Confirmation of Notarized Documents Information

You can do it at the US consulate in Saigon. 50.USD a piece.
After that you take to a vietnamese office to validate the US consulate signature. Address will be provided by the US consulate after the notary.

Yes 50$ a piece. I just did it for my driver license.

Thanks for the response.
And at the US consulate I can get all my documents notarized? Diploma and the criminal records as well?

ZePhilosopher wrote:

Thanks for the response.
And at the US consulate I can get all my documents notarized? Diploma and the criminal records as well?

Here's a link to the website with the information your requesting:


http://hochiminh.usconsulate.gov/service/notarials.html

Rick

I want to back up what NPBD said.  The $50 may seem like a lot until you remember that unless you are less than half a days driving distance to D.C. or the consulates in Houston or San Francisco, you will spend more than that for courier charges both ways if you do it in the US.  In fact it is two round trips, one to the State Dept. and one to the embassy.  In Vietnam, there will be other charges for translation and Vietnamese certification but these are minimal. 

I have done documents both ways and I highly recommend doing them in Vietnam.  The exception might be an FBI check.  You used to be able to order the check notarized from within the agency and have them send it directly to the State Dept but now they will only mail it to you and only to a US address.  Even then you could have a relative mail it to you in VN and have the consulate certify it. 

Another negative with dealing with the Vietnamese Embassy in DC is that they may be difficult to work with.  Four years ago when I contacted them, their staff that answered the phone had remarkably poor English skill, especially considering the posting, and was uncooperative in providing information.  I would hope that they are better now but I doubt it.  One of my documents was certified but not translated so I had to have it done again in HCMC.

One other note:  You must certify not apostille because Vietnam is not a party to the Hague treaty.  Apostilles are made by state authorities (not sure about other countries but probably provincial level) and substitute for national certification.  In the US you must certify at the state level (another step not needed in Vietnam) then send the documents to the national Dept. of State for certification.  Banish the word apostille from your thoughts.

THIGV wrote:

I want to back up what NPBD said.  The $50 may seem like a lot until you remember that unless you are less than half a days driving distance to D.C. or the consulates in Houston or San Francisco, you will spend more than that for courier charges both ways if you do it in the US.  In fact it is two round trips, one to the State Dept. and one to the embassy.  In Vietnam, there will be other charges for translation and Vietnamese certification but these are minimal. 

I have done documents both ways and I highly recommend doing them in Vietnam.  The exception might be an FBI check.  You used to be able to order the check notarized from within the agency and have them send it directly to the State Dept but now they will only mail it to you and only to a US address.  Even then you could have a relative mail it to you in VN and have the consulate certify it. 

Another negative with dealing with the Vietnamese Embassy in DC is that they may be difficult to work with.  Four years ago when I contacted them, their staff that answered the phone had remarkably poor English skill, especially considering the posting, and was uncooperative in providing information.  I would hope that they are better now but I doubt it.  One of my documents was certified but not translated so I had to have it done again in HCMC.

One other note:  You must certify not apostille because Vietnam is not a party to the Hague treaty.  Apostilles are made by state authorities (not sure about other countries but probably provincial level) and substitute for national certification.  In the US you must certify at the state level (another step not needed in Vietnam) then send the documents to the national Dept. of State for certification.  Banish the word apostille from your thoughts.

You are a life saver. I was getting stressed out about the turnover time of getting the paper work done in US and knowing I could do all of this in VN just saved so much time!

@ZePhilosopher in case you missed this part:

"Please note that academic credentials, commercial documents, and criminal background checks of U.S. origin cannot be notarized or authenticated by the Embassy and must go through the authentication process in the United States"

Rick

Budman1 wrote:

@ZePhilosopher in case you missed this part:

"Please note that academic credentials, commercial documents, and criminal background checks of U.S. origin cannot be notarized or authenticated by the Embassy and must go through the authentication process in the United States"

Rick

Ah, I see so I'm basically getting an affidavit for the documents, not really officially notarizing them. Hearing from previous comments, it seems like an affidavit is sufficient for the validation of documents to work in VN?

ZePhilosopher wrote:

Budman1 wrote:

@ZePhilosopher in case you missed this part:

"Please note that academic credentials, commercial documents, and criminal background checks of U.S. origin cannot be notarized or authenticated by the Embassy and must go through the authentication process in the United States"

Rick

Ah, I see so I'm basically getting an affidavit for the documents, not really officially notarizing them. Hearing from previous comments, it seems like an affidavit is sufficient for the validation of documents to work in VN?

Like their website says you'll have to check with your employer on that.