Phú Quốc is no longer a city, it is a special zone
Since 1 July 2025, Phú Quốc is a special zone of An Giang province. It is no longer a city, and Kiên Giang no longer exists.
This sheet is not a travel story. It gathers what official sources say, and stops where they stop.
Phú Quốc stopped being a city on 1 July 2025. It also changed province — the one it was in has gone.
01What changed
Kiên Giang province merged with An Giang. The result carries the name An Giang.
On 16 June 2025, Resolution 1654/NQ-UBTVQH15 reorganised the commune-level units of the new province. Phú Quốc becomes a special zone (đặc khu), effective 1 July 2025.
02What the special zone covers
Phú Quốc special zone covers more than 589 km². It brings together the former wards of Dương Đông and An Thới, plus six communes: Dương Tơ, Hàm Ninh, Cửa Dương, Bãi Thơm, Gành Dầu and Cửa Cạn.
An Giang has three special zones: Phú Quốc, Thổ Châu and Kiên Hải.
03What it changes in practice
An address reading “Phú Quốc, Kiên Giang” names a province that no longer exists. The city People’s Committee became the special zone People’s Committee.
Special zone is an administrative status. What this sheet cannot say is what it will change for a visitor: the specific provisions were still being drafted on the verification date.
04How to check it yourself
Resolution 1654/NQ-UBTVQH15 is published on thuvienphapluat.vn. The An Giang province portal, angiang.gov.vn, publishes its own work on the three special zones.
05What a special zone is
The special zone (đặc khu) is a category of administrative unit distinct from the ward and the commune. An Giang has three: Phú Quốc, Thổ Châu and Kiên Hải, all islands.
The status concerns how local government is organised. It does not by itself imply any particular entry or stay rule, and none could be confirmed on the verification date.
06If your documents predate July 2025
A booking reading “Phú Quốc, Kiên Giang” names an island that has not moved and a province that no longer exists. It is still understood.
The Phú Quốc City People’s Committee became the special zone People’s Committee. Paperwork addressed to the old entity has to be readdressed.
07The principle behind the reform
Vietnam went from 63 provinces and cities to 34, and the district tier was abolished nationwide.
Phú Quốc is one of the few cases where a city did not become a ward, but a separate administrative category.
08What this sheet does not say
What special zone status will change for a visitor. Any particular entry conditions. Where to sleep, where to eat, what it costs.
Nobody here has been. This sheet says what can be checked, not what can be felt.