Pham Hong Hanh, from Binh Tan District in Ho Chi Minh City, reached out to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper to inquire about the issuance of a criminal record certificate for her husband, who is a foreigner residing in Vietnam and wishes to establish a business.

Hanh wonders if he needs to request a Vietnamese government agency to issue this certificate, better known as a police check or police certificate.

If so, which agency should he contact to obtain it?

Pham Van Chung, a lawyer from the Kon Tum Department of Justice in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum, wrote this response:

A criminal record certificate is issued by the agency managing the criminal record database and confirms whether an individual has a criminal record. 

It also indicates if a person is prohibited from holding certain positions or from establishing or managing an enterprise or cooperative if the enterprise or cooperative is declared bankrupt by the court.

According to Clause 1, Article 7 of the 2009 Law on Criminal Records, Vietnamese citizens and foreigners residing in Vietnam have the right to request their criminal records.

Therefore, foreigners residing in Vietnam can indeed request police certificates.

According to Point C, Clause 2, Article 44 of the 2009 Law on Criminal Records, which outlines the authority to issue a criminal record certificate, Hanh’s husband, as a foreigner residing in Vietnam, should contact the Department of Justice in the province or city where he lives to process his application for the issuance of the document in accordance with regulations.

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