Can same-sex couples adopt children in Vietnam?

Can same-sex couples adopt children in Vietnam?

Article 8 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family stipulates conditions for getting married as follows:

1. A man and a woman wishing to marry each other must satisfy the following conditions:

a /The man is full 20 years or older, the woman is full 18 years or older;

b/ The marriage is voluntarily decided by the man and woman;

c/ The man and woman do not lose the civil act capacity;

d/ The marriage does not fall into one of the cases prescribed at Points a, b, c and d, Clause 2, Article 5 of this Law.

2. The State shall not recognize marriage between persons of the same sex.

In Article 8 of the 2010 Adoption Law, regulations on persons allowed to be adopted are as follows:

1. Children under 16 years.

2. Persons aged between full 16 years and under 18 years falling into either of the following cases:

a/ To be adopted by the step father or step mother;

b/ To be adopted by a natural aunt or uncle.

3. A person may be adopted by only one single person or two persons being husband and wife.

4. The State encourages adoption of orphans, abandoned children and children in other disadvantaged circumstances.

Thus, according to the law in Vietnam, the state does not recognize your marriage, so you and your wife are currently not recognized by Vietnamese law as a legal marriage. Because you and your husband are not yet recognized by Vietnamese law as a legal couple, you do not meet the conditions to jointly adopt a child. However, one of you can adopt a child in case you or the other person is single.

Can same-sex couples adopt children in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What are conditions for adoption in Vietnam?

Article 14 of the 2010 Adoption Law stipulates conditions on adopting persons:

1. 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.

2. The following persons may not adopt a child:

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.

3. In case the step father or step mother adopts a step child or a natural aunt or uncle adopts a nephew or cousin. Points b and c of this Article will not apply.

Therefore, the adopting person must meet the above conditions to adopt a child in Vietnam.

Who has authority to register adoption in Vietnam? 

Article 9 of the 2010 Adoption Law stipulates marriage registration as follows:

1. People's Committees of communes, wards or townships (below collectively referred to as commune-level People's Committees) in which the persons introduced for adoption or adopting persons permanently reside are competent to register domestic adoptions.

2. People's Committees of provinces or centrally run cities (below collectively referred to as provincial-level People's Committees) in which the persons introduced for adoption permanently reside are competent to decide on intercountry adoptions: provincial-level Justice Departments are competent to register intercountry adoptions.

3. Overseas representative missions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are competent to register adoptions by Vietnamese citizens temporarily residing abroad.

Above are the provisions of law on the authority to register adoptions in Vietnam.

Best regards!