The new Vietnamese passports with a navy blue cover. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Finland on August 11 became thethird country to reject Vietnam’s new-style passports, following similar moves ofGermany and the Czech Republic.
The new Vietnamese passports with a navy blue cover, issued fromthe beginning of July 1, 2022, do not contain information about the place ofbirth of the passport holder, “which is a requirement for personalidentification and also for processing of Finnish visa/residence permitapplications,” the Embassy of Finland in Hanoi said in a statement.
Therefore, Finland has decided to temporarily suspend recognitionof Vietnam’s new passports.
“The Embassy of Finland will not receive applications forvisa/residence permit of holders of the new passport until further notice fromcompetent authorities of Finland. The Embassy will provide information in caseof any changes,” the announcement continued.
Finland will actively work with member states of the EU, Schengen andVietnam to find solutions for the matter, the embassy noted.
Earlier in July, Germany and the Czech Republic also took issue with the omission of the place of birth on the new passports, saying that wouldmake it difficult for immigration authorities to properly verify the identityof the passport holders.
The UK and France however expressly stated that they wouldcontinue to accept Vietnam’s new passports.
Spain, after an initial rejection, also accepted the newpassports, but required visa applicants to present their valid Vietnameseidentity card (which has place of birth information). The embassy warned thatthis visa will not allow entry into Schengen countries which don't accept thepassports however.
The Ministry of Public Security, while insisting that the newpassports comply with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)technical standards, has relented by saying it would add the field for place ofbirth in the appendix of the passport for those who request it.
Explainingwhy the new passport doesn’t contain information about the placeof birth, Minister of Public Security To Lam said ICAO did not designate otherinformation like the place of birth as mandatory. According to the Law on Exitand Entry of Vietnamese Citizens, information in passports also doesn’t includethe place of birth.
In the long term, the ministry could revise the design of thepassport and add the place of birth on the main page./.
The new version of Vietnam’s passport has complied with regulations and been recognised by most countries in the world, Spokesman of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) Lt. Gen. To An Xo said on August 3.
The Vietnamese Embassy in the Czech Republic will add an annotation on the holders’ place of birth inside the new passports if Vietnamese citizens need, according to Ambassador Thai Xuan Dung.
The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) is planning to add the “place of birth” to the new passport version to facilitate citizens’ seeking of visas to the Schengen countries.
Minister of Public Security Gen. To Lam provided more information about the new passport version of Vietnam while fielding questions from full-time lawmakers at the 14th session of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on August 10.
Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) recently met with the embassies of Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain and asked them to coordinate with Vietnam to tackle difficulties regarding granting visas in the new version of Vietnam’s passports, according to the MoFA.
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The new Vietnamese passports with a navy blue cover. (Photo: VNA) 
