Is medical examination required before marriage registration in Vietnam?

Is medical examination required before marriage registration in Vietnam?

My name is T. One month from my wedding day, I have heard from some friends that they must go to a pre-marital health check before they can register their marriage, I don't quite understand, I think it's just need voluntary marriage and age enough to get married as prescribed, but when I heard that, I also wondered, so I asked you to help me to answer: Is it mandatory to have a pre-marital health check before registering the marriage? 

Reply:

Pursuant to Article 8 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, conditions for marriage are as follows:

1. A man and a woman wishing to marry each other must satisfy the following conditions:

a /The man is full 20 years or older, the woman is full 18 years or older;

b/ The marriage is voluntarily decided by the man and woman;

c/ The man and woman do not lose the civil act capacity;

d/ The marriage does not fall into one of the cases prescribed at Points a, b, c and d, Clause 2, Article 5 of this Law.

2. The State shall not recognize marriage between persons of the same sex.

Article 9 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 provides for marriage registration as follows:

1. A marriage shall be registered with a competent state agency in accordance with this Law and the law on civil status.

A marriage which is not registered under this Clause is legally invalid.

2. A divorced couple who wish to re-establish their husband and wife relation shall register their re-marriage.

At the same time, in Article 18 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP guiding the Law on civil status, there are provisions:

1. The People’s Committee of commune in border areas shall grant marriage registration for a couple that a partner is a Vietnamese citizen permanently residing in such commune and the other partner is a citizen of a neighbor country at the administrative division which is equivalent to commune level in Vietnam and contiguous to the commune in border area of Vietnam where the Vietnamese citizen resides.

2. Applicants for marriage registration shall present documents as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 2 hereof; or submit an application at the People’s Committee of commune in person. The application for marriage registration shall include:

a) Application forms for marriage registration using the form as prescribed; the two partners may fill out a single application form;

b) Documents issued by competent authorities of the neighbor country within 6 months until the date of receipt which prove that the partner being citizen of neighbor country is being single;

c) Copies of documents proving identity and permanent residence in the border area of the partner being citizen in neighbor country.

3. Within 3 working days from the date on which a satisfactory application is received, the civil status official shall verify such application send it to the President of People’s Committee for decision. In case of necessity to verify, the processing time limit is 8 working days.

If both partners are eligible for marriage as prescribed in the Law on marriage and family, the President of People’s Committee of commune shall sign the marriage license, the civil status official shall then document such marriage to the vital records, and both partners shall bear their signatures and full names in the vital records and the marriage license; each spouse shall be issued with one original of the marriage license.

Thus, the law does not stipulate that a pre-marital medical examination is required to register your marriage. However, it is recommended to have a pre-marital health check to know your health status in Vietnam.

Is it possible to register marriage at temporary residence in Vietnam?

Me and my boyfriend from another province are working in Ho Chi Minh City and preparing to register for marriage. Can we register our marriage at the temporary residence? Thank you.

Reply:

Marriage is when a man and woman establish a husband and wife relationship with each other according to the provisions of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 on marriage conditions and marriage registration.

Clause 1, Article 17 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 stipulates on the competence to register marriage as follows: The commune-level People's Committee of the place where either man or woman resides shall register the marriage.

Article 10 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP guiding the Law on civil status 2014 stipulates documents submitted and presented when registering marriage, specifically:

An applicant for marriage registration at the People’s Committee of commune shall submit documents as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 2 of this Decree, Clause 1 Article 18 of the Law on civil status; and an applicant for marriage registration at the People’s Committee of district shall submit documents as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 38 of the Law on civil status and submit the original of certificate of marital status as prescribed as follows:

1. If the person applies for marriage registration at a People’s Committee of commune other than his/her permanent residence commune, he/she must submit a certificate of marital status issued by the competent People’s Committee of commune as prescribed in Articles 21, 22, and 23 of this Decree.

In case of application for marriage registration at a People’s Committee of district, the applicant for marriage registration living in Vietnam must submit a certificate of marital status issued by the competent People’s Committee of commune as prescribed in Articles 21, 22, and 23 of this Decree.

2. If the applicant for marriage registration has been going on business, studying, working under guest worker program abroad, he/she must submit a certificate of marital status issued by the Vietnamese diplomatic missions, or consular agents overseas (hereinafter referred to as representative body).

Thus, based on the above provisions in Vietnam, the law allows men and women to register their marriage at their temporary residence. At that time, the application must have a certificate of marital status issued by the commune-level People's Committee where the two parties register their permanent residence.

Can foreigners get married in Vietnam? 

My girlfriend and I are both British nationals living and working in Son Tra district, Da Nang, Vietnam. Currently, my girlfriend and I want to register our marriage, but going to the British consulate in Vietnam is far and time consuming, our work does not allow it. So can we register our marriage at state agencies of Vietnam? If so, where should I go?

Reply:

According to the provisions of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, a man and woman who are foreigners permanently residing in Vietnam may register their marriage at a competent Vietnamese agency, but must meet the following conditions:

1. A man and a woman wishing to marry each other must satisfy the following conditions:

a /The man is full 20 years or older, the woman is full 18 years or older;

b/ The marriage is voluntarily decided by the man and woman;

c/ The man and woman do not lose the civil act capacity;

d/ The marriage does not fall into one of the cases prescribed at Points a, b, c and d, Clause 2, Article 5 of this Law.

- Sham marriage or sham divorce;

- Underage marriage, forcing a person into marriage, deceiving a person into marriage, obstructing marriage;

- 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;

- 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;

Therefore: In case you and your girlfriend are both British nationals (regarded as foreigners) living and working in Son Tra district, Da Nang, Vietnam, you can register your marriage at the competent authorities of Vietnam when fully meeting the above 04 conditions.

Article 37 of the Law on Civil Status 2014 provides:

1. District-level People's Committees of places of residence of Vietnamese citizens shall register marriages between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners; between Vietnamese citizens residing in the country and Vietnamese citizens residing abroad; between Vietnamese citizens residing abroad; and between Vietnamese citizens who also have foreign citizenship and Vietnamese citizens or foreigners.

2. In case a foreigner residing in Vietnam requests marriage registration in Vietnam, the district-level People's Committee of the place of residence of either partner shall register the marriage.

Thus: Pursuant to the above-cited regulations in Vietnam, if a man or a woman who is a foreigner permanently residing in Vietnam requests to register a marriage in Vietnam, the district-level People's Committee of the place where one of the spouses resides. Both parties register the marriage.

Therefore: In the case that you and your girlfriend are both British nationals and are living and working in Son Tra district, Da Nang, Vietnam. So the two of you can contact the People's Committee of Son Tra district to complete the marriage registration procedure.

At that time, the marriage registration for the two of you is done in accordance with the law of Vietnam.

Best regards!