Vietnamese guests have separate lanes and automatic immigration procedures at Tan Son Nhat.

Passengers with chip-embedded passports only need about 1 minute to complete immigration procedures at Tan Son Nhat. Many people are excited about this new technology.

Passengers check in automatically at Tan Son Nhat airport. This system is the first to be deployed at an airport in Vietnam - Photo: CONG TRUNG

Tuoi Tre Online was present at the immigration and departure area at the international terminal of Tan Son Nhat airport (HCMC) on August 2 and recorded many customers expressing their excitement about experiencing the automatic passport scanning system.

How does the automatic entry process work?

Customers register fingerprints

A total of 10 passport scanners were installed, evenly distributed at the exit and entry areas. According to Tan Son Nhat Border Gate Police, these machines were imported from Europe.

Upon entry, passengers scan the first page of their chip-embedded passport, take a photo in front of the camera, and then go through the automatic gate to exit and enter the country.

Automatic immigration does not require any stamps on the passport. Passengers basically do not need to meet airport staff, present documents...

Ms. Xuan Quynh - a passenger on a flight from Thailand to Tan Son Nhat at noon on August 2 - said that the immigration procedure using the automatic system is quite new. When she arrived at the automatic machine, she scanned her passport and boarding pass. After this step, she went to the fingerprint and facial recognition area. The immigration procedure only took one minute.

"Actually, this technology has been used in other countries for a long time, but Vietnam has just deployed it so it seems strange. In my opinion, it should be deployed more widely so that customers can travel more easily," said Ms. Quynh.

Automatic immigration check-in system

Passengers go through automatic immigration procedures, mainly interacting with machines.

The final step is facial recognition. Once this step is completed, the passenger has completed immigration procedures. It only takes 1 minute.

Tan Son Nhat Border Gate Police set up two manual registration counters for passengers who do not have an electronic passport with a chip and want to use it to scan their passports.

The manual passport data registration process takes about 2-4 minutes, including passport scanning, fingerprints, and facial biometrics.

Passengers only need to register once. Subsequent entries can be made directly through the automatic entry gate, without having to register again at any airport in the list of 5 border gates (Tan Son Nhat, Noi Bai, Phu Quoc, Cam Ranh, Da Nang ).

In addition, passengers can also choose to register online at the Public Service Portal of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense . The application results will be returned after 12-24 hours.

The automatic exit system has not been widely applied yet.

For exiting passengers, currently only Vietnamese passengers with diplomatic or official passports are allowed. Passengers with ordinary passports must have an APEC card. Foreign passengers who want to exit the country through the automatic gate must have a permanent or temporary resident card.

According to Tan Son Nhat Port Police, the scanner system will reduce immigration security check time to an average of only 35-40 seconds per passenger.

However, in the first days of the pilot, there were some delays due to passengers' inexperience or technical errors.

For exiting passengers, this period is limited to Vietnamese passengers with diplomatic or official passports. Passengers with ordinary passports must have an APEC card.

Passengers check in for the flight preparing to depart on August 2.

tuoitre.vn