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Attorney at Law (Germany)
Vietnam joins The Hague Apostille Convention: Simplifying cross-border paperwork
- On 31 Dec 2025 Vietnam deposited its Instrument of Accession to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention.
- The Apostille Convention is a treaty simplifying the use of public documents among member states.
On 31 December 2025, Vietnam’s Instrument of Accession to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention abolishing the requirement of legalization for foreign public documents (the “Apostille Convention”) was deposited with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as depositary of the Convention, and notified to more than 125 member states.
The Apostille Convention is a multilateral treaty designed to simplify the use of public documents between member states. Instead of a multi-step consular legalization procedure, a public document only needs to obtain a single certificate (an apostille) issued by the competent authority of the issuing state in order to be recognized in other member states.
According to Article 12(3), the Apostille Convention will enter into force for Vietnam and the member states that have not objected to its accession on 11 September 2026. Vietnam has designated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the Consular Department in Hanoi and the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ho Chi Minh City, as the competent authorities for issuing apostille certificates.
On 25 February 2026, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son signed Decision No. 330/ QD-TTg approving the implementation plan, which aims to complete preparations by 11 September 2026, including communication measures, document verification measures and the online submission of apostille applications via the national public service portal.
As accession was only recently announced, detailed guidelines for implementation are still pending. We will continue to monitor developments and keep you updated on practical implementation in Vietnam.