Shall a foreigner who gets married with a Vietnamese wife naturalize in Vietnam?

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to give answer as following:

Pursuant to Clause 1 and 2 Article 19 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality 2008, amended in 2014, foreign nationals being spouses of Vietnamese citizens may be permitted for naturalization in Vietnam if they satisfy the following conditions:

- Having the full civil act capacity as prescribed by Vietnam’s laws;

- Obeying the Constitution and laws of Vietnam; respecting the traditions, customs and practices of the Vietnamese nation.

Likewise, persons naturalized in Vietnam shall renounce their foreign nationality, except for those defined in Clause 2 of this Article in special cases, if so permitted by the President.

Persons applying for Vietnamese nationality must have Vietnamese names. These names may be selected by the applicants.

Note: Persons applying for Vietnamese nationality may not be permitted for naturalization if such naturalization is detrimental to Vietnam’s national interests.

Therefore, foreign nationals being spouses of Vietnamese citizens may be permitted for naturalization in Vietnam if they satisfy the above mentioned conditions.

Procedures of application for Vietnamese nationality

Pursuant to Article 20 and Article 21 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality, in order to naturalize in Vietnam, foreign nationals being spouses of Vietnamese citizens must have these following dossiers:

- An application for Vietnamese nationality;

- A copy of the birth certificate, passport or other substitute papers;

- A curriculum vitae;

- A judicial record issued by a competent Vietnamese authority for the period the applicant resides in Vietnam and a judicial record issued by a competent foreign authority for the period the applicant resides in the foreign country. Judicial records must be issued within 90 days before the date of filing the dossier;

A person applying for Vietnamese nationality shall file a dossier to the provincial-level Justice Service of the locality where he/she resides

Within 5 working days after the receipt of a complete and valid dossier, the provincial-level Justice Service shall send to the provincial-level Public Security Department a request for verification of the applicant’s identity.

Within 30 days after the receipt of a request from the provincial-level Justice Service, the provincial-level Public Security Department shall conduct verification and send verification results to the provincial-level Justice Service. During this period, the provincial-level Justice Service shall examine papers in the dossier of application for Vietnamese nationality.

Within 10 working days after the receipt of verification results, the provincial-level Justice Service shall complete the dossier for submission to the provincial-level People’s Committee president.

Within 10 working days after the receipt of a request from the provincial-level Justice Service, the provincial-level People’s Committee president shall consider, make conclusion and send his/her proposal to the Ministry of Justice.

Within 20 working days after the receipt of the proposal from the provincial-level People’s Committee president, the Ministry of Justice shall re-examine the dossier, if finding that all conditions for naturalization in Vietnam are met, the Ministry shall send a written notification to the applicant for carrying out procedures to renounce his/her foreign nationality, except the case in which the applicant wishes to retain his/her foreign nationality or is a stateless person. Within 10 working days after the receipt of a written permission for the applicant to renounce his/her foreign nationality, the Minister of Justice shall report the case to the Prime Minister for submission to the President for consideration and decision.

In case the applicant wishes to retain his/her foreign nationality or is a stateless person, within 20 days after the receipt of the proposal from the provincial-level People’s Committee president, the Ministry of Justice shall re-examine the dossier, if finding that the applicant is eligible for naturalization in Vietnam, the Ministry shall report the case to the Prime Minister for submission to the President for consideration and decision.

The President shall consider and make a decision within 30 working days after the receipt of the Prime Minister’s proposal.

Therefore, the total time for foreigners being spouses of Vietnamese citizens submitting dossiers to be naturalized Vietnamese is within 105 days from submitting the application for naturalization to the time he/she is recognized as a Vietnamese citizen. 

Bao Ngoc

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