Schengen Area/Vietnam: Visa Suspensions to New Vietnamese Passport Holders
March 9, 2023
At a Glance
- Some Schengen Area countries announced visa suspensions for individuals holding new-format Vietnamese passports, issued after July 1, 2022, which do not include the passport holder’s place of birth.
- UPDATE SEPTEMBER 27, 2022: The Ministry of Public Security has stated that it now includes the place of birth in new passports automatically. Those who received passports without the place of birth can go to a local immigration office or Vietnamese representative agencies abroad to request that their place of birth be added to their passport manually.
- UPDATE SEPTEMBER 15, 2022: All relevant Schengen Area countries have now confirmed that they have resumed visa and residence permit applications and issuance.
- We will consolidate further updates on this alert page.
The situation
Several Schengen Area countries currently suspend visa issuance to individuals holding a Vietnamese passport issued on or after July 1, 2022 (blue-cover passports).
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 27, 2022: The Ministry of Public Security has stated that it now includes the place of birth in new passports automatically. Those who received passports without the place of birth can go to a local immigration office or Vietnamese representative agencies abroad to request that their place of birth be added to their passport manually.
Czech Republic
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 15, 2022: The Czech Embassy in Vietnam has resumed visa and permit of stay applications and visa issuance to individuals holding blue-cover passports, provided that place of birth information is manually added by competent Vietnamese authorities if not printed on the passport.
Finland
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 15, 2022: The Finnish Embassy in Vietnam has resumed visa and permit of stay applications and visa issuance to individuals holding blue-cover passports, provided that place of birth information is manually added by competent Vietnamese authorities if not printed on the passport.
France
UPDATED OCTOBER 20, 2022: Effective October 17, 2022, French visa applicants in Vietnam must submit a passport mentioning their place of birth. For passports issued between July 1 and September 27, 2022, this requires applicants to manually have their place of birth added by the responsible Vietnamese authorities.
Germany
UPDATE MARCH 9, 2023: Vietnamese passports issued between July 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, which do not contain the place of birth on the identity page, will be recognized only if the information of the place of birth is added later in the appendix.
UPDATE AUGUST 30, 2022: The German Embassy in Vietnam has resumed visa issuance to Vietnamese citizens with blue-cover passports, provided that their place of birth is added on the passport data page in writing by the responsible Vietnamese authority. Visa issuance has temporarily resumed in anticipation of the Vietnamese government reinstating the place of birth as a standard written feature on the passport data page. Those who have a German visa stamp in their blue-cover passport may be denied entry at the German border if seeking entry with a passport not listing their place of birth.
Impact
There are no current confirmed workarounds for the visa suspensions.
Background
The new passports currently contain a 12-digit number which corresponds to a place of birth in Vietnam, but which can only be verified by manually checking a seven-page list.
Looking ahead
There have been reports that later this year, the Vietnamese government may begin embedding chips with information on the individual’s place of birth in the passports; however, these reports have not been officially confirmed.
Since the situation is fluid, we will consolidate further updates on restrictions for Vietnamese passport holders on this alert page. Further visa suspensions are expected.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].
