Everyone Has the Right to Freedom of Association

According to the provisions of the Law on the Right to Form Associations 1957, everyone has the right to form associations, except for those who have lost their citizenship rights or are being prosecuted by law; everyone has the freedom to join legally established associations and the freedom to leave associations.

However, the formation of associations must comply with legal regulations and meet the following conditions for establishing an association:

- The purpose of the activities must not violate the law; the association's name and main field of activity must not duplicate those of an association that has already been legally established in the same territory.- Have a charter;- Have a headquarters;- Have the required number of Vietnamese citizens or organizations registered to participate in the establishment of the association:- An association with nationwide or interprovincial scope of activities must have at least one hundred citizens or organizations from various provinces who meet the conditions, voluntarily apply, and register to participate in the establishment of the association;- An association with provincial scope of activities must have at least fifty citizens or organizations in the province who meet the conditions, voluntarily apply, and register to participate in the establishment of the association;- An association with district scope of activities must have at least twenty citizens or organizations in the district who meet the conditions, voluntarily apply, and register to participate in the establishment of the association;- An association with commune scope of activities must have at least ten citizens or organizations in the commune who meet the conditions, voluntarily apply, and register to participate in the establishment of the association;- An association of economic organizations with members representing Vietnamese legal economic entities must have nationwide scope with at least eleven legal representatives from various provinces; an association with provincial scope must have at least five legal representatives within the same profession or field who meet the conditions, voluntarily apply, and register to participate in the establishment of the association.

More details can be found in Law on the Right to Form Associations 1957 and Decree 45/2010/ND-CP.

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