Decision No. 210/1999/QD-TTg of October 27, 1999, on a number of policies towards overseas Vietnamese

DECISION

ON A NUMBER OF POLICIES TOWARDS OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government of September 30, 1992;Pursuant to the Law on Vietnamese Nationality of May 20, 1998;With a view to creating favorable conditions for and encouraging overseas Vietnamese to maintain close contacts with their native land and actively contribute to the cause of national construction;At the proposal of the Minister for Foreign Affairs,

DECIDES:

Article 1.-

1. Vietnamese citizens residing overseas and holding valid Vietnamese passports, while on entry into or exit from Vietnam, shall not need visas.

2. After entering Vietnam, the Vietnamese citizens residing overseas and holding valid Vietnamese passports, who return to Vietnam for definite periods of time, shall fill in the procedures for their temporary residence in Vietnam according to the provisions of Vietnamese law like Vietnamese citizens residing in the country.

Vietnamese citizens residing overseas, who are relatives or private servants of foreigners working in foreign diplomatic missions or consular offices, or representative offices of international organizations in Vietnam and wish to go together with or visit the latter, shall fill in the procedures for their temporary residence according to the guidance of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Article 2.-

1. When repatriating to Vietnam, Vietnamese citizens residing overseas and holding Vietnamese passports; and people of Vietnamese origin holding foreign passports, who have made meritorious services to the cause of national liberation and construction (with certification by the Vietnamese representations in the concerned foreign countries or the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese), shall be exempt from visa fee, and enjoy the same service charges and ticket prices of different communication and transport means like Vietnamese people residing in the country.

2. The ministries, the central-level branch-managing agencies and the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to periodically notify the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the list of people of Vietnamese origin holding foreign passports as defined in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 3.-

1. Vietnamese diplomatic missions and/or consular offices in foreign countries shall have to grant passports to Vietnamese residing in such countries who still bear the Vietnamese nationality according to the provisions of law, when the latter apply therefor.

2. Vietnamese citizens in foreign countries, who have no passports or invalid passports and who apply for passports and make affidavits of reason(s) for having no passports or their passports’ invalidity, shall be considered and granted passports by Vietnamese diplomatic missions or consular offices in such countries, after such missions or offices coordinate with the functional agencies at home in verifying the status of the applicants, ensuring that the passports are granted to the right subjects and in compliance with provisions of law.

3. For Vietnamese, who have resided in foreign countries for a long time now and whose personal status in their Vietnamese native land cannot be verified, the Vietnamese diplomatic missions or consular offices in such foreign countries shall base themselves on the personal papers granted to such persons by those countries’ authorities and at the same time refer to the papers of the Vietnamese communities in the localities where such persons live certifying that the holders still bear the Vietnamese nationality, thereby considering and granting them passports, after consulting functional agencies at home.

Article 4.-

1. Any overseas Vietnamese being an intellectual, specialist or skilled worker, who returns to Vietnam to work for one year or more at the invitation of a Vietnamese State agency, with certification by the inviting agency, shall be entitled to temporarily import free of import duty one 4-seat car as well as personal equipment and effects in service of his/her work and daily life. Upon the expiry of his/her working duration, the already temporarily imported car, facilities and equipment must be re-exported. If such articles are transferred, they shall be taxed (including import tax). In cases where such articles are entrusted to the care of others in the country for use in his/her subsequent working period, he/she must obtain the concerned Vietnamese State agency’s written consent. The above-said temporary import, re-export and transfer must comply with the provisions of Vietnamese law.

2. Overseas Vietnamese who have made many contributions to the cause of Vietnam’s educational and scientific development shall be commended, rewarded and/or conferred honorable academic titles according to the provisions of Vietnamese law.

Article 5.- To assign the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, within the ambit of their functions and tasks, to coordinate with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the concerned agencies in studying and proposing to the Government for promulgation or to promulgate according to their respective competence in the second quarter of the year 2000 policies towards overseas Vietnamese, in the spirit of creating favorable conditions for and encouraging them to maintain close contacts with their home land and actively contribute to the cause of national construction.

For the immediate future, in the first quarter of the year 2000:

1. The Ministry of Construction shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the concerned agencies in studying and proposing to the Government for consideration and decision the policy on residential houses of overseas Vietnamese.

2. The Ministry of Culture and Information shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in organizing Vietnamese traditional culture activities in foreign countries, firstly in regions where reside large Vietnamese communities.

3. The Government Pricing Committee shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the General Department of Post and Telecommunications, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam and the other concerned agencies in studying and proposing to the Government for consideration and decision subsidies for the costs of transport of films, publications, cultural products and propaganda documents to Vietnamese communities overseas and airfares for domestic art troupes recommended by the Ministry of Culture and Information or the Ministry for Foreign Affairs for performance in service of overseas Vietnamese community.

4. The Ministry of Education and Training shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the concerned agencies in studying ways of teaching the Vietnamese language to overseas Vietnamese community, in strict compliance with the laws of the countries where the overseas Vietnamese reside.

5. The Radio Voice of Vietnam and the Vietnam Television Station shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the concerned agencies in considering the establishment of relations of cooperation with the concerned organizations of foreign countries in broadcasting Vietnamese radio and television programs overseas in service of Vietnamese communities.

6. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the concerned agencies in devising measures to promote the information and propaganda activities on the Internet, and the distribution of publications, cultural products and propaganda documents in service of the overseas Vietnamese communities.

Article 6.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its signing. All the previous stipulations which are contrary to this Decision are now annulled.

The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Decision.