Vietnam

Vietnam punishes drug possession, use, and trafficking severely — up to the death penalty — and police raid nightspots to drug-test everyone present, filing charges on a positive test even if you used the drug before arriving.

Long sentences up to the death penalty

Cannabis is illegal in Vietnam in every form: it sits on the list of substances absolutely banned from medical and social use, and Vietnamese law recognises no legal hemp category, no THC limit and no CBD exception. What you face turns on the form and the weight. Cannabis resin or hashish is a criminal offence from just 1 gram, carrying 3 to 5 years in prison, while herbal cannabis becomes criminal at 1 kilogram. Below those weights a first offence is an administrative penalty - a fine of 2 to 5 million dong plus confiscation - but once you have been penalised, any quantity at all becomes a crime.

Possession below the criminal thresholds (Decree 282/2025, art. 30(2)): a fine of 2,000,000 to 5,000,000 dong plus confiscation of the substance. Use below the criminal threshold (art. 30(1)): a caution or 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 dong. Criminal possession (Penal Code art. 249(1)): 3 to 5 years' imprisonment - triggered at 1 gram for cannabis resin, at 1 kilogram for cannabis plant material, at 1 gram for other solid narcotics or 10 millilitres for liquids, or at any quantity where there is a prior administrative sanction or unexpunged conviction. The cannabis-plant ladder then runs 5 to 10 years at 10 kilograms, 10 to 15 years at 25 kilograms, and 15 to 20 years or life at 75 kilograms. Article 249 carries no death penalty; capital punishment in the drug chapter attaches to producing (art. 248) and trafficking (art. 251), not to possession. A court may order a convicted foreigner expelled as a principal or additional penalty (art. 37).

Vietnamese law prohibits the export of antiques, and Customs may seize items without compensation, with the definition of 'antique' applied arbitrarily.

Seizure of goods on departure; keep receipts/Ministry of Culture confirmation for valuables.

Entering or leaving Vietnam you must declare to border customs if you carry more than US$5,000 (or equivalent foreign currency) or more than VND 15,000,000 in cash.

Undeclared cash over the threshold can be seized and penalized.

Vietnamese law prohibits exporting antiques; rules are vague and unevenly enforced, and customs may seize items they deem antique without compensation.

Seizure without compensation

Vietnam bans e-cigarettes and heated tobacco — production, trade, import and use — nationwide since 2025; using one now carries a VND 3–5 million fine.

Fine of VND 3–5 million for users, effective 31 Dec 2025 (Decree 371/2025/ND-CP).

Photographing near military bases or anything perceived as of military/security interest in Vietnam may bring questioning, fines, or delayed travel.

Questioning by authorities, fines, or delayed travel

There are no legal restrictions on same-sex sexual relations or attending LGB events in Vietnam.