Is it illegal to have a common child with another person while not divorced in Vietnam?

Is it illegal to have a common child with another person while not divorced in Vietnam?

According to Clause 2, Article 5 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family, it stipulates the protection of marriage and family regimes as follows:

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.

Thus, according to the above regulations in Vietnam, only if you get married or cohabitate with another person as husband and wife without divorce, is it a violation of the law. If you are not divorced but have children with someone else, there are currently no regulations.

Is it illegal to have a common child with another person while not divorced in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What are penalties for act of not being divorced but cohabitating as husband and wife with another person in Vietnam?

In Clause 1, Article 59, Decree 82/2020/ND-CP stipulates violations of regulations on marriage, divorce and violations of the monogamous marriage regime as follows:

Fine from 3,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:

a) Being married or having a husband but marrying someone else; being unmarried or unmarried but marrying someone who you clearly know is married or has a wife;

b) Being married or having a husband living together as husband and wife with another person;

c) Not married or unmarried but living as husband and wife with someone you clearly know is married or married;

d) Marriage or living together as husband and wife between a person who was once an adoptive father or mother with an adopted child, father-in-law with daughter-in-law, mother-in-law with son-in-law, stepfather with the wife's stepchild, stepmother with the husband's stepchild ;

d) Obstructing marriage, claiming property during marriage or hindering divorce.

Pursuant to Clause 4, Article 4, Decree 82/2020/ND-CP stipulates the fine level as follows:

4. The fines specified in Chapters II, III, IV, V, VI and VII of this Decree are applied to administrative violations by individuals, except those specified in Clause 5 of this Article. In case an organization commits an administrative violation like an individual, the fine is 2 times the fine for an individual.

According to Article 182 of the 2015 Criminal Code, adultery is as follows:

1. Any married person who marries or cohabits with another person, any unmarried person who marries or cohabits with another person in the knowledge that he/she is already married and in any of the following circumstances shall receive a warning or face a penalty of up to 01 year's community sentence or 03 - 12 months' imprisonment:

a) The offence results in the divorce of one or both parties;

b) The offender has incurred an administrative penalty for the same offence.

2. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 06 - 36 months'' imprisonment:

a) The offence results in the suicide of the spouse or child of either party;

b) The court has issued a decision on dissolution of the marriage or compulsory termination of the cohabitation but the offender still defies such decision.

Therefore, the act of cohabitating with another person without divorce will be subject to administrative fines and possible criminal prosecution in Vietnam.

Best regards!