Vietnamese Police Check for foreign nations

[hktw 7]

Hi all,

I need a Vietnamese police check.

I am not Vietnamese and I am living in Australia.

I don't have any friends or relatives ,who live in Vietnam.

I have contacted Vietnamese Embassy in Australian,

they just said"your friend could apply it for you."

I also don't have a temporary residence card.

So, how can I get a Vietnamese police check from overseas?

And If I can't get it, what happen to my USA visa application?

Sorry, I have too many questions.

Thank you for your advise, I'd appreciate your any reply.

[MyLan 0]

Hi ,

You are not Vietnamese , why do you need a Vietnamese police check ?

How long have you been in Australia ?

[leith@Ievgeniia 8]

if u Australasian citizen you should not need one. or if u do you might have to fly over and just get one

[ScottThuy 140]

Wow,, I am surprised you are being given so much misinformation..

1 Yes you need one if you lived in VN more than 6 months and are immigrating from Astralia to the US...

2 no, another person is not likely to be able to get a police cert for you without a great deal of hoi lo..

return to the embassy and ask to speak to someone else... they can provide it for you there.. it may also take some $...

[S and R 8]

Hi all,

I need a Vietnamese police check.

I am not Vietnamese and I am living in Australia.

I don't have any friends or relatives ,who live in Vietnam.

I have contacted Vietnamese Embassy in Australian,

they just said"your friend could apply it for you."

I also don't have a temporary residence card.

So, how can I get a Vietnamese police check from overseas?

And If I can't get it, what happen to my USA visa application?

Sorry, I have too many questions.

Thank you for your advise, I'd appreciate your any reply.

Not sure about Vietnam but I was in a similar situation regarding a 3rd country (China) where I was an expat. I contacted a lawyer in the city I lived in out of desperation, and they did all the legwork for $120. Try a local legal firm as an option, and be prepare to pay for the service.

[jmhull 2]

Hi all,

I need a Vietnamese police check.

I am not Vietnamese and I am living in Australia.

I don't have any friends or relatives ,who live in Vietnam.

I have contacted Vietnamese Embassy in Australian,

they just said"your friend could apply it for you."

I also don't have a temporary residence card.

So, how can I get a Vietnamese police check from overseas?

And If I can't get it, what happen to my USA visa application?

Sorry, I have too many questions.

Thank you for your advise, I'd appreciate your any reply.

Hi hktw:

I've been helping a friend from Germany get a police certificate for the period he lived in Vietnam. The procedure is that as a foreigner, you can only get the certificate from the Judiciary Office ("Trung tâm Lý lịch Tư pháp", which belongs to the Ministry of Justice in Ha Noi). If you are not in the country, you can authorize someone you know who are (as in my friend's case). You'll need to sign an authorization contract (notary required), then send all the required paperwork (passport and visa that you used when you were in Vietnam), local (residential) police certification that you stayed at certain address in VN, etc. The person you authorized would then need to fill out an application form on your behalf, then submit the full application. Keep in mind that all your documents have to be notarized as original copies, then when in VN they'll need to be translated using certified translation service.

Another important advice to you is that when you get notary for certified copies of your original documents, make sure you have it done at the Vietnamese Embassy of the country where you currently reside. Otherwise, when the notarized documents get to VN, they will need to be re-certified by Cuc Lanh Su (General Consulate Office, Ministry for Foreign Affairs) in order to be legitimate for use in Vietnam.

I heard there are services that can take care of that for you in case you don't have anyone in the country you'd like to authorize. My friend checked and was told the total cost was $700. Things can get extremely complicated when it comes to administrative processes in Vietnam, but the Judiciary Office does not seem to be taking "grease money" though.

[hktw 7]

Hi all,

Thank you very much for responses.

Yes,eight years ago, I worked in Vietnam near two years, that's why I need the police check.

I am thinking of trying a legal firm but I don't know how to find a real one.

And I worry I will get a trap. Because I can't just find one over the Internet.

I also worry about the cost.

It seems reasonable to pay around $100 something. $700 is a lot.

According to USCIS website and Vietnamese Embassy in Australia,

they both said I could apply for a police check from the place I last lived.

It's not in Hanoi. Who is right?

I'm living in Australia because I have dual nationalities.

So, where should I certify my documents, is my home country or Australia?

I used my home country's passport to work in Vietnam.

It's not a problem to certify a photocopy of my passport and my authorisation letter.

If I really have someone to apply it for me.

The big problem is I lost my temporary residence card which was a kind of visa when I lived in Vietnam.

I don't know this" local (residential) police certification that you stayed at certain address in VN. "

Four years ago, I got a Vietnamese friend( I can't contact her now because she resigned

from my former company) who helped me to apply for a police check.

And I spent time and money to certify my all documents and were legitimate for use in Vietnam.

When my friend was back the place I stayed and applied for a local police certification.

The police said my temporary residence card was expired,I couldn't apply. :crying:

And they asked money to make my card valid.Which means they could create a new one for me if I pay them some money (USD$150)

Sorry, this is a long story. Anyway,the final result is I couldn't get it.

Sorry again, I'm still learning English. If you can't understand what I am trying to say.

Please ask me again or give me the second chance to read my post again.

Thank you very much for your help and reply. (L)

[hktw 7]

Hi Jmhull,

I made a little drawing about the steps I should do. ( see the below attachment)

That's I try to understand from your last reply. Am I right?

1.I searched from Vietnamese embassy in Philippines, that provided a instruction and a form for applying for a Vietnamese police check. I think I may use it then I don't need Vietnamese translation? The form is written in Vietnamese and English.

http://www.vietnamembassy-philippines.org/en/nr070521170031/nr100418081512

2. So,I need to prepare two certified copies of my documents? As you said, I should get a local police certification before the Judiciary Office,right?

Thank you very much for your help and information.

Ok, I stop from now. sigh....a big headache

[jmhull 2]

Hi Jmhull,

I made a little drawing about the steps I should do. ( see the below attachment)

That's I try to understand from your last reply. Am I right?

1.I searched from Vietnamese embassy in Philippines, that provided a instruction and a form for applying for a Vietnamese police check. I think I may use it then I don't need Vietnamese translation? The form is written in Vietnamese and English.

http://www.vietnamembassy-philippines.org/en/nr070521170031/nr100418081512

2. So,I need to prepare two certified copies of my documents? As you said, I should get a local police certification before the Judiciary Office,right?

Thank you very much for your help and information.

Ok, I stop from now. sigh....a big headache

Sorry for the delayed response. So basically the instructions that you found on the Vietnamese Embassy to the Philippines are quite clear and correct, except that they are not updated enough. So let’s go through a couple of main issues as per the questions you raised …

1) Where to apply?

USCIS website only provides general information on police record application, a process that is usually very much country specific; Vienamese Embassies abroad are known for providing outdated and (sometimes) unclear information (at least from what I experienced).

So according to the latest Vietnamese gov. regulations, a foreign national who is currently living in Vietnam can apply for a police record at the Department of Justice of the city/province where (s)he CURRENTLY resides; A foreign national who is currently NOT residing in Vietnam (and who used to live and work in the country) HAS to apply at the National Police Record Center (Trung tam Ly lich Tu phap Quoc gia), which is under the Ministry of Justice, and based in Ha Noi. This Center wasn't established until 2010. Before 2010, seems like one could apply at the Department of Justice of the city/province of past residence.

2) Who can apply?

As it was specified in the instruction you mentioned, there are two options:

Option 1: You have to apply IN PERSON at the office (after filling out and signing the application form);

Option 2: You can authorize another person (could be anyone you can trust, or a legal service) to apply (who will fill out and sign the application form on your behalf);

3) Which passport to use (in case of dual nationality)?

You have to submit the passport that you used during your time in Vietnam (and you said you used your home country's passport to work in Vietnam) for this application (because that is what they have on file in their system for you), if that passport is still valid. In case if your stay in the country was from a long time ago, and that passport has expired, then you’ll have to submit both your old passport, and your current valid passport.

4) How about other documents?

4.1. The local (residential) police certification of your past stay VN, that I mentioned in the earlier post, is actually the “Certified copies of Temporary Registration Book or certified copy of Certificate of Temporary Residence issued by the Sub-district Police where the applicant used to reside”, as in the Instructions of the Embassy. If you don’t have the registration book, simply get a paper certified by the district police of your past residence in Vietnam, which says that you lived at that address in their district during that time (be specific). To get that paper, you’ll need to have someone go to the district police office and ask for it.

The police however, will only issue you such paper if you did register your residence with them during your stay in their district.

4.2. Your temporary residence card and that the police asked you to pay “to make it valid” – not sure I understand what you mean here. Why would you need to renew your temporary residence card unless you want to continue your stay in Vietnam?

To apply for a police record, you only need to submit your old (expired or not) residence card (if you have one, lots of people don’t and they only stayed on their work visa, etc.). No need to renew the card just for this purpose. Make sure you understand what the exact requirements are.

5) Where to certify your documents?

If you authorize someone else to do the paperwork for you, then you’ll need to send that person all certified copies of your documents (passport, visas, authorization contract, etc.). As I mentioned in my post last time, in order for those certification to be legitimate for Vietnamese authorities, you’ll have to have them certified at the Vietnamese Embassy of the country where you currently live, no matter which country that is. The Vietnamese Embassy in Australia will be willing to certify the passport of your home country (non-Australian), because that paperwork will be used in Vietnam. If you want to be really sure (because Vietnamese Embassies are really unpredictable), then call them ahead of time and double check if they do that.

As I said before, if you don’t have your paperwork certified by Vietnamese Embassies, but rather by Australian authorities, or Embassy of your home country in Australia, then when in Vietnam, they will have to be “re-certified” by the Embassy of that country in Vietnam (the country whose authorities certified your paperwork), then “legalized” for use in Vietnam by the General Consulate (Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Vietnam) in Ha Noi. In order to avoid that horrible headache (which I couldn’t), have all your paperwork certified at the Vietnamese Embassy in the country where you now live.

6) Which application form to use?

If you authorize someone else to do the application on your behalf, that person will have to fill out a different form (they have another form for cases of authorization).

Two sets of documents should be submitted (one original and one copied). If you don’t have anyone in Vietnam you can trust to work on this process for you, then I would advice seeking for services from legal companies. $700 for this is a rip off but I’m sure you can find a much more reasonable price (with my friend we didn’t research this further).

I hope the picture is a bit clearer now, and good luck with what's ahead of you!

[hktw 7]

Sorry for the delayed response. So basically the instructions that you found on the Vietnamese Embassy to the Philippines are quite clear and correct, except that they are not updated enough. So let’s go through a couple of main issues as per the questions you raised …

1) Where to apply?

USCIS website only provides general information on police record application, a process that is usually very much country specific; Vienamese Embassies abroad are known for providing outdated and (sometimes) unclear information (at least from what I experienced).

So according to the latest Vietnamese gov. regulations, a foreign national who is currently living in Vietnam can apply for a police record at the Department of Justice of the city/province where (s)he CURRENTLY resides; A foreign national who is currently NOT residing in Vietnam (and who used to live and work in the country) HAS to apply at the National Police Record Center (Trung tam Ly lich Tu phap Quoc gia), which is under the Ministry of Justice, and based in Ha Noi. This Center wasn't established until 2010. Before 2010, seems like one could apply at the Department of Justice of the city/province of past residence.

2) Who can apply?

As it was specified in the instruction you mentioned, there are two options:

Option 1: You have to apply IN PERSON at the office (after filling out and signing the application form);

Option 2: You can authorize another person (could be anyone you can trust, or a legal service) to apply (who will fill out and sign the application form on your behalf);

3) Which passport to use (in case of dual nationality)?

You have to submit the passport that you used during your time in Vietnam (and you said you used your home country's passport to work in Vietnam) for this application (because that is what they have on file in their system for you), if that passport is still valid. In case if your stay in the country was from a long time ago, and that passport has expired, then you’ll have to submit both your old passport, and your current valid passport.

4) How about other documents?

4.1. The local (residential) police certification of your past stay VN, that I mentioned in the earlier post, is actually the “Certified copies of Temporary Registration Book or certified copy of Certificate of Temporary Residence issued by the Sub-district Police where the applicant used to reside”, as in the Instructions of the Embassy. If you don’t have the registration book, simply get a paper certified by the district police of your past residence in Vietnam, which says that you lived at that address in their district during that time (be specific). To get that paper, you’ll need to have someone go to the district police office and ask for it.

The police however, will only issue you such paper if you did register your residence with them during your stay in their district.

4.2. Your temporary residence card and that the police asked you to pay “to make it valid” – not sure I understand what you mean here. Why would you need to renew your temporary residence card unless you want to continue your stay in Vietnam?

To apply for a police record, you only need to submit your old (expired or not) residence card (if you have one, lots of people don’t and they only stayed on their work visa, etc.). No need to renew the card just for this purpose. Make sure you understand what the exact requirements are.

5) Where to certify your documents?

If you authorize someone else to do the paperwork for you, then you’ll need to send that person all certified copies of your documents (passport, visas, authorization contract, etc.). As I mentioned in my post last time, in order for those certification to be legitimate for Vietnamese authorities, you’ll have to have them certified at the Vietnamese Embassy of the country where you currently live, no matter which country that is. The Vietnamese Embassy in Australia will be willing to certify the passport of your home country (non-Australian), because that paperwork will be used in Vietnam. If you want to be really sure (because Vietnamese Embassies are really unpredictable), then call them ahead of time and double check if they do that.

As I said before, if you don’t have your paperwork certified by Vietnamese Embassies, but rather by Australian authorities, or Embassy of your home country in Australia, then when in Vietnam, they will have to be “re-certified” by the Embassy of that country in Vietnam (the country whose authorities certified your paperwork), then “legalized” for use in Vietnam by the General Consulate (Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Vietnam) in Ha Noi. In order to avoid that horrible headache (which I couldn’t), have all your paperwork certified at the Vietnamese Embassy in the country where you now live.

6) Which application form to use?

If you authorize someone else to do the application on your behalf, that person will have to fill out a different form (they have another form for cases of authorization).

Two sets of documents should be submitted (one original and one copied). If you don’t have anyone in Vietnam you can trust to work on this process for you, then I would advice seeking for services from legal companies. $700 for this is a rip off but I’m sure you can find a much more reasonable price (with my friend we didn’t research this further).

I hope the picture is a bit clearer now, and good luck with what's ahead of you!

Really thank you for your reply. Thank you very much !

4.2. Your temporary residence card and that the police asked you to pay “to make it valid” – not sure I understand what you mean here. Why would you need to renew your temporary residence card unless you want to continue your stay in Vietnam?

I think maybe the local police wanted" some money", so they told my friend must pay for it. If not, they couldn't proceed my application. And my friend also told me that they would take at least 45 days to do my case, if I didn't pay another extra money. So, the procedure was some money + extra money +application fee then I could receive what I wanted.

Well, I think that's another problem=> "The local (residential) police certification of your past stay VN",

As I mentioned above,the local police made everything difficult and complicated to my case. They pushed me to pay for any they asked, not only the application fee.

So, it will cost me a lot to apply for it in person. And I don't know how long I could complete all processes.

Last time, I did certify all my documents at Foreign Affairs and International Trade of my home country and the Vietnamese embassy in my home country. Then when everything was ready used in Vietnam. They required my friend to do more certified at the embassy of my country in Vietnam.

Again,thank you very much. That's really clear and I understand well now.

I think even if I find a legal firm, still need to pay a lot.

Because where I used to live was two hours driving away from HCM city.

Then it needs someone to fly to Hanoi.

I don't think 100 or 200 USD could cover it.

Anyway, still thank you for your efforts to explain the procedure to me.

(L) (L) (F) (F)

[Dan Nguyen 3]

Hi all,

I need a Vietnamese police check.

I am not Vietnamese and I am living in Australia.

I don't have any friends or relatives ,who live in Vietnam.

I have contacted Vietnamese Embassy in Australian,

they just said"your friend could apply it for you."

I also don't have a temporary residence card.

So, how can I get a Vietnamese police check from overseas?

And If I can't get it, what happen to my USA visa application?

Sorry, I have too many questions.

Thank you for your advise, I'd appreciate your any reply.

Try the local police station of where ever you lived. Didn't you have to fill out some type of temporary registration of stay every three months while you were there? Ifthat doesn't work, try the So Tu Phap office.

If you try to get someone there to do it for you, be prepare to pay out some cash.

Edited June 2, 2012 by h_nguyen