Circular No. 05/2025/TT-BNG amends and supplements certain provisions of Circular No. 03/2023/TT-BNG dated July 27, 2023, issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the organization of consular work.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 03/2023/TT-BNG dated July 27, 2023, issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the organization of consular work

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Pursuant to the Law on Representative Offices of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Abroad No. 33/2009/QH12 dated June 18, 2009; Law amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Law on Representative Offices of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Abroad No. 19/2017/QH14 dated November 21, 2017;

Pursuant to Decree No. 28/2025/NĐ-CP dated February 24, 2025 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

At the proposal of the Director of the Consular Department;

The Minister of Foreign Affairs issues this Circular amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 03/2023/TT-BNG dated July 27, 2023 on the organization of consular work.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 03/2023/TT-BNG dated July 27, 2023, issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the organization of consular work

a) Amending and supplementing Point c Clause 2 as follows:

"Article 4. Approving and signing consular documents within the country
1. The Director of the Consular Department shall approve and sign the following types of documents and papers:
a) Diplomatic passports and service passports;
b) Letters of request for visa issuance sent to foreign diplomatic missions;
c) Visas and temporary residence permits for foreigners under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
d) Legalization of consular documents, consular certification, and certification of documents and materials presented at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
đ) Notifications or guidance on consular administrative procedures for local foreign affairs agencies and diplomatic missions;
e) Landing and take-off permits for foreign special aircraft carrying guests of the Party and State and flights accompanying or conducting advance missions for such special aircraft operating civilian flights in Vietnam;
g) Copies of birth certificates and copies of extracts from household registration records for events registered at diplomatic missions and other documents as prescribed by law.

2. The Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs shall approve and sign the documents mentioned in points a and c of Clause 1 of this Article for subjects from Da Nang city southward; approve and sign the documents mentioned in points b and d of Clause 1 of this Article; within their functions, tasks, and authority, approve and sign notifications or guidance on consular administrative procedures for foreign affairs agencies from Da Nang city southward.

3. Before implementing the approval and signature of consular documents, the sample signatures of individuals specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article shall be introduced by the Consular Department and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs to foreign diplomatic missions, consular offices abroad, relevant domestic agencies, and diplomatic missions as stipulated in point d of Clause 3 of this Article.

2. Amending and supplementing Clause 5 as follows:

"Article 5. Approving and signing consular documents outside the country
1. The head of the diplomatic mission shall approve and sign, or, in accordance with the appointment decision of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the operational requirements of the diplomatic mission, delegate a diplomatic officer or consular officer to perform consular functions and approve and sign: various types of passports; extension of diplomatic passports and service passports; letters of request for visa issuance sent to foreign authorities; various types of visas; visa exemptions; notarization, authentication, consular certification, and legalization of documents and materials; documents related to civil status, nationality, and other consular-related documents as prescribed by law.

Prior to commencing the approval and signature of consular documents, the head of the diplomatic mission shall notify the Consular Department in writing of three samples of his signature, specifying the start date of the approval and signature of consular documents so that the Consular Department can notify relevant agencies as stipulated in point d of Clause 3 of this Article.

2. The head of the diplomatic mission shall delegate a diplomatic officer or consular officer to approve and sign the documents mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article as follows:
a) The head of the diplomatic mission may delegate a diplomatic officer or consular officer to approve and sign the documents mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article; specifically, the delegation to approve and sign the issuance and extension of diplomatic passports shall be carried out according to the provisions of point c of this clause.
b) The person delegated to approve and sign must meet the standards prescribed in Article 17 of the Law on Representative Offices of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Abroad and must have a Certificate of Completion of Consular Training Course still valid (at the time of delegation or at the time of approval by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for duty assignment at the diplomatic mission), except in cases where this certificate is exempted. Based on the actual situation and the requirements of consular work in the area, the head of the diplomatic mission decides the number of people delegated to sign consular documents, ensuring that the total number of people delegated to approve and sign consular documents at the diplomatic mission does not exceed three (03) people. For diplomatic missions with a large volume of consular work, the diplomatic mission shall exchange and reach a written agreement with the Consular Department to report to the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for consideration and decision on the number of people delegated to approve and sign consular documents, ensuring that the total number of people delegated to approve and sign consular documents at the diplomatic mission does not exceed four (04) people.
c) The head of the diplomatic mission may delegate one person among those mentioned in point b of this clause to carry out the approval and signing of the issuance and extension of diplomatic passports.

3. The process of delegation and termination of delegation shall be carried out as follows:
a) The delegation and termination of approval and signing of consular documents must be notified in writing to the Consular Department. The content of the delegation notification shall specify the name, position, new or replacement staff, scope of delegation, termination date for the person being replaced or assigned another task (if applicable), the expected start date for approving and signing consular documents, information about the Certificate of Completion of Consular Training Course, and three samples of the signature of the person being delegated.
b) Within five working days from the date of receipt of the delegation notification, based on the provisions of Clause 2 of this Article, the Consular Department shall reply in writing to the diplomatic mission regarding acceptance or non-acceptance of the delegation; clearly stating the reasons in case of non-acceptance.
c) The person assigned shall commence the review and signing of consular documents from the date recorded in the notification document accepting the assignment issued by the Consular Department.
d) The Consular Department is responsible for notifying the model signature, scope of assignment, start date of assignment, and termination of assignment to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs, Immigration Management Department (Ministry of Public Security), Border Guard Command (Ministry of National Defense), Administrative Justice Department (Ministry of Justice), and other relevant agencies.
The diplomatic mission is responsible for introducing the model signature and scope of assignment of the person assigned to review and sign consular documents to the relevant agencies of foreign countries after receiving the notification of acceptance of the assignment from the Consular Department.

4. In case the competent authority determines that the assigned person has committed serious violations when performing the review and signing of consular documents, the head of the diplomatic mission shall terminate the assignment within their authority upon the proposal of the Director of the Consular Department or the directive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs leadership.

5. The Consular Department and the diplomatic mission are responsible for managing and retaining indefinitely the notification documents of assignment and termination of assignment as stipulated in this Article.

Article 2. Responsibility for Implementation

The Consular Department, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs, and Vietnamese diplomatic missions abroad are responsible for organizing the implementation of this Circular. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, they are requested to promptly report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for consideration and resolution.

Article 3. Implementation Provisions

This Circular takes effect from July 13, 2025.