Conditions for permanent residence registration in Vietnam from July 01, 2021

Specifically, according to Article 20 of the Law on Residence 2020 of Vietnam, general conditions for permanent residence registration are as follows:

(1) Any citizen who has a lawful place of residence under their ownership may register that place as their permanent residence.

(2) A citizen may register a lawful place of residence that is not under their ownership as their permanent residence with the permission of the household head and owner of such place in the following cases:

- The citizen is someone who comes to live with their spouse; a child coming to live with their parent(s); or a parent coming to live with their child;

- The citizen is an old person coming to live with their biological sibling or grandchild; or a person with very severe disability, a person with severe disability, a person who has lost work capacity, a person suffering from a mental illness or another disease that causes them to lose awareness or behavior control coming to live with their paternal grandparent(s), maternal grandparent(s), biological sibling, biological uncle, biological aunt, biological niece/nephew, biological grandchild or guardian;

- The citizen is a minor coming to live with their great-grandparent(s), paternal grandparent(s), maternal grandparent(s), biological sibling, biological uncle or biological aunt with the permission of their parent or guardian or if they have no parent; or a minor coming to live with their guardian.

(3) A citizen may register a lawful place of residence that they rent, borrow or stay in as their permanent residence on the following conditions:

- The owner of the lawful place of residence agrees to let the citizen register the location that they rent, borrow or stay in as their permanent residence and the household head agrees to let the citizen register the location as their permanent residence with the household;

- The condition for minimum floor area stipulated by the provincial People’s Council is satisfied, which shall be more than 08 m2 of floor/person.

It can be seen that this is a new content compared to those of the Law on Residence 2006 (expired from July 01, 2021). Clause 1 Article 20 of the Law on Residence 2006 only states that where the lawful domiciles are leased, lent or let for free-of-charge stay by individuals, written consent of the lessors, lenders or such individuals is required.

(4) A citizen may register a folk religious establishment or religious establishment with housing as an auxiliary work as their permanent residence in any of the following cases: (new content)

- The citizen is involved in religious activities and is ordained, appointed to hold a position, selected to hold a hierarchical rank or transferred to carry out religious activities in the religious establishment;

- The citizen represents the folk religious establishment;

- The representative or management board of the folk religious establishment agrees to let the citizen register the establishment as their permanent residence for the citizen to oversee and organize religious activities in the establishment directly;

- The representative or management board of the folk religious establishment or the head or representative of the religious establishment agrees to let the citizen, who is a child, person with very severe disability, person with severe disability or helpless person, register the establishment as their permanent residence.

(5) A person receiving care or support may register their social support facility as their permanent residence with the permission of the facility head or register their caregiving household as their permanent residence with the permission of the household head and owner of the lawful place of residence. (new content)

(6) A person living or working on a vehicle on an itinerant basis may register the vehicle as their permanent residence on the following conditions: The person owns the vehicle or is permitted to register the vehicle as their permanent residence by the vehicle owner; The vehicle has been registered as prescribed by law; If the vehicle does not require registration or the vehicle registration place is not where it frequently docks or parks, the commune-level People's Committee must confirm that the vehicle has registered to dock or park in the commune frequently. (new content)

In particular, it should be noted that the permanent residence of a minor must be registered with the permission of either of their parents or their guardian, unless their place of residence is decided by the Court. Citizens may not register the 05 places mentioned below as their new permanent residence, excluding the cases where the citizen is someone who comes to live with their spouse; a child coming to live with their parent(s); or a parent coming to live with their child:

- Places of residence situated in locations or areas forbidden from construction or encroaching protection corridors for national defense and security, transport, irrigation, dikes and energy, protection markers for technical infrastructure works and ranked historical - cultural sites, areas at risk of landslides, flash floods and pipe floods, and protection areas for other works as prescribed by law.

- Places of residence the whole floor area of which are located on illegally encroached land or places of residence located on land not eligible for construction as per the law.

- Places of residence issued with a decision on land use right revocation and decision approving plan for compensation, assistance and relocation by the competent authority; places of residence being houses the whole or a part of floor area of which is subject to a dispute or complaint related to ownership or right of use unresolved as per the law.

- Places of residence confiscated as decided by the competent authority; vehicles which are registered as permanent residences but the vehicle registration of which has been annulled or which do not possess the inspection certificate for compliance with technical safety and environmental protection requirements as per the law.

- Places of residence being houses issued with a demolition decision by the competent authority.

Thus, the Law on Residence 2020 of Vietnam no longer differentiates the conditions for permanent residence registration between central-affiliated cities or other provinces compared to the Law on Residence 2006, instead, it specifies general conditions for permanent residence registration, concurrently supplements 03 cases mentioned in (4), (5), (6). Moreover, it also stipulates 05 locations which are not eligible for new permanent residence registration from July 01, 2021.

Bao Ngoc

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