List of Vietnam Law
Circular No. 163/2026/TT-BTC dated October 31, 2026 Ministry of Finance of Vietnam on rates, exemptions and collection and payment of fees and charges in the diplomatic sector applicable at Vietnamese representative missions abroad
Date: 10/31/2026
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MINISTRY OF FINANCE OF VIETNAM
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SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Independence - Freedom – Happiness --------------- |
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No. 163/2026/TT-BTC
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Hanoi, October 31, 2026
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CIRCULAR
ON RATES, EXEMPTIONS AND COLLECTION AND PAYMENT OF FEES AND CHARGES IN THE DIPLOMATIC SECTOR APPLICABLE AT VIETNAMESE REPRESENTATIVE MISSIONS ABROAD
Pursuant to the Law on Fees and Charges No. 97/2015/QH13;
Pursuant to the Law on Vietnamese Nationality No. 24/2008/QH12, as amended by Law No. 56/2014/QH13 and Law No. 79/2025/QH15;
Pursuant to the Law on Judicial Records No. 28/2009/QH12, as amended by Law No. 107/2025/QH15;
Pursuant to the Law on Representative missions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Abroad No. 33/2009/QH12, as amended by Law No. 19/2017/QH14 and Law No. 08/2026/QH16;
Pursuant to the Law on Adoption No. 52/2010/QH12;
Pursuant to the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam No. 47/2014/QH13, as amended by Law No. 51/2019/QH14, Law No. 23/2023/QH15, Law No. 103/2025/QH15 and Law No. 118/2025/QH15;
Pursuant to the Law on Civil Status No. 60/2014/QH13 and the Law on Civil Status No. 03/2026/QH16;
Pursuant to the Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens No. 49/2019/QH14, as amended by Law No. 23/2023/QH15, Law No. 118/2025/QH15 and Law No. 08/2026/QH16;
Pursuant to the Law on Notarization No. 46/2024/QH15, as amended by Law No. 106/2025/QH15;
Pursuant to the Law on the State Budget No. 89/2025/QH15;
Pursuant to the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15;
Pursuant to Resolution No. 250/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly on certain special mechanisms and policies to improve the efficiency of international integration;
Pursuant to Decree No. 111/2011/ND-CP of the Government on consular certification and consular legalization, as amended by Decree No. 196/2025/ND-CP;
Pursuant to Decree No. 82/2015/ND-CP of the Government on visa exemption for overseas Vietnamese and foreigners who are spouses or children of overseas Vietnamese or of Vietnamese citizens;
Pursuant to Decree No. 191/2025/ND-CP of the Government on elaboration of certain articles and measures to organize and guide the implementation of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality;
Pursuant to Decree No. 362/2025/ND-CP of the Government on elaboration of certain articles and measures to organize and guide the implementation of the Law on Fees and Charges;
Pursuant to Decree No. 129/2026/ND-CP of the Government on the management and use of the state budget for certain external affairs activities;
Pursuant to Decree No. 227/2026/ND-CP of the Government on elaboration of certain articles on promoting participation in organizations, forums and cooperation networks; international integration at the local level; lump-sum expenditures for research serving international integration and certain special mechanisms and policies pursuant to Resolution No. 250/2025/QH15 dated December 10, 2025 of the National Assembly;
Pursuant to Decree No. 252/2026/ND-CP of the Government on elaboration of certain articles and measures to organize and guide the implementation of the Law on Tax Administration;
Pursuant to Decree No. 376/2026/ND-CP of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;
At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Tax, Fee and Charge Policy;
The Minister of Finance hereby promulgates a Circular on the rates, exemptions and collection and payment of fees and charges in the diplomatic sector applicable at Vietnamese representative missions abroad.
Article 1. Scope and regulated entities
1. This Circular prescribes the rates, exemptions and collection and payment of fees and charges in the diplomatic sector and other fields (hereinafter referred to as "diplomatic fees and charges") applicable at Vietnamese representative missions abroad (hereinafter referred to as "representative missions").
2. This Circular applies to fee and charge payers, fee and charge collecting organizations and other organizations and individuals involved in the collection and payment of diplomatic fees and charges applicable at Vietnamese representative missions abroad.
Article 2. Fee and charge payers
Vietnamese organizations and individuals and foreign organizations and individuals for whom public services are provided or state management activities in the diplomatic sector is performed by Vietnamese representative missions abroad are fee and charge payers as prescribed in this Circular.
Article 3. Fee and charge collecting organizations
Fee and charge collecting organizations under this Circular are Vietnamese representative missions abroad (comprising diplomatic missions, consular posts and other Vietnamese agencies entrusted to perform consular functions abroad) (hereinafter referred to as "collecting organizations") that serve organizations and individuals in relation to state management activities in the diplomatic sector.
Article 4. Rates of fees and charges
The rates of diplomatic fees and charges applicable at Vietnamese representative missions abroad are prescribed in the Schedule of Diplomatic Fees and Charges (Appendix I and Appendix II) enclosed with this Circular.
Article 5. Cases of fee and charge exemption
1. Exemptions from diplomatic fees and charges shall apply in the following cases:
a) Foreigners who are guests (including the spouse, biological parents, parents-in-law and children accompanying the guest) of the Party, the National Assembly, the State and the Government; or who are invited by leaders of the Party, the National Assembly, the State and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in their personal capacity.
b) Officials and administrative and technical staff of foreign diplomatic missions, consular posts and representative missions of international organizations in Vietnam and their family members (comprising the spouse, biological parents, parents-in-law and minor children), subject to the principle of reciprocity.
c) Foreigners holding diplomatic passports, official passports, ordinary passports or travel documents in lieu of passports issued by a foreign country who are exempt from visa fees, subject to the principle of reciprocity.
d) Foreigners entering Vietnam to carry out relief or humanitarian assistance work for Vietnamese organizations and individuals.
dd) Foreigners entering Vietnam upon invitations for exchanges between ministries and sectors, provinces and cities, subject to the principle of reciprocity.
e) Persons with meritorious services to the revolution as prescribed by the law on preferential treatment for persons with meritorious services to the revolution.
g) Cases where exemption is warranted due to external affairs considerations or for humanitarian reasons, or Vietnamese citizens in particularly difficult circumstances or facing unforeseen adverse events.
h) Cases where applicants for visas are exempt from visa fees pursuant to regulations of the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, pursuant to international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party or pursuant to bilateral agreements.
2. Exemption from nationality charges (for applications for naturalization in Vietnam or restoration of Vietnamese nationality) shall apply in the following cases:
a) Persons with special meritorious contributions to the cause of national construction and defense of Vietnam as prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 12 of Decree No. 191/2025/ND-CP on elaboration of certain articles and measures to organize and guide the implementation of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality.
b) Stateless persons applying to acquire Vietnamese citizenship or persons who have lost Vietnamese citizenship applying to resume Vietnamese citizenship who are in economically difficult circumstances, confirmed by a competent authority or Vietnamese community organization or association in the host country.
c) Persons of Vietnamese origin who migrated from Laos and have been issued a certificate by the competent authority of Laos confirming completion of registration procedures pursuant to an international treaty between Vietnam and Laos.
3. The charge for issuance of ordinary passports under simplified procedures shall be exempted for persons required to return to Vietnam pursuant to an international treaty or international agreement on readmission of citizens.
4. The fee for provision of judicial record information shall be exempted in the following cases:
a) Children as prescribed by the Law on Children.
b) Elderly persons as prescribed by the Law on the Elderly.
c) Persons with disabilities as prescribed by the Law on Persons with Disabilities.
d) Persons belonging to poor or near-poor households as prescribed by the law on poverty standards.
dd) Persons residing in communes with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions, ethnic minority people in communes with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions, border communes and safe zone communes as prescribed by law.
e) Cases that are beneficial to promoting Vietnam's international integration as prescribed in Clause 5 of Article 22 of Decree No. 227/2026/ND-CP on elaboration of certain articles on promoting participation in organizations, forums and cooperation networks; international integration at the local level; lump-sum expenditures for research serving international integration and certain special mechanisms and policies pursuant to Resolution No. 250/2025/QH15 dated December 10, 2025 of the National Assembly.
5. The Head of a Vietnamese representative mission abroad shall decide on the application of fee and charge exemptions for cases subject to the principle of reciprocity prescribed in Points b and c of Clause 1 of this Article, cases prescribed in Point g of Clause 1 of this Article and cases that are beneficial to promoting Vietnam's international integration prescribed in Point e of Clause 4 of this Article.
6. For cases exempt from diplomatic fees and charges as prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article, the collecting organization shall affix the (GRATIS) "fee and charge exemption” stamp to the issued documents, except for civil status documents and electronic documents.
Article 6. Collection, payment and settlement of fees and charges
1. Diplomatic fees and charges shall be collected in US dollars (USD) in accordance with the Schedule of Diplomatic Fees and Charges enclosed with this Circular. Where diplomatic fees and charges are collected in the host country's currency, the conversion from US dollars (USD) to the host country's currency shall be based on the USD selling exchange rate published by the bank where the representative mission holds its account.
Where the conversion exchange rate from US dollars (USD) to the host country's currency fluctuates by more than 10% (ten percent) upward or downward compared to the currently applicable conversion exchange rate, the Head of a Vietnamese representative mission abroad may re-publish the fee and charge rates in the host country's currency at the new conversion exchange rate, and shall simultaneously notify the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in writing prior to implementation.
Where two or more representative missions in a country or territory are permitted to collect diplomatic fees and charges, the Head of a Vietnamese representative mission abroad with the highest authority shall, based on the selling exchange rate of the local bank, decide on uniform rates of fees and charges for the remaining representative missions; where fees and charges may be collected in both US dollars (USD) and the host country's currency, the Head of a Vietnamese representative mission abroad with the highest authority shall also decide on the uniform currency for collection for the remaining representative missions.
2. Representative missions shall remit the entire amount of diplomatic fees and charges collected, including interest accrued (if any) on the relevant account balance during the fee and charge collection process, into the State Budget Temporary Holding Fund at the representative mission.
The funding for fee and charge collection expenses shall be allocated in the state budget estimate of the collecting organization in accordance with the state budget expenditure regulations and norms as prescribed by law.
3. Where Vietnamese organizations and individuals or foreign organizations and individuals have paid diplomatic fees and charges as prescribed in this Circular but do not meet the conditions for issuance of consular documents or refuse to receive the results of application processing, the collecting organization shall not refund the diplomatic fees and charges collected.
4. Representative missions shall be responsible for maintaining accounting books to record and account for the collection and payment of diplomatic fees and charges in accordance with the law on the accounting regime applicable to administrative agencies and public sector entities. The Head of a Vietnamese representative mission shall be responsible for the management and accounting of the collection and payment of all types of diplomatic fees and charges of the representative mission; and shall on a monthly basis submit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the report on collection of fees and charges in the diplomatic sector (using the forms prescribed in Appendix III and Appendix IV of this Circular).
5. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall be responsible for:
a) Directing the representative missions to carry out accounting and bookkeeping of diplomatic fee and charge receipts.
b) Inspecting and settling accounts for the collection and payment of diplomatic fees and charges of the representative missions in accordance with current regulations.
6. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall cooperate with the Ministry of Finance to organize periodic or ad hoc inspections of the collection, payment and exemption of diplomatic fees and charges at Vietnamese representative missions abroad in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.
Article 7. Implementation provisions
1. This Circular comes into force as of November 1, 2026, except for the provisions of Part C of Appendix I and Part C of Appendix II enclosed with this Circular, which come into force as of March 1, 2027.
2. The following Circulars cease to be effective from the date this Circular comes into force, except for the provisions prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article:
a) Circular No. 264/2016/TT-BTC on the rates and collection, payment, management and use of fees and charges in the diplomatic sector applicable at Vietnamese representative missions abroad.
b) Circular No. 113/2021/TT-BTC on amendments to Circular No. 264/2016/TT-BTC dated November 14, 2016 of the Minister of Finance on the rates and collection, payment, management and use of fees and charges in the diplomatic sector applicable at Vietnamese representative missions abroad.
3. The provisions on the fee for confirmation of citizen registration at Points 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 (excluding Points 9.g and 9.h) of Part B of Appendix II enclosed with Circular No. 264/2016/TT-BTC and Clause 4 of Article 1 of Circular No. 113/2021/TT-BTC shall continue to apply through February 28, 2027. From March 1, 2027, the collection of the above-mentioned fee for confirmation of citizen registration shall be replaced by the collection of civil status charges and the fee for access to and use of information in the Civil Status Database, to be carried out correspondingly in accordance with the provisions of Part C of Appendix I and Part C of Appendix II enclosed with this Circular.
4. Public service dossiers and state management activities in the diplomatic sector that have been validly received prior to the effective date of this Circular shall continue to be subject to the provisions on rates and fee and charge exemptions and reductions of Circular No. 264/2016/TT-BTC (as amended by Circular No. 113/2021/TT-BTC) until completion.
5. Collecting organizations shall be responsible for publicly posting the names of fees and charges, the rates of fees and charges, collection method, payers, exemptions and legal documents on the collection of diplomatic fees and charges at collection points and publishing such information on the website of the collecting organization in Vietnamese and English or the official language of the host country.
6. Other matters relating to the declaration, collection, payment, collection receipts and public disclosure of regulations on the collection of fees and charges that are not prescribed in this Circular shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the following documents: the Law on Fees and Charges No. 97/2015/QH13; the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15; Decree No. 362/2025/ND-CP on elaboration of certain articles and measures to organize and guide the implementation of the Law on Fees and Charges; Decree No. 129/2026/ND-CP on the management and use of the state budget for certain external affairs activities; Decree No. 252/2026/ND-CP on elaboration of certain articles and measures to organize and guide the implementation of the Law on Tax Administration; Decree No. 254/2026/ND-CP on elaboration of certain articles and measures to organize and guide the implementation of the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15 on electronic invoices and electronic documents; and Circular No. 07/2020/TT-BTC on the financial and asset management regime for Vietnamese agencies abroad.
7. Where documents referenced in this Circular are amended or replaced, the amending or replacing documents shall apply.
8. During implementation, where difficulties arise, relevant organizations and individuals are requested to promptly report to the Ministry of Finance for review and provision of additional guidance./.
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PP. THE MINISTER
DEPUTY MINISTER (Signed and sealed) Cao Anh Tuan |
(This translation is for reference only)
