Vietnam: Is it legal for the biological parents to reclaim the child that had been given up for adoption?

Mr. T and Mrs. M have been married for over 10 years but have been unable to have children despite their hopes. They have spent a lot of money, time, and effort on treatments. They have sought out doctors who are skilled in both Western and Eastern medicine, no matter how far away they were, in the hopes of having a child, but none of them have yielded any results.

Reclaiming a child after having  agreed with the his/her adoption

After multiple failed infertility treatments, Mr. T and Mrs. M were advised by two families to consider adopting a child. If the adoptive parents and the adopted child love and care for each other, their bond would be strong. Seeing the logic in this, Mr. T and Mrs. M agreed to adopt a child. While they were in the process of finding a child to adopt, they heard news about a 2-year-old child who had been abandoned and whose parents were unknown in X ward. They immediately went there and contacted the local government to adopt the child.

However, while they were in the process of adopting the child, the biological parents appeared and explained that their family circumstances were extremely difficult. They were unemployed and already had four children to take care of. The abandoned child was their third child, while the youngest was only 1 year old.

Due to their extreme hardship, the biological parents intended to give the child up for adoption to someone who had the means to care for them. Seeing that Mr. T and Mrs. M were knowledgeable, had a decent family background, and were well-off, the biological parents agreed to give their 2-year-old child to Mr. T and Mrs. M for adoption.

Since the child was adopted, Mr. T and Mrs. M's family became warmer and filled with the laughter and cries of a young child. It seemed like the happy days for Mr. T and Mrs. M would continue forever. However, three years later, the biological parents of the child came and insisted that Mr. T and Mrs. M return the child. The biological parents explained that their circumstances had improved significantly since before. They had inherited property from their parents and now had a home and some money in the bank.

They wanted to reclaim the child to raise them. Mr. T and Mrs. M were devastated because they had loved and cared for the child as their own for the past three years, and their bond and affection had grown deeper. They firmly refused to return the child to the biological parents.

Mr. T and Mrs. M also explained to the biological parents that they had willingly given the child up for adoption to them in the past, with no coercion involved. Furthermore, the adoption procedures had been carried out properly and the birth certificate listed Mr. T as the father and Mrs. M as the mother of the child.

It is not legal to arbitrarily reclaim the child that had been given up for adoption

Do the biological parents have the right to reclaim the child they gave up for adoption?

First of all, Mr. T and Mrs. M fully meet the requirements for adoptive parents as stipulated in Clause 1 Article 14 of the Law on Adoption 2010 of Vietnam. Specifically, an adopting person must fully meet the following conditions: a/ Having full civil act capacity; b/ Being 20 years or more older than the adopted person; c/ Having health, financial and accommodation conditions for assuring the care for and nurture and education of the adopted child; d/ Having good ethical qualities.

Mr. T and Mrs. M also do not fall into the cases of not being eligible to adopt a child as stated in Clause 2 Article 14 of the Law on Adoption 2010:

a/ Having some of the parental rights over a minor child restricted;

b/ Currently serving an administrative handling decision at an educational institution or medical treatment establishment;

c/ Currently serving an imprisonment penalty;

d/ Having a criminal record of commission of any of the 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, which has not been remitted yet.

Mr. T and Mrs. M have also prepared all the necessary documents and files according to the regulations, including a document expressing the consent of the biological parents to allow the child to be adopted by Mr. T and Mrs. M. They have also completed the procedures to change the child's last name to match Mr. T's last name.

According to Article 24 of the Law on Adoption 2010:

1. From the date of delivery and receipt of an adopted child, the adoptive parents and adopted child will have all the rights and obligations between parents and child; and the adopted child and other members of the adoptive parents family will also have the rights and obligations between them under the law on marriage and family, the civil law and other relevant laws.

2. At the request of adoptive parents, competent state agencies shall decide on the change of the full names of adopted children. Change of the full names of an adopted child aged 9 or more years must be consented to by such child.

3. The nationality of an adopted abandoned child shall be determined according to the nationality of the adoptive parents.

4. Unless otherwise agreed upon between the natural and adoptive parents, from the date of delivery and receipt of the adopted child, the natural parents no longer have the rights and obligations to care for. nurture, provide financial support for, represent at law, pay damages for, manage and dispose of personal property of, their child already adopted.

Therefore, since the moment the child was given up for adoption to someone else, the rights and obligations of the biological parents towards the child have ended and have been transferred to the adoptive parents.

Based on the aforementioned regulations, it is clear that Mr. T and Mrs. M are completely justified in refusing the request to return the child to the biological parents. When the child was entrusted to be adopted by Mr. T and Mrs. M, the biological parents had to carefully consider the potential consequences of giving their child up for adoption to someone else. Therefore, they cannot simply choose to take the child back whenever they desire. Furthermore, Mr. T and Mrs. M do not fall into any case that would require the termination of their rights as adoptive parents, so they still have the right to continue nurturing and being the child's adoptive parents.

LAWYER NGUYEN THI THUY HUONG

Source: Labor Newspaper

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