Job Discussion Forums

[therock]

Hey I recently read that the amount of money you are allowed to bring into the country is $3000. When you come and leave Vietnam via air or road, do the they search and count your money? Do they scrutinize you in regards to the currency thing? Is going through Vietnamese customs a hassle?

One more thing, I have heard of all the new regulations and read from the posts on this forum that they have to get a lot of documents before they can get a work visa. But from what I have read it seems that most people on this forum are located in HCMC. So do the same regulations apply in Hanoi?

[E$L]

It's recently been raised to $7000.

99.9% chance they don't search what's on your person. They
very occasionally want to look inside your bags. Going through Vietnamese customs in generally not a hassle (unless you look like or are travelling with ethnic Vietnamese perhaps?) these days. You've got most chance of meeting a customs officer with little to do at a land crossing like Moc Bai or Chau Doc. Hopefully the news that the limit is now $7000 has rendered this part of your question moot?

[johnyarrington]

.......in any currency or negotiable financial instrument you like.

IF, IF, IF you declare it.

I have heard dozens of stories of people getting "hassled" because they've brought in "too much money". The LEGAL limit, WITHOUT HAVING TO DECLARE IT, may be now raised to $7000. About this, I really don't know.

What I DO know is, Vietnamese people in general, and Customs people in particular, are extremely adept at spotting a liar, or anyone who is trying to get away with anything untoward.

I have personally brought in $65,000.00 once, $72,000.00 another time, and $43,000.00 a third time. I declared all of these amounts, each time, on the customs declaration form. Actually, the amount was more like
$66,238.42 (US). I've also brought in amounts less than these but more than the amount allowed WITHOUT DECLARING it. I.E., I've brought in amounts of currency, travelers' checks, and bank drafts which are over the amount that, if not declared, will subject you to penalty. But I've always declared the exact amount.

You can also bring out with you ANY amount, IF you have declared it coming in, and IF you have told the truth, and IF it isn't even one dollar more than you DECLARED bringing in. Because it would beg this question: "If you say you brought into Vietnam $40,000.00, and now you are leaving with $40,001.00.........where'd you get this money?" It's a moot question, because NO answer will be acceptable. None.

Just tell the truth. It's very easy.

[E$L]

Yes the 3000/7000 figure applies to the limit where you don't have to declare. I'd love to hear more about experiences people have had bringing/taking large amounts - the above is very interesting.

Note you've got to consider the country you're going to / coming from as well...

(BTW bank transfers are hassle-free for most.)

[johnyarrington]

Just one story:

My wife is Vietnamese. She holds a Green Card, but she will never be "Viet Kieu", and all that that entails. Not trying to offend anyone, but we've so many negative experiences with Viet Kieu.

Two years ago we bought our first property in Vietnam. In expectation of doing this, I brought in a lot of US cash. I declared it. By the way, I forgot to mention in the last post that they NEVER actually check it. They just watch the confidence, or lack thereof, that you have on your face when you show them your willingness to prove that you have it.
Anyway, we used ALL of the money I brought in to buy the house. On the way out of the country, I had to state the amount that I had with me. I had none. Actually, about 2 dollars! The customs lady asked me why. I started to explain, but I got as far as, "My wife is Vietnamese......". She asked why again. My wife was standing right there and said, "Yes, I am Vietnamese." She asked again. My wife simply said, "Yes", but in a way......and in an accent that convinced the lady no more discussion was necessary.

End of story.

[chipy66]

i just arrived today and i am pretty sure it still said $3000.

[Porlestone]

hmmm ok, well I remember reading a couple of months back that Vietnam was officially going to raise the amount, but don't remember when.

I was at a bank in dist 1 the other day and when I was talking to them about the same limits, one woman at ANZ also mentioned the $7000 mark, while a woman at a vietnamese bank said $5000 and a 3rd said $3000. But the woman saying $7000 seemed most confident and knowledgeable, not to mention at a foreigner bank that would deal with us every day.

Question about this customs stuff... did anyone ever try to take out (or take in) an adult porno cd or what not? is that stuff illegal, and how does it go?

[johnyarrington]

Don't do this. Just don't.

Speaking from what I consider to be sufficient personal experience........I have found Vietnamese PEOPLE to be as open, as accepting, as emotionally stable and mature about "porn" (highly subjective, don't you think?....) as people anywhere in the world, and in some cases, much more so than you would find in Amsterdam, New York, or Bangkok.....basically anywhere.

Bringing into or out of Vietnam through the Customs' GOVERNMENT, whatever you consider porn to be, is entirely another issue.

Believe me, they will "smell" the guilt on your face.

Just don't even try it. It will save you untold hassle and expense.

Just curious: Why in the WORLD would you want to do this???!!

[Ryno]

Yes, the limit is now $7000! I live here in HCMC with my wife who's Vietnamese and she read it in the newspaper almost two months ago. The limit was raised to $7000.

[Porlestone]

"I have found Vietnamese PEOPLE to be as open, as accepting, as emotionally stable and mature about "porn" as people anywhere in the world, and in some cases, much more so.."

Care to talk about how you know these things?

Ryno, I agree I also remember reading it a few months ago in the english language newspaper, just don't remember what dates they said it would kick in but sounded like it would be soon thereafter. Remember $7000 US and I believe 15,000,000 VND, but don't quote me on that one. Maybe I'll dig up a link sometime and post it...

[johnyarrington]

Dear Porlestone,

Well, first, I didn't say, "I know�.". I said, "I have found�.". I mean, "In my personal experience�.." Second, you haven't defined what you mean by, "porn".One man's "porn" could be another's "romantic adventure�..". Third, I might not tell you all the details you may be looking for. I WILL say that I have dated several Vietnamese women in 2 countries other than Vietnam. And that, as a heterosexual male, I spent time in Bangkok, on several trips..���doing the things that thousands of single men go to Bangkok for. I wasn't looking to get married. I was looking for other things. Let's leave it at that.
When I went to Vietnam for the first time in 1998, I��"wouldn't have minded one bit" if I had been able to��.."do the same things" I had done in Bangkok. What I found was that this just wasn't possible. Not without considerable risk, expense, and getting lots of people in trouble that I just didn't want to involve.
The risk involves untold damage to the girl's reputation, for any kind of WHAT I WOULD CONSIDER TO BE, a decent girl. There was considerable risk even from the police, who didn't take "being with a man" too seriously then, but serious enough to warrant her going to a "special school" if she was "caught". There is also real risk to the hotel owner or guest house operator who might allow this��"assignation" shall we call it?.....to occur. Yes, the neighbors, the police, and dozens of other����.I don't know what to call them except "spies" or "informers"----some of these people are paid, some are���"compensated" in other ways----are watching you, observing your movements. This is simply the way of life in Vietnam. It is part and parcel of their culture. I always think about this: You can behave in just about any way you want to, and no matter how "illegal" or simply "unacceptable" your behavior is, you can probably get out of it by paying some sort of fine. But when you leave, what do you leave in your wake behind you? Could be something that I didn't want to be responsible for.
I've gathered this experience by going back to Vietnam 15 more times since then, staying for 2 weeks to 3 months. Vietnam has changed enormously during this time. But the issue of "porn" and a Vietnamese girl "being with" a foreign man, is still taken very, very seriously.
I eventually married a lovely Vietnamese woman from an educated, middle-class family. I wasn't looking to get married when I met her. It was entirely by accident.
From reading your other posts, one under, "If we give you the key, we can't control you anymore��", I have the impression that you and others who have posted under this topic ("If we give you the key�..") are looking for��� something/someone that I simply decided to give up on looking for. If I am wrong about this impression, then I apologize for my presumption.
So my experience has been based on talking to and about, a number of people I have met outside and in Vietnam and on my marrying one of them. I also base it on what I have seen and talked about to many, many people both inside and out of Vietnam in 16 trips over the past 7 years.

[Porlestone]

Hmmm arrington, that's some write-up. Don't have the ability to organize it myself right now at these PC rooms.

Anyways would still like to know what the official answer is to my question.

Anyhow, here's that newspaper link regarding the other thread topic, currency limits when coming into Vietnam. Likewise, they still don't make sense. What if a person carries the limit for BOTH US and VN cash, or should they only have one? So if I carry $6999 and 14.99 million VN Dong simultaneously, then?

http://www.thanhniennews.com/travel/?catid=7&newsid=7525

Travelers only have to declare cash when they carry more than US$7,000, or other foreign currencies of the same value, and VND15 million (around US$950) when entering or leaving the country, the State Bank of Vietnam said.

The figures are the maximum amounts of cash travelers can carry, not meaning they are only allowed to have US dollars or Vietnamese dong, a State Bank official said.

In the last six years, foreign and Vietnamese travelers had to declare cash only if it amounted to $3,000 and VND5 million (about $316).

[johnyarrington]

Dear porlestone,
It seems absolutely crystal clear to me. In the example you gave, ($6999 + some millions in VN Dong), YES, YOU HAVE TO DECLARE IT.

What doesn't make sense?! A total of $7000 in one, or more than one, or 3 (or more than 3, etc.!) currencies, equivalent to $7000 USD, must be declared.

I dunno......this discussion has been going on since the days when the limit was $2000, and people STILL don't seem to understand it! I'm "thick" most days, but this one is so very, very clear.......it's beyond me why someone doesn't understand it.

And AGAIN........you can really do any thing you want to do. In Vietnam or elsewhere. But in Vietnam, if you don't declare the EQUIVALENT of $7000, IN ANY CURRENCIES (which includes Travelers' Cheques, bank drafts, etc.), you are subject to penalites.

I guess it ticks me off when I hear so many people, ......and IN MY EXPERIENCE, many of these are Viet Kieu, whine and moan and groan about how "unfair" it is, how the Vietnamese government is so "repressive", and "there's no freedom here!! I have my rights!"

No you don't. No constitution = no rights. (Please, don't bother quoting the "Vietnamese Constitution") People actually DO have rights in Vietnam, but they sure aren't what they are in the West, and they aren't interpreted the same way.

It is what it is. I can't see the logic of complaining about something when someone knowingly, willfully, intentionally tries to defraud. Believe me, the customs people in VN WILL catch you. And you won't have a leg to stand on.

JUST DELCARE IT!! What's the problem here??!! You got a million dollars or something??!! I'm curious as to why you're asking........