the declaration is strictly mandatory for all passengers at this stage. Some local reports described it as a new requirement, while the official explanation from the Immigration Department on May 13 presented the system as a pilot, currently voluntary testing tool.

For tourists, this means one important thing: while the authorities are refining the rules and communication, it is safer to take a practical rather than a formal approach. If you are flying to Ho Chi Minh City via Tan Son Nhat and the system is available for your flight, it is logical to fill out the declaration in advance, even if some sources do not yet formulate its status consistently. Such a step reduces the risk of delays on site and helps avoid confusion at the airport after arrival.

How the New Digital Scheme Works

The basic logic of PAI is quite typical for modern pre-border control systems. The passenger visits the official website, selects the submission of pre-arrival information, enters personal data, passport details, date and point of arrival, as well as other necessary trip information. After completing the questionnaire, the system creates a QR code. This should be saved until the moment of control.

In practice, this means that preparing for a trip to Vietnam increasingly resembles preparing for travel to countries where electronic permits, digital entry questionnaires, or prior biometric checks are already in effect. For readers who follow such changes, this is a familiar trend: we previously wrote about the rollout of Electronic Travel Authorisation in South Africa and about the updated tourist eVISA rules in Japan. Vietnam is not yet launching a full-fledged electronic entry permit in such a form, but is moving in the same direction — toward a model where the border begins online.

What Will Change for Travelers in Practice

First of all, the behavior of the tourist before the trip changes. If previously entry formalities for many passengers were associated primarily with a passport, visa, insurance, and booking, then now digital steps are increasingly added to this package: a questionnaire, QR code, checking the official website, and careful reading of airline or airport instructions.

For some passengers, this is indeed a simplification, because part of the actions can be performed in advance and time is not wasted after landing. For others, it is an additional element of risk if they do not check the rules in time, use an unofficial website, or do not have the necessary documents and stable internet access at hand. This is where a new practical tip for tourists is born: before traveling to Vietnam, you should check not only the visa conditions but also the current digital requirements for the specific airport of arrival.

There is also another important aspect. Systems like PAI often provide the state and airports with better analytics regarding arrivals, shift loads, queues, and passenger flow structure. For the tourism market, this can mean a more predictable organization of entry, and over time — less load during peak hours. But in the short term, almost any digital transition is accompanied by a period of adaptation, when passengers, carriers, and border guards are still getting used to the new order.

What Should Be Done Before Traveling to Vietnam

If a trip is planned for the coming weeks or for the summer of 2026, preparation should be as practical as possible.

  • Check which airport you are entering the country through and whether the PAI system is active for your route.
  • Use only official resources of the Vietnamese immigration service or instructions from the carrier.
  • Submit data in advance within the allowed window, rather than in the last hours before departure.
  • Save the QR code in several formats: on the phone, as a screenshot, and if possible, in printed form.
  • Ensure that the data in the declaration fully matches the passport, ticket, and visa documents.
  • Allow extra time at the airport during the pilot rollout of the system, as the procedure may still be refined.

What This Means for the Tourism Market

For Vietnam itself, PAI is not a minor digital convenience, but a tool for scaling the tourism flow without a proportional increase in chaos at airports. The country is obviously trying to combine two goals: remaining open to international tourism and simultaneously making border processes more manageable and data-driven. If the pilot at Tan Son Nhat is recognized as successful, the logical next step will be the expansion of the system to other international airports where tourist load is also high.

For airlines and tour operators, this means a new layer of pre-travel communication with the client. For online agencies, it is another service element that will have to be explained in itineraries and confirmation letters. For tourists themselves, it is further proof that a modern trip less and less often begins on the day of departure: it begins the moment you open the list of formalities and check exactly what your destination country needs this week, rather than last year.

Conclusion

The launch and public detailing of the PAI system in Vietnam is one of the most practical tourism news of recent days, even if it is not yet accompanied by loud headlines about a new visa or radical border closures. This is exactly the type of change that directly affects the real travel experience: how much time you will spend after arrival, whether you will encounter confusion at control, and how smoothly the entry will proceed.

The main thing for the traveler now is not to argue about the wording of "mandatory" or "pilot," but to act proactively. If Vietnam asks or strongly recommends submitting pre-arrival digital information, it is better to do so before the trip. This is how new travel literacy looks in 2026: monitoring not only tickets and hotels, but also how countries are moving the border into a digital format.