The Department of Health has stated that the updated rules regarding health declarations for individuals traveling into and out of Vietnam, which come into force on July 1, do not apply universally to every passenger.
Vo Hai Son, the deputy head of the Ministry's Disease Prevention Department, stated that Article 22 of Government Decree 165 specifies that the Minister of Health will decide which categories of travelers must complete health declarations and at what times these requirements should be enforced, based on the worldwide spread of infectious diseases and the threat posed by illnesses arriving in Vietnam.
"Regulation should not be interpreted as an obligatory and lasting rule for everyone entering, leaving, or passing through Vietnam starting from July 1," Son stated.
As per the ministry, health declarations at entry points will only be required when needed for certain contagious illnesses and according to current public health situations.
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A security officer (C) provides directions to travelers at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City throughout the Lunar New Year period, February 2026. Image courtesy of VnExpress/Thanh Tung |
The statement follows reports and social media updates indicating that all international travelers entering Vietnam would have to fill out health declaration forms starting July 1, using the website tokhaiyte.vn, which previously served as a tool for tracking coronavirus cases.
Nevertheless, the domain seems to be currently utilized by another entity.
The government emphasized that it is not presently utilizing the site to handle health declarations from travelers.
Alternatively, officials are working on a new health disclosure framework that will remain inactive and undisclosed to the general population until it becomes necessary.
According to the latest regulation, medical reports can be filed either online or as printed documents, utilizing bi-lingual Vietnamese-English forms provided by the Department of Health.
Regulations state that filings, if necessary, should be submitted seven days prior to arriving at, departing from, or passing through a Vietnamese border checkpoint.
The department stated that should an outbreak of an infectious illness occur, it could provide further instructions regarding health declarations and other health-related controls at entry points, based on how the circumstances develop.