Passports and travel documents

What this service is

This covers the procedures for the documents you need to travel between Australia and Vietnam. The first is the ordinary passport for Vietnamese citizens, including first-time issue and renewal. The second is the 5-year visa exemption certificate, for people of Vietnamese origin who hold a foreign passport, and their spouses and children.

From 1 April 2026, according to the Embassy's guidance page, you can choose a chip-embedded or non-chip passport. Both have equal validity. To get the chip-embedded type, the applicant must attend in person to have a photo and fingerprints taken, and children under 14 cannot yet be issued this type. Applications sent by post when the applicant is not present receive a non-chip passport.

Who needs it and when

A first-time passport is for children born overseas, or people who left Vietnam a long time ago and have never held a passport. Renewal is for passports that are lost, damaged, expired or due to expire within 1 year, or where a child needs to be separated from a parent's passport.

The 5-year visa exemption certificate is for people of Vietnamese origin holding a foreign passport, and their spouses and children of other nationalities. It is used for visiting family or handling personal matters. If you are travelling for business, study, investment or work, you need the appropriate type of visa. The certificate is valid for 5 years or until 6 months before the passport expires, whichever comes first. Each entry allows a stay of up to 6 months, and you can apply for one extension of up to a further 6 months.

We did not find confirmed information about travel permits (giấy thông hành) on the pages we read. If you need one, please ask the Embassy or ask us to enquire for you.

Documents usually needed

• An application form completed online, printed, signed and with a photo attached. Passport forms are completed on passport.mofa.gov.vn, and visa exemption forms on the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. Fill them in in Vietnamese with diacritics, with names in the order surname, middle name, given name.
• Recent photos taken within the last 6 months, on a white background and meeting the specifications. A passport needs 2 photos of 3×4 size, and a visa exemption certificate needs 2 photos of 4×6 cm.
• Renewal: the original old passport plus one copy. For a lost passport, you need a police report or reference number and the TK05 lost passport declaration form.
• First-time passport for a child: a certified copy of the Vietnamese birth certificate, a copy of the child's Australian visa or passport, and a parent's identity documents. If there is no Vietnamese birth certificate yet, the birth must be recorded first (see the Civil status registration page).
• Visa exemption certificate: a passport valid for at least 1 more year, documents proving Vietnamese origin, and for a spouse or child, a marriage certificate or birth certificate as well.
• A prepaid express or registered post envelope, addressed to the recipient, if you want to receive the result by post.

Steps

1. Check the expiry date of your current passport and compare it with your travel date. The Embassy says you can apply for renewal within 1 year before the passport expires.
2. Complete the application form online, print it, and check that the barcode or QR code is as described on the guidance page.
3. Prepare the documents and photos for your type of application.
4. Book an appointment to lodge in person through the Embassy's booking page, or send the application by post if you live far away or cannot attend.
5. The Embassy may verify identity with the authorities of both countries. For a visa exemption certificate, the application is also forwarded to the Immigration Department for verification, which can take up to 4 weeks.
6. Collect the result in person or receive it by post.

Timing and fees

The passport guidance page does not state a general processing time. The clock only starts once the application is complete and has been checked, and the date counted is the date the Embassy receives it, not the date you send it. If verification is needed, the passport is issued within 2 working days after the authority in Vietnam responds. Until the authority in Vietnam replies, the Embassy cannot issue it.

The pages we read only say that a fee must be paid and how to pay it (cash, money order or bank cheque made out to Embassy of Viet Nam, depending on the type of application), without giving amounts. Please ask the Embassy or check the fee schedule linked from the FAQ page before you lodge.

How TNT Global helps

We check your application before you lodge it, help you complete the form with the names in the correct order, translate documents when needed, prepare a checklist, remind you of common mistakes, help with booking appointments and send applications by tracked post. TNT Global helps prepare, translate and lodge documents; the assessment and issue of the passport or visa exemption certificate is decided by the Embassy and the competent authorities.

Common mistakes

• Photos that do not meet requirements: a non-white background, glasses, ears covered, or older than 6 months so they cannot be uploaded to the form.
• Names written differently across documents, especially the order of surname and middle name for children born in Australia.
• A printed form missing the barcode, or a visa exemption barcode that does not start with AUS.
• Declaring a passport lost, then finding it and continuing to use it. According to the Embassy, that passport may be refused entry and must be handed in for cancellation.
• Posting the original of an expired passport when the procedure does not require it, and then losing it.