VN
Vietnam
Recent reports of entry without significant problems.
Based on 18 reports. Score 0.69 on a scale from −1 (always refused) to +1 (always admitted), with recent reports counting most. How scoring works
What to expect
Nearly all 17 reports, including 6 since 2025, describe entry with an e-visa or online visa and no secondary inspection or questioning.1–810–17 Most arrivals were by air, often on flights from Hong Kong or other third countries, and one traveler entered twice at different cities without being stopped.248101213 One exception: in April 2024 a traveler who exited to Laos by land was refused a new e-visa, told they were blacklisted for an unspecified law violation.9
Written by an AI model from the reports below on October 12, 2026. The numbers link to the reports each sentence is based on. Read those before you decide.
Officers may refuse entry on character grounds
Vietnamese law lets authorities suspend entry for listed cases, including security and public-order grounds decided by ministries. No sex-offence or registry bar was found in the text reviewed.
Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, No. 47/2014/QH13, arts. 20-22 (as amended; consolidated as 30/VBHN-VPQH, 2023) · discretionary
We haven't confirmed this citation against the official text yet.
Last checked against official sources on September 19, 2026.
- Văn bản hợp nhất số 30/VBHN-VPQH hợp nhất Luật Nhập cảnh, xuất cảnh, quá cảnh, cư trú của người nước ngoài tại Việt Nam · Công báo Chính phủ (Official Gazette, Government of Vietnam)
Common questions
Can registered sex offenders enter Vietnam?
It's rated Open: Recent reports of entry without significant problems. Of 4 trips reported in the last two years by people on a US registry, 4 ended in entry and 0 in refusal.
Do Vietnam's border officers know about US registrants in advance?
None of the reports on file describe officers appearing to know in advance.
How do travelers usually arrive in Vietnam?
Reports on file describe 6 by air, 1 by land. Outcomes can differ by how travelers arrive; each report below says which.
- 1Oct 2026 (reported)
Admitted, no issues
The traveler, who had been off the registry for about two years and holds an unmarked passport, reported entering the country without problems and was currently there.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · Forum post · Firsthand · Former registrant
- 2May 2026 (reported)
Admitted, no issues · By air
During an eight-month multi-country trip, the traveler entered on two occasions at different cities with no stops or secondary inspection.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand · Former registrant
- 3Apr 2026 (reported)
Admitted, no issues
The traveler obtained a visa and entered without problems.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand
- 4May 2025 (reported)
Admitted, no issues · By air
Flying from Hong Kong with an online visa, the traveler entered Vietnam without problems.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · Forum post · Firsthand · Former registrant
- 5Mar 2025 (reported)
Admitted, no issues
The traveler reported entering the country without obstacles during trips taken in 2023 and 2024, with no questioning by authorities or airline staff.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand
- 6Nov 2024 (reported)
Admitted, no issues
A friend of the traveler did a border run into Vietnam on an e-visa and returned to Cambodia without any problems.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Secondhand
- 7Nov 2024
Admitted with conditions · By air
The traveler obtained an online visa with no criminal-history question beyond local convictions and entered Vietnam without incident; the visa was issued only for the few days of the intended stay. The immigration officer was polite and there was no intense questioning.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand
- 8Sep 2024 (reported)
Admitted, no issues · By air
The traveler reported a good trip to Vietnam with a travel group, flying first to Hong Kong, with no entry problems mentioned.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand
- 9Apr 2024
Refused entry · Over land, Vietnam-Laos land border
After exiting to Laos at a land border to apply for a fresh e-visa, the traveler's application was refused on the grounds of having violated Vietnamese law, and the traveler was told they were on the immigration blacklist. No one, including an immigration contact, would say which law was involved, and the traveler had to fly home leaving belongings behind.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · Forum post · Firsthand
- 10Feb 2024
Admitted, no issues · By air
A commenter described a traveler who is off the registry entering Vietnam during a multi-country Asia trip without a second glance, arriving from a third country rather than directly from the US.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Secondhand · Former registrant
- 11Feb 2024
Admitted, no issues
The traveler obtained an eVisa about ten days before the trip without problems and passed through immigration with no issues.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand · Former registrant
- 12Jan 2024
Admitted, no issues · By air
After flying from Hong Kong, the traveler entered Vietnam without problems using an e-visa obtained a couple of weeks in advance, then traveled domestically within the country.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand · Former registrant
- 132024
Admitted, no issues · By air
After entering Hong Kong, the traveler flew on to Vietnam and entered without problems.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand · Former registrant
- 142018
Admitted, no issues · By air, Ho Chi Minh City
The traveler entered Vietnam without difficulty; the only problem that year came at departure, when an airline refused boarding on a route transiting South Korea.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · Forum post · Firsthand
- 152017
Admitted, no issues · By air, Ho Chi Minh City
The traveler visited Vietnam and entered and left with no problems.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · Forum post · Firsthand
- 162016
Admitted, no issues · By air, Ho Chi Minh City
The traveler visited Vietnam and entered and left with no problems.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · Forum post · Firsthand
- 172015
Admitted, no issues · By air, Ho Chi Minh City
The traveler visited Vietnam and entered and left with no problems.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · Forum post · Firsthand
- 18By 2022
Refused entry
Row from the RTAG Travel Matrix, an undated summary last maintained around 2021.
- Registrants turned away
- Yes
- Law bars sex offenders
- No
- Law bars people with felonies
- No
- Has its own offender registry
- No
Registrant Travel Action Group (RTAG) · Legacy matrix · Summary