Vietnamese Consulate with the mission of serving the Fatherland and the people

Lãnh sự Việt Nam với sứ mệnh phụng sự Tổ quốc, phục vụ nhân dân

Director of the Consular Department Doan Hoang Minh. (Photo: Quang Hoa)

Since ancient times, when trade relations between cities, lands, and empires were born and developed, the consular system was formed to meet the need to protect the interests of merchants and citizens doing business and living in overseas lands. Gradually, with the perfection of State models, diplomatic relations were established, expanded, strengthened, and the consular system has since become closely linked, becoming an inseparable part of foreign affairs activities.

Silent, persistent contributions

In our country, for nearly 80 years, consular work has always quietly contributed to the successful implementation of the country's common foreign policy goals. From solving complex consular issues to untangling bottlenecks in foreign relations such as the issue of re-admitting citizens who are not allowed to reside abroad, handling diplomatic assets of some countries after the war..., to recommending major policies to promote the integration process and economic development of the country, notably joining the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, participating in the development of the Nationality Law of each period, the Consular Ordinance, policies and laws on entry, exit and residence suitable for each stage of development.

Consular work is diverse in nature, the workload is constantly increasing with the integration process, and is always under time pressure, receiving great attention from public opinion and the public. Consular activities are highly practical, closely linked and related to the rights and interests of each agency, locality, people and businesses.

In the world , protecting the rights and interests of citizens and legal entities abroad is the initial and most important task in consular work, and Vietnam is no exception. The requirements for this work have increased rapidly following the increasing trend of immigration and emigration of people, with increasingly diverse, complex and ever-changing nature. While consular work in the 1990s focused on solving the residency problem of the Vietnamese community in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, cooperating in receiving back citizens who were not granted residency abroad; in the 2000s, there were large-scale citizen protection campaigns due to conflicts, wars (Iraq, Libya, Syria, etc.), natural disasters (tsunami, earthquake), the protection of our fishermen and fishing vessels operating legally in the sea; and in recent years, the participation in the prevention of the Covid-19 pandemic and the protection of citizens in the face of the problem of "easy work, high salary" in some Southeast Asian countries.

In 2024 alone, the Consular Department and Vietnamese representative agencies abroad provided protection for more than 16,000 citizens, brought 2,170 citizens back from fraudulent establishments in Southeast Asia, supported 64 fishing boats / 433 fishermen arrested and processed by other countries, and brought nearly 600 fishermen back home. Regardless of the time, the results of citizen protection work always contribute significantly to glorious foreign achievements, strengthen the great national unity bloc, and enhance Vietnam's international reputation.

Along with citizen protection work, the implementation of other consular services, including consular administrative procedures, is always of interest to the Consular Department, the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City and representative agencies and is carried out smoothly and synchronously, to best meet the needs and interests of people at home and abroad.

These public services are divided into more than 40 administrative procedures, with diverse areas such as immigration (including issuance of diplomatic passports, official passports, ordinary passports, visas, visa exemption certificates), civil status (birth registration, marriage, parent-child recognition, etc.), nationality (renouncing nationality, determining nationality, returning to nationality), notarization, authentication, legalization, consular certification, etc. According to statistics in 2024, domestic consular agencies (Consular Department, Department of Foreign Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City) issued about 16,000 diplomatic passports, official passports, issued more than 800,000 legalization/consular certification stamps; Vietnamese representative agencies abroad issued nearly 200,000 passports of all types.

Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Party Committee, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son chaired the Conference to disseminate information on improving the effectiveness of consular work and citizen protection abroad in both direct and online forms, June 1, 2023. (Photo: Tuan Anh)

Dedicated service, constant innovation

The above contributions clearly demonstrate the silent yet great role and mission of consular work and citizen protection in the overall foreign affairs of the Party and State, with the following characteristics:

Firstly , consular work is closely linked to the development of the State's diplomatic relations, the enforcement of immigration rights and the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of citizens abroad. Consular work always serves the country's foreign affairs, wholeheartedly serving the rights and interests of the people. Citizen protection is also protecting the image and reputation of the country, implementing the policies of the Party and the laws of the State; protecting the national and ethnic interests because wherever Vietnamese citizens and legal entities are present, the national interests are there, wherever citizens go, the national interests reach there.

Second , consular work is an important task of the diplomatic sector with high specialization, closely linked to law enforcement and domestic activities, protecting domestic security and order, and handling issues with foreign elements arising in Vietnam.

Third , the consulate is the image and face of Vietnam abroad, before our partners and compatriots abroad, directly handling tangible, intimate tasks and procedures, closely related to the rights and interests of each citizen.

Realizing the above values and responsibilities, over the past 80 years, the organization and apparatus for performing consular work have been continuously improved. The predecessor was a professional department under the Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1946, in 1954 it was the Consular Department under the Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then the Consular Department was established in 1957 and in 1994 it was officially converted into the Consular Department, a unit assisting the Minister of Foreign Affairs in implementing and managing the State on consular work at home and abroad. Along with that, the network of diplomatic missions and consular agencies of Vietnam, including honorary Vietnamese consulates abroad, has been constantly expanded.

Thoroughly grasping the Party's guidelines on promoting the pioneering, important and regular role of foreign affairs and international integration, the policy of Diplomacy serving development, the Government's guiding viewpoints on administrative reform, digital transformation, taking people, localities and enterprises as the center of service, along with trends and practical requirements in the country and the world, to continue the steady development steps in the overall diplomatic sector "comprehensive, modern, professional", consular work has identified and determined to implement specific orientations for the coming period including:

Firstly , research, develop and perfect consular policies and institutions to best serve the goals of development, security and enhancing the country's position, including developing and amending legal documents on consular affairs and related policies and laws, regulating consular activities (entry and exit, nationality, household registration, consular legalization...), negotiating and signing international treaties, and participating in international consular institutions.

Second , simplify procedures, implement decentralization, improve the quality of public administrative service provision along with promoting the application of information technology, connecting databases in accordance with the policies and directions of the Government and the motto "responsibility - discipline - professionalism - service", taking the satisfaction of people and businesses as a measure of work efficiency.

Third, enhance the effectiveness of citizen protection work according to the direction of the Party Congress documents, including increasing proactiveness, promoting responsibility, publicity, transparency and readiness to respond, and arranging and using resources appropriately and effectively for citizen protection.

Fourth , strengthen the management and direction of consular work, continuously train and foster, ensure that the consular staff at home and abroad have the capacity, qualities, and mettle equal to the task, and focus on building a team of experts.

Consular work has a long history and rich tradition. Together with other foreign affairs forces, it has overcome difficulties, affirmed its mettle and demonstrated its important role and mission in foreign affairs and before the people.

Entering a new era, inheriting the great legacies of the past 80 years, consular work will certainly continue to grow and improve on the basis of thoroughly understanding the spirit of serving the Fatherland and the people. The consular staff is determined to constantly improve their political capacity, knowledge, professional expertise, cultivate their mastery, and be ready to adapt to the changes of the times.