Recently, the website of the German Consulate General said that this was the decision of the German Interior Ministry and those who have applied for a visa will receive a separate notice from the Consulate General.
"Currently, the new dark blue Vietnamese passport (starting with the letter "P") has not been accepted by Germany. That means: if you are in possession of this new passport, you will not be able to apply for a visa to Germany," said the German Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City.
The German Embassy confirmed that it had sent a diplomatic note to Vietnam regarding the issue of the new passport model issued from July 1, 2022. In it, the German side announced that this passport model is "temporarily not recognized in Germany", therefore, German diplomatic and consular agencies in Vietnam will not issue visas to citizens using the above passport model. The diplomatic note explained that the decision to temporarily not recognize the new passport model is due to the lack of information about the place of birth, making it difficult to identify the passport holder, especially in cases of duplicate surnames.
New Vietnamese passport model.
Due to the lack of information on the passport, the German side can currently only determine the place of birth based on the 12-digit personal identification number and compare it with the 7-page list. However, not everyone performing the inspection has this list.
The Embassy confirmed that Vietnamese citizens "cannot currently apply for a German entry visa (type C or D visa) with such a passport. Your application will not be accepted until further notice".
"If you have been granted a visa (with the new passport model), we strongly advise you not to travel to Germany. Because there is a risk that you will be refused entry at the border. We will contact you personally about this," the German Embassy added.
