Procedures for issuance of extract copies of civil status documents at Vietnamese representative agency residing abroad

Procedures for issuance of extract copies of civil status documents at Vietnamese representative agency residing abroad​ (Image from the internet)

Regarding this matter, LawNet answers as follows:

On May 20, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnamn issued Decision 1275/QD-BNG on the announcement of administrative procedures revised and supplemented in the consular field under the management scope of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Procedures for issuance of extract copies of civil status documents at Vietnamese representative agency residing abroad

(1) Procedure steps

- The individual requesting the issuance of a copy of the civil status extract prepares a dossier as prescribed and submits it to the representative agency where the civil status was previously registered.

- The officer receiving the dossier has the responsibility to check the entire dossier and compare the information in the dossier:

(i) If the dossier is complete and valid, the dossier will be received;

(ii) If the dossier is incomplete or invalid, the officer will guide the applicant to supplement and complete it as prescribed. After the dossier is supplemented, repeat step (i); if it is not possible to supplement the dossier immediately, a written guide specifying the types of documents and contents to be supplemented, signed and clearly stating the name of the consular officer must be provided.

(iii) If the dossier cannot be supplemented or completed, a notification of refusal to process the dossier must be issued.

- The officer processing the dossier has the responsibility to re-check the entire dossier to ensure it is complete and valid:

+ If the dossier needs to be supplemented or completed, a notification about the status of the dossier will be sent to the applicant - repeat step (ii); if it does not meet the conditions for processing, a notification of refusal to process will be sent to the applicant.

+ If further checking or verification is needed, or for other reasons if the results cannot be returned on the promised date, an apology and a rescheduled return date must be provided, specifying the reason for the delay and the new return date, and sent to the applicant.

+ If the dossier is complete, valid, and conformable, the consular officer will print the copy of the civil status extract, submit it to the Head of the representative agency for signing, and return the results to the applicant.

(2) Method of implementation

- The individual requesting changes, corrections, additions to civil status, or redefinition of ethnicity can directly submit or authorize another person to submit the dossier directly or via postal services to the representative agency where the civil status was previously registered.

- In addition to the above-mentioned methods, if the representative agency uses shared software for electronic civil status registration and management and can connect with the National Population Database, the dossier can also be submitted online through the electronic environment, given the technical infrastructure permits.

(3) Dossier components:

* Documents to be presented:

- Passport or documents substituting for a passport, identity card, citizen identity card, or other documents with a photo and personal information issued by a competent agency, still valid for verifying the personal identity of the individual requesting the issuance of a civil status extract copy.

In case of submitting the dossier via postal services, copies of the above-mentioned documents must be duly certified.

If the applicant is a Vietnamese citizen who has been issued a citizen identity card with a personal identification number, they can present the original of this document (if submitting directly) or submit a photocopy (if submitting via postal services or the online civil status registration system) to verify their identity when the technical infrastructure allows the Vietnamese representative agency abroad to connect with the National Population Database.

* Documents to be submitted:

- An application form for the issuance of a copy of the civil status extract according to the Appendix of Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP (if the applicant chooses to submit the dossier directly).

- A written authorization as prescribed by law in case of authorizing another person to request the issuance of a copy of the civil status extract. If the authorized person is the applicant's grandparent, parent, child, spouse, sibling, the authorization document does not need to be notarized but must be accompanied by documents proving the relationship with the applicant.

(4) Requirements and conditions for implementing the administrative procedure

* Note:

- The Vietnamese representative agency abroad receives and processes the online civil status registration request in line with the level of public service implementation and the synchronized use of the shared electronic civil status registration and management software at the representative agency. If the agency is not yet processing online civil status registration requests, they should inform on their web portal or provide a written notice with reasons; the notice can be sent via email if the applicant provides an email address.

- For documents submitted or presented if the applicant submits the dossier directly:

+ If the documents submitted are copies from the original record or certified copies from the original, the consular officer is not allowed to request the presentation of the original; if the applicant only submits photocopies and presents the originals, the consular officer will check, compare the photocopies with the originals, and sign the photocopies confirming the contents have been checked, without requesting the submission of certified copies.

+ If the law prescribes the presentation of documents when registering civil status, the consular officer must check the presented documents, compare with the information in the application form, and return them to the person presenting them, without requesting additional copies. The consular officer will take 01 copy of the documents after checking against the originals for the records.

- For documents submitted online:

+ The photocopies of the documents submitted online must be clear, complete, and intact in content, taken by a camera or phone, or scanned using electronic devices, from legitimate, still valid documents.

+ If the documents to be submitted online have electronic copies or electronic civil status records, the applicant may use these electronic copies.

+ When coming to the civil status registration agency to collect the results, the applicant must present identification documents and submit the required documents as required by civil status law.

+ If the applicant cannot provide the required documents as prescribed or the documents submitted or presented are erased, altered, or forged, the representative agency will cancel the processing results.

- The consular officer is responsible for receiving the civil status registration dossier properly and fully as prescribed by civil status law.

Nguyen Ngoc Que Anh

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