Procedures for obtaining a passport for the first time in Vietnam for Vietnamese citizens with foreign nationality should know

1. Regulations on issuing passports domestically

According to provisions in Article 15 of the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam 2019, the specific procedures for obtaining a passport for the first time are as follows:

"...3. Request for issuance of a first-time passport shall be made at the Immigration Department of the Provincial Police Department where the applicant's permanent or temporary residence is located; in cases where an Identity Card is available, it shall be made at the Immigration Department of the Provincial Police Department for convenience.

4. The applicant for a first-time passport falls into one of the following categories and may choose to apply at the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security:

a) Has a referral letter or request from a hospital for medical treatment abroad;

b) Has evidence of a relative abroad who is injured, ill, or deceased;

c) Has a request from the direct management agency for officials, civil servants, professionals, officers, non-commissioned officers, professional soldiers, workers, officials in the armed forces, individuals working in key organizations;

d) For humanitarian reasons, emergencies determined by the head of the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security".

2. Passport issuance authority is as follows:

- The request for a first-time passport shall be made at the Immigration Department of the Provincial Police Department where the applicant's permanent or temporary residence is located;

- In cases where an Identity Card is available, the request shall be made at the Immigration Department of the Provincial Police Department for convenience.

In particular, the applicant for a first-time passport falls into one of the following categories and may choose to apply at the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security:

- Has a referral letter or request from a hospital for medical treatment abroad;

- Has evidence of a relative abroad who is injured, ill, or deceased;

- Has a request from the direct management agency for officials, civil servants, professionals, officers, non-commissioned officers, professional soldiers, workers, officials in the armed forces, individuals working in key organizations;

- For humanitarian reasons, emergencies determined by the head of the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security.

Therefore, if individuals do not fall into any of the 4 special cases, they must apply for a passport at the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security or at the Immigration Department of the Provincial Police Department where they are permanent or temporarily residing.

3. Is it mandatory to return to the permanent residence to apply for a first-time passport?

Based on the above provisions, if individuals already have an Identity Card, they can apply for a passport at the Immigration Department of the Provincial Police Department of any locality. Therefore, individuals are not required to return to their permanent residence to apply for a first-time passport.

The reason individuals can apply for a passport in any locality with an Identity Card is because once they have an Identity Card, their information will be entered into the national database. Based on this information, the immigration authorities of provinces can easily access this information to proceed with the passport issuance without the need for the individual to return to their permanent or temporary residence.