Circular No. 02/2013/TT-BNG guiding the issuance, extension, amendment, supplementation of diplomatic passports, official passports, and issuance of letters of request for visa issuance.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for issuing, extending, amending, and supplementing diplomatic passports, official passports, and letters of request for visa issuance.

Diplomatic passports, official passports, and letters of request for visa issuance.

____________________

Pursuant to Decree No. 136/2007/NĐ-CP dated August 17, 2007 of the Government on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens (hereinafter referred to as Decree 136);

Pursuant to Decree No. 65/2012/NĐ-CP dated September 6, 2012 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 136/2007/NĐ-CP (hereinafter referred to as Decree 65);

Pursuant to Decree No. 15/2008/NĐ-CP dated February 4, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hereby guides the issuance, extension, amendment, and supplementation of diplomatic passports, official passports, and letters of request for visa issuance as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular provides guidance on the authority, subjects, and procedures for issuing, extending, amending, and supplementing diplomatic passports and official passports as prescribed in Decree 136 and Decree 65; and issuing letters of request for visa issuance from competent authorities abroad for Vietnamese citizens.

4. The validity period of diplomatic passports and service passports issued to individuals who lost or damaged their passports as specified in Clause 1, Article 16 of this Circular when traveling abroad on short-term business trips shall be one year.

1. Domestic agencies responsible for issuing, extending, amending, and supplementing diplomatic passports, official passports, and letters of request include the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Foreign Affairs Office of Ho Chi Minh City (hereinafter collectively referred to as domestic passport issuing agencies).

2. Overseas agencies responsible for issuing, extending, amending, and supplementing diplomatic passports, official passports, and letters of request include diplomatic missions, consular offices, and other agencies authorized to perform consular functions of Vietnam abroad (hereinafter collectively referred to as representative agencies).

1. The validity period of diplomatic passports and official passports issued in cases of damage or loss while on short-term overseas business trips as stipulated in Point a Clause 1 Article 13 of the Law shall be one year; the validity period of diplomatic passports and official passports issued in cases of full pages or extensions as stipulated in Point a Clause 1 Article 13 of the Law shall not exceed the validity period of the old passport and shall be at least one year.

1. Diplomatic passports and official passports issued in accordance with Clause 12 Article 6 and Clause 5 Article 7 of Decree 136, amended and supplemented by Clause 4 Article 1 of Decree 65 shall be valid for at least one year from the date of issuance and may be extended once for a period not exceeding the initial validity period of the passport and not exceeding three years.

2. Diplomatic passports and official passports issued for children under 18 years old in accordance with Clause 11 Article 6 and Clause 4 Article 7 of Decree 136, amended and supplemented by Clause 4 Article 1 of Decree 65 shall be valid for at least one year from the date of issuance until the child reaches 18 years old and not exceeding five years.

6. For spouses and children under 18 years old accompanying state news agency and press reporters permanently stationed abroad, the appointment document for travel abroad should be issued by the reporter, clearly stating that the individual may bring their spouse and children under 18 along, accompanied by a written opinion from the Personnel Organization Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

1. Documents appointing or permitting officials, civil servants, officers, and professional military personnel to travel abroad (hereinafter referred to as appointment documents) must contain all information according to Model 03/XNC issued together with this Circular and must be directly signed by the authorized person or their delegate and stamped by the agency.

2. Appointment documents consisting of two pages or more must be numbered consecutively and have a stamp affixed between the pages. In case of amendments or supplements, they must be directly signed by the authorized person and stamped by the agency at the point of amendment or supplement. If there are two or more amendments or supplements, a new document must be issued.

3. For members of official delegations led by the General Secretary, Standing Deputy Secretaries of the Party Central Committee, members of the Politburo, Secretaries of the Central Committee, President, Vice President, Chairperson of the National Assembly, Vice Chairperson of the National Assembly, Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, the appointment document is a notification letter listing the delegation members issued by the Central Party External Relations Board, the President's Office, the National Assembly Office, or the Government Office.

4. For individuals under the management of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, heads of the Vietnam Association of Friendship Organizations, the Vietnam Federation of Literature and Art Associations, the Vietnam Association for Science and Technology, the Vietnam Confederation of Trade Unions, and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the appointment document is a notification letter issued by the Central Party External Relations Board, the President's Office, the National Assembly Office, or the Government Office indicating the approval for travel abroad by the competent authority.

5. For spouses traveling on official business trips, the appointment document must be issued by those individuals specified in Clause 1 to Clause 8 Article 6 of Decree 136, amended and supplemented by Clause 3 Article 1 of Decree 65, clearly stating that the individual is permitted to bring their spouse along on the official business trip. This provision also applies to spouses and children under 18 years old accompanying state news reporters and journalists permanently stationed abroad.

6. For spouses and children under 18 years old visiting or accompanying representatives of representative agencies, the appointment document is a consent letter issued by the Personnel Organization Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In cases where the spouse is an official, civil servant, or public employee, the Personnel Organization Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will process based on the permission to travel abroad document issued by the direct managing agency or organization.

Article 5. Delegation Authorization Documents for Dispatching or Permitting Officials and Civil Servants to Travel Abroad

1. Delegation of authority to subordinate units in appointing or permitting officials and civil servants to travel abroad as prescribed in Clause 2 Article 32 of Decree 136, amended and supplemented by Clause 9 Article 1 of Decree 65 must be established in writing according to Model 05/XNC issued together with this Circular.

2. The authorization document must be directly signed by the head of central party departments; provincial party secretaries and city party secretaries under the central government; heads of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and public service organizations established by the government; Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court; Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuracy; Chairpersons of People's Councils and Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities.

Article 6. Introduction of Seal Samples, Signature Samples, and Titles

1. Agencies authorized to appoint or permit officials, civil servants, officers, and professional military personnel to travel abroad and agencies authorized according to Clause 2 Article 32 of Decree 136, amended and supplemented by Clause 9 Article 1 of Decree 65 must introduce in writing to domestic passport issuing agencies about the model seal of the agency, the signature sample, and the title of the authorized person according to Model 04/XNC issued together with this Circular.

2. The introduction document for the model seal, signature, and position must be directly signed by the authorized person and stamped by the agency.

Article 7. Application Form for Issuance of Diplomatic Passport, Official Passport, and Letter of Introduction for Visa Request

1. The application form for requesting issuance of a diplomatic passport, official passport, or letter of request for visa issuance according to Model 01/XNC can be filled out on a pre-printed form or online at the Consular Affairs Portal at www.lanhsuvietnam.gov.vn, then printed, signed, and confirmed in accordance with Clause 2 of this Article.

2. The application form for requesting issuance of diplomatic passports, official passports, and letters of introduction for visa applications must be fully completed with all contents specified in the application form, signed directly by the applicant and confirmed by the agency or organization directly managing personnel, with a stamp affixed over the photograph.

For spouses accompanying on official trips; spouses and children under 18 years old visiting or accompanying members of diplomatic missions, state news agencies, and press organizations permanently stationed abroad but not belonging to any specific agency or organization, the application form must be confirmed by the agency or organization directly managing the personnel of the person being sent on the overseas assignment.

For applicants requesting issuance of diplomatic passports, official passports who still hold valid previous diplomatic passports or official passports without any change in the agency or organization directly managing their personnel compared to the time of issuance of the previous passport, nor any change in the issuing agency, the application form does not require confirmation from the agency or organization directly managing personnel. This provision also applies to cases where only a letter of introduction is requested.

Article 8. Designation in diplomatic passports and official passports

1. Domestic passport-issuing authorities or diplomatic missions shall record the title in Vietnamese in diplomatic passports for individuals holding positions prescribed from Clause 2 to Clause 8 of Article 6 of Decree 136 amended and supplemented pursuant to Clause 3 of Article 1 of Decree 65, except when the competent authority requests that the title not be recorded or due to foreign relations or national security reasons.

2. Domestic passport-issuing authorities or diplomatic missions shall record the title in both Vietnamese and English in diplomatic passports and official passports for Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Assistant Ministers of Foreign Affairs, diplomatic officials conferred diplomatic rank, members of diplomatic missions, state news agencies, and press organizations permanently stationed abroad, and persons visiting or accompanying as stipulated in Clause 11 of Article 6 and Clause 4 of Article 7 of Decree 136 amended and supplemented pursuant to Clause 4 of Article 1 of Decree 65.

3. Holders of diplomatic passports and official passports may not arbitrarily record their positions in their passports.

Chapter II

PROCEDURES FOR ISSUANCE, EXTENSION, AMENDMENT, AND SUPPLEMENTATION OF DIPLOMATIC PASSPORTS, OFFICIAL PASSPORTS, AND LETTERS OF INTRODUCTION WITHIN THE COUNTRY

 ISSUANCE, EXTENSION OF DIPLOMATIC PASSPORTS, OFFICIAL PASSPORTS, AND LETTERS OF INTRODUCTION WITHIN THE COUNTRY

Article 9. Receiving applications and delivering results through local diplomatic agencies

The submission of applications and receipt of results for the issuance, extension, amendment, and supplementation of diplomatic passports, official passports, and letters of introduction shall be conducted through provincial/municipal foreign affairs departments (hereinafter referred to as local foreign affairs agencies) in accordance with Clause 1 of Article 14 of Decree 136 amended and supplemented pursuant to Clause 5 of Article 1 of Decree 65 as follows:

1. Local diplomatic agencies shall receive applications for the issuance, extension, amendment, and supplementation of diplomatic passports, official passports, and letters of introduction.

2. Local foreign affairs agencies shall transfer the application file along with the fee to domestic passport-issuing authorities. In case of transferring the file via postal service, it shall be done through a courier company designated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and accompanied by postal charges.

3. After receiving the results from the domestic passport issuing agency, local diplomatic agencies shall deliver the results to the applicant.

Article 10. Application Files for Issuing Diplomatic Passports and Official Passports

Applicants for diplomatic passports and official passports shall submit one set of application files including:

1. One application form as prescribed in Article 7 of this Circular.

2. Three identical photographs, size 4 x 6 cm, taken against a light background, looking straight ahead, bareheaded, without tinted glasses, in civilian attire, taken within no more than one year, including one photo attached to the application form and two additional photos attached.

3. One original copy of the dispatch document abroad as prescribed in Article 4 of this Circular.

4. One copy of the birth certificate or adoption certification for children under 18 years old visiting or accompanying (original must be presented for verification).

5. One copy of the identity card or military identification (for military personnel).

6. Diplomatic passport or official passport issued within the last eight years (if available). In case of loss of the passport, submit one original copy of the notification of passport loss (according to Form 06/XNC issued together with this Circular).

Article 11. Application Files for Extending Diplomatic Passports and Official Passports

Applicants for extending diplomatic passports and official passports shall submit one set of application files including:

1. Diplomatic passport or official passport still valid for less than six months.

2. One original copy of the dispatch document to go abroad as prescribed in Article 4 of this Circular.

Article 12. Application Files for Amending and Supplementing Diplomatic Passports and Official Passports

Applicants for the amendment and supplementation of diplomatic passports or official passports shall submit one set of application files comprising:

1. One application form according to Form 02/XNC (which can be filled out on a pre-printed form or online at the Consular Affairs Vietnam website at www.lanhsuvietnam.gov.vn, then printed and signed directly).

2. Valid diplomatic passport or official passport.

3. One copy of the document proving the necessity of amending and supplementing the passport (original to be presented for verification).

4. One original explanatory document from the authorized agency as prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 32 of Decree 136 amended and supplemented pursuant to Clause 9 of Article 1 of Decree 65 in cases where the request for amendment or supplementation differs from the original passport issuance file.

Article 13. Documents for Application for an Invitation Letter to Obtain a Visa

The applicant for an invitation letter to obtain a visa shall submit one set of documents including:

1. One application form as prescribed in Article 7 of this Circular.

2. A passport valid for more than six months from the date of the expected departure.

3. One original copy of the dispatch document abroad as prescribed in Article 4 of this Circular.

4. One copy of the invitation letter (if available).

Article 14. Procedures for Processing

1. Receiving Documents:

If the application file is complete and compliant with the provisions of Clause 1 of Article 14 of Decree 136 amended and supplemented pursuant to Clause 5 of Article 1 of Decree 65 and the provisions from Article 10 to Article 13 of this Circular, the receiving agency (domestic passport-issuing authority or local foreign affairs agency) shall issue a receipt (according to Form 07/XNC), collect the fee, and provide a receipt. If the application file is incomplete or non-compliant, the receiving agency shall guide the applicant to supplement and perfect the file.

2. Processing Timeframe:

a) In cases where the application file is submitted directly to the passport-issuing authority, within no more than five working days from the date of receipt of a complete and compliant application file, the domestic passport-issuing authority shall process the issuance, extension, amendment, and supplementation of diplomatic passports or official passports or issue letters of introduction. If only amendment or supplementation of the passport or issuance of a letter of introduction is requested, the processing period shall not exceed two working days.

b) In cases where the application file is submitted to the local foreign affairs agency, within no more than two working days from the date of receipt of a complete and compliant application file, the local foreign affairs agency must transfer the file to the domestic passport-issuing authority. Within no more than three working days from the date of receipt of the file, the domestic passport-issuing authority shall process the issuance, extension, amendment, and supplementation of diplomatic passports or official passports or issue letters of introduction. If only amendment or supplementation of the passport or issuance of a letter of introduction is requested, the processing period shall not exceed two working days.

c) In cases where the application form is filled out online, the processing period is one working day from the date the domestic passport-issuing authority receives a complete and compliant application file. For groups of fifty people or more, the processing period is five working days.

3. In cases where a valid diplomatic passport or official passport is submitted, before issuing a new passport, the domestic passport-issuing authority shall invalidate the existing passport. For cases where the purpose is to visit members of diplomatic missions, state news agencies, and press organizations permanently stationed abroad, the domestic passport-issuing authority shall issue a new passport with the title recorded and not invalidate the old passport.

In case there is a notification document regarding the loss of a passport, the Passport Issuing Authority within the country shall process the notification to cancel the validity of the old passport to relevant agencies.

4. Issuing Results:

The agency receiving the application form shall deliver the result to the person named on the receipt. If the person named on the receipt is not the one who is issued, extended, modified, or supplemented with diplomatic passports, service passports, or granted letters of accreditation, they must present a People's Identity Card for verification.

Article 15. Issuance of Diplomatic Passports and Official Passports in Special Cases

1. In cases where the issuance of diplomatic passports, service passports is requested according to Clause 12, Article 6 and Clause 5, Article 7 of Decree 136 amended and supplemented pursuant to Clause 4, Article 1 of Decree 65, in addition to the dossier stipulated in Article 10 of this Circular, it is necessary to supplement one original copy of the request document from the competent authority specified in Clause 1, Article 32 amended and supplemented pursuant to Clause 9, Article 1 of Decree 65, clearly stating the reasons for requesting the issuance of diplomatic passports, service passports.

2. Within no more than five working days from the date of receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Passport Issuing Authority within the country shall examine and issue diplomatic passports, service passports with appropriate validity periods or refuse to issue them.

Chapter III

PROCEDURES FOR ISSUANCE, EXTENSION, AMENDMENT, AND SUPPLEMENTATION OF DIPLOMATIC PASSPORTS, OFFICIAL PASSPORTS, AND LETTERS OF INTRODUCTION WITHIN THE COUNTRY

ISSUE, SERVICE PASSPORTS AND GRANT LETTERS OF ACCESSION ABROAD

Article 16. Subjects eligible for issuance and extension of diplomatic passports and official passports abroad

1. Persons who have lost or damaged diplomatic passports or official passports, or diplomatic passports or official passports that have run out of pages or expired during their work abroad.

2. Members of diplomatic missions or state news agencies permanently stationed abroad who have changed positions.

3. Persons appointed as members of diplomatic missions or state news agencies permanently stationed abroad while residing abroad.

4. Spouses, children under 18 years old residing abroad visiting or accompanying members of representative offices or state news agencies permanently stationed abroad.

5. Other special cases as guided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Article 17. Dossier for Requesting the Issuance, Extension of Diplomatic Passports, Service Passports

The person requesting the issuance or extension of diplomatic passports and official passports shall submit one set of dossier comprising:

1. One Application Form as prescribed in Article 7 of this Circular without the need for confirmation. In cases of requesting the extension of diplomatic passports, service passports, the Application Form does not need to be submitted.

2. Three identical photographs, size 4 x 6 cm, taken against a light background, looking straight ahead, bareheaded, not wearing tinted glasses, in casual attire, taken no more than one year ago; one photograph affixed to the application form, two attached separately.

3. One copy of the dispatch document for going abroad as prescribed in Article 4 of this Circular for cases mentioned in Clause 1, Clause 3, and Clause 4 of Article 16 of this Circular.

4. One copy of the Decision or notice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the management agency of state news agencies permanently stationed abroad regarding the change of position for cases mentioned in Clause 2 of Article 16 of this Circular.

5. Damaged diplomatic passports, service passports, passports with full pages or expired, or a report of lost passports confirmed by the competent authority of the host country for cases mentioned in Clause 1 of Article 16 of this Circular.

6. Previously issued diplomatic passports, service passports (if any) for cases mentioned from Clause 2 to Clause 5 of Article 16 of this Circular. In cases of requesting an extension, the passport must still have a validity period of less than six months.

Article 18. Dossier for Requesting Modification, Supplement of Diplomatic Passports, Service Passports and Granting Letters of Accreditation

The dossier for requesting modification, supplementation of diplomatic passports, service passports and granting letters of accreditation abroad shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Articles 12 and 13 of this Circular.

Article 19. Procedures for handling

1. Receiving Documents:

If the dossier is complete and valid as prescribed in Articles 17 and 18 of this Circular, the Representative Office shall issue a receipt, collect fees, and provide a receipt. If the dossier is incomplete or invalid, the Representative Office shall guide the applicant to supplement and perfect the dossier.

2. For requests for the issuance, extension of diplomatic passports, service passports for the subjects mentioned from Clause 1 to Clause 4 of Article 16 of this Circular:

a) Within one working day from the date of receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Representative Office shall send detailed personal information including name, date of birth, place of birth, gender, nationality (accompanied by a photo) of the person requesting the issuance, extension of passports to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and simultaneously to the previous passport issuing authority (if the passport was issued at another Representative Office or at the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs).

b) Within three working days from the date of receiving the verification request, the previous passport issuing authority shall respond to the Representative Office and simultaneously to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

If the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the previous passport issuing authority, the response to the verification must include an opinion on the issuance, extension of diplomatic passports, service passports.

c) Within two working days from the date of receiving the verification results, the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall notify the Representative Office of its opinion on the issuance, extension of diplomatic passports, service passports.

d) Within one working day from the date of receiving the response from the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Representative Office shall implement the issuance, extension of diplomatic passports, service passports or issue a refusal letter to the applicant.

đ) After issuing the passport, the Representative Office shall immediately notify the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Immigration Management Department of the Ministry of Public Security the list of persons who have been issued passports, including detailed personal information, passport number, date of issuance of new and old passports, validity period of the new passport, reason for issuing the passport, and the position of the person issued the passport.

e) The Representative Office shall notify the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the list of persons reporting the loss of diplomatic passports, service passports, and simultaneously notify the competent authority of the host country of the cancellation of the validity of the lost passport.

g) The Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall notify the Immigration Management Department of the Ministry of Public Security, the Border Gate Management Department of the Border Guard Command of the Ministry of National Defense, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs, and other Representative Offices to notify the competent authority of the host country of the cancellation of the validity of the lost passport.

3. For requests for the issuance, extension of diplomatic passports, service passports for the subjects mentioned in Clause 5 of Article 16 of this Circular:

a) Within 03 working days from the date of receiving complete and valid documents, the representative office will proceed to issue or extend diplomatic passports or service passports based on the opinion of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

b) After issuing the passport, the Representative Office shall immediately notify the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Immigration Management Department of the Ministry of Public Security the list of persons who have been issued passports, including detailed personal information, passport number, date of issuance of new and old passports, validity period of the new passport, reason for issuing the passport, and the position of the person issued the passport.

4. For requests to amend, supplement diplomatic passports, service passports, and issue letters of introduction:

Within no more than two working days from the date of receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Representative Office shall modify, supplement diplomatic passports, service passports and grant letters of accreditation or issue a refusal notice to the applicant.

5. Delivering Results:

The agency shall deliver the results to the person named on the receipt. In cases where the person named on the receipt is not the holder of the diplomatic passport, official passport, or the recipient of the letter of introduction, they must present a national identity card or other equivalent document for verification.

Chapter IV

STORAGE AND PRESERVATION OF APPLICATION FILES

Article 20. Archival Records

Archival records include the records for issuing, extending, amending, and supplementing diplomatic passports, official passports, and letters of introduction, as well as ledgers printed from the passport issuance software.

Article 21. Preservation Regime

1. The records for issuing, extending, amending, and supplementing diplomatic passports, official passports, and letters of introduction shall be numbered sequentially and stored for a period of eight years.

2. The logbook shall be kept indefinitely.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 22. Issuance of Forms

1. Seven forms are issued together with this Circular as follows:

- Application form for issuing a diplomatic passport, official passport, or letter of introduction for visa application (Form 01/XNC);

- Application form for amending or supplementing a diplomatic passport, official passport (Form 02/XNC);

- Document regarding the dispatch of officials, civil servants, officers, or professional military personnel abroad on official business (Form 03/XNC);

- Document introducing the seal and signature samples of the agency and the authorized official dispatching officials, civil servants, officers, or professional military personnel abroad (Form 04/XNC);

- Power of attorney for dispatching officials, civil servants, officers, or professional military personnel abroad on official business and document introducing the seal and signature samples of the agency and the authorized representative (Form 05/XNC);

- Notification of loss of a diplomatic passport or official passport (Form 06/XNC);

- Receipt slip for the issuance, extension, amendment, or supplementation of a diplomatic passport or official passport and for issuing a letter of introduction for visa application (Form 07/XNC).

2. The above forms are available for download from the electronic portal on consular affairs at the address http://lanhsuvietnam.gov.vn for agencies, organizations, and individuals who need them.

Article 23. Effectiveness of Implementation

This Circular takes effect from August 15, 2013, and replaces Circular No. 02/2008/TT-BNG dated February 4, 2008, issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs guiding the issuance, extension, amendment, supplementation, and management of diplomatic passports, official passports within the country and abroad pursuant to Decree No. 136/2007/NĐ-CP dated August 17, 2007, of the Government on the exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens./.