LEGAL REGULATIONS ON CONSULAR LEGALIZATION OF FOREIGN DOCUMENTS - OTIS LAWYERS

According to regulations, various types of foreign documents wishing to be recognized and used in Vietnam must be legalized by the competent certifying authority. Accordingly, in Article 2 of Decree No. 111/2011/ND-CP dated December 5, 2011, of the Government regulating consular certification, consular legalization, "Consular legalization" is the certification by the competent authority of Vietnam of seals, signatures, and titles on documents of foreign countries so that these documents are recognized and used in Vietnam. 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is authorized to certify consular legalization within the country. Diplomatic missions, consular offices, or other authorized agencies performing consular functions of Vietnam abroad (hereinafter referred to as Diplomatic Missions) are authorized to certify consular legalization abroad. 

Procedure for consular legalization of foreign documents

The specific procedures for consular legalization of foreign documents are stipulated in Articles 14 and 15 of Decree No. 111/2011/ND-CP.

Accordingly, the applicant for consular legalization submits 01 set of application documents including:

- 01 Consular legalization declaration form

- Presenting the original personal identification document in case of submitting the application directly, or 01 copy of the personal identification document in case of submitting the application via postal services;

- The documents requesting consular legalization, which have been certified by diplomatic missions, consular offices, or other authorized agencies of the foreign country where there is a Vietnamese diplomatic mission or Vietnamese representative office (for consular legalization at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and the documents requesting consular legalization, which have been certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or other competent authorities of the foreign country where there is a Vietnamese diplomatic mission or Vietnamese representative office (for consular legalization at Vietnamese diplomatic missions abroad);

- 01 translated copy of the documents requesting consular legalization into Vietnamese or English, if the documents are not prepared in these languages;

- 01 copy of the documents specified in points d and dd to be kept at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In cases where the authenticity of the documents requesting consular legalization needs to be verified, the receiving officer may request the applicant for consular legalization to present additional original documents related and submit 01 copy of these documents to be kept at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Vietnamese diplomatic missions abroad.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese diplomatic missions abroad carry out consular legalization based on comparing the seals, signatures, and titles in the certification of the competent authority of the foreign country on the documents with the seal, signature, and title samples that have been officially notified to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese diplomatic missions abroad.

The processing time is 01 working day from the date of receiving the complete and valid application documents. In cases where the application documents include 10 or more documents, the processing time may be longer but not exceed 05 working days.

In cases where the seal, signature, and title samples of the competent authority of the foreign country specified in point d, Clause 1 of this Article have not been officially notified or need to be verified for authenticity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese diplomatic missions abroad shall request this authority to verify. Immediately upon receiving the verification results, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese diplomatic missions abroad shall process the application documents and return the results to the applicant.

Types of documents to be consular legalized

Documents and administrative procedures in Vietnam that need to be consular legalized with documents issued abroad include: Procedures related to the import of goods, materials from abroad into Vietnam; Foreigners wishing to adopt children in Vietnam; Foreigners wishing to register for permanent residence in Vietnam; Application for permission to operate legally in Vietnam; Documents related to the judicial record of foreigners; Diplomas, certificates, documents issued abroad wishing to be legally used in Vietnam...

Documents and documents falling into one of the following cases shall not be consular legalized: Documents that have been altered, erased but not corrected according to legal regulations; Documents in the application file requesting consular certification, consular legalization with contradictory details; Forged documents or documents issued, certified outside the jurisdiction according to legal regulations; Documents with signatures, seals that are not original signatures, original seals; Documents containing content infringing the interests of the Vietnamese state.

Exemption from consular legalization

Documents exempt from consular certification, consular legalization are specifically stipulated in Article 9 of Decree No. 111/2011/ND-CP including: Documents exempt from consular certification, consular legalization under international conventions to which Vietnam and the foreign country concerned are parties, or based on the principle of reciprocity. Documents transferred directly or through diplomatic channels between the competent authorities of Vietnam and the competent authorities of the foreign country. Documents exempt from consular certification, consular legalization according to the provisions of Vietnamese law. Documents that the receiving agency of Vietnam or the foreign country does not require to be consular legalized, consular certified in accordance with the corresponding legal regulations of Vietnam or the foreign country.

Currently, Vietnam has signed bilateral legal assistance agreements and consular agreements with 30 countries around the world. In particular, regarding the issue of consular legalization of foreign documents, there are regulations exempting consular legalization for documents in cases of delivering and transferring legal and non-legal documents of the court or other judicial authorities. In addition, the exemption from consular legalization according to the provisions of the consular agreement is also applied to documents performing procedural acts such as taking testimonies of witnesses or parties, expert examinations, or collecting evidence, and exchanging citizenship documents as well as any other procedural acts upon the request of one of the parties to serve legal assistance activities.

For any questions or comments, please contact:
OTIS AND PARTNERS LAW FIRM
Office address: 2nd Floor, CT3 Building, Yen Hoa Park View Urban Area, No. 3 Vu Pham Ham Street, Yen Hoa Ward, Cau Giay District, Hanoi
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