If you don't know Vietnamese, can you get Vietnamese citizenship?
Because I am Vietnamese, married and living abroad. Now I come back to Vietnam to live. I have a child who is only 5 years old, I want to enter Vietnamese nationality for him, but he does not know Vietnamese, is he allowed to enter Vietnamese nationality? What does the application comprise?
Pursuant to Clause 1, Clause 2, Article 19 of the 2008 Law on Vietnamese Citizenship, the conditions for Vietnamese citizenship are as follows:
1. Foreign nationals and stateless persons permanently residing in Vietnam who file applications for Vietnamese nationality may be permitted for naturalization in Vietnam if they satisfy the following conditions:
a/ Having the full civil act capacity as prescribed by Vietnam’s laws;
b/ Obeying the Constitution and laws of Vietnam; respecting the traditions, customs and practices of the Vietnamese nation;
c/ Understanding Vietnamese sufficiently enough to integrate themselves into the Vietnamese community;
d/ Having resided in Vietnam for 5 years or more by the time of application for naturalization;
e/ Being capable of making their livelihood in Vietnam.
2. Those who apply for Vietnamese nationality may be permitted for naturalization in Vietnam without having to fully meet the conditions prescribed at Points c, d and e, Clause 1 of this Article if they fall into one of the following cases:
a/ Being spouses, natural parents or natural offsprings of Vietnamese citizens;
b/ Having made meritorious contributions to Vietnam’s national construction and defense;
c/ Being helpful to the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Thus, if you want to enter Vietnamese nationality, you must know Vietnamese enough to integrate, however, if you are the natural child of a Vietnamese citizen, this condition will not be necessary. So your child does not have to know Vietnamese at the time of naturalization.
Dossiers for naturalization in case of her children as prescribed in Article 20 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality 2008 are as follows:
1. A dossier of application for Vietnamese nationality comprises:
a/ An application for Vietnamese nationality;
b/ A copy of the birth certificate, passport or other substitute papers;
c/ A curriculum vitae;
d/ A judicial record issued by a competent Vietnamese authority for the period the applicant resides in Vietnam and a judicial record issued by a competent foreign authority for the period the applicant resides in the foreign country. Judicial records must be issued within 90 days before the date of filing the dossier;
e/ Papers proving his/her Vietnamese language skills;
f/ Papers proving his/her place and period of residence in Vietnam;
g/ Papers proving his/her ability to make livelihood in Vietnam.
2. For persons exempt from several conditions on naturalization in Vietnam specified in Clause 2, Article 19 of this Law, papers corresponding to exempted conditions are not required.
3. The Government shall specify papers in dossiers of application for Vietnamese nationality.
Best Regards!
