Vietnam Police Check Full Guidance
Vietnam Police Check is also known as Criminal Check, Police Clearance Check and Police Clearance Certificate
1. What is a Police Check
As defined in Section 1, Article 2 of the Vietnamese Law on Judicial Records No. 28/2009/QH12, a police check is a certificate issued by an authority to manage the judicial record database and valid to prove whether an individual has a previous criminal conviction or banned from holding a certain position in Foreigner individual residing in Vietnam has entitled to acquire a police check at the Department of Justice in the place of their residence.
2. Who needs a Vietnam Police Check
2.1 For foreigner individual
A foreigner who had or has been residing in Vietnam may need a police check for the purposes as follows:
– Obtaining a work permit
– Completing the visa or immigration procedures for a third country
– Applying for Vietnamese citizenship, etc
2.2 For Vietnamese citizen
A Vietnamese who has been living in Vietnam or abroad may need a police check for the following purposes:
– Completing the procedures related to marriage, immigration, employment, studying abroad, etc.
3. Types of Police Check in Vietnam
Pursuant to Article 41, Law on Judicial Records, there are two types of Criminal Records in Vietnam which are Criminal Record No.1 (Phiếu lí lịch tư pháp số 1) and Criminal Record No.2 (Phiếu lí lịch tư pháp số 2).
The police check No. 1
Vietnamese citizens and foreigner individuals who ever resided or is residing in Vietnam want to get a Criminal Record for the purposes such as applying for a work permit, getting a job, etc State agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations that acquire the issuance of police check in order to serve the personal management, the corporate registration and establishment and the management of enterprises and cooperatives.
The police check No.2
Procedure-conducting agencies shall acquire the issuance of criminal record for the purpose of investigation, prosecution and adjudication
Depending on the purpose of use, either Criminal Record No. 1 or No.2 would be issued. For getting work permits, most of foreign employees are required to attain Criminal Record No.1
4. Authority
Department of Justice (DOJ) of the city or province where applicant is residing has a competent authority in issuing Police Certificate. The following is the address of DOJ in Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh and Da Nang:
DOJ in Ha Noi: 221 Tran Phu St., Van Quan Ward, Ha Dong District, Hanoi
DOJ Danang: 16 Bach Dang St., Thach Thang Ward, Hai Chau District, Danang
DOJ in Ho Chi Minh City: 141-143 Pasteur St., Ward 6, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City
The National Center of Judicial Records (in Hanoi): No.9 Tran Vi Street, Mai Dich Ward, Cau Giay District, Ha Noi
5. How to get Police Check Certificate
To apply for a Police Certificate, there are two legitimate ways of attaining a police check.
Submitting in person
Where to submit
– Applicants residing in Vietnam shall submit their application to Department of Justice where they declare their temporary or permanent residence
– For those who are living out of Vietnam or those whose residence place are impossibly identified, they shall submit their application at the National Center for Judicial Records.
– State agencies, political organization and socio-political organizations requesting the police check for a person, shall lodge application documents to the Department of Justice where that person temporarily or permanently resides
Required documents
– An original of the completed and signed application form. For self-application, please use this form and for authorization, please use this form.
– A certified copy of applicant’s passport and visa still being valid
– A certified copy of temporary residence registration certificate.
In case, applicant authorizes someone to obtain a police check on behalf of his or her, some other documents are required as follows:
– Original authorization letter which is notarized and authenticated according to the Vietnamese Law).
– Identity card or passport of the authorized person.
Note: the documents can be submitted without being certificated or authenticated, however, the originals are required to bring along for double check when lodging the application.
Submitting online
Step 1: Submitting the police check application online
– Go to this link https://lltptructuyen.moj.gov.vn/home?locale=en and select your case.
– Then fill out the details of the online application in the corresponding fields as required.
– Attach all the necessary documents including application form, identification card/passport, family register, payment receipt in the “Upload file” section
– After completing the application, press “NEXT” button in order to review all information you have just filled in. If all is correct, you can print out the declaration and sign your name on it.
– Save your registration code and click the “FINISH” button to finish your declaration.
Step 2: Visit the Department of Justice or National Center of Judicial Records to submit your documents or send them by VN post.
Step 3: Pay the fee for issuing a police check
There are 03 methods to pay the fee of police check
– Make a direct payment in cash at the Department of Justice’s office.
– Direct transfer to the Department of Justice’s bank account
– Transfer money via postal service when submitting the document files
Payment currency should be in Vietnamese Dong. If paid in foreign currency via the bank account, it will be converted into Vietnamese Dong according to the current exchange rate at the time of transaction.
Step 4: Receive an appointment reminder on when the result is issued
After completing all the procedures, you will receive an appointment paper that notify you the date of police check issuance
Step 5: Collect the result
To get the result, the applicant arrives at the place where his or her application is submitted. In case, the applicant submits the application via post, the police clearance certificate is sent to the address as entered in the registration form.
6. Police Check Check Processing Time and Fee
Normally, the processing time for acquiring a police check is between 10 to 15 working days since the application documents are fully received by the authority. In case of online submission or submission via the post service, the processing time will be prolonged because of delivery time.
The Vietnam Police Check fee is 200,000VND for two copies issued at a time. From the 3rd copy onwards, the extra cost is 5,000vnd per copy.
7. Validity of Police Check
Currently there is no clear regulation on how long a criminal record will be valid. However, depending on the purpose of use and the requirements of agencies or organizations wishing to determine the criminal history of individuals, the expiry date of the criminal record will differ.
For work permit, pursuant to Article 9.3 of Decree 152/2020/ND-CP, the Criminal Record must be issued within 6 months before the date of submitting the application.
In case of renouncing or renewing Vietnamese citizenship, pursuant to Article 20, 24 and 28 of Law on Nationality 2008 (amended and supplemented in 20140, the Criminal Record is required to be issued within 90 days before the submission date
Therefore, in order to ensure the validity of a criminal record, it’s very important for you to know the purpose of having it and specific requirements of the agencies and organizations before applying for it.