I am a foreigner married to a Vietnamese woman. We have two children who were both born in Vietnam with Vietnamese birth certificates but bear citizenship of my home country. My wife and I are currently residing in Vietnam while our children are studying abroad and planning to return to Vietnam after graduation. May they be naturalized in Vietnam to have dual citizenship and what procedures will I have to complete?
Conditions for foreigners who are children of Vietnamese citizens to be naturalized in Vietnam
In your case, we may assume that the natural mother of your children who wish to apply for Vietnamese citizenship is a Vietnamese citizen. Therefore, your children are not required to satisfy all the conditions specified in the 2008 Law on Vietnamese Nationality (revised in 2014). Specifically, your children just have to satisfy the following conditions:
- Having the full civil act capacity as provided by Vietnam’s relevant laws (being aged full 18 years and having no difficulty perceiving and controlling acts);
- Abiding by the Constitution and laws of Vietnam; respecting traditions, customs and practices of the Vietnamese nation; and
- Having Vietnamese names.
Dossier of application for Vietnamese citizenship in case the applicant is exempt from a number of conditions for naturalization in Vietnam
To be permitted for naturalization in Vietnam, each of your children has to file a dossier of application for Vietnamese citizenship, which must comprise:
(i) An application for Vietnamese citizenship (made according to Form TP/QT-2010-DXNQT.1 provided in the Appendix to the Ministry of Justice’s Circular 08/2010/TT-BTP dated March 25, 2010);
(ii) A copy of his/her birth certificate;
(iii) A copy of his/her passport;
(iv) A curriculum vitae (made according to Form TP/QT-2010-TKLL provided in the Appendix to the Ministry of Justice’s Circular 08/2010/TT-BTP dated March 25, 2010);
(v) A judicial record issued by a competent Vietnamese authority for his/her period of residence in Vietnam (made at the provincial-level Department of Justice of the locality where he/she resides or the National Center for Criminal Record); and
(vi) A judicial record issued by a competent foreign authority for his/her period of residence in the foreign country of which he/she is a citizen in accordance with that country’s laws.
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| Granting decisions permitting the naturalization in Vietnam to migrants from the neighboring country of Laos__Photo: Nguyen Ly/VNA |
Procedures for filing and processing of dossiers of application for Vietnamese citizenship
Each of your children has to file the above-said dossier to the provincial-level Justice Department of the locality where he/she resides. In case the dossier is incomplete or invalid, the provincial-level Justice Department will immediately notify him/her thereof for completion of the dossier.
Within five working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the provincial-level Justice Department will send to the provincial-level Public Security Department a request for verification of the applicant’s personal identity.
Within 30 days after receiving a request from the provincial-level Justice Department, the provincial-level Public Security Department will verify the information provided in the dossier and send verification results to the provincial-level Justice Department. Meanwhile, the provincial-level Justice Department will examine the papers included in the dossier.
Within 10 working days after receiving verification results, the provincial-level Justice Department will submit the dossier to the provincial-level People’s Committee chairperson.
Within 10 working days after receiving a request from the provincial-level Justice Department, the provincial-level People’s Committee chairperson will consider the request, make conclusions and send his/her proposal to the Ministry of Justice.
Within 20 working days after receiving the proposal from the provincial-level People’s Committee chairperson, the Ministry of Justice will re-examine the dossier. If finding that all conditions for naturalization in Vietnam are satisfied, the Ministry will notify such in writing to your child for carrying out procedures to renounce his/her foreign citizenship.
Your child has to carry out procedures for renouncing his/her foreign citizenship in accordance with the law of the country of which he/she has citizenship. Within 10 working days after receiving a written permission for the applicant to renounce his/her foreign citizenship, the Minister of Justice will report the case to the Prime Minister for submission to the President for consideration and decision.
In case your child wishes to retain his/her foreign citizenship, within 20 days after receiving the proposal of the provincial-level People’s Committee chairperson, the Ministry of Justice will have to re-examine the dossier. If finding that the applicant is eligible for naturalization in Vietnam, the Ministry will report the case to the Prime Minister for submission to the President. The President will consider and make decision on a case-by-case basic within 30 working days after receiving the Prime Minister’s proposal.
After receiving the President’s decisions on naturalization in Vietnam and notices of the Ministry of Justice, the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where each of your children reside will direct the provincial-level Justice Department to organize decision-awarding ceremonies for him/her.-
