What is the eligibility of honorary consul candidates in Vietnam? What are the procedures for approving honorary consuls in Vietnam?
What is the eligibility of honorary consul candidates in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Article 6 of Decree 26/2022/ND-CP stipulating the eligibility of honorary consul candidates in Vietnam as follows:
In order to be approved as an honorary consul, a person must:
- Have the nationality of the sending country or Vietnam.
The case of a person who has nationality of a third country or more than one nationality requires consent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in accordance with procedures under Clause 2 Article 5 of Decree 26/2022/ND-CP. Said consent can be withdrawn at any time without reason. In this case, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall inform the sending country via a diplomatic note.
- Reside in Vietnam or have been residing, working for at least 1 year in a consular district.
- Is not a public official, official, public employee, or employee paid by the state budget of any country.
- Situate head office or residence within the consular district of the consulate which the individual is expected to head.
- Have a clear judicial record.
- Have financial capacity and social credibility.
What is the eligibility of honorary consul candidates in Vietnam? What is the order and procedures for honorary consular approval?
What does the request for approval of honorary consuls in Vietnam include?
Pursuant to Article 7 of Decree 26/2022/ND-CP, the request for approval of honorary consuls in Vietnam includes:
- A diplomatic note sent by the sending country to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which dictates the appointment of a person as the honorary consul, expected head office location of honorary consulate and consular district, consular functions, and term of recognition of honorary consul.
- Personal information sheet containing a photo.
- Copy of passport.
- Judicial record issued by Vietnamese authorities in the last 12 months from the date of submitting the request.
What are the procedures for approving honorary consuls in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Article 5 of Decree 26/2022/ND-CP stipulating the procedures for approving honorary consuls in Vietnam as follows:
- After obtaining approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the establishment of a foreign honorary consulate in Vietnam, the sending country shall send a diplomatic note together with documents under Article 7 of Decree 26/2022/ND-CP, expected location of head office of the honorary consulate, and consular functions appointed by the sending country to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request for approval of honorary consul candidate.
If necessary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may request the sending country to provide additional relevant information.
- Within 10 working days after receiving the diplomatic note and adequate documents, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall consul Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of National Defense, and relevant authorities regarding the approval of honorary consul in order to ensure diplomatic, national defense and security, social order and safety, economic, culture, and education requirements. Consulted authorities shall send their remarks to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within 15 days from the date on which they receive the written request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Within 30 days after receiving written remarks of the aforementioned authorities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall decide whether or not the candidate is approved to hold honorary consul title.
- After approving the candidate for honorary consul, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall inform the sending country in writing and request the sending country to submit a copy of the consular commission in order to allow the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue an exequatur. The parties shall discuss and agree on the sending and receiving dates of the consular commission and the exequatur.
- After receiving the consular commission and within 5 days after sending the exequatur, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall inform Vietnamese authorities about the honorary consul of the sending country who has been recently approved in Vietnam in terms of personal information of the honorary consul, consular district, consular functions, and term of recognition.
- The sending country may send a diplomatic note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss the establishment of foreign honorary consulate in Vietnam and the approval of the candidate for honorary consul (after attaching personal background of the honorary consul). In this case, attachments must conform to Clause 1 Article 4 and Clause 1 Article 5 of Decree 26/2022/ND-CP.
- If a sending country has been approved to establish an honorary consulate in Vietnam and authorizes a new honorary consul, they are not required to discuss the authorization of a new honorary consul with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as specified under Article 4 of Decree 26/2022/ND-CP.
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