Passengers arriving at Vietnam’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City are increasingly reporting hours long waits at immigration, turning what should be a straightforward gateway to the country’s tourism capital into a test of patience and planning.

As international travel rebounds and Vietnam courts more visitors, congestion at the country’s busiest airport is emerging as a significant pain point, with authorities racing to keep pace and private operators stepping in with paid fast track services.

More News:

A Record-Busy Gateway Struggling With Surging Demand

Tan Son Nhat International Airport has for years operated beyond its intended capacity, and the pressure is now clearly visible in immigration lines.

The facility was designed to handle around 28 million passengers annually, but it processed more than 41 million travelers in 2019 and over 34 million in 2022, despite the lingering impact of the pandemic.

Since then, Vietnam’s tourism recovery and a sharp rise in regional air connectivity have translated into heavier flows through the international terminal, known as T2.

Airport data and local media reports indicate that T2 now handles roughly 50,000 international passengers per day during normal periods, with those numbers rising significantly around holidays such as Tet, Vietnam’s Lunar New Year.

At peak times, daily flight movements at Tan Son Nhat can reach close to 1,000, with passenger totals exceeding 140,000 across domestic and international operations. That scale of activity is putting sustained pressure on every processing point, from check in and security to immigration and customs.

While domestic congestion is more visible during Tet and other national holidays, the most persistent pain point for international visitors is at the immigration counters on arrival.

Travel advisories and airport-focused guides produced in 2024 and 2025 consistently warn that immigration queues at Tan Son Nhat have become “notorious” and “often overwhelming,” especially when several long haul arrivals are banked within a short timeframe. For many visitors, this is now an expected part of landing in Ho Chi Minh City.

Reports Of Hour-Plus Queues And A Sudden Drop In Efficiency

Across 2025, anecdotal accounts from travelers have described waits ranging from 60 minutes to more than two hours before clearing passport control.

Several immigration fast track providers that operate legally inside the airport now advertise their services by warning that regular immigration queues can last one to three hours during busy periods, a claim echoed by users on social platforms and travel forums who report missing connections and hotel transfers due to bottlenecks at the border checkpoint.

In recent months, multiple travelers recount that what used to be a 20 to 30 minute clearance process as recently as 2023 and early 2024 has lengthened dramatically. Some note that total time from touchdown to exiting the terminal can now stretch to 90 minutes or more, even without baggage delays.

Complaints focus not only on the duration of the lines but also on the feeling that throughput per counter has slowed, with immigration desks sometimes appearing understaffed compared with the size of the arriving crowd.

One recurring observation among frequent visitors is a change in queuing design. Instead of several separate lines feeding different immigration counters, the arrival hall more often operates with a single, snaking queue that channels passengers toward the front of the hall.

Advocates of this system argue it is fairer and more orderly, but some travelers say the visual effect of one massive line amplifies the perception of overcrowding and can be demoralizing for those stepping off overnight flights.

Peak Hours, System Failures And Holiday Crushes

The worst delays at Tan Son Nhat tend to cluster around predictable peak windows. Tourism and visa service firms advise that immigration at the international terminal is most congested between roughly 10:00 and 14:00 and again from evening into late night, often between 20:00 and midnight.

Those periods correspond with the arrival of wide body flights from Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and long haul markets such as Europe and Australia, creating intense surges that challenge the terminal’s capacity.

Beyond daily peaks, Vietnam’s holiday calendar plays a major role in driving “hours long” experiences. During the Lunar New Year travel wave in January and February 2025, Tan Son Nhat recorded close to 1,000 flights and more than 130,000 passengers per day.

Local outlets documented long snaking lines at check in, security and arrivals, with airport managers acknowledging that both terminal and runway infrastructure were stretched beyond their design limits. For international travelers arriving or departing during those dates, immigration queues were frequently described as “packed,” “barely moving” and “chaotic.”

System reliability has also become a concern. On August 26, 2025, a technical failure in the immigration processing system at the international terminal triggered a multi hour disruption that left hundreds of passengers stranded in departure queues while border checks were temporarily halted.

The Southern Airports Authority later said that about seven flights were directly affected, and while operations were restored by early afternoon, images of packed halls and frustrated travelers underscored how vulnerable the airport is to any IT glitch in its border control systems.

Structural Bottlenecks At The Immigration Hall

The roots of the congestion at Tan Son Nhat’s immigration area extend beyond raw passenger numbers. Industry analysts and local aviation officials point to a combination of limited physical space, a constrained number of staffed booths, and stricter document checks as key structural impediments.

The international terminal was built at a time when Vietnam’s air travel ambitions were more modest, and there is only so much room to expand passport control in its current footprint.

Officials acknowledge that the ratio of immigration counters to passengers at peak times is suboptimal. While all available booths are often staffed, the surge of arriving travelers from multiple wide body flights can quickly overwhelm that capacity.

Any additional screening, such as closer scrutiny of visas, inconsistencies in e visa printouts or technical issues with automated gates, further slows processing. This affects not only tourists but also returning Vietnamese citizens and expatriates, creating frustration across categories of travelers.

Compounding the problem is the interaction between immigration and visa on arrival procedures. Visitors who have arranged visas to be processed on landing must first queue at a separate counter to receive their visa sticker before joining the main immigration line.

Travel services warn that the visa counter alone can sometimes involve waits of 60 to 90 minutes, effectively doubling the time required to clear the border. For these travelers, the combined process can easily exceed two hours during busy periods.

Authorities’ Efforts To Ease The Load

Vietnamese aviation authorities and airport management say they are aware of the strain at Tan Son Nhat and are rolling out both operational and infrastructural measures. In the short term, the Southern Airports Authority has pushed airlines to spread flights more evenly across the day, including increasing night time operations to reduce congestion during traditional daytime peaks.

Coordination between airport security, immigration, airlines and ground handlers has been tightened through rapid response teams tasked with monitoring crowd levels in real time and reallocating staff as needed.

For holiday peaks such as Tet, the airport has implemented special traffic plans around its road approaches, working with city police to divert vehicles and discourage large groups from gathering to see off or greet travelers.

Passengers are repeatedly urged to arrive at the airport the recommended two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international departures, but not significantly earlier, in an effort to smooth out spikes in terminal occupancy.

Announcements and signage encourage online check in and advance preparation of travel documents to speed movement through the departure process.

On the infrastructure side, the most significant development is the near completion of Terminal T3, a new domestic terminal intended to relieve pressure on the existing T1 facility. While T3 does not directly expand international immigration capacity, the expectation is that by shifting more domestic operations into a modern space, overall congestion in shared access roads, parking and passenger flows will be reduced, indirectly benefiting international travelers in Terminal T2.

In parallel, long term plans are progressing for a new international airport at Long Thanh in neighboring Dong Nai province, though that project will not provide immediate relief for current Tan Son Nhat bottlenecks.

Fast Track Services And The Rise Of A Two-Speed Arrival Experience

One of the clearest byproducts of the immigration crunch at Tan Son Nhat has been the rapid expansion of paid fast track services. Dozens of licensed agencies and major travel platforms now promote “priority immigration” packages that promise to cut waiting times from as much as two or three hours down to five to fifteen minutes.

These services typically involve a meet and greet at the aircraft gate, escort through dedicated or less crowded lanes, and assistance with visa on arrival paperwork where applicable.

Fast track offerings have become a prominent part of online advice for traveling to Ho Chi Minh City. Several visa and airport guide websites updated in 2024 and 2025 frame the service as a near-essential time saver, especially for families with young children, elderly travelers, business visitors on tight schedules or anyone arriving in the late evening peak.

Prices vary depending on the provider and whether visa processing is included, but are widely advertised as costing less than a mid range restaurant meal in the city.

Critics, including some frequent travelers and Vietnam based expatriates, argue that the growing reliance on fast track points to deeper equity and governance questions. Social media threads have raised suspicions that the existence of chronically long regular lines may be indirectly encouraging uptake of premium lanes, though there is no official confirmation of any link between state immigration services and private fast track operators.

For now, the reality on the ground is a two speed arrival experience: those who pay often walk through quickly, while others endure the standard queue.

Practical Strategies For Travelers Facing Long Queues

For visitors planning trips to Ho Chi Minh City in late 2025 and into 2026, several practical steps can reduce exposure to the worst delays. The first is scheduling: where possible, choosing flights that arrive outside the late morning and late evening peaks may significantly shorten immigration waits.

While airline schedules and fares often limit this flexibility, some carriers do offer mid afternoon or early morning arrivals that face lighter congestion at the border counters.

Second, travelers should pay close attention to Vietnam’s evolving visa regime and ensure their documentation is in perfect order before departure. E visas should be printed clearly, names must match passports exactly, and any additional letters or approvals required should be readily available in hard copy.

This minimizes the risk of secondary checks that slow down both the individual and the line behind them. Those eligible for visa free entry should carry proof of onward travel and accommodation details, which officers may occasionally request.

Third, passengers who are particularly time sensitive can evaluate the cost benefit of fast track services offered through reputable agencies or major booking platforms. While not necessary for every traveler, fast track may be worthwhile for late night arrivals with long onward journeys, same day domestic connections, or travelers accompanied by young children.

Those who opt for regular queues should plan their first day’s activities with some buffer, assuming that they may spend up to an hour or more in the immigration hall before reaching the baggage carousel.

FAQ

Q1. How long are immigration lines at Tan Son Nhat International Airport right now?
Wait times fluctuate by day and time, but recent traveler reports and service providers suggest that during peak periods immigration lines can take from 45 minutes to over two hours to clear. Off peak, some passengers still report passing through in 20 to 30 minutes, but relying on a quick clearance is increasingly risky.

Q2. What are the busiest times for immigration at Tan Son Nhat?
The heaviest congestion typically occurs late morning to early afternoon, roughly 10:00 to 14:00, and again in the evening and late night, often between 20:00 and midnight, when multiple international flights from regional hubs and long haul markets arrive in close succession.

Q3. Are the long lines only during Tet and holidays?
No. While Tet and other major holidays do produce extreme crowds, with daily passenger numbers well above average, immigration lines can be long year round, especially on Fridays, Sundays and during school vacation periods. Regular weekday peaks can still involve waits of an hour or more.

Q4. Does using an e visa make the process faster?
An approved e visa generally simplifies entry because it removes the need to stop at the visa on arrival counter, which can itself involve long queues. However, all travelers still must pass through immigration, so an e visa reduces the number of steps but does not eliminate the risk of waiting in a crowded passport control line.

Q5. What is an immigration fast track service at Tan Son Nhat?
Immigration fast track services are pre booked packages offered by licensed agencies and booking platforms. A staff member meets you on arrival, assists with visa formalities if needed, and escorts you through priority or less crowded lanes at immigration, typically reducing clearance time to around 5 to 15 minutes when everything runs smoothly.

Q6. Is fast track worth paying for at this airport?
This depends on your budget and tolerance for waiting. For families with young children, elderly travelers, business passengers on tight schedules or anyone landing in the late night peak, many find that the cost of fast track is justified by the time and stress saved. Independent travelers arriving at quieter hours may prefer to keep costs down and use regular lines.

Q7. Can I miss a connecting flight because of immigration delays at SGN?
Yes, it is possible, particularly for short self made connections between an incoming international flight and a separate onward ticket. Travelers are strongly advised to leave generous buffers, ideally several hours, when planning connections that require clearing immigration and rechecking luggage at Tan Son Nhat.

Q8. Are there any official apps or tools showing live immigration wait times?
Third party websites and flight tracking tools provide estimated queue times based on historical patterns and user reports, but they are not official and should be treated as rough guides. The airport itself does not yet provide real time public dashboards for immigration wait times in the way some larger hubs do.

Q9. What are authorities doing to reduce long lines in the future?
Authorities are spreading flights more evenly across the day, increasing night operations, coordinating rapid response teams inside the terminal, and developing new infrastructure such as the T3 domestic terminal and the planned Long Thanh International Airport. These measures aim to relieve overall congestion, though they will take time to translate into consistently shorter immigration lines.

Q10. How should travelers prepare before landing to handle possible delays?
Travelers should print and organize all visa and entry documents, avoid tight onward schedules, have water and essential medications in their carry on, and set expectations that clearing immigration could take up to one or two hours during busy times. Those with lower tolerance for delays can consider booking a reputable fast track service in advance.