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 Tan Son Nhat International Airport (HCMC) on August 2 and recorded many customers expressing their excitement at experiencing the automatic passport scanning system.

How does the automatic entry process work?

Customer fingerprint registration

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 have 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 implemented 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 immigration procedures automatically, mainly interacting with machines.

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

Tan Son Nhat border gate police organized 2 manual registration counters for passengers who do not have an electronic passport with chip and want to use passport scan

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.

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 via automatic gates must have a permanent or temporary residence 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 early 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 holding diplomatic or official passports. Passengers holding ordinary passports must have an APEC card.

Passengers check in for flight departing on August 2

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