Gold Allowance for Travellers to Vietnam (2026)

Duty on gold above the VND 10 million allowance

Each traveller can bring in, per entry, goods worth up to VND 10 million in customs value free of import tax, as long as they are not on the banned, suspended or conditional import lists. New gold jewellery counts towards that figure. If your goods are worth more, you choose which items to exempt and pay tax on the rest. Gold jewellery is charged 25% import duty (the preferential rate in Vietnam's tariff), and VAT is added on top: 8% under the current temporary reduction, 10% normally.

In September 2026 the Ministry of Finance published a draft decree that would keep the VND 10 million allowance and the alcohol and tobacco limits. It is not yet in force.

The 300 g rule and gold bars

State Bank Circular 11/2014/TT-NHNN governs gold carried across the border. Passport holders, Vietnamese and foreign, may carry gold jewellery and fine-art gold in any amount, but must declare it to customs if it totals 300 g or more. They may not carry gold bars or raw gold. A foreigner who arrives with bars must deposit them in a customs warehouse and take them out again on departure, or send them back abroad, and pays the costs.

Vietnamese who live permanently abroad declare from 300 g up to 1 kg, and need a permit from the State Bank of Vietnam for 1 kg or more. Holders of border passes may only wear jewellery, declaring 300 g or more. In April 2026 Vietnam's customs authority reminded travellers that the 300 g threshold is a legal line, and that gold above the duty-free allowance needs documents proving lawful origin.

Declaring gold and cash, and the 2026 fines

Declare gold of 300 g or more, and goods above your allowance, on the passenger customs declaration form. Cash over US$5,000 (or the equivalent) or VND 15 million must also be declared, on entry and exit.

Decree 169/2026/ND-CP, in force from 1 July 2026, sets the penalties. Failing to declare, or misdeclaring, gold, dong or foreign currency over the limits when leaving costs from VND 1 million up to VND 50 million; for goods worth VND 100 million or more it is VND 30–50 million, unless the case is prosecuted as a crime. On arrival the maximum is VND 20 million. Separately, Decree 340/2025/ND-CP, in force from 9 February 2026, sets fines of VND 80–100 million under the gold-trading rules for carrying gold across the border in breach of them, apart from customs offences.

Taking gold out of Vietnam and VAT refunds

The same rules apply when you leave: declare jewellery of 300 g or more, and do not try to take gold bars or raw gold out on a passport. Keep the shop's invoice for jewellery bought in Vietnam.

Foreigners and overseas Vietnamese with foreign passports can claim VAT back on goods bought from shops registered for the refund scheme, if the purchases from one shop on one day come to at least VND 2 million and were invoiced within 60 days before departure. You receive 85% of the VAT; the bank agent keeps 15%. From 1 July 2026 the scheme runs on an electronic system under Circular 84/2026/TT-BTC, and you must present the goods and invoices to customs at least 30 minutes before departure. The seller must be registered and account for VAT by the credit method, so ask before buying gold whether the shop can issue a refund invoice.

Vietnam to the US, Australia, Japan and South Korea

Many travellers carrying gold are overseas Vietnamese visiting family, or workers coming home. Gold jewellery bought in Vietnam is valued at its invoice price on arrival in the United States or Australia, which have their own allowances and declaration rules. Workers returning from Japan or South Korea should check those pages, and travellers to China or Singapore too. Whichever way you travel, Vietnam's 300 g declaration rule and ban on bars apply at the Vietnamese border.