Do foreigners residing temporarily in Vietnam have the right to request judicial record cards?

Do foreigners residing temporarily in Vietnam have the right to request judicial record cards?

Pursuant to Article 7 of the Law on Judicial Records in 2009 stipulating right to request the issuance of judicial record cards as follows:

1. Vietnamese citizens and foreigners who resided or are currently residing in Vietnam may request the issuance of judicial record cards.

2. Procedure-conducting agencies may request the issuance of judicial record cards to serve the investigation, prosecution and adjudication work.

3. State agencies, political organizations and socio-political organizations may request the issuance of judicial record cards to serve the personnel management, business registration, establishment and management of enterprises or cooperatives.

Pursuant to Article 11 of the Law on Residence in 2020 stipulating place of residence of citizens as follows:

1. The place of residence of a citizen includes a permanent residence and/or a temporary residence.

2. In case the places of permanent and temporary residence of a citizen could not be determined, their place of residence shall be determined in accordance with regulations in Clause 1 Article 19 herein.

As regulations above, the residence of a citizen is the place where the citizen regularly lives, which may be the place of permanent residence or the place of temporary residence of the citizen. Therefore, foreigners residing temporarily in Vietnam have the right to request a judicial record card.

Do foreigners residing temporarily in Vietnam have the right to request judicial record cards? - Source: Internet

Where can foreigners residing temporarily in Vietnam request judicial record cards?

Pursuant to Article 44 of the Law on Judicial Records in 2009 stipulating competence to issue judicial record cards as follows:

1. The National Center for Judicial Records shall issue judicial record cards to the following persons:

a/ Vietnamese citizens whose places of permanent or temporary residence are unidentifiable;

b/ Foreigners who resided in Vietnam.

2. Provincial-level Justice Departments shall issue judicial record cards to the following persons:

a/ Vietnamese citizens permanently or temporarily residing in Vietnam;

b/ Vietnamese citizens currently residing overseas;

c/ Foreigners currently residing in Vietnam.

3. The Director of the National Center for Judicial Records, directors of provincial-level Justice Departments or their authorized persons shall sign judicial record cards and take responsibility for their contents.

When necessary, the National Center for Judicial Records and provincial-level Justice Departments shall verify the conditions on automatic remission of previous criminal convictions upon issuance of judicial record cards.

4. The issuance of judicial record cards must be recorded in judicial record card issuance books made according to a form set by the Minister of Justice.

Therefore, foreigners residing temporarily in Vietnam who wish to request a criminal record certificate can submit an application to the Department of Justice of the province or city where they are residing to request the certificate in accordance with the regulations.

How long will it take to process judicial record cards request for foreigners residing in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 48 of the Law on Judicial Records in 2009 stipulating time limit for issuance of judicial record cards as follows:

1. The time limit for issuance of a judicial record card is 10 days after the receipt of a valid request. In case a person requested to be issued a judicial record card is a Vietnamese citizen who has resided in different localities or once resided overseas, or a foreigner specified in Clauses 2 and 3. Article 47 of this Law, and in case of necessity to verify the conditions on automatic remission of previous criminal convictions specified in Clause 3, Article 44 of this Law, the time limit is 15 days.

2. In case of emergency specified in Clause 1, Article 46 of this Law, the time limit is 24 hours after the receipt of a request.

Therefore, the normal processing time for a judicial record card for foreigners residing temporarily in Vietnam is no more than 10 days from the date of receipt of the request. In cases where foreigners residing temporarily need to search for information to issue a judicial record card, the processing time is no more than 15 days.

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