1. How long is a passport valid?

Passport is an important legal document of the people, owned by the state, issued by competent Vietnamese agencies for Vietnamese citizens to use to exit, enter, and prove nationality. and identity. Passports will be classified into ordinary passports, official passports and diplomatic passports. And for each passport, there will be different deadlines specifically stipulated in the 2019 Law on Entry and Exit of Vietnamese Citizens as follows:

- Diplomatic passports and official passports are valid from 01 year to 05 years. Can be extended once for no more than 3 years

- The validity period of an ordinary passport is divided into each case as follows:

+ Ordinary passports issued to people aged 14 years or older are valid for 10 years and cannot be renewed.

+ Ordinary passports issued to people under 14 years old are valid for 5 years and cannot be renewed

+ Ordinary passports issued under simplified procedures are valid for no more than 12 months and cannot be extended

2. How long before it expires is it legal to change your passport?

As analyzed above, if your ordinary passport expires, you will have to go through procedures to replace your passport. However, the exchange also needs to be within a certain period of time to ensure usage needs as well as comply with the provisions of immigration law. Specifically, based on Article 33 of the 2019 Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens, one of the conditions for citizens to exit the country is to have a passport with an expiry date of 6 months or more. This time period is calculated from the date you complete exit and entry procedures. For some countries, the time limit may be shorter than 3 months. Therefore, you should change your passport at least 3 to 6 months before it expires to avoid errors and difficulties during the immigration process.

3. Procedure for applying for replacement of ordinary passport

Procedures for changing ordinary passports are divided into two types of procedures: procedures for reissuing ordinary passports at home and procedures for reissuing ordinary passports abroad. As follows:

* Procedures for reissuing ordinary passports in the country:

Step 1: Prepare documents:

- 01 copy of birth certificate or birth certificate extract for people under 14 years old

- 01 original ordinary passport issued for the first time. If the passport is lost, it must be accompanied by a lost notice or notice of receipt of the application from the competent authority.

- 01 photocopy of ID card or citizen identification card in case there is a change in personal information compared to the information in the most recently issued passport

- 01 certified copy of documents issued by a competent Vietnamese agency proving that he/she is the legal representative of a person who has lost civil act capacity or has difficulty in cognition and behavior control. according to the provisions of the 2015 Civil Code; people under 14 years old. If the photocopy is not authenticated, present the original for the agency to check and compare.

Step 2: Submit documents to the competent authority:

After completing the above set of documents, you proceed to submit 01 set of documents to request a passport to the Immigration Management Agency of the Provincial Police where convenient or the Immigration Management Agency of the Ministry of Public Works. an

When receiving the application, you will receive an appointment letter from the agency to return the results

Step 3: Monitor the resolution process and receive results:

Within 08 working days from the date of receipt, the immigration management agency of the Provincial Police will return the results to you.

Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the application, the Immigration Management Agency of the Ministry of Public Security will return the results to you if you submit your application at this agency.

In case you request to receive results at a location other than the above mentioned agency, you will have to pay for postal delivery service.

* Procedures for reissuing ordinary passports abroad:

Similar to the process of reissuing a domestic ordinary passport, you will have to prepare a set of documents including the following documents:

- 01 application form for passport issuance according to regulations

- 02 portrait photos

- Present your Vietnamese passport or identification documents issued by a competent Vietnamese agency. In case you do not have a Vietnamese passport or identification documents issued by a competent Vietnamese agency, present identification documents issued by a competent foreign agency and documents proving Vietnamese nationality. or documents as a basis to determine Vietnamese nationality according to the provisions of law on nationality

- 01 most recently issued ordinary passport. In case the passport is lost, it must be accompanied by a lost notice or notice of receipt of the application from the competent authority

- 01 photocopy of ID card or citizen identification card in case there is a change in personal information compared to the information in the most recently issued passport

- 01 certified copy of documents issued by a competent Vietnamese agency proving the legal representative of a person who has lost civil act capacity or has difficulty in cognition and behavior control. According to the provisions of the 2015 Civil Code, people under 14 years old. In case the photocopy is not authenticated, present the original for checking and comparison

After completing the above documents section, you proceed to submit 01 set of documents to a convenient Vietnamese representative agency abroad.

Within 03 working days from the date of receipt. Vietnamese representative agencies abroad will return the results to you if you submit your application at this agency and notify in writing the immigration management agency of the Ministry of Public Security and the Consular Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. delivered in case it has not been connected to the National Database on exit and entry of Vietnamese citizens.

In case there is not enough basis to issue a passport or it is necessary to extend the time to determine the basis for issuing a passport, the Vietnamese representative agency abroad will send you a written response clearly stating the reason. The extension time is determined according to each specific case and can range from as short as 02 days to as long as 15 working days.