Quick question - arrival into Saigon
 

I'm arriving in SGN on a flight from HKG that lands at about 6PM on a Monday in July. Checked luggage, British passport. Any idea how long it will take to go through immigration, collect bags, and be in a taxi?

It can be anything between from 5-90 minutes. Try to get as fast as possible to the immigration counters. If you are stuck in a queue it can take quite long as the staff there is not very time-efficient.
Bagagge delivery is usually quite fast especially for priority tagged bags.

Can be really fast. SGN is rather small - not much walking involved. If you're among the first off you won't have to wait at immigration. The worst I encountered was arriving just after an AirFrance flight - think it took 25mins. Then down the stairs to collect baggage - usually they're pretty quick.

Overall, its the fastest airport I use. With hand luggage only, I've been off the plane, through immigration and customs and into a taxi in under 10 minutes. I would say 25 minutes is typical if you have non-priority luggage. Allowing 10 minutes to get off the plane, then if its on time I'd guess you could be getting a taxi at 6.35PM. 6.45PM if you want to be a little more prudent.

British passport is nothing out of the ordinary. From memory you're processed either as ASEAN or non-ASEAN. Just make sure you don't join a queue for a booth serving locals/ASEAN only.

You probably know this - you need a visa.

Wow! I think 90mins was unlucky. I often used to meet customers arriving at SGN. Generally I'd get there 30 mins after the scheduled arrival time and have to wait anything from 0 to 30 minutes, rarely longer than that.

90 minutes was the longest time I ever had to wait. Actually I was waiting outside the terminal for a friend arriving from FRA who was in Y and it took him 90 minutes to get through immigration. Another flight arrived just before them which could explain the long waiting time

Thanks!

Less than half an hour usually. More important is to ensure all your papers are in order, otherwise immigration will be asking you a lot of questions.

And when in doubt, declare any important items at Customs. I normally would declare a laptop and mobile, just in case. Also any other electronic media that can later be mis-construed as "sensitive" information. But that's just me, being paranoid.

I was there in 2005 and when I got to immigration, the officer pointed out that my visa was dated for 2006. :eek:

I had visions of being immediately sent home, questioned for hours, etc., but it was fixed in maybe 10 minutes.

Yes.... paranoid I think! I've made "loads of" entries into Saigon over recent years. Sometimes carrying multiple laptops, portable hard discs, and usually 2 or 3 mobiles. They really are not worried. Its too normal these days. I would be worried that by declaring something needlessly, they may feel obliged to retain something for examination.

They take more interest in cardboard boxes that are obviously carrying quantities of commercial goods or returning Vietnamese.

If for some reason you are carrying in large amounts of cash, then you should declare it so that you are free to take it out again. (I forget the limit - its as given on the form.)

I did know of someone who accidentally imported a gun. Now that did cause problems....

How many returning Vietnamese can fit into a cardboard box? :eek:
I've brought a laptop into the country 5 times in the last 16 months and have never been questioned. I agree it is wise to declare things they ask for (such as currency), but don't volunteer anything above and beyond that.