Police, scams and the consulate in Saigon

Short answer: the Consulate-General can replace your passport and check on you if you're detained, but it can't get you out of trouble, so the real protection is knowing the rules before you need help.

The short version

Save two numbers now: the Consulate-General on +84 28 3521 8100, and the 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on +61 2 6261 3305 [1][2].
Lost your passport? Get a Vietnamese police report from the station where it happened, then an emergency passport, then a replacement visa from Vietnamese immigration. You can't leave until all three are done [3].
Drug penalties are severe. Vietnam removed the death penalty for illegal drug transportation in July 2025, but Smartraveller still warns that drug offences can attract death or life in jail [4][5].
An exit ban can stop you at the airport over a business dispute, a civil case, unpaid debts or overdue tax, and you may not know until you try to leave [4][6].
Hang up on callers claiming to be police, your bank or the Consulate. Scammers spoof all three [1][8].

What the Consulate-General can and can't do

The Australian Consulate-General is on the 20th floor of Vincom Center, 47 Ly Tu Trong Street, Saigon ward. It covers southern Vietnam, while the Embassy in Hanoi covers the north [1]. Enter from the Ly Tu Trong side, bring your passport for airport-style security, and expect to need a QR code for the lifts. Passport and notarial services are by appointment [1].

The phones are answered from 8.30am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, except public holidays. Outside those hours, the Consular Emergency Centre in Canberra takes urgent calls. Family in Australia can ring it on 1300 555 135 [2].

The Consulate can	The Consulate can't
Issue an emergency passport, usually within two working days [3]	Get the police report for you [3]
Write to Vietnamese immigration to support your replacement visa [3]	Make immigration issue it faster
Give you lists of local lawyers, interpreters, hospitals and medevac providers [2]	Give legal advice or pick a lawyer for you
Check on your welfare if you're detained	Get you out of jail or out of trouble [4]
Provide some notarial services for documents [4]	Settle a dispute with your landlord, employer or business partner

Smartraveller puts it plainly: the government will do what it can under the Consular Services Charter, but it can't get you out of trouble or out of jail [4]. For the full charter, see our guide to consular help and Smartraveller.

Losing your passport

This is the emergency Australians in Saigon are most likely to face, often after a bag snatch from a passing motorbike. It's a three-part job, and only one part happens at the Consulate.

Go to the police where it happened. Vietnamese immigration accepts only a Vietnamese police report. You must apply at the police office closest to where the passport was lost or stolen, not somewhere more convenient [3]. The Consulate can't do this for you; your landlord, employer or a Vietnamese-speaking friend can help [3].
Apply for an emergency passport. Book at the Consulate-General. Bring two identical passport photos, every photo ID you have (your Australian driver licence helps) and a completed PC8 overseas application form. Emergency passports are generally issued within two working days. A lost or stolen passport costs extra, and the government may limit the replacement's validity [3].
Get your Vietnamese visa replaced. The Consulate gives you a letter for the Vietnamese Immigration Department. You lodge it with your police report and new passport, possibly through your employer or other sponsor, and pay a fee. The Consulate says this typically takes five to seven working days in Ho Chi Minh City, and you can't leave Vietnam until the new visa is issued [3].

Two warnings. Immigration won't accept a statutory declaration from the Consulate instead of a police report [3]. And if you hold a temporary residence card, the details have to be moved to your new passport too. Our temporary residence card guide explains how the card works.

Vietnamese law lets authorities ask to see your passport at any time [3]. Carry a photocopy day to day and keep the original locked up, separate from your other ID.

Reporting crime and calling for help

Local emergency numbers are 113 for police, 114 for fire and 115 for an ambulance. Operators may not speak English, so a Vietnamese-speaking friend, building manager or your employer's HR contact is worth having on speed dial.

For theft or assault, report at the ward police station covering the place it happened. Get a written report for your insurer. If you're injured or the crime is serious, call the Consulate as well; it can give you the list of hospitals and help you contact family [2].

Scams Australians run into

Most scams here start on the phone or in a messaging app.

Fake police. Callers pose as police, offer to "help" with an electronic ID or residence record, and send a link to a fake app. Once installed, it reads your messages and one-time codes, and drains your bank account. Ho Chi Minh City police say people should install apps only from official app stores and ignore instructions given over the phone [8].
Fake Consulate calls. Scammers have spoofed the Consulate-General's number. It won't ask for banking details, passwords or codes, and if it can't reach you by phone it usually sends a message or email [1].
Visa "agents". The Consulate-General has warned Vietnamese applicants about fake agents promising guaranteed Australian visas. If your Vietnamese partner or staff are applying for an Australian visa, use only the Department of Home Affairs and registered migration agents with a MARN [9].
Dodgy job offers. Smartraveller says some teaching and other job offers misrepresent pay, housing and visa status. Read the contract, check the work permit is real, and never hand over your passport, even "for safekeeping" [4].
Street-level stuff. Bag and phone snatching from passing motorbikes is the classic one, along with the odd padded bill or creative taxi meter. Keep your phone on the inside of the footpath and use ride-hailing apps with fixed prices.

Drugs, detention and the law

Vietnamese drug law is one of the harshest in the region. In June 2025, Vietnam's National Assembly removed the death penalty for eight crimes, including illegal drug transportation, from 1 July 2025 [5]. Don't read that as softening. Smartraveller still warns that drug offences can attract the death penalty or life in jail, that penalties are severe even for small amounts, and that you can be charged for drugs in your system [4]. Marijuana is illegal in every form. Never carry a parcel or bag for anyone [4].

Other things that get foreigners in trouble, according to Smartraveller [4]:

bringing in or using vapes
photographing military sites or border crossings
gambling outside licensed casinos
possessing pornography or unapproved political or religious material
exporting antiques without a permit

If you're arrested, you can be held without formal charges for long periods during an investigation, and you may not get a phone call [4]. Ask the police to tell the Australian Consulate-General. It can check on your welfare and give your family a list of lawyers, but it can't intervene in the case.

Exit bans: the trap at the airport

This is the one long-term expats need to understand. Vietnamese authorities can stop you leaving the country, and you might first hear about it at passport control [4].

Trigger	What happens
Criminal investigation	Your passport may be held until the case is settled [4]
Business or civil dispute, unpaid debts	A court or authority can stop you leaving until it's resolved [4]
Working without a valid work permit	Fines, possible detention and an exit ban [4]
Overdue tax	Foreigners leaving with unpaid tax debts can be barred from departing [6]

Unpaid tax

Under Decree 49/2025, people running a business as an individual or household can be banned from leaving if they owe VND 50 million or more that's over 120 days overdue. For company legal representatives, the threshold is VND 500 million owed by the company [6]. Separately, foreigners leaving Vietnam with any outstanding tax debt can be stopped [6]. Decree 252/2026 updated the rules in 2026 and requires tax authorities to notify taxpayers at least 30 days before requesting a ban [7].

You can check your status in the eTax system or eTax Mobile app. Once you pay, the ban should be lifted within 24 hours [6]. Before you leave for good, make sure your employer has finalised your personal income tax.

If you're hit with one

Find out who imposed it: a court, the police, the tax office or immigration.
Get a Vietnamese lawyer. Smartraveller recommends professional legal advice [4]. The Consulate's lawyer list is a starting point [2].
Tell the Consulate, so it knows where you are.
Keep paying rent and keep your visa valid. A ban doesn't stop your visa expiring.

Set yourself up now

Subscribe to Smartraveller updates for Vietnam and save the Consulate numbers in your phone and your partner's.
Scan your passport, visa, TRC and work permit to a secure cloud folder.
Get health insurance with medical evacuation cover, since Australia has no reciprocal health agreement with Vietnam.
Keep a current will and powers of attorney. See wills and power of attorney when you live abroad.

Want to know which ward police station was helpful or how long the replacement visa really took? Ask in Cooee Vietnam, our Facebook group for Australians in Vietnam.

When things go wrong in Saigon: police, scams, exit bans and the Australian consulate