New regulations regarding the management of land border areas

This Decree amends and supplements a number of articles of the following 7 Decrees:

1- Decree No. 34/2014/ND-CP dated April 29, 2014 of the Government on the regulations of land border areas of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

2- Decree No. 112/2014/ND-CP dated November 21, 2014 of the Government regulating the management of land border gates.

3- Decree No. 71/2015/ND-CP dated September 3, 2015 of the Government regulating the management of activities of people and vehicles in the maritime border areas of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

4- Decree No. 77/2017/ND-CP dated July 3, 2017 of the Government regulating the management and protection of security and order at port gates.

5- Decree No. 114/2017/ND-CP dated October 9, 2017 of the Government regulating Border Guard Stations in remote and isolated areas.

6- Decree No. 106/2021/ND-CP dated December 6, 2021 of the Government detailing a number of articles of the Law on Vietnam Border Guard.

7- Decree No. 34/2023/ND-CP dated June 16, 2023 of the Government amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 112/2014/ND-CP dated November 21, 2014 of the Government regulating the management of land border gates.

Regarding regulations related to land border areas, the Decree amends and supplements a number of articles of Decree No. 34/2014/ND-CP, specifically:

Decree amending and supplementing a number of regulations for Vietnamese citizens and foreigners entering land border areas (in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 6 of Decree No. 34/2014/ND-CP) as follows:

"1. For Vietnamese citizens
Vietnamese citizens entering land border areas must have one of the following documents: Citizen identification card, Identity card, Electronic identification card or other identification documents as prescribed by law.

2. For foreigners

a) Foreigners permanently or temporarily residing in Vietnam entering land border areas (except tourist, service and economic zones) must have a permit issued by the provincial-level Public Security agency where they permanently or temporarily reside or the provincial-level Public Security agency at the land border where they arrive in accordance with the provisions of law. They must carry their passport or valid international travel documents or documents related to their residence in Vietnam and must present them when requested by a competent authority;

b) Vietnamese agencies and organizations bringing foreigners into land border areas must have a letter of introduction from the managing agency or organization; accompanying officers must have the documents specified in Clause 1 of this Article. At the same time, the agency or organization must notify the Border Guard Command and the provincial-level Police at the destination at least 24 hours in advance;

c) In case foreigners travel in delegations or high-level delegations to land border areas, Vietnamese agencies and organizations (inviting agencies or agencies working with the delegation) must notify in writing the Border Guard Command and the provincial-level Police of the destination, and send officers to accompany them for guidance.

Decree amending and supplementing Clause 2, Article 8 of Decree No. 34/2014/ND-CP on the construction of projects and works in land border areas in the direction of reducing the processing time of agencies (Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Public Security , Ministry of Foreign Affairs) that are sent documents for comments from 30 days to 20 days; at the same time, more specifically regulating the notification responsibility of investors when implementing projects. Specifically:

"2. When constructing projects and works within the border belt, the local state management agency for construction must seek written opinions from the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before submitting them to the competent authority for approval. Within 20 days from the date of receiving a complete and valid dossier, the agency receiving the opinion must respond in writing to the agency that sent the opinion.
When implementing projects and works, investors must notify in writing the project implementation date and construction commencement date to the Border Guard Command, Provincial Police and local authorities at least 03 working days before project implementation or construction commencement.

In addition, the Decree also issued a new Appendix on the list of communes and wards in land border areas to conform to the two-level government apparatus (removing the district level).

Regarding land border gate management, the Decree amends and supplements a number of articles of Decree No. 112/2014/ND-CP as follows:

Decree amending a number of regulations on procedures for opening and upgrading international border gates and main border gates (bilateral border gates) at Points a and b, Clause 1, Article 20 of Decree No. 112/2014/ND-CP as follows:

"a) At the request of the Commander of the Provincial Military Command or the Border Guard Command (when authorized), the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee where there is a national border decides to establish a working group representing relevant provincial Departments and branches, including: Border Guard Command, Provincial Military Command, Provincial Public Security, Foreign Affairs, Industry and Trade, Health, Agriculture and Environment, Construction, Finance, People's Committees of communes with border gates expected to be opened or upgraded, and representatives of the Customs Sub-Department of the area chaired by the Border Guard Command to conduct a survey to determine the location of the opening or upgrading of the border gate, the situation of facilities, equipment, inspection and control forces, the flow of people, vehicles, and imported and exported goods. Within 10 working days from the date of completion of the survey, the Border Guard Command shall synthesize the survey results and send them to the Commander of the Provincial Military Command to report to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee on the opening or upgrading of the national border gate. international, main border gate (bilateral border gate);

b) Within no more than 15 working days from the date of receiving the proposal from the provincial military command or the Border Guard Command (when authorized) on opening or upgrading international border gates, main border gates (bilateral border gates), the People's Committee of the province where the border is located shall send a document to the local government of the neighboring province bordering the neighboring country requesting to hold talks to agree on the location, opening or upgrading, and implementation plan (expected time for opening or upgrading) of the border gate.

The Decree also amends and supplements Point b, Clause 2 of Decree No. 112/2014/ND-CP regulating the order and procedures for opening and upgrading secondary border gates and border openings, specifically:

"b) Within 15 working days from the date of receiving the proposal of the provincial military command or the Border Guard Command (when authorized) on opening a secondary border gate, opening or upgrading a border opening to a secondary border gate, the People's Committee of the province where the border is located shall send a document to the local authority of the neighboring province bordering the neighboring country requesting to hold talks to agree on the location and expected time to open or upgrade the secondary border gate or border opening".

In addition, the supplementary Decree (in Clause 4, Article 16 of Decree No. 112/2014/ND-CP) stipulates that it is necessary to report to the Commander of the Provincial Military Command, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and notify the Provincial Police after the Commander of the Border Guard Command agrees with the competent authorities of the neighboring country to decide on the opening time of the border gate outside of working hours during the day. Specifically:

"4. The Commander of the Border Guard Command shall, in coordination with the competent authorities of neighboring countries, decide on the opening time of border gates outside of working hours during the day in cases of emergency related to national defense, security, natural disasters, fires, rescue of victims, arrest of criminals or other force majeure reasons; at the same time, must promptly report to the Commander of the Provincial Military Command, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, the Border Guard Command, notify the Provincial Police and be responsible before the law for his/her decisions."

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/quy-dinh-moi-lien-quan-den-viec-quan-ly-khu-vuc-bien-gioi-dat-lien-20251120213048096.htm