Consolidated Document number 4445/VBHN-BNG Circular guiding procedures for registering Vietnamese citizens abroad

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for registering Vietnamese citizens abroad

Circular No. 02/2011/TT-BNG dated June 27, 2011, issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, guiding procedures for registering Vietnamese citizens abroad, amended and supplemented by:

Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BNG dated December 26, 2023, issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 01/2011/TT-BNG dated June 20, 2011, issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, concerning procedures for issuing permits to bring corpses, remains, and ashes back to Vietnam; Circular No. 02/2011/TT-BNG dated June 27, 2011, issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, guiding procedures for registering Vietnamese citizens abroad; Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BNG dated September 25, 2020, issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, guiding the issuance, extension, revocation of diplomatic passports and official passports, and requesting letters for visa issuance from foreign countries.

Pursuant to the Law on Agencies Representing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Abroad dated June 18, 2009;

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

Implementing Resolution No. 50/NQ-CP dated December 10, 2010, of the Government on simplifying administrative procedures within the scope of management functions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs guides the procedures for registering Vietnamese citizens abroad as follows^[1]:

Article 1. Content and purpose of registration

1. Registration of citizens is the act of diplomatic agencies, consular agencies, or other agencies authorized to perform consular functions of Vietnam abroad (hereinafter referred to collectively as the Agency) recording in the Register of Citizens the personal details of Vietnamese citizens residing abroad.

2. The purpose of citizen registration is to assist the Agencies in performing their functions of protecting citizens and other consular functions for Vietnamese citizens abroad, while serving statistical work on Vietnamese citizens abroad.

Article 2. Subjects of citizen registration

The subjects of citizen registration include:

1. Persons holding a Vietnamese passport or other documents with equivalent value to a Vietnamese passport that are still valid.

2. Persons who do not hold any of the documents mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article but hold one of the documents proving they have Vietnamese nationality.

Article 3. Authorities responsible for citizen registration

The authorities responsible for citizen registration include:

1. The agency located in the country where the person applying for registration resides or the agency concurrently representing that country.

2. The agency located in the most convenient place for the person applying for registration, if there is no agency in the country where the person resides.

Article 4. Procedures for citizen registration

1.^[2] The person applying for registration submits one set of documents including:

- One fully completed Citizen Registration Form (which may be filled out online on the website of the agency);

- One copy of the Vietnamese passport or other documents with equivalent value to a Vietnamese passport for the case mentioned in Clause 1 of Article 2 of this Circular;

- One copy of the identity document containing a unique identification number for the case mentioned in Clause 2 of Article 2 of this Circular. In cases where Vietnamese citizens do not yet have a unique identification number, they must submit one copy of the identity document and one copy of the document proving Vietnamese nationality as stipulated in Article 11 of the Nationality Law 2008, amended and supplemented in 2014 (Birth Certificate; Identity Card; Decision on Granting Vietnamese Nationality; Decision on Reinstatement of Vietnamese Nationality; Decision Recognizing Adoption of Foreign Children; Decision on Adoption of Foreign Children by Vietnamese Nationals).

- One envelope with prepaid postage and the recipient's address in cases where the applicant wishes to receive the result via postal service.

2.^[3] The application for citizen registration can be submitted directly at the agency or sent through the postal service.

The application can be submitted electronically in cases where the technical infrastructure at the agency allows it (including connection to the national population database).

3. Based on checking and comparing the information in the Citizen Registration Form with other documents in the file, the agency processes and notifies the result in writing to the applicant within one working day from the date of receipt of a complete and valid file.

4. In cases where the applicant does not have any of the documents proving Vietnamese nationality or requires verification of the authenticity of these documents, the agency guides the applicant to follow the procedures for verifying Vietnamese nationality as prescribed by the laws on nationality. Immediately upon receiving the verification results from the competent authority, the agency processes and notifies the result in writing to the applicant.

Article 5. Updating citizen registration information

1. Citizens who have registered shall be responsible for notifying the Representative Authority within ninety days from the date of change in personal details declared on the Citizen Registration Form so that the Representative Authority can update such changes in the Citizen Register Book.

2. The person requesting to update citizen registration information shall submit one set of documents including:

- One fully completed Citizen Registration Form, which may be submitted online via the Representative Authority's electronic website.

- One envelope with prepaid postage and the recipient's address in cases where the applicant wishes to receive the result via postal service.

3. The application for updating citizen registration information shall be submitted directly to the Representative Authority or sent through postal service.

4. The Representative Authority shall process and notify the result in writing to the applicant within one working day from the date of receipt of complete and valid documents.

Article 6. Archiving citizen registration files

1. Citizen registration files include the Citizen Registration Form (including all updates to the registration information), copies of documents and materials submitted by the person applying for registration to the Representative Authority, verification papers, and other related documents and materials.

2. Citizen registration files shall be numbered in chronological order corresponding to the records in the Citizen Register Book. The Citizen Register Book shall be maintained in printed form and stored using management software on a computer.

3. The Representative Authority shall be responsible for implementing measures to preserve citizen registration files and store them according to the following periods:

- Five years for citizen registration files;

- Permanent storage for the Citizen Register Book.

Article 7. Implementation Organization

1. The registration of citizens with Vietnamese nationality but enjoying refugee status under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees dated July 28, 1951 and the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees dated January 31, 1967, or under foreign laws, and those concurrently holding Vietnamese and foreign nationalities shall be carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

2.^[4] Attached to this Circular are the forms of the Citizen Registration Form (Form 01/LS-ĐKCD), confirmation of citizen registration (Form 02/NG-ĐKCD), and the Citizen Register Book (Form 03/LS-ĐKCD) to replace Forms 01/NG-LS and 02/NG-LS issued together with Decision No. 05/2002/QĐ-BNG dated July 30, 2002 of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on regulations concerning consular work organization and handling.

3.^[5] This Circular takes effect forty-five days from the date of signature and replaces Decision No. 713/NG-QĐ dated May 17, 1997 of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on temporary regulations on procedures for registering Vietnamese citizens abroad. During implementation, if there are any difficulties, they should be reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for consideration and resolution./.

Form No. 01/LS-ĐKCD

1. Full Name (in capital letters): …Gender: Male □ Female □

Date of Birth: …Place of Birth …

Occupation (if a state employee, name the agency): …

............................................................................................................................................

2. Passport/personal identification document/individual identification number document of Vietnam (specify whether it is a Vietnamese passport/document or from another country; if it is a personal identification document, specify the type of document):

Type of Document: …Number: …

Date of Issue: …Issuing Authority: …

Individual Identification Number of Vietnam (if applicable): …

3. Proof of Vietnamese Nationality (for cases where there is no valid Vietnamese passport/personal identification document with an individual identification number):

Type of Document: …Number: …

Date of Issue: …Issuing Authority: …

4. Address of residence in the host country: …

............................................................................................................................................

Telephone/Fax/Email: …

Purpose of residence: ...Intended period of stay: ...

5. Children accompanying (specify full name, year of birth, relationship to the declarant): ...

............................................................................................................................................

6. To whom should we notify in case of need, where?: ...

7. Previously registered citizen at (specify clearly the name of the Vietnamese representative agency where the citizen was previously registered): ...

Confirmation document number: ...Date of issue: ...

Form number 02/NG-ĐKCD

Respectfully submitted to: Mr./Ms. ...

On......day......month......year..., (name of the representative agency) in ...has received the citizen registration dossier of:

Mr./Ms. ...

(specify full name)

Date of birth: ...

Place of residence: ...

(specify current place of residence in the host country)

In accordance with the current regulations of Vietnamese law, (name of the representative agency) in ...has registered the citizen for Mr./Ms., registration number: ..., volume number ..., date of registration ...

........................................................................................................................................

Should there be any changes related to the information previously registered by Mr./Ms., it is respectfully requested that Mr./Ms. update the citizen registration information.

(Name of the representative agency) in ...respectfully informs Mr./Ms. of this matter./.

(Name of the representative agency) in ...

CITIZEN REGISTRATION BOOK

Volume number: ...Year: ...
Date entered into book

___________________________

¹ Specify number, date of issue, issuing authority (if applicable).

² Specify full name, year of birth, relationship to the declarant if the child's name is recorded in the declarant's passport.

³ If the child has a separate passport, register the child as in other cases.

Specify number, date of issue.

⁴ Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BNG dated December 26, 2023, of the Minister of Foreign Affairs amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 01/2011/TT-BNG dated June 20, 2011, of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on procedures for issuing permits for the entry of corpses, remains, ashes into Vietnam; Circular No. 02/2011/TT-BNG dated June 27, 2011, of the Minister of Foreign Affairs guiding procedures for registering Vietnamese citizens abroad; Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BNG dated September 25, 2020, of the Minister of Foreign Affairs guiding the issuance, extension, cancellation of diplomatic passports, service passports, and issuance of letters of request for visa issuance from foreign countries are based on the following provisions:

^{___________________________}

^[1] "Pursuant to the Law on Residence No. 68/2020/QH14 dated November 13, 2020;

Pursuant to Decree No. 104/2022/NĐ-CP dated December 21, 2022, of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of decrees related to the submission and presentation of household registration books, temporary residence certificates when performing administrative procedures and providing public services;

At the proposal of the Director of the Consular Department"

Pursuant to Decree No. 81/2022/NĐ-CP dated October 14, 2022, of the Government, stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

This clause has been amended and supplemented according to Clause 1, Article 2 of Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BNG dated December 26, 2023, of the Minister of Foreign Affairs amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 01/2011/TT-BNG dated June 20, 2011, of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on procedures for issuing permits for the entry of corpses, remains, ashes into Vietnam; Circular No. 02/2011/TT-BNG dated June 27, 2011, of the Minister of Foreign Affairs guiding procedures for registering Vietnamese citizens abroad; Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BNG dated September 25, 2020, of the Minister of Foreign Affairs guiding the issuance, extension, cancellation of diplomatic passports, service passports, and issuance of letters of request for visa issuance from foreign countries.

^[2] This clause has been amended and supplemented according to Clause 2, Article 2 of Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BNG dated December 26, 2023, of the Minister of Foreign Affairs amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 01/2011/TT-BNG dated June 20, 2011, of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on procedures for issuing permits for the entry of corpses, remains, ashes into Vietnam; Circular No. 02/2011/TT-BNG dated June 27, 2011, of the Minister of Foreign Affairs guiding procedures for registering Vietnamese citizens abroad; Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BNG dated September 25, 2020, of the Minister of Foreign Affairs guiding the issuance, extension, cancellation of diplomatic passports, service passports, and issuance of letters of request for visa issuance from foreign countries.

^[3] The Citizen Registration Application form (Form No. 01/NG-ĐKCD) issued together with Circular No. 02/2011/TT-BNG, effective from August 11, 2011, has been replaced by the Citizen Registration Application form (Form 01/LS-ĐKCD) issued together with Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BNG, effective from February 15, 2024. The Citizen Registration form (Form No. 03/NG-ĐKCD) issued together with Circular No. 02/2011/TT-BNG, effective from August 11, 2011, has been replaced by the Citizen Registration Book (Form 03/LS-ĐKCD) issued together with Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BNG, effective from February 15, 2024.

^[4] The Citizen Registration Form (Form No. 01/NG-ĐKCD) issued together with Circular No. 02/2011/TT-BNG, effective from August 11, 2011, is replaced by the Citizen Registration Form (Form 01/LS-ĐKCD) issued together with Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BNG, effective from February 15, 2024. The Citizen Registration Number Form (Form No. 03/NG-ĐKCD) issued together with Circular No. 02/2011/TT-BNG, effective from August 11, 2011, is replaced by the Citizen Registration Booklet (Form 03/LS-ĐKCD) issued together with Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BNG, effective from February 15, 2024.

^[5] Article 5 of Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BNG dated December 26, 2023, issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 01/2011/TT-BNG dated June 20, 2011, issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, on procedures for issuing permits to bring corpses, remains, and ashes back to Vietnam; Circular No. 02/2011/TT-BNG dated June 27, 2011, issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, guiding procedures for registering Vietnamese citizens residing abroad; and Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BNG dated September 25, 2020, issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, guiding the issuance, extension, cancellation of the validity of diplomatic passports and official passports, and the issuance of letters of request for foreign countries to issue visas, shall take effect from February 15, 2024, as follows:

"Article 5. Effectiveness of Implementation

This Circular shall take effect from February 15, 2024.