HCMC – The Immigration Department will add the birthplace information to Vietnam’s newly designed passports starting from September 15, according to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).
The decision comes after a number of countries declined to issue an entry visa for those Vietnamese holding the passports that have been issued since early July this year due to the lack of the Place of Birth (POB) field on the passport’s personal identification page.
The Ministry of Public Security on September 12 directed the Immigration Department and overseas representative agencies to add the POB information on an Observations page of the new passport, Lieutenant General To An Xo said.
The ministry will write to the Government and the National Assembly’s Standing Committee proposing a resolution in this regard.
To create favorable conditions for citizens to apply for visas in those countries, the Immigration Department will add the POB information on their request.
Vietnamese can visit the local immigration office or Vietnam’s representative agencies abroad to get the birthplace information added to their passports at no charge.
The old Vietnamese passports will remain valid until they expire.
