Circular No. 60/2005/TT-BTC amending and supplementing Circular No. 37/2003/TT-BTC dated April 24, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance on the regulations for collection, payment, and management of fees for issuing passports, visas, and documents related to entry, exit, transit, and residence in Vietnam.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing Circular No. 37/2003/TT-BTC dated April 24, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance on the regime of collection, payment, and management and use of fees for issuing passports, visas, and documents related to entry, exit, transit, and residence in Vietnam

Pursuant to the Law on Fees and Charges and Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Fees and Charges;

Pursuant to the Law on Entry, Exit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam and Decree No. 21/2001/NĐ-CP dated May 28, 2001 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Entry, Exit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam;

Pursuant to Decree No. 05/2000/NĐ-CP dated March 3, 2000 of the Government on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens;

Pursuant to Decision No. 875/TTg dated November 21, 1996 of the Prime Minister on the settlement of Vietnamese citizens who have settled abroad returning to Vietnam;

After receiving the unified opinions of the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Finance amends and supplements Circular No. 37/2003/TT-BTC dated April 24, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance on the regime of collection, payment, and management and use of fees for issuing passports, visas, and documents related to entry, exit, transit, and residence in Vietnam as follows:

1. Point 2, Section I of the aforementioned Circular No. 37/2003/TT-BTC shall be replaced by new Point 2 as follows:

2. Vietnamese citizens when submitting applications to competent authorities under the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of National Defense for issuance of passports (including new issuance and reissuance due to damage or loss of passports), related documents attached to passport issuance (if any), and foreigners when being issued visas by these agencies; or Vietnamese citizens and foreigners when being issued documents related to entry, exit, transit, or residence in Vietnam must pay fees according to the provisions of this Circular; except for the following cases where payment of fees is exempted:

a. Guests (including spouses or children) invited by the Party, State, Government, or National Assembly or by leaders of the Party, State, Government, or National Assembly in their personal capacity.

b. Staff members of diplomatic missions, consular offices of foreign countries, and international organization representative offices in Vietnam and members of their families (spouses and children under 18 years old living with them as a household unit), who are not Vietnamese citizens and do not reside permanently in Vietnam, are exempt from fees on a reciprocal basis.

c. Foreigners holding diplomatic, official, or ordinary passports issued by foreign countries are exempt from fees on a reciprocal basis.

d. Foreigners exempted from fees pursuant to Agreements or Arrangements signed by the Government of Vietnam.

e. Foreigners entering Vietnam to perform relief or humanitarian assistance work for Vietnamese organizations or individuals.

g. Persons exempted from fee payments pursuant to specific decisions of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Public Security, and National Defense.

For the cases of exemption from fee payments specified above, the fee collection agency must stamp "exempt from fee payment" (GRATIS) on the issued documents.

In the case where Vietnamese citizens and foreigners have paid fees for passport issuance, related documents attached to passport issuance, and visa issuance but do not meet the conditions for issuance of such documents, the fee collection agency shall refund the amount of fees actually paid upon notification of non-compliance with the conditions for issuance using funds from the collection of entry and exit fees.

2. Point 1, Appendix 1 Table of Fee Collection Rates for Passport Issuance, Visa Issuance, and Documents Related to Exit, Entry, Transit, and Residence in Vietnam issued together with the aforementioned Circular No. 37/2003/TT-BTC shall be replaced by new Point 1 as follows:

3. Point 2, Section II of the aforementioned Circular No. 37/2003/TT-BTC shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

3.1. Subpoint e of this point shall be replaced by new subpoint e as follows:

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

3.2. The following shall be added at the end of Point 2 of this section:

The Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of National Defense shall coordinate the amount extracted (30% of the total actual revenue collected) among units collecting entry and exit fees within their respective ministries to ensure costs for the collection of entry and exit fees.

4. This Circular shall take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette. Provisions not amended or supplemented in this Circular shall continue to be implemented according to the provisions of Circular No. 37/2003/TT-BTC dated April 24, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance on the regime of collection, payment, and management and use of fees for issuing passports, visas, and documents related to entry, exit, transit, and residence in Vietnam.

During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, organizations and individuals are requested to report to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and resolution./.