Vietnam: Is the birth certificate valid as an original document on civil status of an individual? Can the wrong year of birth be corrected?
- What are the contents of birth registration in Vietnam?
- Is the birth certificate valid as an original document on civil status of an individual?
- The year of birth in the birth certificate is not the same as in all existing documents, can the information in the birth certificate be corrected?
- What are the regulations on the correction of civil status affairs when I want to change the year of birth in the birth certificate in Vietnam?
What are the contents of birth registration in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP stipulating the contents of birth registration in Vietnam as follows:
- The child’s full name; race shall be determined subject to agreement of the parents as prescribed in civil law and specified in the application form for birth registration; if the parents do not or fail to reach an agreement, common practice shall prevail;
- The child’s nationality shall be determined as prescribed in law on nationality;
- The personal identification number of the person whose birth is registered shall be issued upon the birth registration. Procedures for issuance of personal identification numbers shall be consistent with the Law on identification numbers and the Decree on guidelines for the Law on identification numbers, in accordance with the Law on civil status and this Decree;
- Date of birth shall be determined according to solar calendar. The child's place of birth, sex shall be determined according to the certificate of live birth issued by a competent health facility; in case of absence from a certificate of live birth, the equivalent document shall be determined as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 16 of the 2014 Law on civil status.
If a child was born at a health facility, the health facility’s name and name of the administrative division of commune/district/province where the health facility is located shall be specified in the place of birth. If a child is born outside a health facility, the name of the administrative division of commune/district/province where the child was born.
- Native place of the person whose birth is registered shall be determined as prescribed in Clause 8 Article 4 of the 2014 Law on civil status.
Vietnam: Is the birth certificate valid as an original document on civil status of an individual? Can the wrong year of birth be corrected?
Is the birth certificate valid as an original document on civil status of an individual?
Pursuant to Article 6 of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP stipulating as follows:
Validity of birth certificate in Vietnam
1. Birth certificate is an original document on civil status of an individual.
2. All documents of an individual containing full name, date of birth, race, nationality, native place, parent-child relationship shall be consistent with his/her birth certificate.
3. If an individual’s document contains information different from his/her birth certificate, the head of agency that has managed or issued such document shall make appropriate amendments in accordance with the birth certificate.
According to the above regulations, a birth certificate is an original document on civil status of an individual, showing the basic civil status information of the individual and is the basis for identifying an individual's information on all kinds of documents related to his/her identity.
All documents of an individual (such as household registration books, citizen identity cards, degrees, driving licenses, etc.) containing full name, date of birth, race, nationality, native place, parent-child relationship shall be consistent with his/her birth certificate.
The year of birth in the birth certificate is not the same as in all existing documents, can the information in the birth certificate be corrected?
Based on the provisions analyzed above, and at the same time, based on the content of citizens' responses on the National Public Service Portal to reflect on difficulties because the year of birth information in the original Birth Certificate does not match all all existing papers issued by the Ministry of Justice in Official Dispatch No. 4099/BTP-HTTQTCT in 2022 of the Ministry of Justice.
In case the year of birth stated in the birth certificate is not the same as in all existing papers, the determination of an individual's year of birth must be based on that person's birth certificate.
In case the contents of the personal dossier and papers are different from those in the birth certificate of that person, the head of the agency or organization managing the dossier or issuing the papers is responsible for adjusting the dossier and papers according to the contents of the Birth Certificate.
In case an individual has a basis (valid papers and documents, ensuring historical and legal value) to prove that there is an error in determining the year of birth upon birth registration, he/she has the right to request the registration agency to civil status shall be corrected according to the provisions of law.
What are the regulations on the correction of civil status affairs when I want to change the year of birth in the birth certificate in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Article 7 of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP stipulating the conditions for civil status changes and correction as follows:
Conditions for changes and correction of civil status affairs
1. An application for change of full name of a person less than 18 years of age prescribed in Clause 1 Article 26 of the Law on civil status shall be subject to his/her parents’ consent which is specified in such application. An application for change of full name of a person aged 9 or older shall also be subject to his/her consent.
2. Civil status correction prescribed in the Law on civil status means correction of personal information in vital records or originals of civil status documents which have been carried out only when there are substantial grounds to prove presence of mistakes at the civil status official’s faults or at the applicant’s faults.
When there are substantial grounds to prove presence of mistakes at the civil status official’s faults or at the applicant’s faults, individuals are eligible to change, correct the year of birth information on the birth certificate.
To guide this content, based on Article 17 of Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BTP, it also provides for civil status correction as follows:
- Civil status shall be changed only upon detection of a mistake in civil registration; contents of a civil status document lawfully issued to officialize contents of another personal document shall not be corrected.
- A mistake in civil registration must be attributed to the civil registration applicant or the civil registration authority.
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