THỦ TỤC XIN CẤP LÝ LỊCH TƯ PHÁP CHO NGƯỜI NƯỚC NGOÀI 2026 / PROCEDURES FOR OBTAINING CRIMINAL RECORD

On July 1, 2026, the Law amending and supplementing some articles of the Law on Criminal records No. 107/2025/QH15 has officially become effective, the application for issuance of Criminal Records has undergone changes and innovations aimed at simplifying this administrative procedure. 

For foreigners, obtaining a criminal record is an important legal basis to prove their criminal record status during their residence in Vietnam. This is a mandatory document to complete administrative procedures for foreigners, such as: applying for Work permit, marrying a Vietnamese citizen, applying for Vietnamese nationality, etc. 

1. Criminal record No. 1 and Criminal record No. 2 

Depending on the purposes and required subject, the criminal record (CR) database management authority will issue the corresponding type of CR to foreigners. 

2. Procedures for requesting issuance of Criminal record certificates 

Pursuant to Article 45 of the Law on CR 2009, amended and supplemented by Article 18 of the amended Law on CR 2025, the foreigners may request issuance of CR certificates in person or via postal services. 

Accordingly, Article 22 of Decree No. 216/2026/ND-CP regulating the Procedures for requesting issuance of CR certificate, the foreigner shall prepare dossier and conduct the following steps: 

Step 1: Preparation of dossier 

- The foreigner shall prepare 01 dossier including: 

- Declaration form of requesting issuance of CR certificate; 

- Notarized/Verified authorized letter in case of authorization to other individuals beside family members; 

- Documents with international travel value issued by the country where the none-nationality person resides and approved by the Vietnamese authorities for individuals who do not have nationality. 

Step 2: Submission of dossier 

The foreigners requesting issuance of CR certificate directly shall submit the dossier to the CR certificate issuance authorities at residential place or the nearest location, specifically: 

- For foreigners who have resided in Vietnam, the individual shall submit to the provincial-level Police Department. 

- For foreigners currently residing in Vietnam, the individual shall submit to the provincial-level Police authority where they reside. 

Foreigners requesting a CR certificate via postal services shall send the dossier to the competent issuing authority mentioned above. 

Step 3: Dossier approval 

Within 05 working day from the date of receiving a valid request, the competent authority issuing the CR certificate is responsible for checking the completeness and validity of the dossier: 

- If the dossier is incomplete, the authority will request the applicant to supplement and complete the dossier, clearly stating the reasons using the Form Requesting dossier supplementation and completion. The authority shall not require additional documents to prove information already existing in the national population database or the CR database. 

- If the application does not meet the conditions prescribed in Article 49 of the Law on CR 2009: (i) The issuance falls outside its jurisdiction; (ii) The requester applying on behalf of another person fails to satisfy the prescribed conditions; or (iii) The attached documents are incomplete or fraudulent, the authority shall refuse processing and clearly state the reasons using the Form Refusing Dossier Processing. 

- If the dossier is complete and accurate and the fee for providing CR information is paid as prescribed in the law, the receiving authority shall accept the dossier and issue a Dossier Receipt and result return appointment. 

Timeframe for issuing the Form Requesting Dossier Supplementation/Completion, Form Refusing Dossier Processing, or Dossier Receipt and result return appointment within 01 hour for in-person requests and within 01 working day for requests via postal services from the time of dossier receipt. 

In cases where there is information on CR or new criminal acts requiring verification, the processing time for issuing the CR certificate may be extended, but shall not exceed 15 working days. 

Step 4: Return of results 

The competent authority shall return the physical Judicial Record Certificate directly or via postal services to the individual who requested it. At the same time, the result will be updated and stored in the judicial record database and the electronic data management vault of the organization/individual on the National Public Service Portal. Individuals receiving results via postal service must clearly register their receiving address, select a registered/certified postal service option, and pay the service fee to the postal service provider upon receipt of the result.

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