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THE
GOVERNMENT
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SOCIALIST
REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
Independence - Freedom – Happiness
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No:
24-CP
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Hanoi,
March 24, 1995
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DECREE
ON ENTRY AND EXIT VISA PROCEDURES
THE GOVERNMENT
Pursuant to the Law on
Organization of the Government on the 30th of September 1992;
Proceeding from Resolution No.38-CP on the 4th of May 1994 of the Government on
reforming by one step the administrative procedure in the handling of public
and citizen affairs;
At the proposals of the Minister of the Interior, the Minister for Foreign
Affairs, and the Minister-Director of the Office of the Government,
DECREES:
Chapter I
EXIT VISA PROCEDURES
Article 1.-
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2. The Ministerial and
Provincial Heads shall consider and grant exit visas to:
- Public officials and employees
and staffs on the payroll of State agencies and enterprises of the levels lower
than those described in Item 1 of this Article (including those who are
assigned by State agencies and enterprises to work at social organizations,
non-State economic organizations, enterprises with foreign invested capital,
and foreign organizations in Vietnam);
- The Chairmen (Chairwomen) of
the boards of directors, and Directors of non-State enterprises (including
stock and limited liability companies which have capital contributed by State
enterprises), the establishments of which are decided or licensed by
Ministerial and Provincial Heads.
The Ministerial and Provincial
Heads may empower the Heads of the public services (general or specialized
departments under Ministries, scientific research centers, institutes or
universities of national status, etc.,), Directors of departments directly
under provincial level, and General Directors of State enterprises of national
status having regular international contacts, to dispatch overseas, and be
responsible for, public officials and employees and staffs under their
(organizational, professional and technical) management, to implement
agreements or contracts which they have signed with foreign countries for
cooperation in economy, trade, science, technology, personnel training, labor,
expertise, etc., and which have been already approved by either the Ministries
or provinces.
In this mandating, the
Ministerial and Provincial Heads shall make written introductions to the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior of the
signatures, seals, scopes of power and responsibility of the mandated agencies;
3. The processing of exit visas
for officials, employees and staffs who are under the management of Party
offices and the people's organizations of the central level (the Vietnam
Fatherland Front, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, the Vietnam
Women's Union, the Communist Youth Union, the War Veterans' Association, the
Vietnam Peasants' Union) shall be conducted as prescribed by the Secretariat of
the Party Central Committee;
4. The Minister of the Interior
shall consider and grant exit visas to Vietnamese citizens who do not fall into
the provisions of above-stipulated Items 1, 2 and 3. They include:
- Citizens who travel abroad for
study, health treatment, tourism, employment, or visits of relatives (except
for visits paid by spouses and children under 16 years of age to relatives who
are officials, employees or staffs of overseas representative offices of the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam), or who travel abroad for other personal
purposes;
- Members of social or
professional organizations (outside the people's organizations of the central
level) who are assigned by their organizations to make overseas business trips;
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- Vietnamese citizens working in
enterprises with 100% foreign capital, joint venture enterprises with foreign
countries, branches of foreign companies, and representative offices of foreign
organizations and international organizations in Vietnam... who apply to travel
abroad for personal reasons, or who are sent by these organizations to work
overseas.
Article 2.- The
procedures for exit visas for the persons described in Items 1, 2 and 3 of
Article 1 are as follows:
1. For first-time exit visa:
a) The authorized agencies shall
send to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior the
decision and the list of personnel who have been assigned to make the overseas
trips;
b) The concerned person shall
fill the application form for passport and visa (form set by the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior) which shall be affixed with
his/her photo and signature, and sealed with endorsement by the Head of his/her
managing agency or unit. If the application form is directly endorsed with a
signature by the Head of the authorized agency, the concerned person does not
need the documents described in Point (a) of this Item.
The person with authority in
deciding exit visa is responsible before law for the personnel and for consulting
the concerned offices regarding complicated cases (in accordance with Article 3
of the Regulation on exit and entry delegations, issued in conjunction with
Decree No 12-CP on the 1st of December 1992 of the Government);
2. For re-exit visas: If it is
not more than 12 months after the first exit, only the written exit
authorization of the competent agency and the valid passport of the concerned
person are required. The concerned person still has to fill the application
form for exit visa, but does not need the signature endorsement of the Head of
his/her agency or unit, as required in the first application.
3. The Ministry of the Interior
shall not make a personnel endorsement of the officials, employees, technical
staffs and those who are on the payroll of State agencies, organizations and
enterprises (including those who are on long-term contracts) and are assigned
to make overseas trips. If it discovers that a person belongs to the category
which is banned from exiting, or is not yet allowed to make overseas traveling
for national security reason, or is being examined for penal liability (being
prosecuted, or serving sentences, etc., in accordance with the provisions of
law), the Ministry of the Interior has the right to suspend the exit visa and promptly
notify the concerned offices of this suspension;
4. Issuing the passport and exit
visa:
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The Ministry of the Interior is
responsible for issuing the passport and exit visa for the persons stipulated
in Items 1 and 2 of Article 7 of Decree 48-CP on the 8th of July 1993 of the
Government.
b) Within five days from the
reception of the complete and proper file, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs or
the Ministry of the Interior shall complete the issuance of the passport and
exit visa for the applicant.
The exit visa may be valid for
single or multiple exits at one or more international gates of Vietnam,
depending on the need of the trips and the proposal of the Head of the agency
which is authorized to decide the exit.
Article 3.- Regarding
the Vietnamese citizens stipulated in Item 4 of Article 1, the procedure for
exit visa is as follows:
1. The application of the
passport and exit visa is composed of:
a) 01 application (in form set
by the Ministry of the Interior) affixed with photos and the endorsement by:
- The Head of the State agency,
organization or enterprise for the applicants who belong to the State payroll
(including those on the State payroll but assigned to work in social
organizations, non-State economic organizations, enterprises with foreign
invested capital, and foreign organizations in Vietnam);
- The police at the commune or
ward (of residence) for personnel who is outside the State payroll and who
applies for exit visa to travel for purposes of social organizations, non-State
economic organization, or enterprise with foreign invested capital, foreign
organization in Vietnam, or for other personal purposes.
The person who endorses the
application of the concerned person shall be held responsible before law for
the personnel he/she has endorsed (the concerned person being free of security
problem and is not under examination for penal liability);
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2. The Ministry of the Interior
is responsible for:
a) Considering and denying exit
visas for persons who belong to the categories which are banned from exit, or
not yet allowed to exit for reason of national security, or who are being
examined for penal liability (being prosecuted or serving sentences, etc., in
accordance with the provisions of law);
b) Issuing passports and exit
visas to persons described in Item 3, Article 7, of Decree 48-CP on the 8th of
July 1993 of the Government;
c) The time allowance for the
issue of passports and exit visas:
- 07 days, from the reception of
the complete and proper files for travels for market study and surveys, or for
implementation of contracts on economy, trade, services, training, labor,
expertise, etc.;
- 10 days, from the reception of
the complete and proper files for travels for other personal purposes.
Chapter II
ENTRY VISA PROCEDURE
Article 4.-
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2. The Minister for Foreign
Affairs shall notify the overseas Vietnamese representative office to issue
entry visas to the following persons after having provided the data on them to
the Ministry of the Interior:
- The officials and employees of
the foreign diplomatic representations and consulates, and the representative
offices of international and inter-governmental organizations (including their
accompanying family members and private helpers);
- The other foreign nationals
assigned or recommended (through diplomatic channels) by their own governments
or international or inter-governmental organizations, to work at, or to visit
their relatives who are officials and employees of, their representative
offices in Vietnam;
- Cases of diplomatic and
humanitarian emergency;
3. The invitation of foreign
guests to come and work with the offices of the Party and people's
organizations of the central level shall be conducted in accordance with the
regulation set by the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee;
4. The procedure for issuing
entry visas for the guests described in this Article is as follows:
a) When there has been a
decision by an authority described in the above-mentioned Items 1, 2 and 3, the
agency or organization which is assigned to host and arrange the working
schedule for the guests shall be responsible for notifying the Ministry of the
Interior of the list of the guests for monitoring purpose;
b) The overseas Vietnamese
representative office shall expeditiously process the visa procedure and issue
the visas (if necessary) upon receiving the cables of the Ministry for Foreign
Affairs;
c) The Ministry of the Interior
shall not process the entry visas for the guests described in this Article; if
it detects a guest belonging to the categories not allowed to enter Vietnam,
the Ministry of the Interior shall coordinate with the Ministry for Foreign
Affairs to deny the entry.
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- The host agency or
organization is responsible for notifying the Ministry of the Interior at least
five days before the arrival of the guests, of the essential data on them, the
purposes of their trips, their working schedules and the length of their stay
in Vietnam;
- If it detects that the person
or persons belong to the categories not allowed to enter Vietnam, the Ministry
of the Interior shall deny their entry, or force them to exit in accordance
with the provisions of law;
- The international gate
checkpoint is responsible for issuing the temporary and short-term entry
permits at the request of the host agency or organization, in accordance with
the bilateral agreement signed between the two countries.
Article 6.-
With regard to guests who need to be issued visas within the time limit set by
the bilateral agreement signed between the Vietnamese and foreign governments,
the procedure shall be conducted as follows:
- The overseas Vietnamese
representative office shall, upon receiving the visa application of the guests,
notify promptly the essential data to the Ministry of the Interior, and the
agencies or organizations in the country with which the guests request to work.
It is allowed to collect (two-way) post charges from the guests at the current
cost of the concerned country;
- Past the time limit set by the
agreement (starting from the date of reception of the application file and
notification to home), if the representative office has not received any
response from home, it shall:
+ Refuse to issue visas to
guests who have no Vietnamese host agency or organization;
+ Issue visas to guests who have
written documents that they have been invited or offered hosting by a
Vietnamese agency or organization and, at the same time, cable data of them
(names in full, passport numbers, dates of issue and expiry of the visas, and
the arrival dates) to the Ministry of the Interior and the host agency to help
in the monitoring and management;
- If it detects that the person
belongs to the categories not allowed to enter Vietnam, the Ministry of the
Interior shall not allow him/her to enter, or shall force him/her to leave.
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1. For the guests who are
invited by an agency, a people's organization, a social or economic
organization having the status of a juridical person (hereafter referred to as
agency and organization):
- The Head of the host agency or
organization shall file a request, attached with a list of names and other
necessary data to the Ministry of the Interior for personnel consideration and
entry clearance;
- The Ministry of the Interior
is responsible for considering and making the clearance decision (yes or no)
within 05 days after reception of the full and proper file;
- The overseas Vietnamese
representative office shall issue the visa to the guests as directed by the
cable of the Ministry of the Interior;
2. For the guests who are
invited by a foreign-invested joint venture enterprise, an enterprise with
100-percent foreign capital, a branch of a foreign company, or a representative
office of a foreign economic organization in Vietnam, to come to Vietnam to
carry out production and business activities in line with their licenses or
business registration in Vietnam, and for the guests who are invited by their
relatives who are Vietnamese citizens residing in Vietnam for home visits:
a) For regular entry:
- The Head of the host
enterprise, branch, representative office..., or the host citizen shall file an
application or request to the Ministry of the Interior for entry visa, attached
with a list of the guests (in form set by the Ministry of the Interior);
- The Ministry of the Interior
is responsible for considering and making the clearance decision (yes or no)
within 05 days after the reception of the full and proper file;
- The overseas Vietnamese
representative office shall issue the visa to the guest after receiving the
cable of the Ministry of the Interior;
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3. In case the guests are not
invited by a Vietnamese agency, organization or individual, but have come to
the overseas Vietnamese representative office to apply for visas to enter
Vietnam to probe opportunities for trade, investment or tourist visits..., the
procedure is as follows:
a) The overseas Vietnamese
representative office is responsible for promptly cabling one of the following
business and service organizations, and is allowed to collect post charges (two
ways) at the current cost of the concerned country;
- The Trade and Service Company
(TSC) under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry;
- The service and investment
consultancy companies recommended or appointed by the State Committee for
Cooperation and Investment (one for each region, the Northern, the Central and
the Southern);
- The International Tourist
Companies of Vietnam appointed by the National Administration of Tourism (one
for each region);
b) Upon receiving the cable sent
by the overseas Vietnamese representative office, the addressed service company
is responsible for filing entry visa requests to the Ministry of the Interior,
and is allowed to collect service charge (apart from the visa fee) at levels
jointly set by the Ministries of Finance, Foreign Affairs and the Interior;
c) The Ministry of the Interior
is responsible for replying to the entry visa requests within 05 days at most
after reception of the full and proper file, and shall cable the overseas
Vietnamese representative office to issue entry visas requested by the service
companies.
d) The overseas Vietnamese
representative office shall issue the entry visas for guests as notified by the
Ministry of the Interior.
Article 8.-
For the guests who are invited by Party and State offices at provincial level or
higher, or by people's organizations of the central level, to come for the
second or more working visit not more than 12 months after the previous one,
the overseas Vietnamese representative office shall issue entry visas for the
guests according to the invitation cable or letter sent by the host office in
the country (to be produced by the guests). After that, it shall cable (the
names, passport numbers, visa numbers and dates, time of entry) to the Ministry
of the Interior and the host agencies for monitoring and management.
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1. The
entry visa into Vietnam shall be written on the pages of the passport itself,
not on a separate page, except for a number of special cases to be decided by
the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee or the Prime Minister;
2. The visa fee must be
collected at the level jointly set and publicly announced by the Ministry of
Finance, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior. No
agency, organization and individual is allowed to collect fees outside this
level. The service and post charges as stipulated in Articles 6 and 7 of this
Decree must be collected separately, and not to be grouped together with the
visa fee.
Chapter III
IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS
Article 10.-
1. The
management of exit and entry activities must be a unified management. The
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, and the overseas
representative offices of Vietnam must cooperate closely and ensure smooth
communication. The Ministry of Finance shall provide financial sources for the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior to modernize
their information network to serve the management of exit and entry activities,
and ensure that they are safe and speedy in all junctures, within the country
and overseas, from immigration offices at central to local levels, and at all
international ports of exit and entry.
2. The Ministry of the Interior
shall quickly consolidate, rearrange its staffs for management, controlling and
handling of exit and entry activities at international ports (over-land, rail,
water and air routes), and put them under a unified management. This
rearrangement must be completed within 90 days after the effective date of this
Decree.
Article
11.- This Decree takes effect as from the 1st of April 1995;
It replaces Decisions No.193-CT
on the 10th of May 1987, and No.48-CT on the 26th of February 1988, of the
Chairman of the Council of Ministers (now the Prime Minister). The provisions
in Decrees No.12-CP on the 1st of December 1992, No.04-CP of the 18th of
January 1993, and No.48-CP of the 8th of July 1993 of the Government, and the
previous provisions of the Ministries, Agencies at ministerial level, Agencies
attached to the Government, and People's Committees of the provinces and cities
directly under the Central Government, which are contrary to this Decree, are
now annulled.
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Article
13.- The Ministers, the Heads of the Agencies at ministerial level, the
Heads of Agencies attached to the Government, and the Presidents of the
People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central
Government are responsible for the implementation of this Decree.-
ON
BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT
THE PRIME MINISTER
Vo Van Kiet