Document Authentication for use in Vietnam

Documents originated in US must be legalized by the Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate in order to be used in Vietnam. This process is called document authentication.

Here is the outline of three major steps for document authentication for Vietnam.

1) Notary: For non-government documents such as affidavit, power of attorney, bank letter, etc., a notary public must notarize the document first; For government documents such as birth certificates, good standing certificates, etc., you will need to obtain a certified copy from the state; notary is not required.

2) State Level Certification: The Secretary of the State Office must certify the notary seal or the certified copy by adding a statement page with big state seal. Some states require county clerk to certify the notary seal first. Click here for state level certification sample.

3) Consulate Authentication: The Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate will verify signature and seal from the Secretary of State Office. Once verified, the Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate official will add the authentication seal and signature to the document and will be authorized for use in Vietnam.

Type of documents can be authenticated include, but are not limited to:

Affidavit of Single Status
Power of attorney for real estate transaction
No criminal record report
Adoption application papers
Certificate of good standing, financial statement
Copies of documents, passport, invoice, etc
Vital records such as birth/death certificates, marriage certificate
Diploma and transcript

VisaRite is specialized in assisting you to obtain document legalization from the Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate easily and quickly for documents in all 50 states. Please prepare the following items in the sequence below before you send in the authentication paperwork for us to process with the Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate.

STEP 1 - Notarized by Local Notary Public

Non-government issued document should first be notarized by a Notary Public.
State issued document such as vital record, certificate of corporation, etc doesn't need to be notarized. You should obtain a certified copy, skip step 1.

How to obtain a notarize copy of your document such as passport ?

How to translate document in order to be authenticated such as marriage certificate?

STEP 2 - Authenticated by the Secretary of State

Every document should be further authenticated separately by the Secretary of State by adding a cover statement with a designated big seal, signature and wording recognized by Vietnamese Consulate.
Once authenticated, the staple(s) must not be removed, or it will invalidate the document.
When you submit the document to secretary of your state, please indicate the document will be used in Vietnam.
Click here for state level certification sample
Click here for state authentication office

STEP 3 - Authentication Application Form

Download and fill out the application form also know as Letter of Request for Consular Legalization Certification.

STEP 4 - Photocopy of applicant's ID

Photocopy of applicant's passport or driver's license.

STEP 5 - Select a Service

Regular 12-15 days processing: US$246.00/per document
Consular Fee: $70.00 + Service Fee: $140.00 + Return shipping fee: $36.00
Express 7-10 days processing: US$296.00/per document
Consular Fee: $100.00 + Service Fee: $160.00 + Return shipping fee: $36.00
Express Plus 3-5 days processing: US$346.00/per document
Consular Fee: $120.00 + Service Fee: $190.00 + Return shipping fee: $36.00

Forms of Payment:

Payment needs to be in forms of money order, cashiers check, certified check or cash. Please make check or money order payable to VisaRite Service. Personal check is not accepted.
You may also pay by credit card online. Credit card payment is subject to 3.6% surcharge.
Return shipping fee listed is for return addresses within the continental U.S. If your return address is in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or Canada, please include an extra extended delivery area fee of $10.00 per order. If you need to ship back to other international address, additional fee and time is needed, please call for detail.

STEP 6 - Complete Service Request Form

Click here for Service Request Form

STEP 7 - Send the Application Package to VisaRite Service

Put all following items together in one package

The original notarized and authenticated document, and a photo copy of each single page. You may fold page when making copies. Do not unstaple, or it will invalidate the document.
One clearly and completely filled "Application Form for Authentication ".
Copy of the passport or photo ID of the applicant.
Check or money order payable to VisaRite Service to cover the total cost or online payment confirmation.

To prevent delay caused by any errors or omissions, please email us at: service@visarite.net a scanned copy or images of the complete application paperwork for a pre-check. We will email you the detailed shipping instruction once the pre-check is completed.

Remarks

The processing time is Consulate processing time and doesn't include the return shipping time. First day of receiving is not processing day.

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