Where to get a Certificate of Marital Status after divorce in Vietnam?

Where to get a Certificate of Marital Status after divorce in Vietnam?

Question: In case of divorce, where can I get a Certificate of Marital Status? Which document stipulates? Hope to receive a response soon.

Reply:

Article 21 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP stipulates the power to issue certificates of marital status as follows:

1. The People’s Committee of commune where a Vietnamese citizen permanently resides shall issue him/her with a certificate of marital status.

If the Vietnamese citizen has no permanent residence but has a temporary residence registered as prescribed in law on residence, the People’s Committee of commune where he/she has registered temporary residence shall issue him/her with a certificate of marital status.

2. Clause 1 of this Article also apply in case of issuance of certificate of marital status to a foreigner or a stateless person residing in Vietnam upon his/her request.

Thus, according to the above regulations in Vietnam, the People's Committee of the commune where permanent residence is registered has the authority to issue a certificate of marital status. In case of not having permanent residence registration but having temporary residence registration, the People's Committee of the place where temporary residence is registered has the authority to issue.

Where to get a Certificate of Marital Status after divorce in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Can I change my child's last name after divorce in Vietnam?

Question:

In my case, the divorce has been completed on paper, but my ex-husband has not paid child support for more than 3 months (my child is 2 years old). Do I have the right to change my child's last name to my last name without my ex-husband's consent?

Reply:

According to Clause 1, Article 88 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, a child who is born or conceived by the wife during the marriage period is the common child of the husband and wife.

And Clause 1, Article 7 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP stipulates the conditions for changes and correction of civil status affairs as follows:

1. An application for change of full name of a person less than 18 years of age prescribed in Clause 1 Article 26 of the Law on civil status shall be subject to his/her parents’ consent which is specified in such application. An application for change of full name of a person aged 9 or older shall also be subject to his/her consent.

2. Civil status correction prescribed in the Law on civil status means correction of personal information in vital records or originals of civil status documents which have been carried out only when there are substantial grounds to prove presence of mistakes at the civil status official’s faults or at the applicant’s faults.

Thus, even though the child's father does not provide monthly money to the child, changing the child's surname must be approved by both parents. Therefore, if dad does not agree, it cannot be changed. Although the two siblings divorced, their parental relationship still remained. In case the father does not provide monthly child support according to the divorce decision, the woman has right to request the court to force her husband to fulfill the support obligation in Vietnam.

Without a divorce decision, what can I do to apply for a certificate of marital status in Vietnam?

Question: Hello! 3 years ago, my friend was unilaterally divorced by his wife. At that time, because he was so angry, he didn't come back to do the procedure and didn't contact me at all. Now he wants to see if the divorce is completed, and wants to get a divorce certificate, what should he do?

Reply:

Pursuant to Article 22 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP regulating procedures for issuing certificates of marital status, which states:

1. An applicant for certificate of marital status shall submit an application form using the form as prescribed. If the application for certificate of marital status is submitted for marriage purpose, the applicant shall satisfy all conditions for marriage as prescribed in the Law on marriage and family.

2. If the applicant for certificate of marital status had been married but he/she obtained divorce then or his/her spouse died, he/she must present or submit valid documents proving such status; in case of the circumstance prescribed in Clause 2 Article 37 of this Decree, a respective copy of vital records is required.

3. Within 3 working days from the date on which the satisfactory application is received, the civil status official shall verify the applicant’s marital status. If the applicant meets all conditions and the issuance of certificate of marital status is consistent with regulations of law, the civil status official shall request the President of People’s Committee to issue one certificate of marital status to the applicant. Contents of certificate of marital status shall be consistent with the applicant’s current marital status and purpose of the certificate of marital status.

4. If the applicant for certificate of marital status has registered permanent residence in multiple places, he/she must prove his/her marital status. If the applicant fails to produce such evidence, the civil status official shall report it to the President of People’s Committee of commune; the President shall then request People’s Committees of communes where the applicant had registered permanent residence in writing to verify the marital status.

Within 3 working days from the date on which the written request is received, the requested People’s Committee of commune shall verify and respond in writing to the requesting People’s Committee of commune in terms of the applicant's marital status during his/her residence in the commune.

5. As soon as practicable after receiving such response, if there are substantial grounds, the People’s Committee of commune shall issue a certificate of marital status to the applicant as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article.

6. If a person applies for reissuance of a certificate of marital status for other purposes or due to expiration of the certificate of marital status as prescribed in Article 23 of this Decree, the certificate of marital status that was issued must be returned.

Thus, in cases of divorce, if you want to apply for a certificate of marital status, you need to have a legally effective judgment or decision from the Court on divorce in Vietnam.

If your husband does not have a divorce decision, follow the procedures to apply for a divorce decision as follows:

Components and quantity of documents include:

- Documents to be submitted: Declaration for issuance of certificate of marital status.

- Documents to present:

+ Household registration book, ID card of the person requesting confirmation of marital status.

+ In case the person requesting a certificate of marital status is married or married but is divorced or the other person has died, an extract of the court's legally effective judgment/decision must be presented or copy of death certificate.

Best regards!