Vietnamese citizens requesting passport issuance while abroad

Based on Article 16 of the 2019 Law on Entry, Exit of Vietnamese Citizens, Vietnamese citizens may request a regular passport while abroad if needed.

In such cases, the applicant must submit a completed application form with full information, 2 portrait photos, relevant documents as required, and present the Vietnamese passport or relevant personal documents issued by the authorized agency of Vietnam.

If there is no Vietnamese passport, the applicant must present personal documents issued by the competent authority of the foreign country and documents proving Vietnamese citizenship or documents used to determine Vietnamese citizenship according to the law on citizenship.

The first-time passport application should be done at the Vietnamese representative office in the host country. Subsequent passport applications should be made at the Vietnamese representative office in a convenient location abroad.

The assigned person is responsible for receiving the application, photos, relevant documents; checking and cross-referencing information in the national database on entry and exit of Vietnamese citizens; taking photos, collecting fingerprints of the applicant for the first electronic chip-embedded passport; issuing an appointment for the result.

Within 5 working days from the date of receiving the first-time passport application and 3 working days from receiving subsequent passport applications, if there is sufficient basis to issue the passport, the Vietnamese representative office abroad where the application is received will provide the result to the applicant and notify the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security, the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cases not connected to the national database on entry and exit of Vietnamese citizens.

If there is not enough basis to issue the passport or more time is needed to determine the basis for issuing the passport, the Vietnamese representative office abroad will respond in writing to the applicant, stating the reasons. The extension period for determining the basis for issuing the passport is as follows:

- Within 3 working days from the date of receiving the application, the Vietnamese representative office abroad sends a standard form to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security for verification.

- Within 15 days from the date of receiving the exchange of documents, the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security responds in writing to the Vietnamese representative office abroad.

- Within 2 working days from receiving the response from the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security, the Vietnamese representative office abroad issues the passport and provides the result to the applicant; if the passport is not issued, the Vietnamese representative office abroad responds in writing to the applicant, stating the reasons.

Applicants requesting passport issuance can request to receive the result at a location other than the office as required must pay a service delivery fee.