Granting, Extension, Supplementation and Modification of Assorted Papers for Foreigners’ on Temporary Residence in Vietnam

For foreigners liable to carry out procedures at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs
1. Foreigners who are guests of the Party Central Committee, the National Assembly, the State President and the Government; guests of equivalent ranks of ministers, vice ministers, presidents and vice presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities; members of foreign representations and their accompanying dependents and servants; guests entering Vietnam to work with foreign representations or to visit representations’ members and wishing to be granted visas or temporary residence certificates or to have their visas supplemented or modified or their temporary residence certificates renewed, the receiving agencies shall:

• If their guests wish to be granted temporary residence certificates or to have their temporary residence certificates renewed, send written requests therefor to the Protocol Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs or Ho Chi Minh City External Affairs Service or other agencies authorized by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
• If their guests wish to be granted visas or to have their visas supplemented or modified, send written requests therefor to the Consular Department or Ho Chi Minh City External Affairs Service.

The consideration and settlement of the above-said requests shall be effected within 5 working days.

2. Members of foreign representations and their accompanying dependents and servants shall be granted temporary residence cards by the Protocol Department, Ho Chi Minh City External Affairs Service or other agencies authorized by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Foreign representations shall send diplomatic notes requesting the temporary residence card granting to one of the said agencies together with the written declarations stuck with photos of card applicants.
After granting temporary residence cards, the card-granting agencies shall, within 5 working days, draw up lists of card grantees accompanied by their personal identifications and photos, then send them to the Exit and Entry Management Department.

3. In cases where foreigners being on temporary residence in Vietnam apply for alteration of their temporary residence purposes to work as members of foreign representations, the foreign representations shall send diplomatic notes together with such persons? applications and passports to the Protocol Department, Ho Chi Minh City External Affairs Service or other agencies authorized by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Each diplomatic note must clearly state: The full name, date of birth, nationality, serial number of passport, occupation, address and temporary residence purpose of the applicant for alteration of temporary residence purpose.
The Protocol Department, Ho Chi Minh City External Affairs Service or other agencies authorized by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall consult in writing with the Exit and Entry Management Department for unanimous settling method. For persons permitted to alter their temporary residence purposes, the Protocol Department, Ho Chi Minh City External Affairs Service or other agencies authorized by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall grant temporary residence cards in conformity with the altered purposes.

(Source: the Joint Circular No.04/2002/TTLT/BCA-BNG of Jan 29 2002 guiding the implementation of the Government’s decree No.21/2001/ND-CP of May 28, 2001 detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on entry, exit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam – Issued by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Public Security)