PROCEDURES FOR APPLYING FOR CRIMINAL RECORD CERTIFICATE FOR FOREIGNERS IN VIETNAM
The article is written by Paralegal Phan Thi Thanh An, Ha Noi legal department - currently pursuing studies in the field of Law at Ha Noi Law University.
Criminal record certificate is one of vital documents in carrying out administrative procedures in Vietnam. Especially for foreigners, the Criminal record certificate is a mandatory condition to apply for a Vietnam work permit certificate or completing marriage procedures, etc. to prove the criminal background of a foreigner during his stay in Vietnam. Within this newsletter, Dai Ha Thanh Law firm provides necessary information about procedures for applying for the Criminal record certificate for foreigners in Vietnam.
1. What is the criminal record certificate?
Prior to researching what a criminal record certificate is, we need to find out what a criminal record is. According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 2 of the Law on Criminal Record in 2009, criminal record is the information of the criminal record of a person convicted by a criminal judgment or decision of the Court that has come into legal effect, the status of execution of the judgment, and the prohibition of individuals from holding positions, establishing and managing an enterprises and cooperative declared bankrupt by the Court.
A Criminal record certificate is a certificate issued by the criminal record database management agency that has the value of proving whether or not an individual has a previous criminal conviction; prohibited or not prohibited from holding positions, establishing and managing enterprises and cooperatives declared bankrupt by the Court (Clause 4, Article 2, Law on Criminal record in 2009).
2. Contents of the Criminal record certificate
There are two types of Criminal record certificates that are Criminal record certificate No. 1 and Criminal record certificate No. 2. Criminal record certificate No. 1 provides information about the requester's criminal record at the time of issuance, while criminal record certificate No. 2 provides the entire content of the requester’s criminal record during his stay in Vietnam. Only the requester himself or the competent authorities have the right to request the issuance of criminal record certificate No. 2, authorization is not allowed. The above regulations are intended to ensure confidential information and respect personal privacy, especially of individuals who have been convicted. There are some differences between two types of certificate as follows:
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Due to the differences in content, these two types of certificate are used for different purposes. Criminal record certificate No. 1 is used in case of applying for a work permit and supplementing personal documents at businesses; criminal record certificate No. 2 is mainly used in litigation activities, foreigners registering marriage with Vietnamese citizens, applying for Vietnamese citizenship, etc.
3. Procedures for applying for Criminal record certificate for foreigners
Procedures for applying for the Criminal record certificate for foreigners according to Article 45 and Article 46 of the Law on criminal record in 2009:
- Step 1: Prepare the application (01 set)
- 01 Declaration form No. 03/2013/TT-LLTP is used in case of submitting the application in person or Declaration form No. 04/2013/TT-LLTP is used in case of authorizing a request to be issued Criminal record certificate No. 1 or the applicant is a parent of a person under 18 years old requesting a Criminal record certificate No. 2;
- Copy of passport or ID card;
- Copy of temporary residence certificate or permanent residence card;
- Notarized and authenticated authorization document (if any). In case the applicant for a Criminal record certificate is a parent, spouse and child of the person who is issued with certificate, no power of attorney is required.
Note: The individual requesting to be issued the Criminal record certificate No. 2 must not authorize another person to carry out procedures unless the authorized person is a parent of a person under 18 years old.
- Step 2: Submit the application
The applicant can submit the documents in person, via the internet or via postal service. According to Article 44 Law on Criminal record in 2009, foreigners apply documents at the following competent authorities:
- Foreigners who resided in Vietnam submit applications to the National Center for criminal record.
- Foreigners residing in Vietnam submit applications to the Department of Justice where they are residing.
The fee is 200,000 VND. In case the applicant requests to issue more than 2 copies at a time, from the 3rd copy onwards, the additional cost is 5,000 VND/copy.
- Step 3: Examine the application and return the result
Within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the valid application, the competent authority shall issue the Criminal record certificate to the applicant. In case of rejection, the competent authority shall send the applicant a written notice in which reasons for rejections shall be specified.
Stateless people residing in Vietnam are a part of the foreigners, so they have the right to request a criminal record certificate according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 7 of Law on Criminal Record in 2009. However, in fact, these individuals cannot request a criminal record certificate due to not having enough required documents, which are copies of passport or ID card. Current law does not accept other documents that are valid for international travel or proof of identity.
Above are information about procedures for applying for the Criminal record certificate for foreigners in Vietnam. Dai Ha Thanh Law firm, with a team of professionally trained domestic and foreign lawyers and legal advisors, is committed to providing professional legal services to our customers. If you need detailed advice, please contact us to receive professional and effective legal consulting services.
