Circular No. 157/2015/TT-BTC on the regime for collection, payment, and management and use of fees for issuing passports, visas, and documents related to entry, exit, transit, and residence in Vietnam

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the collection, payment, and management of fees for issuing passports, visas, and other documents related to entry, exit, transit, and residence in Vietnam,

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Pursuant to the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam No. 47/2014/QH13 dated June 16, 2014;

Pursuant to the State Budget Law number 01/2002/QH11 dated December 16, 2002;

Pursuant to the Ordinance on Fees and Charges No. 38/2001/PL-UBTVQH10 dated August 28, 2001, Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002, and Decree No. 24/2006/NĐ-CP dated March 6, 2006 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP;

Pursuant to Decree No. 136/2007/NĐ-CP dated August 17, 2007, and Decree No. 65/2012/NĐ-CP dated September 6, 2012 of the Government amending and supplementing Decree No. 136/2007/NĐ-CP of the Government on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens;

Pursuant to Decree No. 215/2013/NĐ-CP dated December 23, 2013, promulgated by the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

At the proposal of the Director of the Policy Department;

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular to regulate the collection, payment, and management of fees for issuing passports, visas, and other documents related to entry, exit, transit, and residence in Vietnam as follows:

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular regulates the collection, payment, and management of fees for issuing passports, visas, and other documents for Vietnamese citizens and foreigners related to entry, exit, transit, and residence in Vietnam (collectively referred to as entry-exit fees) collected by agencies under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of National Defense in Vietnam.

Article 2. Subjects Paying Fees

Vietnamese citizens must pay the fee when submitting applications to competent agencies under the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of National Defense for passports and related documents (if applicable), and foreign nationals must pay the fee when these agencies issue visas, or Vietnamese citizens and foreign nationals must pay the fee when these agencies issue documents related to entry, exit, transit, or residence in Vietnam according to the provisions of this Circular.

Article 3. Cases Exempted from Payment of Fees

1. Invited guests (including spouses or children) of the Party, State, Government, National Assembly or leaders of the Party, State, Government, National Assembly invited in their personal capacity.

2. Diplomatic staff, consular employees of foreign diplomatic missions, consulates, and international organizations' representative offices in Vietnam, and members of their families (spouses or children under 18 years old), who are not Vietnamese citizens and do not reside permanently in Vietnam, are exempted from fees based on reciprocity.

3. Foreigners are exempted from visa fees according to international treaties or agreements between Vietnam and foreign countries, or based on the principle of reciprocity.

4. Foreign nationals entering Vietnam to perform relief or humanitarian assistance work for Vietnamese organizations and individuals.

5. Individuals exempted from payment of fees according to specific decisions of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Public Security, and National Defense.

For cases exempted from payment of fees as stipulated above, the agency collecting the fees shall stamp "exempted from payment of fees" (GRATIS) on the issued documents.

In cases where Vietnamese citizens and foreigners have paid the fees for issuing passports and related documents but do not meet the conditions to obtain these documents, the agency collecting the fees shall refund the amount of the fees actually paid upon notification of non-compliance with the conditions for issuance, using funds from the collection of entry-exit fees. The fees will not be refunded if the applicant refuses to accept the result of the application processing.

Article 4. Rates

1. The levels of entry-exit fees are specifically set out in the Fee Collection Schedule attached to this Circular.

2. Entry-exit fees are collected in Vietnamese dong. For fees specified in US dollars (USD), they can be collected in USD or converted to Vietnamese dong based on the average exchange rate for foreign currency transactions in the inter-bank foreign exchange market published by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of collecting the fees.

Article 5. Collection, submission, and management of use

1. Agencies under the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of National Defense shall implement the issuance of passports, visas, documents on exit, entry, or residence, organize the collection of exit-entry fees (hereinafter referred to collectively as agencies collecting exit-entry fees) in accordance with the provisions:

a) Publicly display at the place where fees are collected the objects subject to collection and the rates of collection in accordance with the provisions of this Circular. When collecting money, issue a receipt for the fee collection to the person paying the money (the receipt is obtained from the local tax authority where the collecting agency's main office is located and is managed and used according to the current system).

b) Collect fees in cash or through non-cash payment methods; open a temporary account to hold collected fees at the State Treasury where the main office is located. In cases where non-cash payment methods are used for fee submission, accounts may be opened at commercial banks, credit organizations, and service providers in accordance with the law. A list must be prepared and submitted daily or no later than the next working day, transferring the collected fees into the account opened at the State Treasury and managing it according to the current financial regulations.

c) Register, declare, and submit fees in accordance with Circular No. 156/2013/TT-BTC dated November 6, 2013, guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration; the Law amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration, and Decree No. 83/2013/NĐ-CP dated July 22, 2013 of the Government.

2. The agencies collecting fees are allowed to allocate 30% (thirty percent) of the total amount of fees collected during the period for expenses related to the collection of fees, specifically as follows:

a) Expenses for purchasing or printing passports, visas, and other documents related to exit and entry; relevant forms serving the collection of exit-entry fees.

b) Expenses for office supplies and travel expenses (transportation, accommodation) according to current standards and norms.

c) Expenses for repairing tools and equipment serving the collection of fees.

d) Payment of wages and contributions for contractual labor (if any) according to the prescribed regulations. Allowance for overtime work and night shifts for civil servants and officials engaged in fee collection according to current regulations.

e) Expenses for purchasing supplies, tools, and equipment for work and other regular expenses directly related to the collection of fees.

f) Allocation to a reward fund and welfare fund; the maximum level of allocation for these two funds shall not exceed three months' salary of the direct fee collection unit if the collection exceeds the previous year, and two months' salary if it is lower or equal to the previous year.

g) Expenses for temporarily holding, deporting, and returning foreign nationals residing illegally in Vietnam to their home countries.

Other expenses serving the management of exit and entry as decided by the Minister of Public Security, Minister of National Defense, and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

All amounts allocated according to the above provisions must be used for their intended purposes, with legitimate documentation according to the prescribed regulations. At the end of the year, any unspent funds can be carried over to the following year for expenditure according to the prescribed regulations.

The Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of National Defense shall coordinate the distribution of the amounts allocated (30% of the total actual collections) among the units collecting exit-entry fees within their respective sectors to ensure sufficient funding for the collection of exit-entry fees.

After deducting the amount retained according to the ratio specified in Clause 2 of this Article, the remaining amount (70%) shall be deposited into the state budget according to the current State Budget Classification. The state budget deposits are allocated to different levels of the state budget according to the provisions of the State Budget Law.

The account holder responsible for temporarily holding collected exit-entry fees must handle the procedures for depositing the collected fees into the state budget.

4. The preparation and execution of the budget for revenue and expenditure, and the settlement of revenue and expenditure for collected fees shall be carried out in accordance with the guidance provided in Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the implementation of laws on fees and charges.

Article 6. Implementation Organization

1. This Circular takes effect from November 23, 2015. It replaces Circular No. 66/2009/TT-BTC dated March 30, 2009, of the Ministry of Finance, which stipulates the system for the collection, submission, management, and use of fees for issuing passports, visas, and documents on entry, exit, transit, and residence in Vietnam; Circular No. 113/2009/TT-BTC dated June 2, 2009, Circular No. 97/2011/TT-BTC dated July 5, 2011, and Circular No. 190/2012/TT-BTC dated November 9, 2012, which amend and supplement Circular No. 66/2009/TT-BTC dated March 30, 2009, of the Ministry of Finance, concerning the system for the collection, submission, management, and use of fees for issuing passports, visas, and documents on entry, exit, transit, and residence in Vietnam.

2. Organizations and individuals subject to fee payments and related agencies are responsible for implementing this Circular. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, organizations and individuals are requested to promptly report them to the Ministry of Finance for review and guidance./.