This page is for Australian passport holders. For other passports, and the full rules on customs, health and overstays, see our Vietnam visa and entry requirements guide.
Do Australians need a visa for Vietnam?
Yes. Australia isn't on Vietnam's visa-exemption lists, so you need a visa even for a week's holiday. For tourists, the e-visa is the only sensible route:
| Official site | evisa.gov.vn |
|---|---|
| Cost | USD 25 single entry, USD 50 multiple entry |
| Length | Up to 90 days |
| Processing | About 3 working days. Allow 1 to 2 weeks, longer around Tết (Lunar New Year) |
| Where you can enter | 83 border gates, including the airports at Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Nha Trang (Cam Ranh) and Phu Quoc |
Single entry covers a straightforward trip. If you're adding Laos or Cambodia in the middle and coming back into Vietnam, pay the USD 50 for multiple entry.
Phu Quoc is the exception. If you fly directly into the island from overseas, you can stay up to 30 days without a visa. You can't carry on to the mainland without a proper visa, though. Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists the stay as 30 days and says it also applies if you connect through another Vietnamese international airport without leaving the transit area.
Avoid the lookalike sites. Search ads push agencies with official-sounding names that charge roughly USD 75 to 150 for the USD 25 visa. The real site ends in .gov.vn. Watch for evisagov.vn (no dot before "gov"). Don't buy a "visa on arrival approval letter" either; for tourists the e-visa has replaced it, and it's cheaper.
How to apply for the e-visa
- Open evisa.gov.vn and start an e-visa application for foreigners. Read the instructions and tick both confirmation boxes.
- Upload a portrait photo: 4x6 cm, white background, straight on, no glasses, JPG under about 2 MB, taken in the last 6 months.
- Upload your passport photo page in full, including the two lines of machine-readable text. No glare or cropped corners.
- Fill in your details exactly as they are in your passport, including middle names. Add your entry date, entry type, entry and exit ports, your first address in Vietnam and the purpose (tourism).
- Pay USD 25 or USD 50 by credit or debit card through the portal's Vietcombank gateway. Your bank will send a one-time passcode. The portal doesn't list card brands, so keep a second card handy.
- Save your registration code.
- Check your status on the portal with the code, email and date of birth. When it's approved, print the PDF and bring it.
Match your entry port to your flight. If you're on VietJet, that's almost certainly Ho Chi Minh City (SGN). On Vietnam Airlines it could be Hanoi (HAN) or SGN. Canada's travel advice says entry is only allowed via the port on the approval notice, so get this right.
The portal says the fee is non-refundable if the visa isn't granted, so check your spelling before you pay.
Entry checklist
- Passport valid for at least 6 months after arrival, 2 blank pages, undamaged
- Printed e-visa, showing the airport you're flying into
- Pre-arrival QR code from prearrival.immigration.gov.vn (free, done within 72 hours of landing)
- Proof of a flight out within your e-visa dates, since airlines often ask at check-in
- Address of your first night's stay
- Travel insurance details
- Doctor's letter for any controlled medicines
The pre-arrival form is new in 2026, and sources disagree on whether it's compulsory. The US Embassy in Vietnam says it's mandatory for all foreign passengers, while UK, Canadian and Singapore advice calls it encouraged. It's free, so I'd do it, and you'll skip a longer wait at immigration. Only use the .gov.vn site.
Flights from Australia to Vietnam
Several airlines fly direct between Australia and Vietnam.
| Airline | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Vietnam Airlines (non-stop) | Sydney, Melbourne | Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City |
| Vietnam Airlines (non-stop) | Perth | Ho Chi Minh City |
| VietJet | Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth | Ho Chi Minh City |
| Jetstar | Melbourne | Ho Chi Minh City |
Vietnam Airlines went up to 4 flights a week between Hanoi and each of Sydney and Melbourne from 29 March 2026.
A few more details:
- Perth to Ho Chi Minh City takes about 6.5 hours.
- VietJet's new route from Western Sydney International (WSI) is due to start on 9 January 2027, twice a week from Ho Chi Minh City on an Airbus A330. VietJet's Adelaide route has ended.
- VietJet's Hanoi non-stops from Sydney and Melbourne ended in September and October 2025. Vietnam Airlines still flies Hanoi from both cities.
- Jetstar flies Melbourne to Ho Chi Minh City non-stop on a Boeing 787-8, three or four times a week depending on the season, and its timetable continues past 3 October 2026. No Qantas-operated route to Vietnam shows in current schedules.
- From Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin or Hobart you'll connect, either through Sydney, Melbourne or Perth or through an Asian hub. From Adelaide, Kayak's cheapest recent fares went through Guangzhou (China Southern), Singapore (Singapore Airlines) or Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia Airlines), from about A$750 return. Search from your own city for the others.
Fares: Vietnam Airlines' Australian site showed return economy fares from A$923 (Sydney to Ho Chi Minh City), A$869 (Melbourne to Ho Chi Minh City) and A$824 (Perth to Ho Chi Minh City). On Kayak, Sydney to Vietnam averaged about A$545 return in the cheapest month, and budget carriers such as Jetstar and Scoot had recent returns from about A$540. All fares are indicative, checked 24 Sep 2026.
Tết (late January or February) and Christmas are the busiest, priciest times to fly. Kayak's data from Sydney and Adelaide puts May as the cheapest month, with December and January (Sydney) or December and June (Adelaide) the most expensive. The weather also varies a lot by region, so read the best time to visit Vietnam before you pick dates.
Vietnam is about 1,600 km long, so an open-jaw ticket (into Hanoi, out of Ho Chi Minh City) saves you backtracking. VietJet only flies to Ho Chi Minh City from Australia, so if you use it, you could fly Vietnam Airlines one way and VietJet the other, or take a 2-hour domestic flight.
Ho Chi Minh City also has a new airport coming. Long Thanh, about 40 km from central Ho Chi Minh City, is due to open commercially on 1 December 2026. Long-haul flights are planned to move there from 28 March 2027, so check which airport your ticket shows.
For domestic flights, Bamboo Airways stopped scheduled services on 1 August 2026, so use Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines, VietJet, Vietravel Airlines or Sun PhuQuoc Airways.
What to bring from Australia
Plug adaptor. Australian plugs don't fit Vietnamese sockets, which are Type A, C and F. The supply is 220 V, 50 Hz. A universal adaptor sorts it.
Money. The dong (VND) is the currency. Cards are fine in city hotels and larger restaurants, but you'll pay cash for most things outside cities. Get cash from ATMs, and only change money at official, signposted counters. 2026 guides report VPBank ATMs charging foreign cards no fee and most other banks about VND 20,000 to 55,000 a withdrawal. Fees change often, so check the amount on screen before you confirm. It's worth having a travel card with no foreign transaction fees. Declare cash over USD 5,000.
Insurance. It isn't required to enter, but get cover that includes medical evacuation, as serious cases can mean a transfer to Bangkok or Singapore. If you'll ride on the back of a motorbike, on the Ha Giang Loop for example, check the policy covers you as a passenger.
Driving. An Australian International Driving Permit is the 1949 type, and Vietnam only accepts the 1968 version. Riding a motorbike yourself means riding unlicensed, which usually voids your insurance. See our Ha Giang Loop guide.
Medicines. Controlled medicines (for anxiety, depression, insomnia or ADHD, and strong painkillers) are limited to 7 days' supply. Carry a doctor's letter in English with your name, age, the drug, the dose and the doctor's signature and address. Keep them in your carry-on with a copy of the prescription.
Leave at home. Vapes and heated tobacco are banned. It's illegal to buy, use, possess, sell or bring them in, and users face fines of VND 3 to 5 million. Leave CBD and drones (unless you have a permit) behind too.
SIM. A travel eSIM is simplest. A local SIM needs your passport and, under rules in force since 15 April 2026, a face check. Foreigners register in person with their passport, and official guidance doesn't say exactly how that works at airport kiosks.
There's more in our Southeast Asia packing list.
Arrival day
- Before you fly. Complete the pre-arrival form within 72 hours of landing and save the QR code. Keep your printed e-visa and onward booking handy for check-in.
- Immigration. Show your passport, printed e-visa and QR code. Check the exit date stamped in your passport before you leave the desk.
- Customs. Green channel if you have nothing to declare. Red channel for cash over USD 5,000, goods over the duty-free allowances or controlled medicines.
- SIM and cash. Airport kiosks sell and register SIMs in minutes. Get some dong from an ATM.
- Into the city. Hanoi's Noi Bai airport is about 30 km from the Old Quarter, 45 minutes to an hour by road. Airport bus 86 runs to Hanoi Railway Station for about VND 45,000, a Grab car costs roughly VND 250,000 to 350,000, and an official taxi around VND 550,000 to 600,000. In Ho Chi Minh City, bus 152 runs from the international terminal towards Ben Thanh (roughly 05:15 to 19:00), and Grab or Be to District 1 is usually about VND 150,000 to 250,000. Bus 109 now stops only at the domestic terminal (T3). These are 2026 reported prices, so treat them as a guide.
- Hotel check-in. They'll take your passport details to register you with the local police, which is a legal requirement.
Travel with us
Travelling to Vietnam on your own? Join a small group aged 18 to 40, with me along the whole way as your Trip Host.
