Germany officially recognizes Viet Nam’s new passports

According to the German Embassy in Viet Nam's announcement issued on February 17, Germany has also resumed issuing visas including C multi-year visas (Schengen Visa).

The German Embassy also stated that passports issued between July 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, without the place of birth on the identity page have also been recognized, providing that they are still valid and contain information about the place of birth added in the appendix.

In July 2022, Germany was one of the first countries to temporarily not issue visas to Vietnamese citizens with the newest version of the passport due to a number of technical factors.

By August, 2022, Germany has temporarily recognized the new version of the Vietnamese passport that contains additional information regarding place of birth.

Type C visa (also known as a Schengen visa) allows entry to one of the 26 Schengen countries and permits holders to freely move within the territory of the remaining 25 countries without any additional entry procedures. 

The Ministry of Public Security and the Vietnamese diplomatic missions abroad will officially issue passports containing electronic chips for Vietnamese citizens from March 1, 2023.

An e-passport will be embedded with a microchip that stores the holder's personal information, fingerprint scans, identification photo, and a digital signature.

The electronic chip is attached to the back cover of the passport. Languages used in the passport include Vietnamese and English.

Viet Nam jumped four positions to secure 88th place in a ranking of the world's most powerful passports in 2023, according to the latest report by the Henley Passport Index.

The country ranks 88th in the list of a total of 227 territories and countries worldwide in 2023, with a Vietnamese passport holder able to visit 55 nations without applying for a visa, or just possessing an e-visa or visa-on-arrival.

This is an improvement from the last ranking released last year which saw the Vietnamese passport rank 92nd globally in the Henley Passport Index./.