Procedure for Divorce Between Vietnamese Citizens and Foreign Nationals

Divorce procedure between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners (Illustrative image)

The divorce procedure between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners is implemented as follows:

1. Identifying the jurisdiction of the Vietnamese Court:

Due to the nature of the marital relationship between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners, which involves the laws of both countries of the respective nationalities, determining the jurisdiction of the Vietnamese Court is very important.

To be specific: pursuant to Clause 3 Article 35 and Point c Clause 1 Article 37 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015 stipulate as follows:

Article 35. Jurisdiction of district-level People's Court

…

3. Disputes and requests stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article where the involved party or property is abroad, or judicial entrustment needs to be conducted for the Representative Agencies of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam abroad, for courts, or for competent agencies of foreign countries are not under the jurisdiction of the district-level People's Court, except for the cases stipulated in Clause 4 of this Article.

4. The district-level People's Court at the place of residence of Vietnamese citizens shall annul illegal marriages, resolve divorces, disputes about rights and obligations of husband and wife, parents and children, about recognition of fathers, mothers, and children, about adoption and guardianship between Vietnamese citizens residing in border areas and citizens of neighboring countries also residing in border areas with Vietnam in accordance with this Code and other legal regulations of Vietnam.

Article 37. Jurisdiction of provincial-level People's Court

…

c) Disputes and requests stipulated in Clause 3 Article 35 of this Code.

As such, the provincial-level People's Court will have jurisdiction to resolve disputes and divorce requests involving foreigners. Except for cases where Vietnamese citizens residing in border areas with citizens of neighboring countries also residing in border areas with Vietnam fall under the jurisdiction of the district-level People's Court.

2. Dossiers:

The dossier for the divorce procedure between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners includes:

- Divorce petition (in the form provided by the Court).- Original Marriage Certificate.- Certified copies of identification cards/ Passports; permanent household registration of both spouses.- Copies of the Birth Certificate of the child(ren) (if any).- Certified copies of documents and evidence on the ownership of the property (if there are property disputes).- Documents proving that one party is currently abroad.

Note: If both parties registered their marriage according to foreign laws and want to divorce in Vietnam, they must consularly legalize the Marriage Certificate and complete the procedure to record it in the register at the Department of Justice before submitting the divorce petition to the court.

3. Procedure:

The divorce between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners is carried out in the following steps:

Step 1: Submit a complete dossier to the provincial/district Court where the defendant is residing.

Step 2: Within 7-15 days, the Court will review the dossier. If the dossier is complete and valid, the Court will send a notice of advance court fees.

Step 3: Pay the advance civil court fees at the competent Civil Judgment Enforcement Sub-department and submit the court fee advance receipt to the Court.

Step 4: The Court will hold a conciliation session at the court and carry out the divorce procedure at the Court according to trial procedure.

4. Duration and fees:

Duration: The resolution time for foreign-related divorce cases according to Article 203 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015 is from 4 - 6 months from the day of acceptance.

Fees: The first-instance court fee in a divorce case according to Resolution 326/2016/UBTVQH14 is 300,000 VND for a case without a value amount (no property disputes); For civil cases with a value amount (property disputes), the court fee is determined by the value of the disputed property.

These are the legal regulations to resolve the divorce between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners. However, in practice, the implementation of this procedure involves many issues. The most important issue is that the Foreigner's compliance with the Vietnamese Court's Judgment, Divorce Decision is often not adhered to. Additionally, geographical obstacles make the execution of procedures difficult and prolonged. Divorce cases involving property disputes also encounter many challenges. Therefore, it can be seen that the procedure for resolving divorces between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners is much more complicated than domestic divorces.

Thuy Tram

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE