13 prohibited acts regarding residence in Vietnam under the Residence Law

13 prohibited acts regarding residence in Vietnam under the Residence Law (Internet image)

1. What is residence?

According to Clause 2, Article 2 of the Residence Law 2020, residence refers to a citizen’s state of living at a location in a commune-level administrative unit or a district-level administrative unit where there is no commune-level administrative unit (hereinafter collectively referred to as “commune-level administrative unit”).

2. 13 prohibited acts regarding residence in Vietnam under the Residence Law

Specifically, in Article 7 of the Residence Law 2020, the following acts are strictly prohibited in terms of residence:

(1) Obstruct a citizen from exercising their right to freedom of residence.

(2) Misuse information on permanent or temporary residence to restrict a citizen’s legitimate rights and interests.

(3) Give, broker or receive a bribe for residence registration or management.

(4) Fail to receive or postpone receipt of residence registration documents or information or other acts of harassment; fail to process or process a valid application for residence registration in a belated manner; annul permanent or temporary residence registration against regulations of law.

(5) Collect, manage or use residence registration charges against regulations of law.

(6) Impose a deadline, procedure, document or form against regulations of law or falsify information or a document on residence.

(7) Deliberately issue or refuse to issue a document on residence against regulations of law.

(8) Misuse the right to freedom of residence to violate state interests  or legitimate rights and interests of an organization or individual.

(9) Forge a document or data on residence; use a forged document or data on residence; provide inaccurate information or document on residence; make a false declaration or forge a document for permanent or temporary residence registration; buy, sell, hire, lease, borrow, lend, destroy, pawn or receive a document on residence as collateral.

(10) Organize, incite, entice, persuade, aid and abet or force another person to commit a violation against regulations on residence.

(11) Process an application for permanent or temporary residence registration when clearly knowing the applicant does not reside in the place in question.

(12) Let another person register one’s place of residence as their permanent or temporary residence out of selfish interest or when they does not actually reside in such place.

(13) Access, use, destroy, obstruct or disrupt operation of or change, delete, distribute or provide information in the residence database illegally.

3. Cases in which the exercise of right to freedom of residence of citizens will be restricted in Vietnam

According to Clause 2, Article 4 of the Residence Law 2020, exercise of the right to freedom of residence of citizens will be restricted for the following cases:

- Persons banned from leaving their place of residence or temporarily detained by presiding officers or presiding authorities;

- Convicts yet to receive the sentence enforcement decision or having received the sentence enforcement decision but out on bail or granted suspension of sentence enforcement; convicts undergoing probation;

- Persons serving a custodial sentence, imposed a residence ban, under mandatory supervision or serving a community sentence; and persons on parole;

- Persons currently subject to compulsory education in their communes or serving a sentence in a correctional institution or rehabilitation center;

- Persons to serve a sentence in a correctional institution or rehabilitation center but granted suspension of sentence enforcement; and persons under supervision during consideration of admission to a correctional institution or rehabilitation center;

- Persons placed under medical quarantine as they pose the risk of spreading an infectious disease to the community;

- Locations and areas placed under medical quarantine for prevention and control of an infectious disease as per the decision of the competent authority or person; localities declaring state of emergency as per the law;

- Locations forbidden from new permanent residence registration, new temporary residence registration and household separation according to regulations of the Residence Law 2020;

- Other cases per the law.

Thanh Rin

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