Purposes of Using Vietnamese Judicial Record Certificate

• Deree 111/2010/ND-CP on Detailing And Guiding A Number Of Articles Of The Law On Judicial Records
• Law No. 28/2009/QH12 of June 17, 2009, On Judicial Records in Vietnam

If you’re a foreigner in Vietnam and you need to apply for a work permit, one of the requirements that you need to submit is the judicial record certificate. Also known as the criminal record certificate, this document is a valid proof of whether or not an individual has a previous criminal conviction. This certificate will also prove that the person is not banned from holding any post, which is why it’s an important requirement for a work permit.

Applying for the judicial record certificate in Vietnam is easy. In fact, there are two ways to do it. You can apply online or you can go directly to the Provincial Department of Justice. But just in case you are wondering what this document is all about, and why you should get it, then here’s everything you need to know about the purposes of using a judicial record certificate.

Overview of Judicial Record Certificate

The judicial record certificate for foreigners in Vietnam is an important document supplementation for the application of a work permit. It’s also one of the requirements that you need to submit for marriage registration and adoption, or other important matters that would require a record of your criminal history.

There are certain conditions that apply when getting the Vietnamese judicial record certificate. For foreigners, they need to be a resident of Vietnam for more than one month. Furthermore, they must have a passport and are holding a temporary residence order at a locality. They will also be required to submit public security of commune from where they are currently residing.

Issued by the Agency of Database Management of Criminal Record

The judicial record certificate will be issued by the agency that’s responsible for managing the database of criminal records in Vietnam. Its main purpose is to prove that the individual has no criminal record and has not been banned from taking up any position in Vietnam.

Under the new regulation, foreigners who are residing in Vietnam for less than six months can now apply for the criminal record. It is the provincial Department of Justice that will grant the criminal record of the foreigner.

If the foreigner needs to submit a judicial record certificate that was issued by another country, the document must be interpreted in the local language. Furthermore, the document must be translated, legalized, and notarized according to the Vietnamese laws.

Purposes of Using Judicial Record Certificate

Under Clause 1, Article 2 of Vietnam’s Law on Criminal Record in 2009, the judicial record certificate is a document stating the previous convictions of the particular individual. This document will show if the person has been sentenced under court judgment or decision and if the person is prohibited from taking up any position. It will also show if the person is banned from managing or establishing cooperatives or companies.

Under Article 7, the Law on Criminal Record has also regulated that the following agencies, organizations, and individuals may request authorized agencies to issue the judicial record certificate:

1. Foreigners and Vietnamese citizens who are living in Vietnam have every right to request for a criminal record certificate.
2. Proceeding agencies can also request for the criminal record certificate to be issued for the purpose of an investigation, trial, and prosecution.
3. Socio-political organizations, political organizations, and state agencies can request for the criminal record to be issued, which will be used to serve the personnel management, establishment and management of cooperatives and enterprises, and business registration.

The criminal judicial record certificates include the following:

• Criminal record card #1 – this is issued to certain individuals, agencies, and organizations that were defined in Clauses 1 and 3, as well as Article 7 of this law.
• Criminal record card # 2 – this will be issued to agencies that carry out proceedings, as defined on Clause 2, Article 7. It will be issued upon request of the individual so he or she will know the nature of his or her criminal record.

The main difference between these two types of judicial record certificates is that criminal record card #1 will only record the criminal sentence that has not been removed in the criminal record database of Vietnam. But if the criminal case has been deleted, the document will say, “no criminal record.” On the other hand, the criminal record card # 2 will record all the previous convictions of the person, regardless if it has been removed or not.

Take note that the processing time of the Vietnamese judicial record certificate will take 15 – 20 days from the date of request. It will remain valid for six months from the issuance date. You can choose to apply for the judicial record certificate in person from the Justice Department of the province where you reside. But if you cannot apply for it in person, you can send in your request online and get the certificate by courier.

For your request, please email to : info@vietnamimmigration.org or drop a message via chat support online 👉