Arriving at Hanoi Noi Bai Airport: Vietnam Visa and Entry Guide

Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) is Hanoi's airport and the gateway to northern Vietnam - Ha Long Bay, Ninh Binh and Sapa. International flights use Terminal 2, and the airport sits about 30 km north of the Old Quarter.

Everything below is about getting through it with the right paperwork.

Do you need a visa to land in Hanoi?

Most travellers do. Citizens of 39 countries can enter Vietnam visa-free for between 14 and 90 days, depending on the passport. Everyone else needs a visa before they board - airlines check at the desk and will not fly you without one.

For almost everyone that visa is the e-visa: up to 90 days, single or multiple entry, issued online and accepted at Noi Bai. Check what your passport needs.

A visa-free passport still needs an e-visa if the trip is longer than its exemption allows.

What to put on the e-visa application

• Entry port: Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi. If you land somewhere else in Vietnam first and connect to Hanoi on a domestic flight, give that first airport instead - it is where you clear immigration.
• Arrival date: the day you land in Hanoi, local time. Overnight flights from Europe and Australia arrive the day after they leave. The e-visa is valid from the date you give, so a visa that starts tomorrow does not let you in today.
• Single or multiple entry. Hanoi is a common base for side trips over the border to Laos or China. If you will leave Vietnam and come back on the same trip, you need a multiple-entry e-visa. Which one fits your trip.

The pre-arrival form

Vietnam's online pre-arrival form, introduced at Ho Chi Minh City on 15 April 2026, was extended to flights into Hanoi in June 2026. It is free, it takes a few minutes on prearrival.immigration.gov.vn, and it gives you a QR code to show at passport control.

Complete it within 72 hours before you land and after your e-visa has been issued, because it asks for the visa number. How to complete the pre-arrival form.

From the aircraft to the arrivals hall

1. Visa on arrival only: the visa counter. If you are arriving on an approval letter, go to the visa-on-arrival counter before passport control with the letter, the entry form, passport photos and the stamping fee in US dollars cash. E-visa holders and visa-free travellers skip this step. How visa on arrival works.
2. Immigration. Join the queue for foreign passports. Have your passport, your e-visa (on your phone and on paper) and the pre-arrival QR code ready. The officer may ask for your return or onward ticket and your hotel. Before you walk away, check that the date stamped in your passport matches your visa.
3. Baggage reclaim.
4. Customs. Use the red channel if you have something to declare, including more than US$5,000 in cash or VND 15 million.
5. Arrivals hall. ATMs, SIM cards and the taxi and ride-hailing pick-up points are here.

Queues at immigration range from a few minutes to an hour or more when several long-haul flights land together. Nothing speeds that up like having every document ready before you reach the desk.

Getting into Hanoi

A taxi or ride-hailing car to the Old Quarter usually takes 45 minutes to an hour, longer in the evening rush. Airport buses run to the city centre for much less and take longer. Book through an app or use the official taxi rank, and agree how you will pay before you set off.

Onward from Hanoi

• Ha Long Bay. Overnight cruises collect your passport details to register you with the authorities. That is normal and needs no extra visa.
• Sapa. Sapa itself needs nothing extra. Crossing into China at Lao Cai means leaving Vietnam, so coming back needs a multiple-entry e-visa - and China's own entry rules apply on the other side.
• Laos by land. The Tay Trang, Na Meo and Cau Treo crossings accept e-visas for re-entry. All e-visa ports of entry.
• Domestic flights. No immigration, but carry your passport - it is your ID at check-in.

Leaving from Noi Bai

You can leave Vietnam through any designated port, whatever your visa says about entry. Leave on or before the last day of your visa: overstaying is fined before you are allowed to depart. Extensions and overstays.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a visa on arrival at Hanoi airport?

Only with an approval letter arranged before you fly. There is no walk-up visa, and airlines will not board you without a visa or the letter. For most travellers the e-visa is simpler: you go straight to passport control.

Do I need the pre-arrival form to land in Hanoi?

Yes. Flights into Hanoi were added to the pre-arrival system in June 2026. It is free and takes a few minutes online.

Which terminal do international flights use at Noi Bai?

Terminal 2. Domestic flights use Terminal 1.

My e-visa lists another airport. Can I still enter at Noi Bai?

An issued e-visa is valid at every designated entry point, and travellers arriving at a different one are generally admitted. If your visa has not been issued yet, tell us and we will lodge it with the right port.

Do I need a visa for a layover in Hanoi?

Not if you stay in the international transit area. If you leave the airport, or have to collect your bags and check in again, you are entering Vietnam and need a visa.

Which visa should I get for Hanoi?

For a holiday, the single-entry e-visa. For meetings and trade fairs, the business e-visa. If you will leave Vietnam and come back, choose multiple entry.