How can I do a birth certificate for an abandoned child in Vietnam?

How can I do a birth certificate for an abandoned child in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 14 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP on birth registration for abandoned children as follows:

1. Any person who detects an abandoned child shall protect the child and immediately notify the People’s Committee or police authority of the commune where such child is abandoned. If a child is abandoned at a health facility, the health facility’s head shall be responsible for giving notice.

As soon as practicable after receiving such notice, the President of People’s Committee of commune or chief police of commune shall make a report on the abandonment; and then the People’s Committee of commune shall give the child to an individual or organization in charge of temporary rearing as prescribed by law.

The report shall specify the time when and place where an abandoned child is found; his/her identity namely sex, body condition, health condition; his/her assets or objects, if any; full name, identification card, place of residence of the finder. The report shall bear signatures of the person making the report, the finder, the witness (if any) and the seal of the authority from which the report is made.

The report shall be made in two copies; one copy shall be archived at the authority from which it is made, and the other shall be sent to the individual or organization in charge of temporary rearing.

2. After making the report as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, the People’s Committee of commune shall post up a notice of abandonment publicly at its headquarters within 7 consecutive days.

3. Upon expiration of posting time limit, if the parents’ child has still been unidentified, the People’s Committee of commune shall notify the individual or organization in charge of temporary rearing of birth registration for the child. The individual or organization in charge of temporary rearing shall apply for birth registration for the child. Procedures for birth registration shall be consistent with Clause 2 Article 16 of the Law on civil status.

The child’s full name shall be determined as prescribed by civil law. If there are not substantial grounds for determine the child's date of birth or place of birth, the date on which he/she is found abandoned shall be considered as the day and month of birth; the year of birth shall be determined according to the child’s body condition; place of birth is where the child is found abandoned; native place is determined according to place of birth; and nationality is Vietnamese. The section of child’s parents and race in the birth certificate and vital records shall be left blank and the phrase “abandoned child” shall be specified in the vital records.

Thus, according to current regulations in Vietnam, comparing with the case you mentioned, when you discover an abandoned child, you should immediately notify the People’s Committee of commune where you found the child. After the time of posting notice of the abandonment of the child but still no response, then you can register the birth of the child.

What are birth registration procedures for abandoned children in Vietnam?

Birth registration procedures are specified in Article 16 of the Law on Civil Status 2014:

1. Birth registrants shall submit declarations made according to a set form and birth certification papers to the civil status registration agency. If having no birth certification paper, a document of a witness certifying the birth shall be submitted; if there is no witness, there must be a written pledge of the birth; for birth registration for abandoned children, there must be a written record certifying the child’s abandonment made by a competent agency; for birth registration for children born by surrogate mothers, there must be a document proving the surrogacy as prescribed by law.

2. Immediately after receiving full papers specified in Clause 1 of this Article, if seeing that the birth declaration is complete and proper, justice and civil status officers shall record birth registration contents under Clause 1, Article 14 of this Law in the civil status books and update them in the electronic civil status database and the national population database for getting personal identification numbers.

Justice and civil status officers and birth registrants shall together sign in the civil status books. Chairpersons of commune-level People's Committees shall grant birth certificates to birth registrants.

3. The Government shall stipulate in detail the birth registration for abandoned children and children whose parents have not yet been identified due to surrogacy; and the determination of native places for abandoned children and children with unidentified parents.

According to this Article, the application for birth registration for abandoned children is prescribed as above, but it should be noted that when registering the birth of an abandoned child, it is necessary to have a written record certifying the child’s abandonment made by a competent agency in Vietnam.

Best Regards!