13 Important Updates in Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP on Civil Status in Vietnam

113 Important Updates in Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP on Civil Status in Vietnam

Birth Registration for Children in Vietnam: Names Must Not Be Too Long or Difficult to Call

Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP specifies that the content of birth registration is determined according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 14 of the Civil Status Law, Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP, and the following guidelines:

- The determination of surname, ethnicity, and naming for children must comply with the law and should uphold the national identity, customs, and good cultural traditions of Vietnam; names must not be too long or difficult to call.

- If the parents cannot agree on the surname, ethnicity, or place of origin of the child when registering the birth, the child’s surname, ethnicity, and place of origin will be determined according to customs but must ensure they follow the surname, ethnicity, and place of origin of either the father or mother.

Supplementary Regulations on Reissuing Certificates of Marital Status in Vietnam

The current regulation in Decree 123/2015/ND-CP and Circular 15/2015/TT-BTP states clearly that the person requesting a reissue of the Certificate of Marital Status to get married must submit the previously issued Certificate of Marital Status. However, in many cases where the requester cannot submit it due to loss, misplacement, etc., there were no guideline provisions, causing difficulties in the registration of civil status.

Addressing this issue, Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP has provided specific solutions for cases where the requester cannot submit the previously issued Certificate of Marital Status. To be specific:

- The requester must clearly state the reason for not being able to submit the previously issued Certificate of Marital Status;

- Within three working days from the date of receiving the dossier, the civil status registration agency will exchange documents with the place where the previous marriage registration was intended to verify;

- If verification is not possible or results are not received, the civil status registration agency allows the requester to prepare a statement of the marital status according to the regulations.

Furthermore, the Circular stipulates that the civil status registration agency must refuse to process cases of marital status certification for marriage between individuals of the same sex or marrying a foreigner at a foreign representative office in Vietnam.

Additional Regulations on the Validity of Certificates of Marital Status in Vietnam

Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP stipulates the Certificate of Marital Status is valid until the marital status changes or six months from the date of issuance, whichever comes first.

Example: The Certificate of Marital Status was issued on February 3, 2020, but on February 10, 2020, the person was issued a Certificate of Marital Status registered for marriage, the Certificate of Marital Status is only valid until February 10, 2020.

Currently, Decree 123/2015/ND-CP only stipulates that the Certificate of Marital Status is valid for six months from the date of issuance.

Additionally, Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP also stipulates that if the request is for the Certificate of Marital Status for the purpose of marriage, the civil status registration agency will only issue one copy. The Certificate of Marital Status must clearly state the full name, year of birth, nationality, identification documents of the intended spouse, and the intended place of marriage registration.

Grandparents Registering Birth for Grandchildren in Vietnam Do Not Need Power of Attorney

Current regulations on civil status registration delegation, Article 2 of Circular 15/2015/TT-BTP stipulate that if the authorized person is the grandparents, parents, offspring, spouse, siblings of the authorizer, the authorization document does not need to be notarized or authenticated but must have proof of the relationship with the authorizer.

Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP inherits this provision from Circular 15/2015/TT-BTP while adding regulations for authorization in cases of birth registration for children. Specifically:

Article 2. Civil Status Registration Authorization

2. In cases where the person registering the birth for a child is the grandparent or another relative, as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 15 of the Civil Status Law, no authorization document from the child's parents is needed, but an agreement with the child's parents on the birth registration details is required.

Thus, under this provision, from July 16, 2020, grandparents, other relatives, or individuals, organizations caring for children do not need an authorization document from the parents to register the birth.

The Civil Status Registration Applicant in VietnamCan Submit Photocopies

According to Clause 3, Article 3 of Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP, the civil status registration applicant can submit certified copies from the original or copies issued from the original register or photocopies along with the original documents for verification. (Currently, Circular 15 does not specify this content)

If the applicant submits photocopies along with the original documents, the receiver must check and verify the photocopy against the original and sign to confirm, without requiring the submission of copies of those documents.

Additional Provisions on Birth Registration for Children Born During Marriage but Not Acknowledged as Common Children

Clause 4, Article 16 of Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP stipulates as follows:

Article 16. Registration for Recognizing Father, Mother, Child, Additional Civil Status in Some Special Cases

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4. In cases where children are born or conceived by the wife during marriage but either the wife or husband does not acknowledge the child as their common child or another person wants to acknowledge the child, it will be determined by the People's Court according to the provisions of the law.

If the People's Court refuses to resolve, the civil status registration agency will receive and resolve the birth registration request for children with unknown father or the request to recognize father and child if the dossier includes the written refusal to resolve from the Court and evidence proving the parental relationship as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 14 of this Circular.

This is a newly supplemented provision in Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP compared to current regulations in Circular 15/2015/TT-BTP.

Supplementary Regulations on Civil Status Corrections

Additional regulations on civil status corrections and information supplementation - Illustrative image

Currently, according to Clause 3, Article 26 of Circular 15/2015/TT-BTP, if errors are detected after civil status registration due to a mistake by the civil status officer or the applicant, civil status correction procedures must be conducted according to Clause 2, Article 7 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP.

Article 7. Conditions for Changing, Correcting Civil Status

...2. Civil status correction as stipulated by the Civil Status Law involves correcting personal information in the Civil Status Register or in the original civil status documents and is only performed when there is sufficient evidence to identify the mistake was made by the civil status officer or the applicant.

Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP inherits this provision from Circular 15/2015/TT-BTP, and it also specifies that civil status corrections are only resolved when a mistake in civil status registration is identified (mistakes made by the applicant or the civil status registration agency, etc.); additionally, it adds a provision “not to correct information on already validly issued civil status documents to legitimize information in other personal records and documents.”

Supplementary Turnaround Time for Civil Status Registration Requests Without Verification Results

Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP stipulates an additional provision for resolving civil status registration requests without verification results as follows:

Article 4. Resolving Civil Status Registration Requests Without Receiving Verification Results

In cases where civil status registration requires verification under Clause 4, Article 22, Clause 2, Article 26, Clause 2, Article 27 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP and Clause 4, Article 9, Clause 1, Article 12 of this Circular, after 20 days from the date of sending the verification request without receiving a reply, the civil status registration agency will continue processing the dossier according to regulations. For marriage status verification, the requester is allowed to prepare a statement on the marital status according to the provisions of Article 5 of this Circular.

Currently, Circular 15 does not specify the timeframe after which, if a verification reply is not received, civil status registration will proceed. Additionally, Circular 15 stipulates that for all cases, if the verification reply is not received within the timeframe, the civil status registration agency allows the requester to prepare a statement on the matter needing verification, whereas Circular 04 only allows this for marital status verification requests.

Supplementary Regulations on Documents and Materials for Reissuing Birth Registrations

Basically, Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP stipulates the types of documents and materials for reissuing birth registrations similarly to Circular 15/2015/TT-BTP. Additionally, Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP has added the following provision:

Article 9. Documents and Materials for Reissuing Birth Registrations

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4. In cases where the applicant’s documents lack information proving the parent-child relationship, the civil status registration agency must send a written request for verification to the competent police authority.

If the police authority states there is no information, the civil status registration agency allows the applicant to prepare a statement about the information of the parents according to Articles 4 and 5 of this Circular and determines the birth registration content based on the statement.

Supplementary Regulations on Marriages Involving Foreign Elements

Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP adds Article 11 guiding marriage registration involving foreign elements as follows:

Article 11. Marriage Registration Involving Foreign Elements

1. Verification procedures in marriage registration as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 38 of the Civil Status Law, Clause 1, Article 31 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP will be carried out as follows:

Within ten working days from the date of receiving a complete dossier, the Department of Justice is responsible for reviewing and appraising the marriage registration dossier. In cases of complaints about the ineligibility for marriage under the Marriage and Family Law or if there are issues requiring clarification about the identity of the male or female party or the documents in the marriage registration dossier, the Department of Justice must cooperate with relevant authorities for further verification.

During dossier appraisal and verification, if necessary, the Department of Justice may work directly with the parties to clarify identity, voluntary nature of marriage, and marriage purpose.

2. For Vietnamese citizens who have been issued residence documents by a foreign authority and wish to marry each other or a Vietnamese citizen residing domestically, marriage registration authority belongs to the district-level People’s Committee as stipulated in Article 37 of the Civil Status Law.

3. Documents proving the marital status of foreign nationals are those issued by competent authorities of the country of citizenship.

Currently, Circular 15/2015/TT-BTP does not stipulate on this matter.

Supplementary Regulations on Death Registrations for Long-Deceased Persons

Compared to Circular 15/2015/TT-BTP, Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP includes guidelines for registering death for long-deceased persons in Article 13. To be specific:

Article 13. Death Registration

Death registration is carried out according to Section 7, Chapter II of the Civil Status Law and the following guidelines:

1. In cases of registering the death of long-deceased persons without a Death Notification or replacement documents as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 4 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP, the requester must provide documents, materials, or evidence from competent authorities or organizations substantiating the death event.

2. If the requester cannot provide valid documents, materials, or evidence according to Clause 1 of this Article or the provided evidence is not valid or insufficient, the civil status registration agency will refuse the death registration.

Abolition of Certain Evidence Proving Parent-Child Relationship

Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP has removed the requirement for evidence proving parent-child relationships, such as letters, photos, tapes, discs, other items proving the parent-child relationship as stipulated in Circular 15/2015/TT-BTP.

Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP stipulates that in the absence of evidence proving a parent-child relationship as specified in Clause 1, Article 14, the parties claiming fatherhood or motherhood should prepare a statement on the parent-child relationship, with at least two witnesses verifying the parent-child relationship.

Guidelines for Converting Age to Birth Year When Issuing Extract Copies from the Civil Status Register

Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP provides specific guidelines for converting age to birth year when issuing extract copies from the Civil Status Register in cases where the Civil Status Register records age. To be specific:

Article 23. Issuance of Extract Copies from the Civil Status Register

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2. If the Civil Status Register records age, the civil status registration agency will determine the corresponding year of birth and record it in the Notes section of the Civil Status Register, and then issue the extract copy.

Example: The 1975 Birth Registration Register records the father's age as 25 and the mother's age as 23; therefore, the father's year of birth is determined as 1950, and the mother's year of birth as 1952.

Currently, Circular 15/2015/TT-BTP does not stipulate this content.

Nguyen Trinh

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