US Citizen Obtaining a Background Check in Vietnam

An FBI check needs fingerprints.  There are ways around that but they are cumbersome.  It can only be mailed to a US address and right now it takes 8-10 weeks plus mailing per their website.

A better way is a state check but there is a lot of difference between states as far as requirements.  Some need prints, some don't.  Some can be online, some are only in person.

1)  What is your home state?

2)  What state is your degree from?  This gives you an alternate source.  VN officials will not be likely to see the difference as nothing on the work permit application asks for your home address.

3)  Another alternative is a local jurisdiction check, like a county or city check.

I am from Arizona. When I was looking to get my first background check to move to Thailand I contacted the county and they said that they were unable to give a county check. I will look into that again.

Hi! I'm in the same boat right now. I'm living in China and my background check isn't valid anymore. I was wondering did they accept the Arizona state check? I'm getting one for Maryland right now and was wondering if that would be okay.

Thanks!

Elbee94 wrote:

I'm getting one for Maryland right now and was wondering if that would be okay.

It should be fine.  As I posted above, the authorities seem OK with state and even municipal checks.  Unless things have changed since this post http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic … highlight= I doubt that kcalloway was able to obtain an Arizona check remotely as they requite fingerprinting.  Hopefully she found another solution.

Gentlemen,

The"background check"that you are referring to is actually a Police Report from where you have been staying for the past 6 months. e.g. If you have been living in Thailand or China it is from Thailand or China.

jpbsimpson wrote:

Gentlemen,

The"background check"that you are referring to is actually a Police Report from where you have been staying for the past 6 months. e.g. If you have been living in Thailand or China it is from Thailand or China.

Except that as a practical matter, authorities in Vietnam will want a check from your home country.  Unless the form has been updated since 2013, there is no place on the application asking your recent whereabouts.  There is a line for work experience outside of Vietnam but unless you are using the 5 years experience in place of a Bachelor's degree, there is no reason to fill that line in.  Most US citizens, such as the OP, naturally get a check from their home state but even then, I don't see any place on the application that asks for your US residence so you probably could get a check from any state.  I know it seems crazy but the main thing is to satisfy the authorities, not necessary to be factually accurate. 

If you jpbsimpson are from Scotland, you presumably would get a check there although I have no idea how easy or difficult that is.  As the UK consulate has apparently stopped notarizing documents, you also might have to have it legalized at the Viet Embassy in the UK, not at all an enticing prospect.  Perhaps a check from China would be easier.

As I have been physically outside Scotland for in excess of 40 years I needed a police background check for a Vietnam work permit from Taiwan where I had been working in excess of 6 months. A recent UK expatriate has had his background check for a Vietnamese work permit from Cambodia where he had been employed. In the case of getting a police report from UK it is not that difficult as all that you get is a statement that the police have no record of you i.e. you could be a criminal BUT we never caught you! The whole process is made difficult in that the report, the endorsement by UK government and Vietnamese Embassy in London has all to be accomplished with the three months prior to the application in Vietnam. In my experience and others the only people in Vietnam that also want a report from your home countryl are trying to put roadblocks in the way in order to offer a solution to removing them!