Consular legalization is a crucial procedure for foreign investors when launching a formal entity in Vietnam, or when Vietnamese authorities require official documents from the investor's home country for a particular civil, legal, or business application on behalf of the foreign individual or foreign entity. The practical steps and conditions for allowing foreign-issued papers to be used in Vietnam are explained below.
Consular legalization, as defined by international law, is the process of authenticating or certifying a legal document so that the legal system of a foreign nation would accept it with full legal force. Consular legalization, as defined by Vietnamese law, is the process by which foreign papers' stamps, signatures, and titles are certified by the Vietnamese government to be acceptable for use and recognition in Vietnam.
Stated in alternative way, the process of consular legalization creates the validity of foreign documents for use in another nation. The authorities are not in charge of the veracity of the information or substance included in the papers; they only attest to the signature and stamps that appear on them when they legalize them. The authorities of both countries including the Originating Country and the Destination Country, commonly carry out the whole procedure; in this article, Destination Country is Vietnam.
Almost foreign-issued papers must go through the Consular legalization process in order to be accepted and used in Vietnam. For example, the following documents are needed for Consular legalization:
- Company documents : company charter, articles of association, certificate of formation, company extract/profile, etc.
- Personal papers : degree, diploma, birth certificate, marriage certificate, criminal check, letter of employment or reference, etc.
*This list is by no means exhaustive.
Documents exempt from consular legalisation
The authorities of both the Originating Country and the Destination Country (Vietnam) carry out the entire consular legalization process, which is a common feature. The final stage must always be carried out at the Vietnamese authority level, even though the particular method (the order, the authorities) will vary from nation to nation and from document to document. For the precise requirements, the applicant is therefore encouraged to get in touch with the relevant Vietnamese official or get in touch with us for more information.
Examples and conclusion
Above is general define and information, the consular legalization infact may require particular extra steps to be taken based on the nations participating, we have included a few practical examples of consular legalization in Vietnam below:
- International papers must be translated into Vietnamese by a certified translation agency in Vietnam before being presented to the Vietnamese authorities.
- For some countries and for some certain documents, the documents can be legalised either wholly overseas or wholly in Vietnam. For example : for Hong Kong, the consular legalization process should be implemented wholly overseas (means occurs wholly in HongKong) WHILE others nations as United States of America, Singapore, Australia, etc., can be legalised either wholly overseas or wholly in Vietnam.
Consular legalization is a very complicated process that frequently requires assistance or specialized advice based on the specifics of the documentation that needs to be legalized and the relevant countries involved. This is because the process typically involves multiple official institutions in multiple countries.
Consular legalization, as defined by international law, is the process of authenticating or certifying a legal document so that the legal system of a foreign nation would accept it with full legal force. Consular legalization, as defined by Vietnamese law, is the process by which foreign papers' stamps, signatures, and titles are certified by the Vietnamese government to be acceptable for use and recognition in Vietnam.
Stated in alternative way, the process of consular legalization creates the validity of foreign documents for use in another nation. The authorities are not in charge of the veracity of the information or substance included in the papers; they only attest to the signature and stamps that appear on them when they legalize them. The authorities of both countries including the Originating Country and the Destination Country, commonly carry out the whole procedure; in this article, Destination Country is Vietnam.
Almost foreign-issued papers must go through the Consular legalization process in order to be accepted and used in Vietnam. For example, the following documents are needed for Consular legalization:
- Company documents : company charter, articles of association, certificate of formation, company extract/profile, etc.
- Personal papers : degree, diploma, birth certificate, marriage certificate, criminal check, letter of employment or reference, etc.
*This list is by no means exhaustive.
Documents exempt from consular legalisation
Certain foreign documents are exempt from Consular legalisation if they meet specific conditions. Nonetheless, the majority of the exceptions serve diplomatic objectives. The list of nations and papers that are exempt from consular legalization when used in Vietnam is provided below.
| No. | Country | Type of documents |
| 1. | Republic of Poland | Documents under the authority of consular officers issued by a representative mission of Poland in Vietnam. |
| 2. | Republic of Bulgaria | Documents under the authority of consular officers which issued by a representative mission of Bulgaria in Vietnam
Documents on civil, family and criminal law issued by the authority in Bulgaria. |
| 3. | Republic of Cuba | Documents under the authority of consular officers issued by a representative mission of Cuba in Vietnam.
Documents on civil, marriage, family, criminal, labour are issued by the authority. |
| 4. | Republic of Italy | Documents used for adoption are issued by the authority. |
| 5. | Russian Federation | Documents under the authority of consular officers issued by a representative mission of Russia in Vietnam.
Documents made or authenticated by judicial authorities (including certified translations and extracts) issued by Judicial authorities. |
| 6. | Japan | Documents related to the civil status issued by the authority. |
* Please note that this list is by no means exhaustive.
Consular legalisation process in practice
According to Vietnamese law, the authorities allowed to undertake legalisation processes are:
1 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and its related bodies
2 Vietnamese Embassy/Consulate
The authorities of both the Originating Country and the Destination Country (Vietnam) carry out the entire consular legalization process, which is a common feature. The final stage must always be carried out at the Vietnamese authority level, even though the particular method (the order, the authorities) will vary from nation to nation and from document to document. For the precise requirements, the applicant is therefore encouraged to get in touch with the relevant Vietnamese official or get in touch with us for more information.
Examples and conclusion
Above is general define and information, the consular legalization infact may require particular extra steps to be taken based on the nations participating, we have included a few practical examples of consular legalization in Vietnam below:
- International papers must be translated into Vietnamese by a certified translation agency in Vietnam before being presented to the Vietnamese authorities.
- For some countries and for some certain documents, the documents can be legalised either wholly overseas or wholly in Vietnam. For example : for Hong Kong, the consular legalization process should be implemented wholly overseas (means occurs wholly in HongKong) WHILE others nations as United States of America, Singapore, Australia, etc., can be legalised either wholly overseas or wholly in Vietnam.
Consular legalization is a very complicated process that frequently requires assistance or specialized advice based on the specifics of the documentation that needs to be legalized and the relevant countries involved. This is because the process typically involves multiple official institutions in multiple countries.
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