Principles for Implementing Consular Work: Regulations and Responsibilities of the Head and Officers of Representative Agencies in Consular Work
What are the principles for implementing consular affairs?
Based on Article 7 of Circular 03/2023/TT-BNG about the principles for implementing consular affairs as follows:
Principles for Implementing Consular Affairs
1. Each officer is responsible for one or several steps of the consular document issuance process. In locations where the consular workload is not significant or there are not enough officers to handle each step, one person can perform multiple steps within the consular document issuance process but must ensure that one person does not handle the entire process from start to finish. The person receiving the dossier or proposing the handling of the dossier must not simultaneously approve and sign the consular documents; the person approving and signing must not simultaneously hold and seal with the national emblem; the person approving and signing must not simultaneously manage the blank consular forms.
2. The proposal for handling directions, approval of the proposed handling, inspection, verification, submission for approval, signing, and issuance at the dossier processing step as stated in point b, clause 1, Article 6 of this Circular must be conducted by an official from the Consular Department, the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City, a diplomatic public employee, or a consular public employee of the Representative Office. The proposal for handling directions and approval of the proposals must be documented in writing or recorded directly into the dossier.
3. The person authorized to sign consular documents must not sign consular documents directly related to themselves or their relatives as per the procedures for issuing such documents.
4. Responsibilities of the head and officers of the representative office in consular affairs:
a) The head of the representative office directly directs the organization, implementation, monitoring, urging, inspection, and supervision of consular affairs at the representative office, including:
Issuing procedures to resolve consular affairs at the representative office, clearly defining the functions, tasks, and responsibilities of the collective and each individual involved in the consular affairs resolution process.
Assigning qualified, moral, and capable officers to participate in consular affairs resolution; issuing documents to assign tasks to each individual involved in consular affairs resolution (dossier receiver; dossier handling proposer; dossier returner; national emblem holder and sealer; consular document signer; blank consular forms manager...). Officers assigned to handle, propose dossier resolution must have a still-valid Certificate of Completion of Consular Affairs Training (at the time of task assignment or at the time of Ministry of Foreign Affairs approval for the term mission at the representative office), issued by the Consular Department, unless exempted from this certificate.
Procedures for resolving consular affairs and the task assignment table for officers resolving consular affairs must be notified in writing to the Consular Department and the Department of Personnel Organization.
b) The head of the representative office may delegate to a second person or a diplomatic/consular public employee to manage and organize consular affairs at the representative office (hereinafter referred to as the consular affairs supervisor).
c) The head of the representative office is responsible to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and before the law regarding consular affairs at the representative office. The consular affairs supervisor is responsible to the head of the representative office and before the law for the implementation of the assigned consular duties and tasks. Individuals involved in resolving consular affairs are responsible to the head and consular affairs supervisor and before the law for the implementation of the consular duties and tasks they participate in resolving.
Consular affairs will be implemented according to the above-stated principles.
What are the principles for implementing consular affairs? What are the responsibilities of the head and officers of the representative office in consular affairs?
What are the responsibilities of the head and officers of the representative office in consular affairs?
Based on clause 4, Article 7 of Circular 03/2023/TT-BNG, the responsibilities of the head and officers of the representative office in consular affairs are defined:
(1) The head of the representative office directly directs the organization, implementation, monitoring, urging, inspection, and supervision of consular affairs at the representative office, including:
- Issuing procedures to resolve consular affairs at the representative office, clearly defining the functions, tasks, and responsibilities of the collective and each individual involved in the consular affairs resolution process.
- Assigning qualified, moral, and capable officers to participate in consular affairs resolution; issuing documents to assign tasks to each individual involved in consular affairs resolution (dossier receiver; dossier handling proposer; dossier returner; national emblem holder and sealer; consular document signer; blank consular forms manager...). Officers assigned to handle, propose dossier resolution must have a still-valid Certificate of Completion of Consular Affairs Training (at the time of task assignment or at the time of Ministry of Foreign Affairs approval for the term mission at the representative office), issued by the Consular Department, unless exempted from this certificate.
- Procedures for resolving consular affairs and the task assignment table for officers resolving consular affairs must be notified in writing to the Consular Department and the Department of Personnel Organization.
(2) The head of the representative office may delegate to a second person or a diplomatic/consular public employee to manage and organize consular affairs at the representative office (hereinafter referred to as the consular affairs supervisor).
(3) The head of the representative office is responsible to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and before the law regarding consular affairs at the representative office. The consular affairs supervisor is responsible to the head of the representative office and before the law for the implementation of the assigned consular duties and tasks. Individuals involved in resolving consular affairs are responsible to the head and consular affairs supervisor and before the law for the implementation of the consular duties and tasks they participate in resolving.
What are the principles of receiving consular dossiers?
Based on Article 8 of Circular 03/2023/TT-BNG about the principles of receiving consular dossiers as follows:
- Consular dossiers must be received at the head office of the receiving agency, except where the law allows receiving dossiers in other forms.
- For consular procedures where the applicant can submit the dossier through an authorized person, authorized organization, by mail, or online, the receiving agency will accept the dossier according to the rules of that procedure.
- The Chief of the Office, the Head of the Consular Department, the Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City, and the head of the Representative Office, based on their specific unit and locality, must stipulate in writing the receipt and settlement of consular dossiers through authorization or by mail, online based on current legal regulations and guidance from the Consular Department.
- Officers receiving the dossiers are responsible for reviewing and checking the accuracy and completeness of the dossiers; stating the reasons for cases not eligible for acceptance and resolution; guiding the applicant to supplement and complete the conformable dossier.
- The representative office organizes the reception of consular dossiers to meet the demand for resolving consular procedures of citizens and based on the personnel situation of the representative office, but must ensure a minimum of 03 working sessions per week at their head office.
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