Do overseas Vietnamese who adopt a child have to pay adoption registration fees?

Do overseas Vietnamese who adopt a child have to pay adoption registration fees?

Article 12 of the Law on Adoption 2010 stipulates fee for adoption registration, expenses for settlement of intercountry adoptions as follows:

1. Adopting persons shall pay an adoption registration fee.

2. In addition to the adoption registration fee referred to in Clause 1 of this Article, a foreigner not permanently residing in Vietnam and seek to adopt a child in Vietnam shall pay a sum of money to partly offset expenses for settling intercountry adoptions, including expenses for nurturing, caring for and educating the child from the time of introduction for adoption to the time of completion of procedures for the child's delivery and receipt, verifying the origin of the introduced child, delivering and receiving the child and reasonable remuneration for the nurturing center's employees.

3. The Government shall specify the competence to collect the adoption registration fee. its rates and its exemption and reduction, management and use, and expenses for settling intercountry adoptions under Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

4. In addition to the adoption registration fee and expenses for settling intercountry adoptions referred to in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, organizations and individuals engaged in intercountry adoption activities may not impose any other charges.

Thus, according to the above provisions in Vietnam, if you and your wife adopt a child, you and your wife must pay the adoption fee in accordance with the law.

What are adoption fee amounts in Vietnam?

Article 6 of Decree 114/2016/ND-CP stipulates fee amounts as follows:

1. Amounts of adoption registration fees:

a) Amount of domestic adoption registration fee: VND 400,000/case.

b) Amount of adoption registration fee collected from Vietnamese people residing in foreign countries or foreigners permanently residing in foreign countries that adopt children being Vietnam nationals: VND 9.000.000/case.

c) Amount of fee collected from foreigners permanently residing in Vietnam that adopt children being Vietnamese nationals: VND 4.500.000/case.

d) Amount of fee collected from foreigners residing in border regions of neighbor countries that adopt Vietnamese children permanently residing in such border regions: VND 4.500.000/case.

dd) Amount of adoption registration fee at Vietnam’s overseas representative bodies: USD 150/case. The above fee shall be converted into the receiving country’s currency according to the selling rate of USD announced by a bank where the Vietnam’s overseas representative body open its account.

2. Amounts of fees for issuance of operation license to an intercountry adoption agency:

a) Initial issuance license fee: VND 65,000,000/license;

b) Extension license fee: VND 35,000,000/license.

According to the law regulations in Vietnam, if your spouses are foreigners, you must pay the adoption fee in the amount of VND 9,000,000.

What are exemption from and deduction in adoption registration fees in Vietnam? 

Article 4 of Decree 114/2016/ND-CP stipulates exemption from and deduction in adoption registration fees as follows:

1. Domestic adoption registration fees shall be exempted in one of the following cases:

a) A stepfather or stepmother adopts a stepchild of his/her spouse; or an aunt or uncle adopts a niece or nephew;

b) A person adopts one of the following children: Disabled children, HIV/AIDS infected children or children suffering fatal disease/illness as prescribed in the Law on adoption and guiding documents;

c) A people with meritorious services to the revolution adopts a child.

2. Intercountry adoption registration fees shall be deducted in one of the following cases:

a) A reduction of 50% in intercountry adoption registration fee shall apply to a stepfather or stepmother that adopts a stepchild of his/her spouse or an aunt or uncle that adopts a niece or nephew;

b) In case of simultaneously multiple adoption of biological brothers/sisters, a reduction of 50% in intercountry adoption fee shall apply to each of children excluding the first child;

c) In case of adoption falling into the both aforesaid cases prescribed in Point a and Point b of this Clause, the payer may select to apply the reduction in fees prescribed in either of those Points.

3. Exemption from adoption registration fees shall apply to the cases of re-registration of adoption as prescribed in law on adoption.

According to this regulation in Vietnam, if you fall into the above cases, you and your spouse will be exempted or reduced from the adoption registration fee.

Best Regards!