Germany has agreed to accept the newly issued Vietnamese passport with information about the place of birth of the holder added to the observation page of the passport, the German Embassy in Hanoi announced on August 15.
Germany has accepted the new style Vietnamese passport with additional information about the holder's place of birth included in the observation page.
In its announcement, the German Federal Foreign Office said it has appreciated Vietnam timely addressing technical problems regarding the passport newly issued by the government.
Germany, the Czech Republic and Finland had previously refused to grant the Schengen visa to holders of the new style Vietnamese passport which they said lacks information about the holder’s place of birth.
Spain, another member of the Schengen Area, had also refused visa applications but later changed its decision by requesting the applicants to bring with them their ID cards to prove their place of birth.
The Consular Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security recently had working sessions with representatives of the Embassies of Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain in Hanoi, and they all agreed for the time being information about the holder’s place of birth would be included in the observation page of the passport.
Meanwhile, the UK and France announced they have still recognized the newly style Vietnamese passport.
During a recent hearing at the National Assembly Standing Committee, Minister of Public Security To Lam said his ministry would amend the passport form, by adding a place of birth to the holder’s bio page.