Vietnam passports to include place of birth starting 1 Jan 2023

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This information is being re-added as several immigration authorities have found it hard to verify the identity of holders of the new passports issued from 1 July 2022.

Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security and Vietnam’s overseas representative agencies will now add 'place of birth' information in new passports (those with the navy blue cover), effective 1 January 2023.

As cited by Vietnam News, the Vietnam Immigration Department added that ordinary passports issued before 1 January 2023, according to previously issued forms, are still valid until the expiry of the period stated in the passport.

Per the report, the department explained that the re-adding of birthplace information comes in response to "a row of rejections by several countries" in August and September 2022, with the reason that the removal of such information "would make it harder for immigration authorities to verify the identity of the new passport holders."

The public security ministry affirmed that the change was consistent with International Civil Aviation Organisation guidelines, which declared birthplace information not a mandatory field in the passport's main page, but eventually decided to add the field back in.

Along with the inclusion of this information, the passport holder's surname, middle name, and first name will be printed on two separate lines. As further explained, this makes it easier for Vietnamese citizens to handle immigration and residence procedures abroad, and avoid mistakes in transactions and document issuance.

In an update following the announcement, the US Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam shared that all new Vietnam passports, issued starting 1 July 2022, which do not contain a birthplace, must include a Vietnam government endorsement page stating the individual's place of birth. 

It added: "Recognising the inconvenience this presents, we will continue to interview applicants whose passports lack the endorsement through 29 September. Beginning 3 October, all visa applicants with the new blue-covered passports must have the passport endorsed with their place of birth before their interview.

"Applicants who do not have an endorsement in their blue-cover passports will not be permitted to interview and will need to reschedule their appointments."

More updates on this here. 

Lead photo / Shutterstock

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