Vietnam implements exemption of legalization for foreign public documents

On September 21, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the exemption of legalization for foreign public documents under the 1961 Hague Convention (Apostille Convention) has been applied between Vietnam and 125 member states since September 11. Accordingly, public documents falling within the scope of the Convention will no longer require consular legalization.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, nearly 700,000 public documents circulate between Vietnam and foreign countries each year. Under the Apostille Convention, this type of document only requires certification by one country.

Previously, for a document such as a university degree to be accepted by a foreign institution, it had to undergo procedures at both ends: domestic certification, followed by confirmation at the representative agency of the destination country. The reverse process was similar.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Vietnam was recognized by other countries as a new member with the approval of the vast majority of member states, including most countries with high volumes of document exchanges with Vietnam, such as South Korea, Japan, the United States, and China.

Following the entry into force of the Convention, Vietnamese representative missions abroad will no longer perform consular legalization on public documents exempted under the Convention issued by member states holding application relations with Vietnam.

With the execution of the Convention, individuals who previously had to navigate multiple steps to complete a set of documents such as international students, workers, overseas Vietnamese, and foreign-related marriage partners will benefit. For businesses, faster document processing means projects and contracts can also be deployed more quickly.

Further shortening process and handling time

The Government issued a Decree guiding the implementation of the Convention, which took effect simultaneously with the Convention in Vietnam, ensuring no gap between international commitments and domestic law. Subsequently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided guidelines for ministries, agencies, localities, and representative missions to execute the rules. As of September 15, Vietnam's Apostille Issuing Authority received 620 applications and issued 4,517 Apostille certificates.

Along with the gradual implementation of e-Apostille certification and the decentralization of issuing authority to localities, the new mechanism will be further simplified in the coming time, thereby shortening processing workflows and timelines, while reducing costs for citizens, businesses, and state agencies.