New type of Vietnamese passport to be granted from Aug 15

The new type of passport to be issued is the regular passport granted via shortened procedures. It has a black cover, comprises 12 pages, and has a validity period of no more than 12 months.

There are four groups of persons entitled to the granting of this passport.

Those are persons traveling abroad for a definite period, losing their regular passports and wishing to return immediately. Also, persons not allowed to reside by their host countries, not covered by international treaties or agreements on the repatriation of citizens and lacking passports.

There are also persons forced to return under international treaties or agreements on repatriation. And finally, the passports are available to those to be granted regular passports due to defense and security reasons.

The three existing passport types are diplomatic passport with a brown red cover, official passport with a dark green cover, and regular passport with a blue purple cover.

The Vietnamese passport has moved up six places to 82nd in the latest global travel freedom index as Vietnamese citizens now enjoy visa-free access to 55 destinations, according to the latest ranking released last month by London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners.