Getting your study-abroad papers ready in Viet Nam
In short: 6 offices in Viet Nam verify, attest or issue the papers a student visa asks for. For each: what it does, the official portal, the steps, the fee as its official page prints it and its offices, read on 16 October 2026.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Consular Department (Hanoi) and Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs
Puts the official stamp on Vietnamese papers (degrees, school certificates, transcripts, birth extracts, police record) so they are accepted abroad. Viet Nam joined the Hague Apostille Convention; it took effect on 11 September 2026, and these two offices are the apostille authorities. Germany, Austria and Czechia objected to Viet Nam joining, so for those countries the old route still applies: consular certification here, then legalisation by that country's embassy (for Germany, students use the APS certificate instead - see the APS entry).
Check which country you are going to. If it is in the Apostille Convention and did not object to Viet Nam, you need an apostille. If it is Germany, Austria or Czechia (or a non-member country), you need consular certification and then the embassy's legalisation.
Get your papers ready first: original documents or properly certified copies, issued and signed by the Vietnamese office that made them.
Fill in the online form on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs public service portal (dichvucong.mofa.gov.vn) or the National Public Service Portal (dichvucong.gov.vn) and choose where you will hand in: Consular Department in Hanoi or the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ho Chi Minh City.
Hand in or post the papers to the office you chose, and keep your application code to track it.
Collect the stamped papers (or receive them by post).
Appointment: The official pages describe online forms and hand-in at the one-stop desk during opening hours; no separate appointment system was confirmed. Not confirmed on an official page; check before you go.
Offices
Hanoi: Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 40 Tran Phu, Ba Dinh ward, Hanoi. Certifications and legalisations: Monday-Friday 8:30-11:00 and 14:00-16:00; Saturday 8:30-11:00 (closed on public holidays)
Ho Chi Minh City: Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs, 6 Alexandre de Rhodes, Sai Gon ward, Ho Chi Minh City. Not confirmed on an official page; check before you go.
APS (Akademische Pruefstelle) at the German Embassy Hanoi
Checks Vietnamese school and university certificates for students who want to study in Germany and issues the APS certificate, which German universities and the German visa section accept as proof that your papers are real and good enough for entry.
The school or university that issued your certificate (with the Ministry of Education and Training rules)
Confirms that a Vietnamese degree or certificate is genuine when a foreign university or embassy asks. Under Ministry of Education Circular 21/2019, the head of the issuing institution is responsible for verifying it. The Ministry itself only recognises foreign degrees for use inside Viet Nam.
Steps
Ask the foreign university or embassy exactly what proof it wants (a verification letter, certified copy, or the APS certificate for Germany).
Contact the training or student office of the school or university that issued your certificate and ask for a verification letter or a certified copy from the original register.
Then have the papers apostilled or certified at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs if the destination requires it.
Judicial Record Certificate (Phieu ly lich tu phap) - Ministry of Public Security
Issues your criminal record certificate (police certificate). Since 1 July 2026 the Ministry of Public Security runs this service instead of the Ministry of Justice; in-person applications go to its Department of Professional Records or the provincial/city police.
If you have a level-2 electronic ID, apply in the VNeID app or on the National Public Service Portal (dichvucong.gov.vn): choose the judicial record certificate service and fill in the form.
Without an electronic ID, apply in person or by post at the provincial/city police or the Ministry's Department of Professional Records.
Wait about 5 working days (up to 15 days if they need to check more).
Online applicants get an electronic certificate with a QR code in VNeID; it has the same legal value as paper.
If an embassy or the apostille/legalisation office needs paper, ask for a supplementary paper copy: the Ministry allows this for people who already got the electronic one and show the foreign office requires paper.
Fee, as the official page prints it: Cá nhân sử dụng thông tin lý lịch tư pháp hiển thị trên VNeID không phải nộp phí cung cấp thông tin. (official source, checked 16 October 2026)
Log in to dichvucong.gov.vn (you can scan a QR code with VNeID; you need a level-2 electronic ID account).
Search 'khai sinh' and choose the procedure for copies of the birth registration extract / birth certificate; pick the office for your permanent or temporary address.
Click submit online, fill in the form and type how many copies you want in the fee box.
Upload the request form and the citizen ID card of the person named on the birth record.
Tick the commitment box, submit, and write down the application code to track the result.
Notary offices and commune-level People's Committees (translator signature certification)
Viet Nam has no 'sworn translator' list. A translator makes the translation, then a notary or the chairman of the commune People's Committee certifies the translator's signature (chung thuc chu ky nguoi dich). Vietnamese embassies abroad can also do this.
In person
Steps
Use a translator who is registered as a collaborator with a notary office or with the commune People's Committee (their sample signature must be on file there).
Get the translation done; the translator is responsible for its accuracy.
Take the original paper and the translation to that notary office or commune People's Committee and ask for certification of the translator's signature.
Check whether the destination also wants the translation apostilled or legalised.
U.S. Embassy Hanoi and U.S. Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City (interviews); bookings through the U.S. Visa Service Desk (ustraveldocs) · Official booking
Get your I-20 from the U.S. school and pay the SEVIS fee.
Fill in the DS-160 form online and keep the barcode (starts with AA).
Create an account on ustraveldocs.com/vn, pay the visa fee and book your interview in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City using the same DS-160 barcode.
Go to the interview with your passport, DS-160 confirmation and documents.
Hanoi: Not confirmed on an official page; check before you go.. Call centre 19005314: Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ho Chi Minh City: Not confirmed on an official page; check before you go.. Call centre 19005314: Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.