Germany issues visas for Vietnamese passports with added birthplace info

The Vietnamese Embassy in Germany said that the German Federal Foreign Office sent it a note on Monday saying it will issue visa for the new Vietnamese blue passports with added information of the holders’ place of birth.

Vietnam’s new passport that has been in use since July 1, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Du

The Germany’s foreign office applauded Vietnam’s timely solution to the matter, the embassy said.

The new Vietnamese passport, issued since July 1, 2022, has earlier been rejected by Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic and Finland due to its lack of birthplace information.

However, the Spanish embassy later said it would accept the new passport, but those who wish to apply for a visa need to furnish their identity cards to verify their place of birth.

Two other European countries, France and the U.K., have announced that they will continue to recognize Vietnam’s new passports.

The U.S. embassy in Hanoi has instructed holders of the new Vietnamese passport to bring along documents specifying their place of birth when applying for a visa.

The Ministry of Public Security said recently a column for place of birth would be added to the new passport to make it convenient for citizens.

Until the change is effected, the information would be added manually to the passport upon request, public security minister To Lam said.