Can the middle name of a child in Vietnam be in English? Which agencies are responsible to change names of citizens in Vietnam?

Can the middle name of a child in Vietnam be in English?

Pursuant to Clause 3 Article 26 of the Civil Code in 2015 stipulating right to have family and given names as follows:

Right to have family and given names

...

3. The naming is restricted in case it violates lawful rights and interests of other people and contravenes basic principles of civil law prescribed in Article 3 of this Code.

The name of each Vietnamese citizen must be in Vietnamese or other ethnic minority languages of Vietnam and not include any figure or any symbol other than a letter.

Therefore, parents must use Vietnamese or a Vietnamese ethnic language when naming their children in the birth certificate. They are not allowed to use numbers or characters that are not letters.

Therefore, parents are not allowed to use an English middle name when naming their children in the birth certificate.

Can the middle name of a child in Vietnam be in English? Which agencies are responsible to change names of citizens in Vietnam? - Source: Internet

At what age does the change of the family name of a child require the consent of the child in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 27 of the Civil Code in 2015 stipulating right to change family names as follows:

Right to change family names

1. An individual has the right to request a competent authority to recognize a change of a family name in any of the following cases:

a) Changing the family name of a natural child from biological father’s to biological mother's or vice versa;

b) Changing the family name of an adopted child from biological father’s or mother’s to adoptive father's or mother’s at the request of the adoptive parents;

c) If a person ceases to be an adopted child and such person or his/her biological father or mother request to reclaim the family name which is given by the biological father or mother;

d) Changing the family name of a person whose biological parents have been identified upon the request on that father or mother or such person;

dd) Changing the family name of a lost person who has discovered the origin of his/her bloodline;

e) Changing the family name of a person to his/her spouse’s in the marriage and family relations involving foreign elements in accordance with law of the country in which the foreign spouse is a citizen or retrieves his/her family name before the change;

g) Changing the family names of children upon the change of family names of their father’s or mother’s;

h) Other cases prescribed in by law on civil status affairs.

2. The changing of the family name of a person who is nine years of age or older shall be subject to the consent of such person.

3. The changing of a family name shall not change or terminate the civil rights and obligations which were established in the former family name.

Therefore, the change of the family name of a child from 9 years of age or older must have the consent of the child.

Which agencies are responsible to change names of citizens in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 46 of the Law on Civil Status in 2014 stipulating competence to change names of citizens in Vietnam as follows:

Competence to register civil status change, correction and supplementation and ethnicity re-determination

1. District-level People's Committees of previous places of civil status registration or places of residence of foreigners are competent to settle civil status correction and supplementation for foreigners who have registered civil status at competent Vietnamese agencies.

2. District-level People's Committees of previous places of civil status registration of overseas Vietnamese are competent to settle civil status change, correction and supplementation and ethnicity re-determination.

3. District-level People’s Committees of previous places of civil status registration or places of residence of individuals are competent to settle civil status change and correction for Vietnamese citizens of full 14 years or older residing in the country, and ethnicity re-determination.

Pursuant to Article 27 of the Law on Civil Status in 2014 stipulating competence to register civil status change, correction and supplementation as follows:

Competence to register civil status change, correction and supplementation

Commune-level People's Committees of previous places of civil status registration or places of residence of individuals are competent to settle civil status change and correction for persons under 14 full years; and civil status supplementation for Vietnamese citizens residing in the country.

Therefore, the People's Committees of the commune and the district are the two authorities with the authority to resolve the change of surname/name.

The authority to resolve will belong to different authorities depending on the specific case, and people who need to change their surname/name can apply application to one of the two authorities above to proceed with the change procedures.

What are cases that are eligible to change names in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 28 of the Civil Code in 2015, an individual has the right to request a competent authority to recognize the change of a given name in any of the following cases:

1. Where it is so requested by the person who has a given name which causes confusion or has an adverse effect on his/her feelings or on his/her honor, legitimate rights and interests;

2. Where the adoptive father or mother of the person wishes to change the given name of their adopted child; of if a person ceases to be an adopted child and such person or his/her biological father or mother request to reclaim the given name which is given by the biological father or mother;

3. Changing the given name of a person whose biological parents have been identified upon the request on that father or mother or such person;

4. Changing the given name of a lost person who has discovered the origin of his/her bloodline;

5. Change the given name of a person to his/her spouse’s in the marriage and family relations involving foreign elements in accordance with law of the country in which the foreign spouse is a citizen retrieves his/her family name before the change;

6. Changing of given name of a person whose gender identity is re-determined or a transgender person;

7. Other cases prescribed in by law on civil status affairs.

Note: The changing of the given name of a person who is nine years of age or older shall be subject to the consent of such person.

The changing of a given name shall not change or terminate the civil rights and obligations which were established in the former given name.

Best regards!