|
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF VIETNAM |
SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM |
|
No. 08/2025/TT-BNG |
Hanoi, June 13, 2025 |
GUIDANCE ON ISSUANCE, RENEWAL, REVOCATION OR INVALIDATION OF DIPLOMATIC OR OFFICIAL PASSPORTS AND ISSUANCE OF DIPLOMATIC NOTES FOR VISAS
Pursuant to the Law on Entry and Exit of Vietnamese Citizens dated November 22, 2019; the Law dated June 24, 2023 on amendments to some Articles of Law on Entry and Exit of Vietnamese Citizens and Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam;
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 28/2025/ND-CP dated February 24, 2025 on functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam;
At the request of Director of Bureau of Consular Affairs;
The Minister of Foreign Affairs promulgates Circular on guidance on issuance, renewal, revocation or invalidation of diplomatic or official passports and issuance of diplomatic notes for visas.
This Circular provides guidance on procedures for issuance, renewal, revocation or invalidation of diplomatic or official passports; and issuance of diplomatic notes for visas in accordance with regulations of the Law on Entry and Exit of Vietnamese Citizens (hereinafter referred to as “Law”).
Article 2. Competent authorities
1. Domestic authorities issuing, renewing, revoking or invalidating diplomatic or official passports and issuing diplomatic notes for visas include Bureau of Consular Affairs and Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (hereinafter referred to as “domestic passport-issuing authorities”)
2. Foreign authorities issuing, renewing, revoking or invalidating diplomatic or official passports and issuing diplomatic notes for visas include diplomatic missions, consular representative offices and other authorities authorized to perform consular functions of Vietnam in foreign countries (hereinafter referred to as “representative bodies”).
Article 3. Validity period of diplomatic/official passports in some special cases
1. A diplomatic or official passport issued in case the previously issued passport is damaged or lost or its pages run out during business travel in a foreign country is valid for a minimum of 1 year and the validity period of such passport is not longer than that of the pre-existing passport.
2. A diplomatic or official passport issued to a person whose position is changed according to point b clause 1 Article 13 of the Law is valid for a minimum of 1 year and the validity period of such passport is not longer than that of the pre-existing passport.
3. A newly issued/renewed diplomatic or official passport issued to the person specified in point d clause 1 Article 13 of the Law is valid for a minimum of 1 year and the validity period of such passport is not longer than that of the passport issued to a person that he/she accompanies or visits.
Article 4. Decision to assign or written permission for cadres, civil servants and public employees to go on business trips abroad
1. A decision to assign or written permission for cadres, civil servants and public employees to go on business trips abroad (hereinafter referred to as “written assignment”) specified in point a clause 2 Article 12 of the Law shall include the information according to the Form issued together with this Circular.
2. The written assignment shall bear the signature of a competent or authorized person and the seal of an authority and be consistent with regulations of the law on administrative document format.
If the written assignment has at least two pages, these pages must be ordinally numbered and fan-stamped. If the written assignment is a double-sided document, the first page must bear a seal (usually overlapping the name of authority). If the written assignment is amended, the competent person shall sign and the authority shall put its seal on the amendment. If at least two amendments are made, a new written assignment must be issued.
If the written assignment is an electronic document, it must satisfy regulations of the law related to digital signature and e-documents.
3. The written assignment may be an official dispatch issued by the President’s Office, the Office of the National Assembly or Committees of the National Assembly, the Central Office of the Communist Party or the Communist Party’s Committees, the Government Office and notifying the list of delegates if the cadre, civil servant or public employee is a member or attendant of a delegate of General Secretary, the Standing Board of Secretariat, the Politburo member, Secretary of Central Committee of the Communist Party, the State President, the State Deputy President, the National Assembly Chairperson, the National Assembly Vice Chairperson, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister.
4. The written assignment may be an official dispatch issued by the President’s Office, the Office of the National Assembly, the Central Office of the Communist Party, the Government Office and granting permission for the cadre, civil servant or public employee to go on a business trip abroad by the competent authority if the cadre, civil servant or public employee is managed by Central Committee of the Communist Party.
5. The written assignment may be a document appointing a member of a representative body in accordance with the Law on overseas representative missions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam if the member holds a position at the representative body specified in clause 11 Article 8 and clause 4 Article 9 of the Law.
6. In case a person holds several positions at different authorities or organizations, he/she must use the written assignment issued by the authority to which his/her given official duties abroad are related.
Article 5. Authorization for assignment or permission for cadres, civil servants and public employees to go on business trips abroad
1. The authorization granted to the head of an affiliate for assignment of or permission for an overseas business trip in accordance with clause 11 Article 11 of the Law must be made in writing using the Form enclosed with this Circular and sent to the domestic passport-issuing authority. The written authorization must bear the signature of the competent person specified in clause 11 Article 11 of the Law and the seal of the authority. If the authorized person is reappointed, or resigns or his/her term of office ends, a new written authorization must be made and sent to the domestic passport-issuing authority.
2. If rules for management of foreign affairs or overseas business trips of cadres, civil servants and public employees issued by the competent persons specified in clause 1 thru clause 9 Article 11 of the Law contain regulations on authorization or delegation of assignment of or permission for cadres, civil servants and public employees to go on business trips abroad, the competent person is not required to issue the written authorization specified in clause 1 of this Article but the authority issuing such rules shall notify in writing the above-mentioned regulations to the domestic passport-issuing authority.
3. Authorities, units and individuals authorized or delegated to assign or permit cadres, civil servants and public employees to go on business trips abroad shall introduce specimen seals, specimen signatures and titles according to Article 6 of this Circular.
Article 6. Introduction of specimen seal, specimen signature and title
1. Each competent authority or unit employing a person authorized to assign a cadre, civil servant or public employee to go on a business trip abroad as prescribed in clause 11 Article 11 of the Law shall introduce in writing to the domestic passport-issuing authority the authority’s specimen seal, specimen signature and title of the competent person using Form enclosed with this Circular before assigning or permitting the cadre, civil servant or public employee to go on business trip abroad. If the authority changes its seal or the competent person changes his/her signature or title or is re-appointed, the relevant authority/unit shall re-introduce in writing the domestic passport-issuing authority.
2. If the competent authority or unit employing the person authorized to assign the cadre, civil servant or public employee to go on business trip abroad as prescribed in clause 11 Article 11 of the Law uses electronic signature or seal, the written assignment issued by the competent authority shall meet all regulations of the law related to digital signatures and e-documents.
Article 7. Application form for issuance or renewal of diplomatic/official passport, diplomatic note
1. An application form for issuance or renewal of diplomatic/official passport or diplomatic note is made according to the form enclosed with this Circular.
2. The application form must bear the certification by the employer of the applicant and a fan-stamping over the photograph therein.
In case of issuance of the diplomatic passport to the accompanying person as prescribed in clause 13 Article 8 of the Law, the application form must bear the certification by the employer of the person who is assigned to go on business trip abroad and accompanied by the applicant.
In case of issuance of the diplomatic/official passport to the visiting or accompanying person as prescribed in clause 14 Article 8 or clause 5 Article 9 of the Law, the application form must bear the certification by the Communist Party or the State’s authority or organization to which the person is a member. In case the person is not a member of the Communist Party or the State’s authority or organization, the application form must be certified by the employer of the person who is assigned to go on business trip abroad and accompanied or visited by the applicant.
3. In case of renewal of diplomatic/official passport and only issuance of diplomatic note, the application form is not required to bear certification and photograph.
4. In case of overseas issuance of diplomatic/official passport, the application form is not required to bear certification.
5. In case the application is submitted online, the application form shall comply with regulations of the law related to interactive electronic forms or electronic documents.
Article 8. Title stated in diplomatic/official passport
1. The domestic passport-issuing authority or the representative body must, regarding the persons holding positions specified in clauses 2 through 10 Article 8 of the Law, state their Vietnamese titles in the diplomatic passports, unless a regulatory body requests not to state the titles or for foreign affairs or national security reasons.
2. The domestic passport-issuing authority or the representative body must, regarding the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, a foreign affair member who has been awarded diplomatic rank, member of representative body, state press or news agency of Vietnam residing abroad and the visiting or accompanying person thereof as prescribed in clause 14, Article 8 and clause 5, Article 9 of the Law, state his/her Vietnamese and English titles in the diplomatic/official passport.
3. In addition to regulations in clause 1, clause 2 of this Article, the holder of diplomatic/official passport may not arbitrarily state their title in the passport.
ISSUANCE, RENEWAL, REVOCATION OR INVALIDATION OF DIPLOMATIC OR OFFICIAL PASSPORTS AND ISSUANCE OF DIPLOMATIC NOTES FOR VISAS IN VIETNAM
Article 9. Receipt of applications and return of results via authorities authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The receipt of application and returning of result of application for issuance/renewal of a non-electronic diplomatic/official passport or issuance of a diplomatic note for visa are authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to a foreign affairs authority in a province or city (hereinafter referred to as “local foreign affairs authority”). To be specific:
1. The local foreign affairs authority shall receive and inspect the completeness and validity of the application for issuance or renewal of diplomatic/official passport and issuance of diplomatic note before submitting it to the domestic passport-issuing authority in accordance with regulations.
2. After receipt of the result from the domestic passport-issuing authority, the local foreign affairs authority shall inspect and compare information and return the result to the applicant.
Article 10. Receipt of applications and return of results of issuance of electronic passports in Vietnam
1. The receipt of application and return of result of application for issuance of an electronic diplomatic/official passport shall be conducted at the domestic passport-issuing authority.
2. The local foreign affairs authority shall receive the application and return result of application for issuance of the electronic diplomatic/official passport in accordance with applicable law and guidelines given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Article 11. Application for issuance or renewal of diplomatic/official passport or issuance of diplomatic note for visa in Vietnam
1. An applicant for issuance of a diplomatic/official passport shall submit an application form as prescribed in Article 7 hereof, 02 portrait photographs and relevant documents as prescribed in clause 2 Article 12 of the Law.
In case of loss of the passport, the applicant shall further submit a written notification of the passport loss using the form enclosed with this Circular.
2. The applicant for renewal of a diplomatic/official passport shall submit an application form as prescribed in Article 7 hereof and the documents as prescribed in points a and d clause 2 Article 12 of the Law.
3. In case of only application for issuance of diplomatic note for a visa, the applicant shall submit an application form as prescribed in Article 7 of this Circular, a written assignment or written approval specified in point b clause 2 Article 12 of the Law, diplomatic/official passport that is still valid and a photocopy of an invitation letter sent by a foreign authority (if any).
4. If the application is submitted online, its components must satisfy regulations of the law related to digital signature and e-documents.
Article 12. Procedures for issuance, renewal, revocation or invalidation of diplomatic or official passports and issuance of diplomatic notes for visas in Vietnam
1. Procedures shall be followed as follows:
a) In case of application for issuance of a diplomatic/official passport, the domestic passport-issuing authority shall process it within 05 working days from the date of receipt of the complete and valid application; in case of application for renewal of a diplomatic/official passport or issuance of a diplomatic note, the domestic passport-issuing authority shall process it within 02 working days from the date of receipt of the complete and valid application;
b) In case the application is submitted under Article 9 hereof, within 02 working days from the date of receipt of the valid and complete application, the local foreign affairs authority shall forward it to the domestic passport-issuing authority. In case of the application for issuance of a diplomatic/official passport, the domestic passport-issuing authority shall process it within 03 working days from the date of receipt of the valid and complete application; in case of the application for renewal of diplomatic/official passport or issuance of diplomatic note, the domestic passport-issuing authority shall process it within 02 working days from the date of receipt of the complete and valid application.
2. If the diplomatic/official passport of the applicant is still valid, the domestic passport-issuing authority shall follow procedures for invalidating it before issuing a new passport. Regarding a visiting or accompanying person according to clause 14 Article 8 and clause 5 Article 9 of the Law, the domestic passport-issuing authority shall issue a new passport and does not follow procedures for invalidating the previously issued passport.
3. If the applicant’s passport is lost, the domestic passport-issuing authority shall invalidate it as prescribed in clause 1, Article 28 of the Law.
Article 13. Issuance, revocation or invalidation of diplomatic or official passports in special cases
1. In case the competent authority or person specified in Article 11 of the Law requests the Minister of Foreign Affairs to consider issuing a diplomatic or official passport in accordance with clause 15 Article 8 and clause 6 Article 9 of the Law, in addition to the application specified in Article 11 of this Circular, the applicant shall submit an original copy of application form to be sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the competent authority according to the Law and reasons for application for issuance of the diplomatic or official passport shall be included in the application.
2. The domestic passport-issuing authority shall send a report to the Minister of Foreign Affairs to consider deciding to issue the diplomatic or official passport within the prescribed time limit.
3. The domestic passport-issuing authority shall revoke and invalidate the issued diplomatic or official passport in special cases according to Article 30 of the Law.
ISSUANCE, RENEWAL, REVOCATION OR INVALIDATION OF DIPLOMATIC OR OFFICIAL PASSPORTS AND ISSUANCE OF DIPLOMATIC NOTES FOR VISAS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES
Article 14. Application for issuance or renewal of diplomatic/official passport or issuance of diplomatic note for visa in foreign country
1. An applicant for issuance of a diplomatic/official passport shall submit an application form as prescribed in Article 7 hereof, 02 portrait photographs and relevant documents as prescribed in clause 3 Article 13 of the Law. To be specific:
a) The document specified in point a clause 3 Article 13 of the Law may be verification result in accordance with point a clause 2 Article 15 of this Circular;
b) The document specified in point b clause 3 Article 13 of the Law may be written notification sent by the Department of Organization and Personnel affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the representative body;
c) In case of loss of the passport, the applicant shall further submit a written notification of the passport loss using the form enclosed with this Circular.
2. The applicant for renewal of a diplomatic/official passport shall submit an application form as prescribed in Article 7 hereof and the documents as prescribed in points a, b and c clause 3 Article 13 of the Law.
3. In case of only application for issuance of diplomatic note for a visa, the applicant shall submit the application as prescribed in clause 3 Article 11 of this Circular.
Article 15. Procedures for issuance, renewal, revocation or invalidation of diplomatic or official passports and issuance of diplomatic notes for visas in foreign country
1. The representative body shall issue, renew, revoke or invalidate a diplomatic or official passport or issue a diplomatic note for a visa on the basis of inspection and comparison of information with the national database of entry and exit of Vietnamese citizens according to clause 5 Article 13 and clause 1 Article 28 of the Law.
2. Regarding the application for issuance or renewal of diplomatic/official passport or issuance of the diplomatic note for the visa to the person specified in clause 1 Article 13 of the Law in a case where the connection to national database of entry and exit of Vietnamese citizens is unavailable or interrupted:
a) Except for the cases specified at point b of this clause, the representative body shall send personal details including full name, date of birth, place of birth, gender, nationality (with photo) of the applicant for issuance or renewal of the passport to the Bureau of Consular Affairs affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, co-send to the authority issuing the old passport (if the passport is issued at another representative body or at the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City) for verification. Within 01 working day from the date of receipt of written reply from the Bureau of Consular Affairs affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the representative body shall process and send the result to the applicant;
b) Regarding the cases specified at points b and c, clause 1, Article 13 of the Law or initial issuance of the diplomatic/official passport to a spouse or child under 18 years of age who visits or accompanies the person as specified in point d clause 1 Article 13 of the Law, the representative body shall issue the passport under the decision or notification given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In case of overseas newborn of a member of a representative body, news or press agency of Vietnam who permanently resides in a foreign country as specified in point d clause 1 Article 13 of the Law, the representative body shall issue a diplomatic/official passport to the applicant as prescribed in clause 2 and point a clause 3 Article 13 of the Law.
In the case specified in point a clause 1 Article 13 of the Law, the head of the representative body may decide to issue or renew a diplomatic/official passport immediately without further verification and shall be held accountable for such decision if it finds just cause to assert the authenticity of records and information on the diplomatic/official passport that is lost or damaged or whose pages run out or of which the validity period is expired and information on the applicant’s business trip.
After issuing the diplomatic/official passport, the representative body shall notify the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the list of holders of diplomatic/official passports, clearly indicating record, passport number, issue date, expiry date of the old and new passports, validity period of the new passport, reason for issuance and title of each holder. In case of issuance of a diplomatic/official passport to overseas newborn of a member of a representative body, news or press agency of Vietnam who permanently resides in a foreign country as specified in point d clause 1 Article 13 of the Law, the representative body shall notify the Department of Organization and Personnel and Bureau of Consular Affairs affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3. Regarding the application for issuance or renewal of the diplomatic/official passport as specified in clause 15 Article 8 and clause 6 Article 9 of the Law, the representative body shall issue or renew the passport in accordance with the Law and guidelines given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
STORAGE AND PRESERVATION OF APPLICATIONS
Article 16. Stored applications
1. Stored applications include those for issuance, renewal, revocation or invalidation of diplomatic or official passports and issuance of diplomatic notes for visas. Domestic passport-issuing authorities and representative bodies shall store such applications according to applicable regulations.
2. Domestic passport-issuing authorities and representative bodies shall digitize applications and documents according to applicable regulations.
Article 17. Application preservation
1. Applications for issuance, renewal, revocation or invalidation of diplomatic or official passports and issuance of diplomatic notes for visas shall be stored within 08 years.
2. Books of issuance or renewal of diplomatic or official passports and issuance of diplomatic notes for visas shall be permanently stored.
The following forms shall be issued together with this Circular:
1. Application form for issuance or renewal of diplomatic/official passport or issuance of diplomatic note for visa (Form No. 01/NG-XNC).
2. Written assignment (Form No. 02/NG-XNC).
3. Written introduction of specimen seals, specimen signatures and titles of authorities or persons having jurisdiction to assign cadres, civil servants and public employees to go on business trips abroad (Form No. 03/NG-XNC).
4. Letter of authorization to assign cadres, civil servants and public employees to go on business trips abroad (Form No. 04/NG-XNC).
5. Written notification of loss of diplomatic/official passport in Vietnam (Form No. 05/NG-XNC).
6. Letter of notification of loss of diplomatic/official passport in a foreign country (Form No. 06/NG-XNC).
Article 19. Implementation clauses
1. This Circular takes effect from July 13, 2025.
2. The Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BNG dated September 25, 2020 of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Article 3 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BNG dated December 26, 2023 of the Minister of Foreign Affairs will cease to have effect from the effective date of this Circular.
3. Applications received before the effective date of this Circular shall continue to be processed according to regulations in the Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BNG dated September 25, 2020 of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Article 3 of the Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BNG dated December 26, 2023 of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and relevant legislative documents.
4. Any difficulties arising in the implementation and proposals should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for guidance./.
|
MINISTER Bui Thanh Son |
