Germany to issue visas for new Vietnamese passports with added information

The Vietnamese Embassy in Germany said that the German Federal Foreign Office has issued a notification Monday, saying the country will begin issuing visas for holders of the new, blue passport as long as it has added information about the place of birth in the notes section.

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

The German Foreign Ministry also welcomed Vietnam coming with a timely solution to this issue.

The new, blue passport had been rejected by Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic and Finland due to the lack of birthplace information.

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

Two other European countries, France and the U.K., have announced that they will recognize Vietnam's new passport.

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

The Ministry of Public Security said recently that 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.