Circular No. 32/2012/TT-BYT dated December 24, 2012 of the Ministry of Health providing health declaration by persons on entry, exit or transit through Vietnamese border gates

THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH

Circular No. 32/2012/TT-BYT of December 24, 2012, providing health declaration by persons on entry, exit or transit through Vietnamese border gates

Pursuant to Law No. 03/2007/QH12 on Contagious Disease Prevention and Control;

Pursuant to Article 3 of the Government’s Decree No. 103/2010/ND-CP of October 1, 2010, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Contagious Disease Prevention and Control regarding the border medical quarantine;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 63/2012/ND-CP of August 31, 2012, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;

At the proposal of the Director of the Preventive Medicine Department;

The Minister of Health promulgates the Circular providing for health declaration by persons on entry, exit or transit through Vietnamese border gates.

Article 1. Conditions for announcing time for starting, restricting or terminating the application of health declaration

1. The announcement of time for starting the application of health declaration must satisfy either or both of the following conditions:

a/ A competent state management agency’s decision to pronounce a contagious epidemic or disease;

b/ The Ministry of Health’s written notice of occurrence of a contagious epidemic or disease overseas or appearance of a factor threatening to affect public health.

2. The restricted application of health declaration is effected in case a contagious epidemic, disease or factor threatening to affect public health still exists but is placed under control in extent or affected subjects. The announcement of time for restricted application of health declaration must be based on the Ministry of Health’s written notice that the contagious epidemic, disease or factor threatening to affect public health has been controlled.

3. The announcement of time for termination of the application of health declaration must satisfy either or both of the following conditions:

a/ A competent state management agency’s decision to pronounce that a contagious epidemic or disease is over;

b/ The Ministry of Health’s written notice that a contagious epidemic or disease occurring overseas or a factor threatening to affect public health has been eliminated.

Article 2. Contents of a written announcement of the time for starting, restricting or terminating the application of health declaration

1. Contents of a written announcement of time for starting the application of health declaration:

a/ Name of the contagious disease or factor threatening to affect public health requiring the application of health declaration;

b/ Subjects liable to health declaration;

c/ Time for starting the application of health declaration.

2. Contents of a written announcement of the time for restricted application of health declaration:

a/ Name of the contagious disease or factor threatening to affect public health, which has been controlled but still requires restricted health declaration;

b/ Subjects liable to further health declaration;

c/ Subjects exempt from health declaration;

d/ Time for restricted application of health declaration.

3. Contents of a written announcement of the time for termination of application of health declaration:

a/ Name of the contagious disease or factor threatening to affect public health, which requires the termination of application of health declaration;

b/ Time for termination of application of health declaration.

Article 3. Contents of health declaration

1. The health-declaration section covers:

a/ Full name, year of birth, sex and nationality of the person on entry, exit or transit (referred to as health declarant);

b/ Serial number of the passport or laissez-passer or border pass or border identity card;

c/ Name of the province, city or territory or country of departure to the Vietnamese border gate;

d/ Previous place of arrival before arriving at the Vietnamese border gate within 7 days;

e/ Contact address, telephone number in Vietnam or an e-mail address, if any;

f/ List of vaccines or medical biologicals already used;

g/ Questions about signs of the disease within 7 days;

h/ Date of health declaration;

i/ Signature of the health declarant.

2. The instruction section of the health declaration covers:

a/ Full name of the health declarant;

b/ Name of the province, city or territory or country of departure to the Vietnamese border gate;

c/ Certification by the medical quarantine officer.

3. A health declaration must be written bilingually, including the following:

a/ Vietnamese and English;

b/ Vietnamese and Chinese;

c/ Vietnamese and Cambodian; or,

d/ Vietnamese and Lao.

4. Contents of health declaration by the subjects defined at Point b, Clause 1 and Point b, Clause 2, Article 2 of this Circular are valid for single entry, exit or transit.

5. The health declaration form is provided in the Appendix to this Circular (not translated).

Article 4.  Making of health declaration

1. Receipt of the health declaration form:

a/ Receipt of health declaration forms on board aircraft or vessels, at maritime agents or tourist companies or from tourist guides at home and abroad;

b/ Receipt of health declaration forms in areas for health declaration at Vietnamese border gates;

c/ Receipt of health declaration forms at border gates of countries of departure;

d/ Access to the website of the Preventive Medicine Department of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health at http://ytdp.cimsi.org.vn, entering the border medical quarantine section to get the health declaration form.

2. To make health declaration by filling in health declaration forms when arriving at Vietnamese border gates to carry out the entry, exit or transit procedures or within 7 days before the date of arrival.

3.  Submission of health declaration forms to border-gate medical quarantine officers.

Article 5. Examination of health declaration

1. Border-gate medical quarantine officers shall examine health declaration contents and affix stamps for certification of examination before the health declarants carry out the entry, exit or transit procedures. If they detect that the health declaration forms have been erased or improperly filled in, they shall request declarants to make the health declaration again.

2. When carrying out the entry, exit or transit procedures, the entry and exit inspection and control forces at border gates shall check the certification by medical quarantine offices in the instruction section reserved for health declarants.

In case health declarants are subjects specified at Point b, Clause 1 and Point b, Clause 2, Article 2 but there is no certification stamp of medical quarantine officers, the entry and exit inspection and control forces shall request such persons to complete the health declaration before their entry into, exit from or transit in, Vietnam.

Article 6. Implementation responsibility

1. The Director of the Preventive Medicine Department shall:

a/ Announce the time for starting, restricting or terminating the application of health declaration, based on the conditions specified in Article 1 of this Circular;

b/ Publish health declaration form on the website of the Preventive Medicine Department of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health at http://ytdp.cimsi.org.vn;

c/ Disseminate, guide and inspect the implementation of this Circular nationwide;

d/ Annually organize preliminary and final review of the implementation of this Circular nationwide.

2. Directors of provincial-level Health Departments in localities where exist border gates shall:

a/ Disseminate, guide and inspect the implementation of this Circular in areas under their respective management.

b/ Annually organize the preliminary and final review of the implementation of this Circular in areas under their respective management and report  implementation results to the Ministry of Health (the Preventive Medicine Department).

3. Border medical quarantine organizations shall:

a/ Notify the time for starting, restricting or terminating the application of health declaration to other specialized state management bodies at border gates upon receiving notices of the Preventive Medicine Department of the Ministry of Health;

b/ Publicly post up the time for starting, restricting or terminating the application of health declaration at border-gate areas; at the same time guide the health declarants to make health declaration;

c/ Print, manage, guide and distribute free of charge the health declaration forms to all health declarants;

d/ Preserve filled health declaration forms of health declarants for one month and destroy them in accordance with law.

4. Border-gate medical quarantine officers shall:

a/ Propagate and guide health declarants to make health declaration in accordance with this Circular;

b/ Receive and examine filled health declaration forms and affix a certification stamp in the instruction section reserved for health declarants;

c/ Coordinate with the entry and exit inspection and control force at border gates in detecting and handling cases of failure to make health declaration.

5. Health declarants shall:

a/ Make health declaration by filling in the health declaration forms and take responsibility for health declaration contents;

b/ Refrain from forging and using forged health declaration forms.

Article 7. Effect

This Circular takes effect on February 1, 2013.

Article 8. Implementation responsibility

The Director of the Ministry Office, the Director of the Preventive Medicine Department, directors of Departments and Bureaus, general directors of General Departments, heads of agencies or units attached to the Ministry of Health, directors of provincial-level Health Departments and heads of health offices of ministries and sectors shall implement this Circular.

Any problems arising in the course of implementation should be reported to the Ministry of Health (the Preventive Medicine Department) for consideration and settlement.-

For the Minister of Health
Deputy Minister
NGUYEN THANH LONG