Decree 196/2025/ND-CP amending Decree 111/2011/ND-CP on consular certification

DECREE

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 111/2011/ND-CP of December 5, 2011, on consular certification and legalization^[1]

Pursuant to the February 18, 2025 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the June 18, 2009 Law on Overseas Representative Missions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; and the November 21, 2017 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Overseas Representative Missions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

At the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs;

The Government promulgates the Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 111/2011/ND-CP of December 5, 2011, on consular certification and legalization.

Article 1. To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 111/2011/ND-CP of December 5, 2011, on consular certification and legalization

1. To add Clause 3 to Article 2 as follows:

“3. “Electronic copies of papers and documents” means electronic documents issued, formulated or promulgated by an agency or organization in accordance with the law on clerical work or electronic administrative procedure settlement results by a competent agency in accordance with the law on administrative procedure settlement in the electronic environment or an electronic notarial document in accordance with the law on notarization or other types of papers and documents presented or created in the form of electronic data bearing electronic signatures of competent agencies, organizations or persons as prescribed by law.”

2. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 4 as follows:

“1. Vietnam’s papers and documents shall be consularly certified at the request or proposal of individuals or organizations.”

3. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2, Article 5 as follows:

“1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is competent to carry out consular certification and legalization in the country and shall delegate the competence to carry out consular certification and legalization to domestic agencies in accordance with law (below referred to domestic competent agencies).

2.  Overseas Vietnamese diplomatic missions, consulates or other agencies assigned to perform Vietnam’s consular function overseas (below referred to as representative missions) are competent to carry out consular certification and legalization overseas.”

4. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 6 as follows:

“2. Agencies, organizations and individuals shall opt to submit dossiers to agencies competent to carry out consular certification and legalization in person or  by post or online under Article 15a of this Decree.”

5. To amend and supplement Article 7 as follows:

“Article 7. Languages and places of consular certification and legalization

1. The languages used for consular certification and legalization are:

a/ Vietnamese and English at domestic competent agencies;

b/ Vietnamese and English at representative missions. Representative missions may use the official language of the country where the papers and documents concerned are used in lieu of English.

2. Places of consular certification and legalization are head offices of domestic competent agencies and representative missions.”

6. To amend and supplement Article 8 as follows:

“Article 8. Consular certification and legalization expenses

1. Those who apply for consular certification or legalization shall pay a fee as prescribed by the law on charges and fees at the time of dossier submission.

2. In case of submitting dossiers and receiving dossier processing results by post, applicants shall also pay postal charges.”

7. To amend and supplement Article 9 as follows:

“Article 9. Papers and documents exempted from consular legalization

1. Papers and documents exempted from consular legalization under treaties to which both Vietnam and foreign countries concerned are contracting parties, or on the reciprocity principle.

2. Papers and documents delivered directly or via diplomatic channel between competent Vietnamese agencies and foreign authorities.

3. Papers and documents exempted from consular legalization under Vietnam’s laws.

4. Foreign papers and documents for which Vietnam’s competent state agencies do not require consular legalization as these agencies can themselves determine the authenticity of such papers and documents.”

8. To amend and supplement Article 10 as follows:

“Article 10. Papers and documents ineligible for consular certification or legalization

1. Papers and documents containing modifications or erasures without proper correction as required by law.

2. Papers and documents that are forged as concluded by competent agencies, that are made, issued or certified at variance with law or ultra vires or that are found to be fraudulent based on the reply or verification results from the formulating, issuing or certifying agencies or their superior state management agencies.

3. Non-electronic papers and documents bearing non-original signatures or stamps,  unless they satisfy requirements specified by relevant laws.

4. Papers and documents containing contents that infringe upon the interests of the Vietnamese State.

5. Electronic copies of papers and documents that do not bear digital signatures of competent agencies or persons or fail to ensure data integrity, authenticity and non-repudiation in accordance with regulations on electronic transactions, digital signatures and e-documents.”

9. To add Article 10a below Article 10 as follows:

“Article 10a. Return of dossiers in case of unsuccessful verification

1. Past 15 days after sending a written request for verification, if receiving no reply, the competent consular certification and legalization agency shall urge the requested agency. Past 30 days after sending a written request for verification as specified in Clause 6, Article 11; Clause 4, Article 13; Clause 5, Article 14; Clause 5, Article 15; and Point d, Clause 3, Article 15a, of this Decree, if receiving no reply, the competent consular certification and legalization agency shall inform the applicant about the verification process and return the dossier.

If the competent consular certification and legalization agency receives a reply after the time limit specified in Clause 1 of this Article has expired and the dossier has been returned to the applicant, it shall notify thereof to the applicant for re-submission of the dossier as specified in Chapter II of this Decree.”

10. To amend and supplement the title of Section 1, Chapter II as follows:

“Section 1

ORDER AND PROCEDURES FOR CONSULAR CERTIFICATION IN PERSON OR BY POST”

11. To amend the title of Article 11, amend and supplement Points b, c and d of Clause 1, and Clauses 4 and 5, Article 11, as follows:

a/ To amend the title of Article 11 as follows:

“Article 11. Order and procedures for consular certification at domestic competent agencies”

b/ To amend and supplement Points b, c and d, Clause 1, Article 11 as follows:

“b/ In case of submitting the dossier in person: To produce the applicant’s valid citizen identity card/identity card/identity certificate or passport/immigration paper/international travel document or a copy thereof or to produce the electronic identity card;

c/ In case of submitting the dossier by post: To submit a copy of the applicant’s valid citizen identity card/identity card/identity certificate or passport/immigration paper/international travel document. Copies of the documents mentioned in this Clause are copies of the originals and do not need to be certified;

d/ The papers and documents requested for consular certification, enclosed with one copy each for storage at domestic competent agencies for archival purposes.”

c/ To amend and supplement Clauses 4 and 5, Article 11 as follows:

“4. Consular certification mentioned in Clause 3 of this Article is applicable to papers and documents issued, notarized, authenticated or certified by competent Party and State agencies and organizations and other organizations decentralized or authorized to perform public services.

5. The time limit for settlement is 1 working day after the date of receiving a complete and valid dossier, for dossiers comprising between 1 paper and 4 papers and documents, or 2 working days, for dossiers comprising between 5 and 9 papers and documents. For dossiers comprising 10 or more papers and documents, the time limit for settlement may be longer but must not exceed 4 working days.”

12. To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 12 as follows:

“3. Dossiers, procedures and time limit for settlement must comply with Clauses 1, 2 and 5, Article 11 of this Decree. For the case specified in Clause 1, Article 10a of this Decree, if the applicant has submitted the dossier as specified in Article 11 of this Decree and requests the performance of procedures for certifying the presentation of documents, he/she shall not be required to re-submit the dossier.”

13. To amend the title of Article 13 and amend and supplement Points b, c and d, Clause 1, and Clauses 2 and 4, Article 13 as follows:

a/ To amend the title of Article 13 as follows:

“Article 13. Order and procedures for consular certification at representative missions”

b/ To amend and supplement Points b, c and d, Clause 1, Article 13 as follows:

“b/ In case of submitting the dossier in person: To produce the applicant’s valid citizen identity card/identity card/identity certificate or passport/immigration paper/international travel document or a copy thereof or to produce electronic identity card or another personal identification paper as prescribed by the host country’s law;

c/ In case of submitting the dossier by post: To submit a copy of the applicant’s valid citizen’s identity card/identity card/identity certificate or passport/immigration paper/international travel document or another personal identification paper as prescribed by the host country’s law. Copies of the documents mentioned in this Clause are copies of the originals and do not need to be certified;

d/ Papers and documents requested for consular certification, which have been certified by a domestic competent agency under Article 11 of this Decree, or papers and documents formulated, issued or certified by the Vietnamese representative mission in another country, enclosed with one copy each for storage at the representative mission for archival purposes.”

c/ To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 13 as follows:

“2. A representative mission shall carry out consular certification on the basis of comparing the stamp, signature and title in the consular certification of the domestic competent agency, or the stamp, signature and title in the consular certification of Vietnamese representative mission in another country on papers and documents against the specimens notified by Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs or based on the verification results as specified in Clause 4 of this Article.”

d/ To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 13 as follows:

“4. When necessary to check the authenticity of the stamp, signature and title on a paper or document requested for consular certification, after receiving the dossier, the representative mission shall make a written request to the concerned domestic competent agency or the representative mission in the concerned country for verification. Within 2 working days after receiving such request, the requested agency shall issue a written reply to the representative mission. After receiving the reply, the representative mission shall settle and notify results to the applicant for consular certification.”

14. To amend and supplement the title of Section 2, Chapter II as follows:

“Section 2

ORDER AND PROCEDURES FOR CONSULAR LEGALIZATION IN PERSON OR BY POST”

15. To amend the title of Article 14 and amend and supplement Points b, c, d and e of Clause 1, and Clause 3, Article 14 as follows:

a/ To amend the title of Article 14 as follows:

“Article 14. Order and procedures for consular legalization at domestic competent agencies “

b/ To amend and supplement Points b, c and d, Clause 1, Article 14 as follows:

“b/ In case of submitting the dossier in person: To produce the applicant’s valid citizen’s identity card/identity card/identity certificate or passport/immigration paper/international travel document or a copy thereof or to produce the electronic identity card;

c/ In case of submitting the dossier by post: To submit a copy of the applicant’s valid citizen identity card/identity card/identity certificate or passport/immigration paper/international travel document. Copies of the documents mentioned in this Clause are copies of the originals and do not need to be certified;

d/ Papers and documents requested for consular legalization, which have been certified by foreign diplomatic representative mission, consulate or another foreign agency authorized to perform the consular function;”

c/ To amend and supplement Point e, Clause 1, Article 14 as follows:

“e/ One of each of the papers and documents mentioned at Points d above for storage at domestic competent agencies for archival purposes.”

d/ To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 14 as follows:

“3. The domestic competent agency shall carry out consular legalization on the basis of comparing the stamp, signature and title in the certifications of the competent foreign agency on papers and documents with their specimens officially notified by the country concerned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

16. To amend and supplement Points b, c, d and e, Clause 1, and Clause 3, Article 15 as follows:

a/ To amend and supplement Points b, c and d, Clause 1, Article 15 as follows:

“b/ In case of submitting the dossier in person: To produce the applicant’s valid citizen identity card/identity card/identity certificate or passport/immigration paper/international travel document or a copy thereof or to produce the electronic identity card or another personal identification paper as prescribed by the host country’s law;

c/ In case of submitting the dossier by post: To submit a copy of the applicant’s valid citizen’s identity card/identity card/identity certificate or passport/immigration paper/international travel document or another personal identification paper as prescribed by the host country’s law. Copies of the documents mentioned in this Clause are copies of the originals and do not need to be certified;

d/ Papers and documents requested for consular legalization, which have been certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or another competent agency of a foreign country or the representative mission of a foreign country where the overseas Vietnamese representative mission is based or in charge;”

b/ To amend and supplement Point e, Clause 1, Article 15 as follows:

“e/ A copy of each of the papers and documents mentioned at Point d for storage at representative mission for archival purposes.”

c/ To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 15 as follows:

“3. The representative mission shall carry out consular legalization on the basis of comparing the stamp, signature and title in the certification of the competent foreign agency with their specimens officially notified to the representative mission.”

17. To add Section 2a below Section 2, Chapter II and add Article 15a below Article 15 as follows:

a/ To add Section 2a below Section 2, Chapter II as follows:

“Section 2a

ORDER AND PROCEDURES FOR ELECTRONIC CONSULAR CERTIFICATION AND LEGALIZATION”

b/ To add Article 15a below Article 15 as follows:

“Article 15a. Receipt and settlement of requests for consular certification and legalization in the electronic environment

1. An applicant for consular certification and legalization shall submit the dossier online as follows:

a/ Logging into his/her account on the National Public Service Portal using his/her electronic identification account in accordance with the law on electronic identification and authentication; providing information using the interactive electronic form and uploading electronic copies of the papers and documents requested for consular certification or legalization.

b/ For dossiers of request for consular legalization, the applicant shall also upload electronic copies of the Vietnamese or English translations of the papers and documents requested for consular legalization, if such papers and documents are not made in Vietnamese or English.

2. After submitting the dossier, the applicant shall be issued an administrative procedure dossier code to track the dossier processing progress or to access to complete the dossier when so requested by the competent consular certification and legalization agency. The applicant shall preserve and keep the administrative procedure dossier code confidential.

3. On the same working day, after receiving an online dossier of request for consular certification or legalization, the competent consular certification and legalization agency shall check the accuracy and completeness of the dossier.

a/ If the dossier is incomplete or invalid, the agency shall request the applicant to supplement and complete the necessary papers, using the form of request for dossier supplementation and completion;

b/ If the dossier is complete as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article and does not fall into the cases specified in Articles 9 and 10 of this Decree, the agency shall immediately send a fee payment notice to the applicant via email or mobile message services or through the message sending function of the National Public Service Portal;

c/ The dossier shall be officially accepted for processing and a dossier receipt and result notification appointment shall be issued by the method specified at Point b of this Clause only after it has been supplemented and become complete and valid and the applicant has paid the required fee.

The time limit for settlement must comply with Clause 5, Article 11 of this Decree and shall be counted from the time of a dossier receipt and result notification appointment or a result notification appointment text message is sent to the applicant.

d/ If electronic copies of papers and documents fall into the cases as specified in Articles 9 and 10 of this Decree, the dossier-receiving agency shall refuse to accept the dossier and issue a written reply clearly stating the reason, using the rejection notice form, and send it to the applicant by the method specified at Point b of this Clause.

dd/ For cases requiring inspection and verification or for other reasons, making it impossible to return the dossier processing result by the scheduled date, the dossier-receiving agency shall issue an apology letter rescheduling the appointment for result notification and send it to the applicant using the method specified at Point b of this Clause. The agency shall conduct the verification according to the corresponding procedures specified in Clause 6, Article 11; Clause 4, Article 13; Clause 5, Article 14; and Clause 5, Article 15, of this Decree.

4. Consular certification and legalization of the electronic copy of a paper or document shall be carried out based on:

a/ Examination of the authentication of the electronic signature of the Vietnam’s competent agency or organization on the electronic copy in accordance with the law on electronic transactions, digital signatures and digital certificates; or,

b/ Examination of the authentication of the electronic signature of the diplomatic mission, consulate or another agency authorized to perform the consular function of the concerned foreign country in Vietnam, which has been officially notified and introduced through diplomatic channel on the electronic copy, for cases of requesting  for consular legalization at a domestic competent agency; or examination of the authentication of the electronic signature of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or another competent agency of the concerned foreign country where the overseas Vietnamese representative mission is based or in charge, which has been officially notified and introduced through diplomatic channel on the electronic copy, for cases of requesting consular legalization at an overseas representative agency; or,

c/ The verification results from Vietnam’s competent agency or organization affirming the authentication of the digital signature on the electronic copy; or the reply of a competent foreign authority affirming the authentication of the digital signature on the electronic copy.

5. The applicant for consular certification and legalization of a paper or document on the electronic environment shall receive an electronic copy of the paper or document bearing the electronic consular certification stamp and digital signature of the competent consular certification and legalization agency, sent via email or to its/his/her electronic data storage or to a digital device by using a suitable data transmission method, ensuring information security and confidentiality.

6. The affixing of digital signatures of competent consular certification and legalization agencies or persons must comply with the law on official specialized digital signatures.

7. The forms for dossier receipt and result notification appointment, request for dossier supplementation and completion, dossier rejection letter, and apology letter rescheduling result notification appointment must comply with the law on implementation of the single-window and inter-agency single-window mechanisms in settlement of administrative procedures.”

18. To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 3, and Clause 4, Article 17 and add Clause 5 below Clause 4, Article 17 as follows:

a/ To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 3, Article 17 as follows:

“b/ Consular certification and legalization dossiers not mentioned at Point 2, Clause 2, this Article shall be retained for 2 years.”

b/ To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 17 as follows:

“4. Competent consular certification and legalization agencies shall provide information related to consular certification and legalization when so requested in writing by competent state agencies to serve the supervision, examination, inspection, investigation, prosecution, trial and judgment enforcement.”

c/ To add Clause 5 below Clause 4, Article 17 as follows:

“5. The storage of dossiers of settlement of electronic consular certification and legalization procedures for archival purposes must comply with the law on storage of electronic administrative procedure dossiers for archival purposes.”

19. To add Points e, g and h below Point dd, Clause 2, Article 18 as follows:

“e/ To provide professional training and further training for cadres, civil servants and public employees of specialized agencies under provincial-level People’s Committees for them to be qualified for carrying out consular certification and legalization of papers and documents when delegated.

g/ To promulgate, and provide guidance on the use and management of, forms of registers and papers and on introduction of specimen seals, signatures and titles to serve consular certification and legalization.

h/ To manage, connect and share data on consular legalization with the National Public Service Portal and ministerial- and provincial-level information systems on settlement of administrative procedures for the consular legalization results to be used in relevant administrative procedures for individuals and organizations.”

20. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 20 as follows:

“2. To promptly notify specimen seals and signatures, titles and the duration of authorization of agencies, organizations and persons competent to sign and issue, notarize, authenticate and certify papers and documents and re-notify such information to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs if there are any changes therein; to annually review specimen seals and signatures and titles of agencies and organizations for notification to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

21. To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 1, Article 21 as follows:

“a/ Be held responsible before law for the use purpose, contents, authentication and legality of those papers and documents.”

Article 2. To replace or annul a number of provisions of the Government’s Decree No. 111/2011/ND-CP of December 5, 2011, on consular certification and legalization

1. To replace the phrase “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs” in Clauses 2 and 6, Article 11, Article 12, and Clauses 2 and 5, Article 14, with the phrase “domestic competent agencies”.

2. To annul Article 19 of Decree No. 111/2011/ND-CP.

Article 3. Effect and transitional provisions

1. This Decree takes effect on August 3, 2025.

2. Provisions on electronic consular certification and legalization shall apply from January 1, 2026.

3. In case applicants for consular certification or legalization submit dossiers before the effective date of this Decree, the Government’s Decree No. 111/2011/ND-CP of December 5, 2011, on consular certification and legalization, shall further apply.

4. Local foreign affairs agencies that were authorized to receive dossiers of request  for consular certification and legalization under Article 5 of the Government’s Decree No. 111/2011/ND-CP of December 5, 2011, on consular certification and legalization, may continue to perform these functions and tasks until there are new regulations on the decentralization of competence as specified in Clause 3, Article 1 of this Decree.

5. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees and related organizations and individuals shall implement this Decree.-

On behalf of the Government
For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
BUI THANH SON