05 Judgments on actual marriage

According to the provisions of Resolution 35/2000/NQ-QH10 dated 09/06/2000 on the implementation of the law on marriage and family in 2000, there have been the following instructions:

"3. The application of Clause 1, Article 11 of this Law shall be as follows:

a. In case the marriage and family relationship is established before January 3, 1987, the effective date of the 1986 Law on Marriage and Family but has not yet registered the marriage, the marriage registration shall be encouraged; in case of divorce petitions, they shall be accepted by the Courts in accordance with the provisions on divorce of the 2000 Law on Marriage and Family. "

Thus, male and female couples living together before January 3, 1987 are encouraged but not required to register their marriage until now and are still recognized as husband and wife.

For a better understanding, you may refer to some of the following judgments with actual marriages:

1. Judgment No. 22/2019/HNGĐ-ST dated May 23, 2019 on divorce dispute

“Mrs. H and Mr. N lived together as husband and wife in 1984, on a voluntary basis, with no marriage registration. Mr. and Mrs. lived happily until 1992, there was a conflict, caused by Mr. N being unfaithful, living together as husband and wife with other women, from which the affection of husband and wife cracked. By 1993, Mrs. H and Mr. N agreed to divorce, so Mr. and Mrs. N signed the divorce handwriting on June 27, 1993 and Mr. N lived separated from 1993 until now. Consequently, Ms H requested to be divorced from Mr N.

The People's Court of Hoa Thanh District, Tay Ninh Province declares: Accept Mrs. H's divorce request against Mr. N. Mrs. H is divorced from Mr. N. ”.

2. Judgment No. 214/2019/HNGĐ-ST dated November 12, 2019 on divorce dispute

“In 1976 Mrs. T and Mr. M voluntarily lived together, not registering marriage. By 2018, Ms. M and Mr. M incurred conflicts, the cause of the conflict was the husband and wife arguing, Mr. M regularly drank alcohol about insulting her, ward police invited Mr. M to work many times. Mrs. T has repeatedly created opportunities for the couple to heal, but Mr. M has remained unchanged. Considering that the couple's life is unhappy, unable to heal, Mrs. T asked for a divorce from Mr. M.

The People's Court of Long My Town, Hau Giang Province pronounced: Accept Ms. T. 's request for divorce. For Mrs. T to get a divorce from Mr. M. ”.

3. Judgment on divorce dispute No. 69/2021/HNGĐ-ST

“Mrs. T and Mr. H have been living together since 1986, do not register marriage, voluntary cohabitation. The reason she applied for a divorce with Mr. H was that during his time together, Mr. H had emotional relations with many other women and Mr. H often ate and played, leading to debt.  She had advised him many times but Mr. H did not amend. Now affectionate, happy, husband and wife no longer so she asked for divorce with Mr. H.

The People's Court of Tan C District, Tay Ninh Province declares: Accept Ms. T's petition for divorce for Mr. H. Mrs. T is divorced from Mr. H.”

4. Judgment No. 06/2021/HNGĐ-ST dated January 5, 2021 on divorce dispute

“Mrs. V and Mr. Đ lived together as husband and wife in 1977, with no marriage registration. After the marriage, the grandparents lived happily until 2019, there was a conflict due to disagreements and at the same time because Mr. D regularly gambled, did not take care of the family, oogn she separated from then until now, so Ms. V asked the Court to resolve the divorce with Mr. D.

The court declared Mrs. V divorced from Mr. D”.

5. Judgment 86/2020/HNGĐ-ST dated September 7, 2020 on divorce dispute

“In 1968, Mrs. R and Mr. H got married but did not have a marriage registration. Marriage is voluntary. Mrs. R and Mr. H lived together happily just a short time, there was a conflict, caused by inappropriate sexuality. Since 1969, your grandparents have ceased to live together, you both have had your own lives. Now, Mrs. R requests the Court to resolve for her to get divorced from Mr. H.

The People's Court of Can Duoc District, Long An Province declares: Accept the petition of Ms. R, Ms. R is divorced from Mr. H.”

Key word: actual marriage in Vietnam | judgment in Vietnam | do not register marriage in Vietnam | male and female co-living as spouses without marriage registration in Vietnam | lived together before January 3 1987 in Vietnam |

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