Is it illegal to cohabit as husband and wife without registering marriage in Vietnam? Can I divide assets without registering marriage in Vietnam?

Is it forbidden to cohabit as husband and wife without registering marriage in Vietnam?

I am currently living with my lover. We consider each other husband and wife, we just haven't registered our marriage yet. Been living together for 2 years now. So if I continue to live without registering my marriage, will it be banned or violated?

Reply:

According to Clause 2, Article 5 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family, there are regulations prohibiting the following acts:

2. The following acts are prohibited:

a/ Sham marriage or sham divorce;

b/ Underage marriage, forcing a person into marriage, deceiving a person into marriage, obstructing marriage;

c/ A married person getting married to or cohabitating as husband and wife with another person, or an unmarried person getting married to or cohabitating as husband and wife with a married person;

d/ Getting married or cohabitating as husband and wife between people of the same direct blood line; relatives within three generations; adoptive parent and adopted child; or former adoptive parent and adopted child, father-in-law and daughter-in-law, mother-in-law and son-in-law, or stepparent and stepchild;

dd/ Demanding property in marriage;

e/ Forcing a person into divorce; deceiving a person into divorce; obstructing divorce;

g/ Giving birth with assisted reproductive technology for commercial purpose, commercial gestational surrogacy, prenatal sex selection, cloning;

h/ Domestic violence;

i/ Taking advantage of marriage and family rights for human trafficking, labor exploitation or sexual abuse or committing another act for self-seeking purposes.

And in Clause 1, Article 14 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family, it is stipulated that a man and woman eligible for getting married under this Law who cohabit as husband and wife without registering their marriage have no rights and obligations between husband and wife. Rights and obligations toward their children, property, obligations and contracts between the partners must comply with Articles 15 and 16 of this Law.

Thus, currently there is no regulation that two single people living together is a prohibited act and a violation of the law in Vietnam. However, if you live together as husband and wife without registering your marriage, there will be no rights between husband and wife such as property, children, etc. Therefore, you can consider registering your marriage based on the actual conditions of both parties.

Is it illegal to cohabit as husband and wife without registering marriage in Vietnam?

My boyfriend and I have been cohabiting as husband and wife for 1 year. We are not ready to get married yet. Please advise me, is cohabiting as husband and wife without marriage registration a violation of the law? Please help me answer this problem as soon as possible. Sincerely thanks!

Minh Thu - Tien Giang

Reply:

According to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 5 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family, there are regulations prohibiting the following acts:

2. The following acts are prohibited:

a/ Sham marriage or sham divorce;

b/ Underage marriage, forcing a person into marriage, deceiving a person into marriage, obstructing marriage;

c/ A married person getting married to or cohabitating as husband and wife with another person, or an unmarried person getting married to or cohabitating as husband and wife with a married person;

d/ Getting married or cohabitating as husband and wife between people of the same direct blood line; relatives within three generations; adoptive parent and adopted child; or former adoptive parent and adopted child, father-in-law and daughter-in-law, mother-in-law and son-in-law, or stepparent and stepchild;

dd/ Demanding property in marriage;

e/ Forcing a person into divorce; deceiving a person into divorce; obstructing divorce;

g/ Giving birth with assisted reproductive technology for commercial purpose, commercial gestational surrogacy, prenatal sex selection, cloning;

h/ Domestic violence;

i/ Taking advantage of marriage and family rights for human trafficking, labor exploitation or sexual abuse or committing another act for self-seeking purposes.

If you do not fall into the above two cases, cohabiting as husband and wife is not prohibited by law in Vietnam. Cohabiting as husband and wife without registering marriage is not a violation of the law. However, current law does not recognize cohabiting as husband and wife without registering marriage. When marriage is not registered, rights and obligations between husband and wife do not arise. You should also think about registering your marriage with your boyfriend to better protect your marital rights!

We hope that our advice will help answer your questions.

Can I divide assets without registering marriage in Vietnam? 

Hello! I have the following question: Ms. Tra and Mr. Sang had a wedding in 2010 but did not have a marriage registration. Then they had a child together. In 2012, Mr. Sang left home and got married, leaving Tra to raise the children. During the time Mr. Sang left, due to good business, Ms. Tra was able to buy 2 houses. In 2018, Mr. Sang returned and demanded that Ms. Tra divide the assets of the two houses above on the grounds that he was still her husband. Can I ask if what he said is correct? Thank you!

Reply:

According to Clause 1, Article 14 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family, regulations on settlement of consequences of men and women cohabiting as husband and wife without marriage registration are as follows:

1. A man and woman eligible for getting married under this Law who cohabit as husband and wife without registering their marriage have no rights and obligations between husband and wife. Rights and obligations toward their children, property, obligations and contracts between the partners must comply with Articles 15 and 16 of this Law.

Settlement of property relations and obligations and contracts between men and women cohabiting as husband and wife without marriage registration is stipulated in Article 16 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family. Specifically:

1. Property relations, obligations and contracts between a man and woman cohabiting as husband and wife without marriage registration shall be settled under the partners’ agreement. In case there is no agreement, they shall be settled in accordance with the Civil Code and other relevant laws.

2. The settlement of property relations must ensure lawful rights and interests of women and children. Housework and other related work to maintain the cohabitation shall be regarded as income-generating labor.

Thus, in this case, Ms. Tra needs to prove that Mr. Sang is not her husband, and that the assets of these two houses were created by her at a time when Mr. Sang was not with her and the two parties were not together. What is relationship when that asset is formed? Therefore, the two houses are her private property and Mr. Sang has no rights to those two houses.

Above is our advice on your questions.

Best regards!