I’m a foreigner working in a university in Vietnam but I don’t permanently reside in Vietnam. I met a Vietnamese girl last year. She lives with her parents in Hanoi and wants to become my adopted daughter. Can I adopt her?
According to Vietnamese law, you are a foreigner permanently residing abroad, and may adopt a specific Vietnamese child if you have been working or studying in Vietnam for at least one year.
To do so, you must fully meet the following conditions:
- Having full civil act capacity;
- Being 20 years old or older;
- Having health, financial and housing conditions for assuring the care for and the nurture and education of the adopted child;
- Having good ethical quality;
- Not having some of the parental rights over a minor child restricted;
- Having no criminal record of commission of any of the following crimes: intentionally infringing upon another’s life, health, dignity and honor; maltreating or persecuting one’s grandparents, parents, spouse, children, grandchildren or caretaker; enticing or compelling a minor to violate the law or harboring a minor violator; trafficking in, fraudulently swapping or appropriating children.
A girl allowed to be adopted must be under 16 years. If she is between full 16 years and under 18 years old, she can only be adopted by her step father or step mother, her blood aunt or uncle.
If I can, what are procedures for child adoption in Vietnam?
You are a foreigner not permanently residing in Vietnam, so you have to prepare a dossier comprising: a written request for adoption, a written certification of the commune-level People’s Committee or police office of the place of residence in Vietnam and other papers and documents proving that you are a foreigner who has been working or studying in Vietnam for at least one year by the date of dossier submission to the Department of Adoption of the Ministry of Justice; and the following documents (made, issued or certified by competent agencies of the country in which you permanently reside):
A copy of your passport or a valid substitute paper;
A written permission for adopting a child in Vietnam;
A completed questionnaire on psychology and family;
A health certificate;
An income and property certificate;
A criminal record certificate;
A written certification of the marital status.
Papers and documents in your dossier which have been compiled, granted or certified by foreign competent agencies must be consularly legalized for use in Vietnam, unless they are exempt from consular legalization under a treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party or on the reciprocity principle.
Since you want to adopt a specific child, you have to submit the dossier directly to the Department of Adoption of the Justice Ministry. If having a plausible reason for being unable to submit the dossier directly to the Department of Adoption, you may authorize in writing a relative permanently residing in Vietnam to submit the dossier directly or to send the dossier by registered mail to the Department of Adoption.
When submitting your dossier, you have to submit a dossier of the to-be-adopted child, comprising the birth certificate; a health certificate granted by a district- or higher-level health agency; two photos of the whole body looking straight, taken within the past six months; the summary of characteristics, hobbies and habits of the child which must provide truthful information on the health conditions and diseases, if any, of the child and his/her hobbies and daily habits (for the adopting person to pay attention to in caring for, nurturing and educating the child after the adoption).
Her birth parents have to compile this dossier.
Once every six months within three years from the date of receipt of the adopted girl, you have to notify the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice and the representative mission in your country in which you permanently reside of her health, physical and mental conditions and integration with you, your spouse, family and community.-