Foreign Embassies and Consulates in Vietnam: How to Use Them
Foreign missions in Vietnam are concentrated in Hanoi (embassies) and Ho Chi Minh City (consulates general), with honorary consulates in Da Nang and a few other cities. Here is when you actually need yours.
Reasons foreigners contact their embassy
- Passport renewal or replacement — after which the residence card must be reissued and any exemption certificate transferred
- Criminal record certificate from the home country for a work permit file
- Notarisation or certification of home-country documents
- Civil status matters: marriage formalities, birth registration of a child born in Vietnam
- Emergencies: lost passport, hospitalisation, detention
How embassy documents fit Vietnamese files
A document issued or certified by your embassy in Vietnam usually still needs consular legalisation by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then a notarised Vietnamese translation, before an immigration or labour authority will accept it. Ask for extra certified copies while you are there — a second trip costs a week.
Practical notes
- Most missions work by appointment only; consular hours are shorter than office hours.
- Fees are usually payable in cash in VND or the mission own currency.
- Processing times vary widely — build 2–4 weeks into any work permit timeline that depends on a home-country police certificate.
We coordinate the Vietnamese side — legalisation, translation and the immigration file — once your embassy has issued the document: see services.
