After the German Government announced on July 27, 2022, that it would not accept new passports from Vietnam, the German Federal Police immediately issued an order to refuse entry and transit of all Vietnamese citizens using Vietnamese blue passports with the symbol P, newly issued from July 1, 2022, to present.
On July 29, 2022, the German Foreign Ministry replied to thoibao.de with the content
„The Socialist Republic of Vietnam issued new passports from July 1, 2022, without giving other countries sufficient advance notice. With the new Vietnamese passport, clear and unencumbered identification is not possible without problems, especially in the context that applicants have to be queried upon entry at immigration offices bordering the Schengen area. Among other things, an essential identifier, the place of birth, cannot (or is no longer) be found in a passport. After a detailed technical examination, the Federal Police assessed the passports as unrecognizable for the time being. Other Schengen countries are also checking whether new passports can be recognized.”
Also on July 29, 2022, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior and Interior gave the following reply:
„Vietnam introduces new passport models on July 1, 2022. These new passports no longer provide the ‘place of birth’ section, as is the case with all passports worldwide, but only provide a sequence of digits to identify the location. Due to the similarity of names in Vietnamese society, the place of birth has always been an important feature to be able to identify the passport holder without suspicion. The Vietnamese passport is not a modern biometric passport. In addition, Vietnam has not provided new passport templates in advance, which should be quite common and should be done according to international practice.
Examinations are currently underway, including with the Vietnamese government, to see how this situation can be resolved. Other Schengen countries are also looking into this issue. In case of emergency, diplomatic missions abroad and immigration authorities can issue a replacement document for a German passport.”
The incident began to spread and directly affect Vietnamese citizens residing in Germany, when on July 29, 2022, in the State of Saxony, a Vietnamese was refused by the local management agency to issue a residence certificate when using a new Vietnamese passport to do administrative procedures here.
It is expected that in the next week, countries in Europe will simultaneously make an official decision on Vietnam’s new passport.
Translated by thoibao.de from https://thoibao.de/blog/2022/07/29/cac-nuoc-chau-au-bat-dau-tien-hanh-kiem-tra-ho-chieu-moi-cua-viet-nam-bo-ngoai-giao-bo-noi-vu-duc-len-tieng/
