The Latest Procedure for Applying Vietnamese Criminal Records No.1 from July 1, 2021 for Foreigners and Vietnamese

Criminal record certificate is a certificate issued by the agency managing the judicial record database and is valid to prove that an individual has or does not have a criminal record. The procedure for making criminal records No.1 from July 1, 2021 has some changes compared to before, details are mentioned below.

1/ To whom is the Vietnamese criminal record No.1 issued?

Criminal record certificate No. 1 is issued to:

• Vietnamese citizens, foreigners who have been or are residing in Vietnam when they request the issuance of their criminal record certificates.
• State agencies, political organizations and socio-political organizations have the right to request the issuance of criminal record certificates to serve the management of personnel, business registration, establishment and enterprises and cooperatives management.

2/ Dossiers to apply Vietnamese criminal record certificate No.1 updated in July 2021

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 45 of the Law on Criminal Records 2009; Clause 4, Article 37 of the Law on Residence 2020, an individual’s application for a criminal record certificate from July 1, 2021 includes the following documents:

• A declaration requesting issuance of criminal record certificate;
• A copy of the identity certificate or passport of the person who is issued with criminal record certificate;
• Authorization letter if the individual authorizes another person to carry out the procedures for requesting issuance of criminal record certificate. In case the person requesting the issuance of criminal record certificate is the father, mother, wife, husband or child of the applicant, a written authorization is not required. (before July 1, 2021, a copy of the household registration book or certificate of permanent or temporary residence of the applicant is required).

Governmental agencies, political organizations and socio-political organizations have the right to request issuance of criminal record certificates to serve the management of personnel, business registration activities, establishment and management of criminal cases. Managers of enterprises or cooperatives, upon request for issuance of criminal record certificates, shall send a written request to the Department of Justice where the person granted the criminal record certificate permanently or temporarily resides; If the place of permanent or temporary residence cannot be determined, it shall be sent to the National Center for Criminal Records.

The written request must clearly state the address of the agency or organization, the purpose of using the criminal record certificate and information about the person granted the criminal record certificate.

3/ Procedures for applying Vietnamese criminal records No.1 updated in 2021

Citizens bring prepared dossiers and submit them to the following agencies (Clause 2, Article 45 of the Law on Criminal Records 2009):

• Vietnamese citizens submit to the Department of Justice where they permanently reside; if there is no permanent place of residence, it shall be submitted to the Department of Justice of the place of temporary residence; in case of residence abroad, it shall be submitted to the Department of Justice of the residence place before leaving the country;
• Foreigners residing in Vietnam shall submit to the Department of Justice where they reside; if they have left Vietnam, they shall submit them to the National Center for Criminal Records.

The application-receiving agency shall refuse to issue the criminal record certificate in the following cases (Article 49 of the Law on Criminal Records):

• The issue of criminal record certificates is not within the competence;
• The person who requests the issuance of criminal record certificate to another person but does not meet the conditions (authorization is not in writing or is not in the case of application for a criminal record certificate);
• Documents attached to the application form for criminal record certificate are incomplete or forged.

In case of refusal to issue the criminal record certificate, a written notice clearly stating the reason must be given.

If the documents is ok, the request is made to the right authority, etc., the time limit for issuance a criminal record certificate is not more than 10 days from the date of receipt valid request (Article 48 of the Law on Criminal Records).

In case the person who apply the criminal record certificate is a Vietnamese citizen who has resided in many places or has resided abroad for a period of time, or a foreigner, in case of having to verify the automatic conditions for criminal record remission, period not exceeding 15 days.

If you have any questions about your criminal record, you can send an email to info@vietnamimmigration.com  for answers.