Procedures for issuance of certificate of visa exemption in Vietnam

Lawnet would like to answer your question as follows:

To be granted a certificate of visa exemption, you must (according to Article 3 of Decree No. 82/2015/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government):

- Have a passport or another international travel document that is still valid for at least 01 year.

- Have documents proving that you are a person eligible for visa exemption, specifically Vietnamese people residing overseas and foreigners who are spouses, children of Vietnamese people residing overseas or of Vietnamese citizens.

- Not be banned or suspended from entry or exit as prescribed in the Law on Immigration and residence of foreigners in Vietnam.

Procedures for issuance of certificate of visa exemption

Step 1: Each applicant for the certificate of visa exemption shall submit 01 application which consists of (Article 6 of Decree No. 82/2015/NĐ-CP):

- The passport or another international travel document, or a permanent residence permit issued by an authority of the foreign country to the Vietnamese person residing therein.

- An application form for issuance/reissuance of the certificate of visa exemption enclosed with 02 pictures (01 picture fixed on the application form).

- Documents proving eligibility for visa exemption.

Documents proving eligibility for visa exemption depending on each specific subject:

+ The applicant who is a Vietnamese person residing overseas shall submit a certified true copy (or a copy enclosed with the original for comparison) of one of the following documents: birth certificate, decision to permit renouncement of Vietnamese nationality or certification of loss of Vietnamese nationality, other documents showing/proving the person’s Vietnamese nationality;

+ The applicant who is a foreigner shall submit certified true copies (or copies enclosed with the originals for comparison) proving that he/she is a spouse or child of a Vietnamese citizen or a Vietnamese person residing overseas;

+ In case there are no papers proving that the applicant is a Vietnamese person residing overseas, the overseas visa-issuing authority of Vietnam shall examine the applicant’s documents which show that he/she is of Vietnamese descent to decide whether to accept the application.

Step 2: The applicant for certificate of visa exemption who is residing overseas shall submit the documents prescribed above to an overseas visa-issuing authority of Vietnam(Article 7 of Decree No. 82/2015/NĐ-CP).

Within 01 working day from the receipt of satisfactory documents, the overseas visa-issuing authority of Vietnam shall send a list of applicants for the certificate of visa exemption to Immigration Administration.

Immigration Administration shall respond to the overseas visa-issuing authority of Vietnam within 03 working days.

Within 01 working day from the receipt of the response from Immigration Administration, the overseas visa-issuing authority of Vietnam shall issue the certificate of visa exemption.

Each person who is temporarily residing in Vietnam and wishes to obtain a certificate of visa exemption shall submit the documents prescribed above to Immigration Administration. Within 05 working days from the receipt of satisfactory documents, Immigration Administration shall consider issuing the certificate of visa exemption.

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