Circular No. 01/1999/TT-NG on the rules for legalization of documents and papers

CIRCULAR

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Legalization of documents and papers referred to in this Circular means the certification of:

a- Signatures and seals on foreign documents and papers for use in Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as consular legalization);

b- Signatures and seals on Vietnamese documents and papers for use abroad (hereinafter collectively referred to as consular certification).

2. The consular legalization and certification mentioned in Point 1 of this Section does not imply verification of the content and form of the documents and papers, except in cases where:

a- The competent authority of Vietnam is requested; and

b- If the documents and papers are from a foreign country, their content and form have been certified by the foreign authority mentioned in Points 2 and 3 of Section III of this Circular; if they are Vietnamese documents and papers, their content and form have been certified by the Vietnamese authority mentioned in Points 4 and 5 of Section III of this Circular.

3. Foreign documents and papers intended for use in Vietnam must be consular legalized, except where Vietnamese law or international treaties to which Vietnam is a party provide otherwise.

4. Vietnamese documents and papers intended for use abroad may be consular certified according to the provisions of this Circular, if required.

5. Consular legalization and certification shall be carried out at the office of the competent authority of Vietnam, except in cases where the person requesting consular legalization and certification cannot reach the office of the competent authority due to legitimate reasons or other cases prescribed by law.

6. The person requesting consular legalization and certification may personally handle the procedures or authorize another person to act on his/her behalf.

7. The person requesting consular legalization and certification - the authorized person (hereinafter collectively referred to as the party concerned) must be a person with full capacity under Vietnamese law.

8. The official authorized to carry out consular legalization and certification (hereinafter referred to as the Vietnamese official) must comply with the provisions of this Circular, related provisions of Vietnamese law, as well as international treaties to which Vietnam is a party, and bear personal responsibility before the law for his/her acts of consular legalization and certification.

9. The language used for consular legalization is Vietnamese. The language used for consular certification is the official language of the foreign country where Vietnamese documents and papers are to be used or one of the official languages of the United Nations.

10. The competent authority of Vietnam carries out consular legalization based on comparing signatures and seals on the documents and papers with the officially notified samples of signatures and seals of the persons and authorities of the foreign country.

II. COMPETENT AUTHORITY FOR CONSULAR LEGALIZATION AND CERTIFICATION

1. The competent authority of Vietnam includes:

- The Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (hereinafter referred to as the Consular Department);

- The Department of Foreign Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City (hereinafter referred to as the Department of Foreign Affairs);

- Diplomatic missions, consular posts, or other Vietnamese agencies authorized to perform consular functions abroad (hereinafter collectively referred to as the Vietnamese Mission Abroad).

2. The Director of the Consular Department, the Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the head of the Vietnamese Mission Abroad have the authority to sign consular legalization and certification.

The Director of the Consular Department and the Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs may delegate the Head of the Legalization-Certification Division of the Consular Department or the Head of the Consular Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs to sign consular legalization and certification.

The head of the Vietnamese Mission Abroad may delegate a diplomatic official performing consular functions or a consular official to sign consular legalization and certification.

III. REQUIREMENTS FOR DOCUMENTS AND PAPERS REQUESTING CONSULAR LEGALIZATION AND CERTIFICATION

1. Documents and papers must be clearly presented without erasures or alterations. In cases where documents and papers have been erased or altered, the erased or altered parts must be corrected in accordance with the laws of the place where the document was issued.

2. Foreign documents and papers intended for consular legalization at the Consular Department or the Department of Foreign Affairs must first be certified by the diplomatic mission, consular post, or other agency authorized by that foreign country in Vietnam or concurrently accredited to Vietnam.

3. Foreign documents and papers intended for consular legalization at the Vietnamese Mission Abroad must be certified by:

- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs or another competent authority of the host country if they are documents and papers of the host country. For federal countries, depending on the practice and local laws, the Consular Department will provide specific guidance to each Vietnamese Mission Abroad regarding the competent authority for certification of that foreign country.

- The diplomatic mission, consular post, or other agency authorized by a third country in the host country or concurrently accredited to the host country, if they are documents and papers of that third country.

4. Documents and papers that can be directly requested for consular certification are those established or certified by:

6. Vietnamese documents and papers can only be consular certified at the Vietnamese Mission Abroad after being certified by the Consular Department or the Department of Foreign Affairs.

7. Documents and papers consisting of two (02) pages or more must have a stamp joining the pages.

IV. PROCEDURES FOR CONSULAR LEGALIZATION AND CERTIFICATION

1. The file for consular legalization and certification includes:

- A request form for consular legalization and certification according to Form No. 01/HPH (annexed hereto);

- Original or certified copy of the documents and papers to be registered for consular legalization and certification, translation (if any);

- One (01) copy of the aforementioned documents and papers;

- One (01) copy of the citizen's identity card or passport or other substitute document (hereinafter referred to collectively as "citizen's document") of the party (the original must be presented for verification).

2. In cases where necessary, foreign language documents and materials requesting consular legalization or authentication must be translated into Vietnamese or another foreign language that Vietnamese competent authorities can understand. Such translations must be notarized (here, notarization means the certification by a local Notary Public Office or Diplomatic Mission, Consular Office, or other authorized foreign agency of the translator's signature according to the provisions of the law).

3. The competent authority of Vietnam shall be responsible for checking the citizen's identification documents of the party and the contents of the documents and materials requesting consular legalization or authentication. If necessary, the competent authority of Vietnam may request the party to provide a clear explanation or present other documents to prove the purpose of using such documents and materials.

4. In cases where there is doubt about the authenticity of the documents and materials requesting consular legalization or authentication, the competent authority of Vietnam shall be responsible for coordinating with relevant agencies to verify.

5. The competent authority of Vietnam shall carry out consular legalization and authentication within one to two working days from the date of receiving complete valid files or from the date of receiving the verification results of the competent agency. In cases where the number of documents and materials requesting consular legalization or authentication is large or the content is complex, the implementation period may be longer but not exceeding ten working days.

6. The competent authority of Vietnam shall carry out consular legalization and authentication by stamping the documents and materials with pre-engraved seals or typed contents according to the following models (annexed hereto):

- Model No. 02/HPH: consular legalization without implying certification regarding the content and form of the documents and materials:

- Model No. 03/HPH: consular authentication without implying certification regarding the content and form of the documents and materials.

- Model No. 04/HPH: consular legalization including certification regarding both the content and form of the documents and materials;

- Model No. 05/HPH: consular authentication including certification regarding both the content and form of the documents and materials.

In cases where there is no space on the documents and materials for certification, the competent authority of Vietnam shall certify on a separate attached sheet and affix a cross-stamp with those documents and materials.

The content of consular legalization and authentication must be clear, without erasure or alteration. If there is erasure or alteration, the competent authority of Vietnam must correct it and sign and stamp under the correction.

7. The competent authority of Vietnam collects fees for implementing consular legalization and authentication according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

 V. CASES WHERE CONSULAR LEGALIZATION AND AUTHENTICATION ARE NOT PERMITTED

1. The competent authority of Vietnam does not perform consular legalization and authentication when the documents and materials are issued or intended for use in countries that have signed international treaties with Vietnam exempting consular legalization for documents and materials.

2. The competent authority of Vietnam shall not perform consular legalization and authentication in the following cases:

a- The content of the documents and materials contravenes the fundamental principles of Vietnamese law or may cause damage to the interests of the Vietnamese State.

b- Vietnamese documents and materials are established or certified in violation of Vietnamese law.

c- The purpose of using the documents and materials is not clearly defined.

        d- Documents and materials related to oneself, family members such as spouse, parents (including parents-in-law, foster parents), siblings (including siblings-in-law, foster siblings), paternal grandparents, maternal grandparents, children (including adopted children, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law), grandchildren (including children of sons and daughters, adopted children).

         đ- The signatures and seals requested for certification are not original signatures and seals.

         e- The consular legalization and authentication files do not meet all the conditions stipulated in this Circular.

3. When refusing consular legalization and authentication, the competent authority of Vietnam must explain the reasons to the party.

VI. RECORDING AND ARCHIVING FILES

1. The competent authority of Vietnam shall establish and use the Register of Consular Legalization and Authentication according to Model No. 06/HPH (annexed hereto). The Register of Consular Legalization and Authentication shall be stored indefinitely.

2. Archival files on consular legalization and authentication include:

- Application for consular legalization and authentication;

- Copies of the documents and materials requesting consular legalization and authentication;

- Translations of the documents and materials (if any);

- Copies of the party's citizen's identification documents; and

- Original letters or documents requesting consular legalization and authentication from organizations or entities (if any).

Archival files must be numbered and arranged according to each type of matter and in chronological order consistent with the records in the Register of Consular Legalization and Authentication.

3. The competent authority of Vietnam shall implement the archiving of consular legalization and authentication files. The storage period shall be in accordance with the provisions of the law.

VII. SETTLEMENT OF COMPLAINTS AND REPORTS

1. Organizations, entities, and individuals have the right to lodge complaints or reports when they are refused consular legalization and authentication or disagree with the content of consular legalization and authentication or when they discover violations by competent officials or agencies of Vietnam in consular legalization and authentication.

2. Complaints and reports mentioned in Point 1 of this Section shall be resolved according to the current regulations of Vietnamese law on complaints and reports.

VIII. FINAL PROVISIONS

1. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days from the date of issuance and shall replace Circular No. 1413/TT-NG dated July 31, 1993, issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, stipulating the regulations on consular legalization.

2. The Director of the Consular Department, the Director of the Department of Foreign Relations, and the head of the Overseas Vietnamese Affairs Office shall be responsible for organizing the implementation of this Circular./.

                                               Nguyễn Mạnh Cầm

                                                 (Signed)