Minister of Public Security Gen. To Lam answers questions from lawmakers on August 10. (Photo: VNA) He said the granting of thenew passport has been carried out in line with the Law on Exit and Entry ofVietnamese Citizens, adopted by the NA in 2019, and that all details shown inthe passport are in accordance with law.
The new passport versionmatches international practices, he said, noting that many countries also usethis design, which doesn’t include the “place of birth”.
The new passport of Vietnamhas been accepted by most countries in the world. Spain, which previously didn’trecognise the new version, has recently accepted. Now, only Germany and theCzech Republic haven’t, according to the minister.
Lam explained that somecountries refused to accept the new passport without the “place of birth” sincethey want to know the origin of foreigners coming.
“This is just a technicalissue,” he affirmed, adding his ministry has worked out a solution that is relevantagencies adding the “place of birth” in the appendix of passports if theirholders wish.
In the long term, ifnecessary, the Ministry of Public Security will report to the Government and proposethe NA revise the Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens in order to add the“place of birth” to passports.
As the ministry is thecoordinator, it holds responsibility for this work, the minister said.
In a report sent tolegislators prior to the question-and-answer session, he said compared to the old passport, the new version isproduced by using modern technology to meet higher security requirements andstandards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
So far, the MPS has granted 272,000 passports of the new version.
In the report, Lam noted according to the ICAO regulations,compulsory information in a passport consists of the type of passport, fullname, passport number, date of birth, sex, and passport expiration date. ICAOalso gave detailed regulations on the design and layout of information on thepage of personal information to ensure consistency among countries in the world.
The new passport version has closely followed theabove-mentioned rules and completely met international standards, the ministeraffirmed.
Explaining why the new passport doesn’t contain informationabout the place of birth, he said ICAO did not designate other information likethe place of birth asmandatory. According to the Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens,information in passports also doesn’t include the place of birth.
On that basis, the MPS issued the new passport versionwithout the place of birth to facilitate citizens’ entry.
In the long term, the MPS will revise the passport design andadd the “place of birth” in the page of personal details, Lam noted, addingthat it is collecting opinions about this issue from the parliament’scommittees for defence - security and legal affairs, the Government Office, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs./.
VNA
