Criminal Record Certificates

A criminal record certificate is required for a Vietnamese work permit, and often for a temporary residence card, adoption, marriage registration or a professional licence. Which authority issues it depends on how long you have been in Vietnam — not on your nationality.

This single document delays more work permit applications than anything else. If you have been in Vietnam under six months, it must come from your home country, be legalised and translated. That takes weeks, and the clock only starts once you request it.

What we help with

• Advising which certificate you need — Vietnamese or from your home country — based on your time in Vietnam
• Obtaining Vietnamese judicial record certificates No. 1 and No. 2 from the Department of Justice
• Explaining the difference between the two: No. 1 shows only unspent convictions; No. 2 shows the full record and can only be requested by you personally
• Applying on your behalf under a power of attorney where the law permits
• Arranging consular legalisation and certified translation of a foreign certificate
• Coordinating the certificate with the work permit timetable so it does not expire before filing
• Advising where a past conviction may affect eligibility, before you commit time and cost to an application
• Obtaining certificates for family members applying for dependent visas or residence

Request this certificate first, before anything else. Every other document in a work permit file can be assembled while you wait for it — and none of them can be filed without it.