Dịch
The Ha Giang Border Permit — Who Needs It and Why
Last updated: July 2026 · Written by HagiangTrips, a licensed Vietnamese international tour operator · Every figure below is taken from the Vietnamese decree it cites — sources at the foot of the page.
The heart of the Ha Giang Loop — Dong Van, Lung Cu, Sa Phin, Ma Pi Leng — sits inside a restricted border zone. Every foreign visitor entering it must hold a border area permit. This is not new, it is not optional, and it is not a tourist tax.
We arrange it for every guest, free of charge. But you should still understand what it is — because if you ride the Loop with anyone who skips it, the person turned back at the checkpoint is you.
1. What is the border permit?
Vietnam's land border areas are legally restricted. Under Article 6(2)(a) of Decree 34/2014/ND-CP on the Regulation of Land Border Areas — as amended by Decree 299/2025/ND-CP — a foreigner entering a land border area must hold:
"a permit issued by the provincial police authority … and must carry a passport or international travel document and documents relating to residence in Vietnam, and must present them when a competent authority so requests."
The permit is issued by the Immigration Management Division of the provincial police — not by the Border Guard, and not by us. We apply on your behalf as your sponsoring organisation, which is the channel the law provides for.
2. Which parts of the Loop are inside the border zone?
A "land border area" is defined as any commune whose administrative boundary touches the national border. The province now known as Tuyen Quang — which absorbed Ha Giang in the 2025 provincial merger — has 17 border communes, listed in the annex to Decree 299/2025.
Here is what that means for the places you actually came to see:
| Place | Border zone? | Commune |
|---|---|---|
| Lung Cu Flag Tower — the northernmost point of Vietnam | YES | Lung Cu |
| Lo Lo Chai village | YES | Lung Cu |
| Dong Van Old Quarter | YES | Dong Van |
| The H'mong King's Palace (Sa Phin) | YES | Sa Phin |
| Pao's House (Sung La valley) | YES | Sa Phin |
| Pho Cao — on the QL4C, you cannot avoid it | YES | Pho Bang |
| Can Ty — on the QL4C between Quan Ba and Yen Minh | YES | Can Ty |
| Ma Pi Leng Pass | Largely YES — the pass runs along border communes | Dong Van / Son Vi |
| Quan Ba, Yen Minh town, Meo Vac town, Du Gia, Ha Giang city | No | — |
Swipe the table sideways on a phone.
So do I need one, or not? Strictly speaking, not every kilometre of the Loop is a border zone. But every version of the Loop passes through several — the QL4C itself runs through Can Ty, Pho Cao, Sung La and Dong Van. There is no route that reaches Ma Pi Leng and skips them.
In practice, every foreign traveller riding the Ha Giang Loop needs the permit. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either not going where you think you are going, or is not telling you the truth.
3. What happens if you do not have one
Under Decree 79/2026/ND-CP, Article 9 — in force since 2 May 2026, replacing the old Decree 96/2020:
| What you did | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Entered the border area without the permit Art. 9(2)(e) | 500,000 – 1,000,000 VND (about $20–$40) and you are ordered out of the border area — Art. 9(12)(a) |
| Photographed or filmed where a sign forbids it Art. 9(4) | 2,000,000 – 3,000,000 VND |
| Flew a drone in the border area Art. 9(10)(a) | 40,000,000 – 75,000,000 VND (about $1,600–$3,000) the drone is confiscated, and deportation is available for this offence |
Swipe the table sideways on a phone.
Read the drone row again. Ma Pi Leng and the Nho Que river are among the most drone-photographed places in Vietnam, and almost nobody realises they are flying inside a national border zone. The fine is up to 75 million VND — roughly forty times the fine for having no permit at all — the aircraft is confiscated, and unlike the permit offence, this one can get you deported.
If you are bringing a drone, talk to us first. We will tell you where you can and cannot fly it.
But the fine is not the real cost. The words that matter in Article 9(12) are "buoc roi khoi khu vuc bien gioi" — ordered to leave the border area. You do not pay a fine and carry on. You are turned around. Dong Van, Lung Cu, Ma Pi Leng, the Nho Que river — the entire reason you came — are on the far side of that checkpoint.
Checkpoints are operated by Border Guard and police units along the route, and enforcement has visibly tightened.
4. Two things you will read elsewhere that are simply wrong
"The fine is 2–6 million VND and they impound your bike."
No. The decree says 500,000 to 1,000,000 VND for a foreigner without a permit. We have not found that 2–6 million figure in any Vietnamese legal instrument. It appears to be copied from blog to blog. (A bike can be impounded — but for riding without a valid licence, which is a completely separate offence. See our licence guide.)
"This is a new rule brought in around June 2026."
No. The permit requirement has existed since Decree 34/2014, twelve years ago. What changed is enforcement, not the law. If a website tells you this is new, that website has not read the decree.
We are not saying this to score points. We are saying it because if you plan your trip around a number someone invented, you will plan it wrong.
5. How we handle it — free, for every guest
Vietnamese law requires a foreigner to apply through the organisation inviting or sponsoring them. As a licensed international tour operator, that is us. You do not queue anywhere. You do not fill in a Vietnamese form.
It costs you nothing. The permit costs about $10 per person and takes real administrative work. Most operators charge for it. Some quietly skip it and hope the checkpoint is unmanned that day — which is a bet they are making with your holiday, not theirs.
6. What the permit actually says
It is a single A4 sheet, in Vietnamese and English, headed "Entry Permit to the restricted area, border area", issued and stamped by the Immigration Management Division of the provincial police. Four things on it surprise people:
| On the permit | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Number of entries: once | It is a single-entry permit. It is not a pass you keep and reuse. It covers one trip. |
| From … to … | Valid only for the dates of your tour — not thirty days, not a year. This is why we need your booking dates fixed before we file. |
| Permitted to enter: … | The permit names the specific communes you may enter. It is granted against a stated route. It is not a blanket pass to the whole province. |
| Accompanying persons: … (see attached list) | One permit can cover a whole group, listed by name in an annex — not one sheet of paper per traveller. |
Swipe the table sideways on a phone.
It also names the guide accompanying the group, with their national ID number. That is not decoration — the operator is required to send someone with you, and the permit records who that person is.
7. Who does not need one
Vietnamese citizens. Under Article 6(1) of Decree 34/2014, a Vietnamese citizen entering a border area needs only their national ID card — no permit. Failing to carry ID is a 300,000–500,000 VND matter.
Overseas Vietnamese — please read this. If you were born in Vietnam but hold a foreign passport, you are a foreigner for the purposes of this decree. You need the permit, exactly like everyone else. This catches out more of our guests than any other rule on this page.
Book with us and the permit is handled.
Send your passport photo the day you book, and forget about it. If you are riding with someone else, ask them — in writing — whether they have filed one for you.
Ask us on WhatsApp See our tours Do I need a licence?Frequently asked questions
Yes, in practice always. The core of the Loop — Dong Van, Lung Cu, Sa Phin, Pho Cao, Can Ty and most of the Ma Pi Leng pass — lies inside communes that are legally designated as land border areas. Article 6(2) of Decree 34/2014/ND-CP requires every foreigner entering such an area to hold a permit issued by the provincial police.
Under Article 9(2)(e) of Decree 79/2026/ND-CP, a foreigner entering a land border area without the required documents is fined 500,000 to 1,000,000 VND, and under Article 9(12)(a) is ordered to leave the border area. Being turned back is the real cost, not the fine.
Not inside the border area, and most of the famous viewpoints are inside it. Article 9(10)(a) of Decree 79/2026/ND-CP sets a fine of 40,000,000 to 75,000,000 VND for flying an unmanned aircraft in a border area, with confiscation of the drone, and deportation is available for this offence. Ask us before you fly anything.
The law routes foreign applicants through the organisation inviting or sponsoring them, which for a tourist means the tour operator. If you book with us, we file it as part of your booking and it costs you nothing. If you are riding independently, you will need a Vietnamese organisation to sponsor the application for you.
The provincial police have up to five working days from receiving a complete application. Send us a photo of your passport and visa as soon as you book, not the night before you travel.
No. It is a single-entry permit issued for the dates of your trip — the sheet itself states the number of entries as one, and a from-and-to date covering the tour. It is not a pass you keep. A second trip means a second application.
One permit can cover a whole group. It names one traveller, states the number of accompanying persons, and lists them by name in an attached annex. It also names the guide travelling with the group. The fee is charged per person — around $10 — and for our guests it is included in the tour price.
Your full name exactly as printed in your passport, date of birth, nationality, occupation, passport number and the address you are staying at in Vietnam. In practice, a photo of your passport photo page, a photo of your Vietnam visa or entry stamp, and the name of your hotel covers all of it.
If you travel on a foreign passport, yes. The decree distinguishes by nationality of travel document, not by origin. Vietnamese citizens entering with a Vietnamese ID card do not need a permit; foreign passport holders do, regardless of where they were born.
Sources. Decree 34/2014/ND-CP on the Regulation of Land Border Areas, Articles 3, 6 and 7, as amended by Decree 299/2025/ND-CP of 17 November 2025 (which also replaced the annexed list of border communes) · Decree 79/2026/ND-CP on administrative penalties in the field of national border management and protection, Article 9, in force 2 May 2026, replacing Decree 96/2020/ND-CP · Law on Vietnam Border Guard 2020 · Resolution 1684/NQ-UBTVQH15 of 16 June 2025 on the rearrangement of commune-level units in Tuyen Quang province · administrative procedure "Grant of a permit to enter restricted areas and border areas for foreigners", provincial police Immigration Management Division.
This guide is provided in good faith to inform our guests and reflects Vietnamese law as at July 2026. It is not legal advice, and decrees change. Where we could not verify a detail from a primary source, we have left it out rather than guess. If you spot anything out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
