CIRCULAR

GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISION No. 875-TTg OF NOVEMBER 21, 1996 OF THE PRIME MINISTER

On November 21, 1996 the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 875-TTg on settling matters related to the repatriation of overseas Vietnamese.
The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall jointly provide further guidance on the following conditions and procedure for compiling the repatriation application dossiers and the responsibilities of the specialized agencies for handling these dossiers:

I. ON THE CONDITIONS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR REPATRIATION
(stated in Clauses 1, 3 and 4, Article 2 of Decision No. 875-TTg):

1. The condition "bearing Vietnamese nationality" (Clause 1, Article 2) includes the two following cases:

- Holding a valid Vietnamese passport or a paper valid as a passport substitute issued by a competent agency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

- Holding no Vietnamese passport but a foreign passport or a paper valid as a passport substitute while still bearing Vietnamese nationality and having registered Vietnamese citizenship with an overseas Vietnamese representative mission.

2. Condition "Ensuring livelihood after repatriation" (Clause 3, Article 2) includes:

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- Being able to earn his/her living after repatriation: An applicant for repatriation must produce evidence of and clearly state in his/her repatriation application his/her living resource or employment plan after returning to the country or a relative of his/hers (the guarantor) must clearly state in the guaranty paper their assurance of financial support and care for the repatriate.

3. Guaranty conditions (Clause 4, Article 2):

a/ For a repatriation applicant guaranteed by a Vietnamese agency:

The guaranteeing Vietnamese agency must clearly assure in writing that the repatriation applicant has investment capital or a feasible project in Vietnam; that he/she holds a high educational level (postgraduate degree) or a high professional skill and he/she shall be employed by a Vietnamese agency for a job suitable to his/her educational level or professional skill.

b/ For a repatriation applicant guaranteed by his/her relatives:

He/she must meet all the conditions stated in Clause 4b, Article 2 of Decision No. 875-TTg and the guarantor must be a person who has not been disfranchised or whose citizenship is not stripped or restricted, who is of the same family line as guaranteed such as husband, wife, father, mother, child; paternal or maternal grandparent, natural brother or sister, paternal or maternal uncle and aunt by blood.

II. THE REPATRIATION APPLICATION DOSSIER (Clause 1, Article 2 of Decision No. 875-TTg):
Each applicant shall compile two repatriation application dossiers, each composed of:

1. A repatriation application according to form HH1; declaration must be correct, full and detailed as indicated in the form.

2. A copy of the passport or a paper valid as a passport substitute. In case the applicant bears the Vietnamese nationality and also holds a foreign passport, his/her dossier must include a written certification by the overseas Vietnamese representative office of his/her citizenship registration.

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4. Other documents related to the repatriation application, specifically:

a/ For a repatriation applicant guaranteed by his/her relative:

+ A guaranty application made by the relative according to form HH2, with correct and full details, certified by the People?s Committee of the commune or ward where the guarantor resides.

+ The documents evidencing or explaining his/her genetic relation with the applicant. If it is an explanation document, it must be certified by the People?s Committee of the commune or ward where the guarantor resides.

+ The documents evidencing the applicant?s capability of ensuring a living after repatriation.

b/ For a repatriation applicant guaranteed by a Vietnamese agency:

The contents of the guaranty paper, stamped and signed by the Head of the agency stated in Clause 4a, Article 2 of Decision No. 875-TTg must satisfy the requirements defined in Point 3a, Section I above.

III. REGARDING THE REPATRIATION LAISSEZ-PASSER
(Article 6 of Decision No. 875-TTg):

The repatriation laissez-passer shall be granted to an overseas Vietnamese who is permitted to repatriate in lieu of the passport and visa upon their entry into Vietnam (the returnee shall not have to produce the passport upon entry). If an expired repatriation laissez-passer is used for entry, the entry shall be refused and a new application dossier is required if the concerned person still wishes to repatriate.

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1. With regard to the overseas Vietnamese representative office:

- Apart from the responsibilities defined in Point 1, Article 5 of Decision No. 875-TTg, the representative office shall have to fill in the citizenship registration procedure and certify the citizenship registration according to the guidance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

- When granting a repatriation laissez-passer, it must record in detail all the items such as the address (house number, the names of the street, ward or commune, district and province or city), the photo stuck on the repatriation laissez-passer must be sealed and other "protection" measures must be taken as to passports.

2. With regard to the Ministry of the Interior (the Entry and Exit Management Department):

- It shall notify the overseas Vietnamese representative office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese), and the provincial/municipal police of the result of the consideration of the repatriation application dossiers to if such dossiers are submitted to the Vietnamese representative office in a foreign country. For repatriation application dossiers submitted in Vietnam, the Ministry of the Interior must notify, apart from the aforesaid agencies, the relative who signs the guaranty application or the concerned applicant.

- In the process of consideration and approval, even after the overseas Vietnamese has repatriated, if a fraudulent act is detected on the part of the repatriation applicant or the concerned individual and organization, the Ministry of the Interior shall re-examine and handle the case in accordance with the nature and seriousness of the violation, or refer it to the specialized agency for handling in accordance with Vietnamese law.

3. With regard to the police of a province or city directly under the Central Government:

- In cases where the concerned person is temporarily residing in a locality in Vietnam, if the Ministry of the Interior notifies its refusal of his/her repatriation application, the police of such locality shall ask him/her to leave the country within the permitted time limit for temporary residence; if the concerned person refuses to leave the country, the police may take forcible measures to make him/her comply or shall otherwise handle him/her in accordance with Vietnamese law.

- When an overseas Vietnamese has repatriated to the country, the provincial/municipal police shall recover the repatriation laissez-passer, provide guidance for the completion of the necessary procedure and create favorable conditions for the person to register his/her permanent residence and grant him/her an identity card. In cases he/she carries a foreign passport, such passport shall automatically lose its validity. The provincial/municipal police shall not have to recover the passport nor to deal with it in any way.

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FOR THE MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR
VICE MINISTER




Nguyen Khanh Toan

FOR THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
VICE MINISTER




Nguyen Dy Nien