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• I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

  • 1. A foreigner who wishes to enter Vietnam must fill the procedures at the diplomatic representative office, the consulate or other offices empowered by the Ministry for foreign Affairs in that country (thereunder called Vietnam's representative office in foreign countries). In special cases, procedures can made through an office, organization or individual in Vietnam.

    The offices or organizations empowered to contract offices in the country in charge of the management of entries and exits to fill procedures for the entry of foreigners into Vietnam are defined at Article 4, of the Statute for the management of delegations entering or leaving Vietnam issued along Decree 12-CP of the Government of 01-12-1992.

    Priority consideration shall be given to the following cases

    • - Guests of the Party (by decision of the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee) of the president and vice president of the republic, the chairman and vice-chairman of the National Assembly, the government prime minister and vice prime minister and of members of the Government and services invited by the Prime Minister.
    • - Members of diplomatic representative offices, consulates representatives of international organization in Vietnam bearers of diplomatic passports, guests of ambassador, charge d'affaires and the heads of foreign consulates and the representatives offices of international organizations in Vietnam.
    • - foreigners of Vietnamese extraction.
    • - And other cases under accords or agreements between our Government and the Government of concerned countries.
  • 2. Validity of visa. The visas issued by decision of the central office for the management of entries and exits shall be valid for a period as may be proposed by the guest.

    The head of the Vietnamese representative office in the foreign country concerned shall decide the character of the visa issued to the foreign guest.

  • 3. Those, who enjoy diplomatic or consular immunity or preferential treatment shall fill the procedures for resident registration at the Ministry for foreign Affairs or the service or committee for external relations in the provinces and cities directly under the central government. The above procedures must be settled expeditously in the spirit of respect for the international conventions to which our country is party (the United Nations Convention on preferential treatment and immunity adopted on 12-04-1946, the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations adopted on 18-04-1961 and the Vienna Convention on consular relations adopted on 12-04-1963.

• II. PROCEDURES TO APPLY fOR VISAS AT THE VIETNAM REPRESENTATIVE OfFICES IN fOREIGN COUNTRIES

  • 1. The following offices are empowered to fill procedures for entry of foreigners into Vietnam:
    • - The embassies, consulates general, and consulates of Vietnam in foreign countries.
    • - Other representative offices of Vietnam in foreign country empowered to execute a number of consular functions (economic and cultural liaison bureau, visa bureau, etc.)

      The list of the above offices shall be periodically announce by the foreign Ministry.

  • 2. In principle, a foreign residing in any country shall fill the procedures for entry into Vietnam at the Vietnamese representative office at that country or the country in which this office exercises concurrent functions. Those who proceed from countries having not established diplomatic relations with Vietnam and other foreigners who wish to enter Vietnam may fill the visa procedures at the Vietnamese representative office in a third country.
  • 3. After receiving the full proper dossier, the representative office has the responsibility to immediately notify the host office in Vietnam and at the same time send cables to the Ministry of Interior (the Department in charge of exits and entries), and the Ministry for foreign Affairs (the Consular Department) with the following specifications:
    • - full name
    • - Date and place of birth
    • - Nationality (original and present)
    • - Profession and place of residence
    • - Purpose and duration of the visit and entry gate
    • - Category and number of passport
    • - The latest entry into Vietnam (if any).
  • 4. After the Ministry of the Interior issues the entry permit (concerning cases which come under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior), the Ministry for foreign Affairs shall concerned to issue the visa to the guest.

    The head or deputy head of the consular department, the director or deputy director of the External Relations Service of Ho Chi Minh City shall sign the cable or empower the head or deputy head of the entry-exit bureau of the Consular Department of the Ministry for foreign Affairs or the head or deputy head of the consular bureau of the External Relation Service of Ho Chi Minh City to sign the cable acknowledging the approval for visa issuance.

  • 5. The representative office shall issue the visa with the duration stated in the cable. In case no duration is stated in the cable, the representative office may decide the duration itself but for not more than 90 days (three months). If more than 90 days --- is requested by the guest, the representative office shall inform the authorized office in Vietnam and shall issue the visa upon reception of the reply from this office as stipulated in section II-4 of this Circular. This also applies --- if the guest ask for a visa valid for many times.

    The visa may be written in the passport of issued separately as stipulated by an inter-ministerial decision of the Ministry for foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior.

    Only those persons who are vested with consular functions and have registered their signatures with the concerned offices in the country (the Consular Department, the External Relations service of the Ho Chi Minh City, the Department in charge of exits and entries and the Command of the Border Guard) are entitled to sign to visas.

• III. PROCEDURES fOR THE ISSUANCE, EXTENSION SUPPLEMENT AND MODIfiCATION Of VISES IN THE COUNTRY

  • 1. The consular Department of the Ministry for foreign Affairs, the External Relations service of Ho Chi Minh City and the Consular Bureau in Quang Nam-Da Nang shall issue exit and exit-entry visas, extend, supplement or modify all kinds of Vietnamese visas issued to those foreigners beneficiary of preferential treatment and diplomatic or consular immunity.
  • 2. The modalities mentioned in Section 1 shall be carried out at the request made through official notes of the foreign diplomatic representative or consular offices or representative offices of international organization in Vietnam or official dispatch of the boss offices of Vietnam or at the request of the Protocol Department of the Ministry for foreign Affairs.

    Together with the note, the official dispatch of request must be attached to the passport or a valid paper in lieu of the passport and a certificate for temporary residence issued by the Protocol Department of the Ministry for foreign Affairs.

  • 3. The cancellation of the entry visa or an entry-exit visa of a person beneficiary of diplomatic and consular preferential treatment and immunity is an important matter directly related to the external relations of our State. That is why, this must strictly abide by the provisions of Articles 6 and 14 of the Ordinance on entry, exit, residence and traveling of foreigners in Vietnam. At the same time, the relations of our country with concerned countries must also be taken into account.

    The Minister for foreign Affairs shall decide to cancel various categories of visa issued to those beneficiary of diplomatic and consular preferential treatment and immunity after necessary consultations with various political departments of the Ministry for foreign Affairs and other concerned offices.

• IV. REGISTRATION fOR RESIDENCE AND TRAVELING IN VIETNAM

  • 1. The protocol Department of the Ministry for foreign Affairs and the service and committee for external relations in the provinces and cities directly under the central Government manages the registration for residence of the foreigners beneficiary of diplomatic and consular preferential treatment and immunity in their locality.
  • 2. Within 48 hours of entering Vietnam, the foreigner or the host office must fill the procedures for residence at on of the offices mentioned in item 1 of this article.

    The dossier for registration must include:

    • - The official dispatch of the Vietnamese host office attached to the decision of the authorized office.
    • - Two copies of application for residence registration according to the form issued by the Ministry for foreign Affairs with photos of the concerned person stuck on.
    • - The passport or valid paper in lieu of passport and the entry card.
    • - The certifying note of the foreign diplomatic representative or consular office or of the representative office of the international organization in Vietnam attached to the passport, two copies of the application for residence registration of the concerned person with photo stuck on certifying that he/she is a member of this office or a family member of the personnel of this office. An extra photo is required for the issuance of the "temporary residence certificate".
  • 3. The extension of this temporary residence certificate or any change in the purpose of the residence of the foreigner shall be done by the Vietnamese office which issues the temporary residence permit.

    The validity of a temporary residence certificate shall not exceed three years (36 months) and each extension shall not exceed one year (12 months). The bearer of the certificate must hand it in to the issuing office when he leaves Vietnam.

  • 4. After registering for residence the foreigner ins entitle to freely travel on the Vietnamese territory except the forbidden areas.

    The ambassadors, changes d'affaires or hand of the representative office of international organizations who travel to the Localities and wish to meet Local Vietnamese Leaders need to give seven days notice to the Protocol Department of the Ministry for foreign Affairs.

    The travel or contacts conducted by members of foreign consulates in Vietnam shall comply with the Vienna Convention of 1963 on consular relations and the bilateral consular agreements Vietnam has signed with the concerned countries.

  • 5. The cancellation of the temporary residence certificates shall result in the foreigner having to leave the Vietnam territory within a given time. for those foreigners beneficiary of preferential treatment and diplomatic immunity, this will have a direct impact on the external relations of our State.

    The Minister for foreign Affairs shall decide on the cancellation of the temporary residence certificates of the persons beneficiary of preferential treatment and diplomatic immunity at the proposal of the Head of the Protocol Department after necessary consultations with the political departments of the Ministry for foreign Affairs and other concerned offices.

• V. ORGANIZATION Of IMPLEMENTATION

  • 1. The collection of fees for the issuance, extension, supplement or modification of visas, the certification of temporary residence mentioned in this circular shall apply according to current provisions and on the principle of reciprocity.
  • 2. The Director of the Office of the Ministry for foreign Affairs has the responsibility to periodically announce the list of the Vietnamese representative offices in foreign countries empowered to issue visas to foreigners who wish to enter Vietnam as stipulated in Section II-1 of this Circular.

    The heads of the Consular Department and of the Protocol Department, the director of the external relations service of Ho Chi Minh City and of the provinces and cities directly under the central government, the heads of the Vietnamese representative offices shall, within the limit of their mandate and tasks, implement the Decree on entry, exit, residence and traveling of foreigners in Vietnam, Decree No. 4-CP of 18-01-1993 of the Government and this Circular.

  • 3. This Circular takes effect on the date of its signing. All the previous documents of the Ministry for foreign Affairs which contradict this Circular are now annulled.

Minister for foreign Affairs.

NGUYEN MANH CAM