Spain accepts Vietnamese new passports

Hanoi (VNA) – The Spanish Embassy in Vietnam has released a notice affirming that from August 8, it accepts visa applications of holders of the Vietnamese new passports again, requesting applicants to submit their valid ID cards together with the passports.

According to the notice, after conducting compulsory technical consultations, authorised agencies of Spain decided to accept the new-style passport (dark blue cover) of Vietnam as it includes necessary information in line with international regulations.

However, as the place of birth is a compulsory information for applicants of Schengen visas, holders of the new passports must include their valid ID cards in their applications to show this information, it said.

It reminded visa applicants with the new passports to be aware that, according to Schengen regulations, visas issued on the passports will not be valid for entry into the territories of the Schengen member states where the new passports are not accepted. Therefore, the embassy recommended that visa applicants who plan to travel many different countries must contact the embassies of those countries before departing.

The embassy added that the old passports with a green cover, which show "place of birth" information and are not restricted from entry by any of the Schengen member states, will continue to be accepted normally.

Earlier on August 1, the Spanish Embassy in Vietnam announced that it cannot accept Schengen visa applications from Vietnamese citizens using new-style passports due to a lack of information about place of birth in the passports./.