How to get a police clearance certificate from Vietnam for an Australian visa

Who issues it: the 2025 change you need to know about

Vietnam's criminal record certificate was for many years issued by provincial Departments of Justice and the National Centre for Criminal Records under the Ministry of Justice. From 1 March 2025, responsibility transferred to the Ministry of Public Security: applications are now received and processed by the ministry's criminal records function and the provincial police, and applicants inside Vietnam can also apply digitally through the VNeID system.

Two certificate types exist and both survived the reorganisation. Certificate No. 1 shows unspent convictions only, while Certificate No. 2 shows all convictions including expunged ones, along with more personal history detail. Which type an overseas authority wants varies; for Australian immigration purposes, obtain the type Home Affairs or your case officer specifies, and if no type is specified, it is worth confirming before you apply rather than paying twice.

Any instructions you find referring to lodging at a Department of Justice reflect the pre-2025 system — check anything you read, including this guide, against the current advice of the Vietnamese authorities or a Vietnamese mission before acting on it.

When Home Affairs asks for a Vietnamese certificate

Home Affairs' general rule: applicants aged 17 or over may be asked for a police certificate from each country where they spent more than 12 months cumulatively in the last 10 years, with time counted from their 16th birthday. That captures most Vietnamese nationals applying for Australian skilled, student-to-PR and partner pathways, and also many Australians and third-country nationals who spent a year or more working in Vietnam.

Some sources note Vietnamese certificates are relevant for stays of six months or more under Vietnamese practice, but for Australian visa purposes the trigger that matters is Home Affairs' own cumulative 12-month framework — and ultimately, whatever your case officer requests.

Requests typically arrive through ImmiAccount after lodgement. Because the Vietnamese process has just been restructured and overseas applications involve extra steps, do not leave this certificate to the last minute if you think Vietnam is in scope. A MARA-registered migration agent can review your residence history and confirm whether Vietnam — and which other countries — will need certificates for your application.

Applying from outside Vietnam

This is the part to treat most carefully, because the 2025 transfer of responsibility changed the mechanics. Under the previous system, people who had left Vietnam applied through the national criminal records centre, usually via an authorised representative in Vietnam acting under a legalised power of attorney; Vietnamese diplomatic missions also assisted certain applicants. Under the new arrangements, applications route through the Ministry of Public Security and provincial police, and in-country applicants use the VNeID digital identity platform — which overseas applicants without Vietnamese digital identity credentials may not be able to access.

The practical approach from Australia: first, contact the Embassy of Vietnam in Canberra or the consulates in Sydney or Perth and ask how criminal record certificate applications from Australia are currently being handled for your situation (Vietnamese citizen abroad, or former foreign resident). Second, if a representative route is available, line up a trusted person in Vietnam and prepare a power of attorney to their instructions — powers of attorney signed in Australia generally need notarisation and consular legalisation or authentication to be usable in Vietnam.

We have not been able to verify a single settled from-overseas procedure under the post-2025 system, so the honest advice is: confirm the current channel with the Vietnamese mission before preparing documents, and be sceptical of agencies claiming a guaranteed fast track.

Documents, fees and timing

Expect to need: the prescribed application form under the current (2025) regulations; your passport, and for former foreign residents, copies of the passport and visas or residence permits covering your time in Vietnam; your residential address history in Vietnam; and, for representative applications, the legalised power of attorney plus your representative's identity papers. Vietnamese nationals will also use their citizen identity details.

The official fee has commonly been cited at around 200,000 VND per certificate with processing inside Vietnam of roughly 15 working days, but both figures predate or straddle the reorganisation — check the current fee and timeframe with the issuing authority or the embassy when you confirm the channel. Add courier time in both directions and legalisation time for the power of attorney, and a realistic end-to-end budget from Australia is one to two months.

Keep your personal details — name order, date of birth, addresses — identical across the Vietnamese application and your Australian visa forms. If the certificate issues in Vietnamese only, you will need an English translation by an accredited translator for Home Affairs; ask when applying whether a bilingual or translated version is available.

Validity and the separate AFP check for time in Australia

Home Affairs generally treats police certificates as valid for 12 months from the date of issue, and the certificate normally needs to remain in date at the time your visa is decided. Given the extra steps involved in obtaining a Vietnamese certificate from Australia, aim to have it issued early enough to be useful but not so early that it ages out during a long processing queue — for partner visas in particular, this timing question is worth thinking through.

The Vietnamese certificate covers Vietnam only. If you have lived in Australia for a cumulative 12 months or more in the last 10 years, Home Affairs will also expect an Australian Federal Police National Police Check. Apply online at afp.gov.au, selecting the Immigration/Citizenship purpose for supply to the Department of Home Affairs — commonly called code 33. The standard check costs $56 at the time of writing; confirm on the AFP site. State police certificates do not substitute for the AFP national check.

Which certificates your application needs, which Vietnamese certificate type to request, and how to sequence it all — these are case-specific questions a MARA-registered migration agent can answer definitively after looking at your actual history.

Who issues Vietnam's police certificate now?

Since 1 March 2025, criminal record certificates are handled by Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security and provincial police, taking over from the Ministry of Justice and provincial Departments of Justice. In-country applicants can apply via the VNeID digital platform. Guides describing lodgement at a Department of Justice are out of date.

What is the difference between Certificate No. 1 and No. 2?

Certificate No. 1 records unspent convictions only; Certificate No. 2 records all convictions including expunged ones and carries more detail. If Home Affairs has not specified a type for your application, confirm which one is needed before applying so you do not pay for the wrong certificate.

Can I apply from Australia without returning to Vietnam?

Historically yes, via an authorised representative in Vietnam under a legalised power of attorney, with Vietnamese missions assisting some applicants. The 2025 reorganisation changed the receiving authorities, and a settled from-overseas procedure under the new system is best confirmed with the Vietnamese Embassy in Canberra or the consulates in Sydney or Perth before you prepare documents.

Does the Vietnamese certificate cover my time in Australia?

No. Time in Australia is covered by a separate AFP National Police Check — applied for online at afp.gov.au with the Immigration/Citizenship purpose (commonly called code 33) — and any other country where you spent more than 12 cumulative months in the last decade may need its own certificate.