US reviewing Vietnamese new passports, asks applicants to supply place of birth information

Tourists visiting the Statue of Liberty, New York City, the United States. — AFP/VNS Photo

The United States has asked that Vietnamese citizens with the navy-blue passports (issued from July 1, 2022) to submit place of birth information in visa applications.

The US Embassy in Hà Nội noted that the US Government “continues to review the new Vietnamese blue passport issued starting July 1, 2022, to determine if it meets US requirements for visa issuance and travel.”

A determination will be expected soon, it said.

The embassy asked that from August 15 to minimise disruption, all Vietnamese non-immigrant and immigrant visa applicants should make sure they write place of birth (name of the city/province and country where their mother gave birth to them) when completing DS-160 application or DS-260 application.

Applicants with the navy blue passports should request the addition of the endorsement that gives place of birth when they apply for the new Vietnamese passport, so that information will be included in their new travel document.

Applicants with interviews already scheduled should bring an original birth certificate (or the old green passports with place of birth along with the new passports).

If applicants have received the new passport, the US embassy said it “strongly suggests” that they request that the place of birth be added as an endorsement prior to their interview.

Việt Nam’s new passports have been plagued with rejections from a number of European countries due to the omission of the field of information for place of birth, which they said make it difficult for immigration control.

Germany, Czech Republic, and Finland are three Schengen countries to have suspended the recognition of the new passports.

France and the United Kingdom stated they would continue to recognise the passports with no problems.

Spain has recently announced they would resume recognition of the passports, on the condition that the visa applicants present identification card (which contains place of birth) to process the documents. It also warned that the visa might not grant the holder entry to Schengen countries who do not recognise the passports, however.

The Ministry of Public Security has insisted that the new style passports fully meet the technical standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which list place of birth as a non-mandatory field of information in the passport’s visual inspection zone.

However, it is considering adding back the place of birth information the appendix of the passports to facilitate Vietnamese travelling overseas.