France insists on birthplace info in new Vietnam passport

"From October 17, visa applications submitted at the French Embassy in Hanoi and the Consulate General of France in HCMC must be accompanied by a passport with the place of birth," the embassy announced in its Facebook page.

The embassy said the regulation applies to all visa applications to France, irrespective of the length of stay.

Applications that have already been submitted will not be affected by the latest rule and will be processed normally, it said.

Several countries including Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic and Finland had in August stopped issuing visas on the new Vietnamese passport because it didn’t include the holder’s place of birth.

Vietnamese authorities said they have worked with the countries and agreed that the place of birth will be added to the new passport when the holder requests it.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, the required information on a passport includes passport type, first and last name, passport number, nationality, date of birth, gender and expiration date. The place of birth in the passport is country-specific, not mandatory.

The new Vietnamese passport, with decorations on its pages and covers, has been in use since July 1 this year. The old, green cover passports will continue to be valid till they expire.