Regulations on supervision and use of entry and exit documents in Vietnam

Responsibilities of holders of entry and exit documents in Vietnam

- Preserving and keeping entry and exit documents in pristine conditions; promptly inform competent authorities if entry and exit documents are lost; following procedures to issue entry and exit documents anew should such documents be damaged, personal information, identity attributes be changed or sex be reassigned.

- Using only 1 type of valid entry or exit document for each session of entry or exit.

- Within 5 working days from the date on which entry or exit activity concludes, diplomatic passports and service passports must be returned to agencies and individuals supervising passports specified in Clause 1 Article 24 of the Law on Entry and Exit of Vietnamese Citizens 2019, except for legitimate reasons decided by heads of agencies.

- If a person changes his/her workplace, report to agencies and individuals supervising passports of where he/she moves from and to to enable them to supervise diplomatic passports or service passports according to the Law on Entry and Exit of Vietnamese Citizens 2019.

Pursuant to: Article 23 of the Law on Entry and Exit of Vietnamese Citizens 2019

Regulations on supervision and use of entry and exit documents in Vietnam (Internet image)

Supervision of diplomatic passports and service passports in Vietnam

- Competent agencies and individuals specified in Article 11 of the Law on Entry and Exit of Vietnamese Citizens 2019  or agencies and individuals authorized for supervision of diplomatic passports and service passports are responsible for:

+ Supervising diplomatic passports and service passports of employees, officials, officers and professional servicemen in People’s Army, People’s Public Security and individuals conducting cipher activities under their management;

+ Supervising diplomatic passports, service passports of relatives specified in Clause 13 and Clause 14 Article 8, Clause 5 Article 9 of the Law on Entry and Exit of Vietnamese Citizens 2019 of individuals under their management accompanying or visiting such individuals on their work trip.

- Procedures for supervision of diplomatic passports and service passports are prescribed as follows:

+ Produce records to keep track of assignment and receipt of passports and ensure absolute safety to passports stored at agencies supervising passports;

+ Assign passports to persons eligible for passport issuance upon decision on overseas work trip. Assignment of passports must be signed to verify;

+ Transfer passports to new agencies and individuals supervising passports when persons issued with passports are reassigned;

+ Inform competent agencies and individuals in written form about persons issued with passports deliberately failing to hand over passports to agencies and individuals supervising passports or using passports against regulations and law;

+ Inform passport issuing bodies affiliated to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and immigration authorities of Ministry of Public Security promptly in written form about loss and/or damage to passports under their supervision;

+ Hand over to passport issuing bodies affiliated to Ministry of Foreign Affairs to annul passports of persons no longer eligible for use of diplomatic passports and service passports;

+ Report to competent agencies to take actions against violations in use and supervision of passports against original purposes.

Pursuant to: Article 24 of the Law on Entry and Exit of Vietnamese Citizens 2019

Use of diplomatic passports and service passports in Vietnam

- Persons issued with diplomatic passports and service passports shall use such passports in case of travel abroad according to decision on assignment or documents of acceptance of competent agencies and individuals specified in Article 11 of the Law on Entry and Exit of Vietnamese Citizens 2019, except for cases of studying abroad for more than 6 months.

- Diplomatic passports and service passports for overseas work trip shall be used in accordance with decision on assignment for work trip and nature of work conducted overseas.

Pursuant to: Article 25 of the Law on Entry and Exit of Vietnamese Citizens 2019

Use of regular passports and laissez-passers in Vietnam

- Vietnamese citizens issued with regular passports may use such passports to make entry and exit, except for cases of being suspended from making exit.

- Vietnamese citizens issued with laissez-passers may use such laissez-passers to cross borders and operate in neighboring countries according to international agreements between Vietnam and countries sharing borders, except for cases of being suspended from making exit.

Pursuant to: Article 26 of the Law on Entry and Exit of Vietnamese Citizens 2019

Mai Thanh Loi

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