The German Embassy in Vietnam announced on its official website on July 27 that it would refuse visa issuance to Vietnamese people possessing a passport in the new form.
Accordingly any Vietnamese citizens holding a passport issued from July 1 with a serial number beginning with ‘P’ will be unable to apply for a type-C or type-D visa to Germany.
Even with a valid visa, the holder of these passports can still be rejected at the German border as the passports have not been initially recognised by German authorities.
The German Embassy in a note to the Consular Department - Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that the latest Vietnamese passport does not have clear information about the birthplace of its holder.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh posted in his Facebook account that this is a technical problem that will be solved soon by relevant Vietnamese agencies.