CONSULAR LEGALIZATION/ CERTIFICATION

OVERVIEW OF CONSULAR CERTIFICATION AND LEGALIZATION

The main purpose of the consular certification or legalization is certification of the document’s value issued by Vietnam or foreign countries to verify the signature authenticity on document and the competence of the person signing the document.

The consular certification and legalization are just the certification of seal, signature and job title on papers, documents, not including certification of the document’s context and form.

1. “Consular certification” is the procedure that Vietnamese competent authority certifies the seal, signature and job title on documents to be recognized and used abroad.

2. “Consular legalization” is the procedure that Vietnamese competent authority certifies the seal, signature and job title on foreign documents to be recognized and used in Vietnam.

REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSULAR CERTIFICATION AND LEGALIZATION

1. To be recognized and used abroad, the Vietnamese papers and documents must be certificated consul, unless the documents and papers are free of consular certification and legalization.

2.  To be recognized and used in Vietnam, the foreign papers and documents must be certificated consul, unless the documents and papers are free of consular certification and legalization.

THE DOCUMENTS AND PAPERS ARE EXEMPT FROM CONSULAR CERTIFICATION AND LEGALIZATION

1. Papers and documents are exempt from consular certification and legalization in accordance with the international treaties, including Vietnam and relevant foreign countries are members, or in accordance with the principle of reciprocity;

2. Papers and documents are transferred directly or transferred through diplomacy between the competent authorities of Vietnam and foreign countries;

3. Papers and documents which are exempt from consular certification and legalization in accordance with the law of Vietnam;

4. The papers and documents which receiving agencies in Vietnam or foreign countries do not request consular legalization and certification complying with the respective laws of Vietnam or foreign countries.

DOCUMENTS AND PAPERS EXEMPT FROM CONSULAR CERTIFICATION AND LEGALIZATION.

1. The documents and papers modified, erased without corrections as prescribed by law;

2. Papers and documents in the dossier requesting consular certification and legalization contain contradictory details;

3. Papers, documents forged or issued, certified in wrong competence under the law;

4. Papers and documents with signatures and seals are not the originals;

5. Papers and documents with contents violating the interests of the Vietnamese State.

PROCEDURE TO VERIFY CONSUL AT VIETNAMESE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OR CONSULAR AGENCY OVERSEAS

1. Persons who apply for consular certification must submit 01 set of dossier, including:

a) The information form of consular certification (in form)

b) The original or true copy of documents required to legalize consul

c) The original personal papers (ID or passport) in the case of filing directly

d) Documents and dossiers for consular certification: the application forms and documents of consular certification certificated by Vietnam's Foreign Ministry as prescribed, along with a photo of these forms and documents to save in representative agency.

e) Processing time: 1-2 working days

2. In case of seal, signature and job title forms of the competent authority and persons that are responsible for foreign consular certification have not officially announced or verified. The representative agencies propose foreign competent agencies for verification. Right after receiving the result of verification, the representative agency shall resolve the documents and release the result to applicants.

3. The consular certification conducts based on:

a) Compare the seal, signature and job title on documents requesting consular certification to the form of the seal, signature and job title which have been announced to Ministry of Foreign Affairs; or

b) The certification result of Vietnamese competent authorities and organizations affirms authenticity of those seal, signature and job title.

PROCEDURES OF CONSULAR LEGALIZATION AT VIETNAMESE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OR CONSULAR AGENCY OVERSEAS

Persons who apply for consular legalization must submit 01 set of dossier, including:

a) 01 information form of consular legalization in stipulated form;

b) Presenting the original personal papers in case of filing directly;

c) 01 copy of the personal papers in case of filing by post.

d) Documents and papers that request consular legalization authorized by diplomatic representative offices, consular offices or other agencies to perform the certificated functions of foreign countries.

đ) 01 translation of the documents and papers that demand for consular legalization into Vietnamese or English languages if those documents and papers are not written by above mentioned languages.

e) 01 photo of above documents and papers to save at the Foreign Ministry.

2. In case of verifying the authenticity of these documents and papers, receiving officials are able to ask for applicants present to complete the originals of those relevant documents and papers in saving at the Foreign Ministry.

3. The Foreign Ministry shall legalize consul based on comparison of the seal, signature and job title in the certification of foreign competent authority on documents and papers and the seal, signature and job title in official announce to the Foreign Ministry.

4. Processing time: 1-2 working days.

For further information please contact:
Discovery Indochina Travel Co., Ltd
5th Floor | Avenis Building | 145 Dien Bien Phu Street, District 1 | Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam
Tel: 028 39102358 | 028 39102359  Mobile: 0938228856 | 0906640505
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