NOTIFICATION

EMBASSY OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM IN JAPAN

on the Application of the Apostille in Place of Consular Legalisation

effective from 11 September 2026

         1. General information

Viet Nam has acceded to the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (the Apostille Convention). The Convention enters into force for Viet Nam on 11 September 2026. Accordingly, from that date, public documents executed in one Contracting Party and produced for use in the other require only a single certificate, the Apostille, in place of the previous consular legalisation procedure, in relations between Viet Nam and the Contracting Parties for which the Convention is in force with Viet Nam.

An Apostille certifies the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which the public document bears. An Apostille does not certify the content of the document.

        2. Change at Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam in Japan

      As from 11 September 2026, Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam in Japan will cease to accept applications for consular legalisation of public documents issued by the competent authorities ofJapan

        3. Documents issued in Japan for use in Viet Nam

Please apply directly to the competent authority for the issuance of Apostilles of Japan indicated in section 7 below. A public document bearing a valid Apostille may be used in Viet Nam without any further certification. Where the document is not drawn up in Vietnamese, a Vietnamese translation, notarised or certified in accordance with the law of Viet Nam, is required.

        4. Vietnamese documents for use in Japan

Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam in Japan does not issue Apostilles. Vietnamese public documents are to be submitted to the competent authority designated by Viet Nam for the issuance of Apostilles. Information on the receiving authority, the required documents, the fees and the processing time is available at apostille.lanhsuvietnam.gov.vn.

         5. Cases in which consular legalisation continues to apply

a) Documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents;

b) Administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations;

c) Documents issued in a State or territory in respect of which the Convention is not in force with Viet Nam, namely the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Austria and the Czech Republic; the Kingdom of Thailand until 28 February 2027; Greenland (Kingdom of Denmark); Tokelau (New Zealand); and States not party to the Convention.

        6. Documents legalised before 11 September 2026

Documents legalised through consular channels before 11 September 2026 remain valid for use in Viet Nam. There is no need to repeat the procedure in the form of an Apostille. Apostilles issued by foreign competent authorities before 11 September 2026 are likewise accepted for use in Viet Nam.

        7. Competent authority for the issuance of Apostilles in [name of the host State]

          Where Japan has designated more than one competent authority, or where a territory has its own competent authority, please contact the authority corresponding to the place where the document was issued.

         8. Contact

For further information, please contact the Consular Section, Embassy of Viet Nam; address Tokyo, 151-0062, Shibuya-ku, Motoyoyogi-cho, 50-11; telephone (813) 3466-3311; e-mail vnconsular@vnembassy.jp; website https://vnembassy-jp.org/.

Thank you for your attention.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Tokyo, 10/09/2026                 

                                                                                                                                                                                                             EMBASSY OF THE

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM

     IN JAPAN