I wrote this little segment in a trip report on my blog,
VNAFlyer:
Arrival into Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN)
While I'm waiting, I scan the customs inspection lines that we have to go through before exiting. A customs "officer" tries to wave me over, but I give the "not ready" hand signal and continue waiting (for my wife to return from the restroom).
Pro tip: Never go towards a customs line that you've been directed to, since frankly you don't have to follow their direction. The sad reality is that forced bribery is alive and well at SGN and other airports, and the agent is essentially fishing, trying to get me to come over so I can be "carefully inspected" and assessed some sort of trumped up violation, in hopes that I will "pay the fine" on the spot.
What one should do is to choose a line that looks like someone is already "being spoken to" since they already busy with that person and will let you pass.
When my wife returns, I guide our carts to a line far away from that agent. We successfully have our baggage x-rayed with no challenge, and we were quickly on our way out to the curb.
As we pass by, I overhear a poor American fellow in his mid-50s who was trying to reason with the customs agent, who in turn threatened to detain his baggage for 3-4 days. Shameful... I wanted to help him too, but I also didn't want to stick around and be inspected myself (though I probably would have if I was by myself).
How many of you have experienced being hustled, in particular at customs inspection, in Vietnam, either arrival or departure?
I haven't heard the need to bribe at passport check for a long while (and in fact have heard several stories of being denied).
Customs, however, seems to be getting more aggressive, even though the government issued a decree a few years ago that asking for bribes was supposed stop because it hurt tourism and commerce.
They've tried to shake me down 4 of my last 6 trips to Vietnam since 2013. 3 came after checking in for a flight, and each time I summoned the airline's manager (CX twice, JL once) and put them in their place.
The 4th was at arrival, where they tried to claim that my DSLR camera, laptop, and tablet (all unboxed and in used condition) could not possibly all be for my personal use and that I had to pay duty on them. I was traveling with a family member, and before I could say anything they whipped out US$20 and we went on our way (They said they'd rather pay the $20 than get tied up for a few hours in the heat).
I was curious how others have fared.