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THE MINISTRY OF
JUSTICE
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SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF
VIET NAM
Independence - Freedom – Happiness
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No: 12/1999/TT-BTP
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Hanoi, June 25, 1999
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CIRCULAR
GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A NUMBER OF PROVISIONS OF THE
GOVERNMENT’S DECREE No. 83/1998/ND-CP OF OCTOBER 10, 1998 ON CIVIL STATUS
REGISTRATION
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No.38/CP
of June 4, 1993 on the functions, tasks, powers and organization of the
Ministry of Justice;
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No.83/1998/ND-CP of October 10, 1998 on
civil status registration;
The Ministry of Justice hereby guides the implementation of a number of
provisions on civil status registration as follows:
I. CIVIL STATUS REGISTRATION
A. BIRTH REGISTRATION
The birth registration shall comply with the
provisions in Articles from 17 to 21 of the Govern-ment’s Decree
No.83/1998/ND-CP of October 10, 1998 on civil status registration (hereafter
referred to as the Decree).
1. The competence to register births defined in
Article 17 of the Decree is effected as follows:
The registration of births for children must be
made at the People’s Committees of communes, wards or district towns (hereafter
referred to as the commune-level People’s Committee), where the mothers
register their permanent residence.
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Where a mother has got a place of permanent
residence registration, but, for plausible reasons, is unable to return to such
place to register the birth for her child, the commune-level People’s Committee
in the locality where the child is born shall effect the birth registration; in
this case, the mother shall have to file an application clearly explaining the
reasons why she could not return to her place of permanent residence
registration for the registration of her child’s birth. After making the birth
registration and issuing an original of the child’s birth certificate, the People’s
Committee of the commune where the child’s birth has been registered shall send
a notice and a copy of the child’s birth certificate to the People’s Committee
of the commune where the mother has registered her permanent residence. The
People’s Committee of the commune where the mother has registered her permanent
residence shall make recording in the birth register; the serial number, the
date of registration, the full name and title of the person who has signed the
birth certificate and the full name of the juridical-civil status official must
be recorded in strict accordance with the contents of the birth certificate
copy. In the "Ghi chu" (notes) column of the birth register, the
following "Da dang ky khai sinh tai..." (have already registered the
birth at...) must be inscribed with the clear statement of the locality
(commune, district and province) where the child’s birth has been registered.
The subsequent issuance of copies of the birth certificate must be based on
this register.
2. When registering birth, the determination of
a child’s nationality and family name for writing in the birth certificate
shall comply with the provisions of Article 30 and Article 55 of the Civil
Code.
3. A child who is born and stays alive for 24
hours or more before he/she dies must also have his/her birth registered; if
the person who has the responsibility to register the birth for the child fails
to do so, the juridical-civil status official shall have to make the
registration at his/her house; if the birth certificate is not requested, it
shall not be issued; in the "Ghi chu" (notes) column of the birth
register, the "tre chet so sinh" (the child died infant) must be
clearly inscribed for statistical purposes.
4. In case of registration of birth for an
abandoned child, if the place where the record of the abandonment is made is
different from the place where the child is abandoned, the commune-level
People’s Committee of the place where the record is made shall have to
coordinate with the commune-level People’s Committee of the place where the
child is abandoned in carefully inspecting the observance of the provisions of
Article 21 of the Decree; if the procedures are complete, the registration
shall be effected.
The record of the abandonment of a child must
contain the following details: day, month, year and location of discovering the
child; the sex, weight, identity characteristics, property and other objects of
the child (if any); the full name, address and identity card of the person who
has discovered the child.
5. Within 30 days after the birth registration,
if any error is detected in the birth certificate as the result of miswriting
by the juridical-civil status official or wrong declaration by the involved
person, the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the birth is
registered may issue a new birth certificate to the involved person; the former
certificate with error must be recovered and destroyed; the registration
number, day, month and year of the new birth certificate must be the same as those
in the former certificate; in the "Ghi chu"(notes) column of the
birth register, the adjustment of day, month and year of effection must be
additionally inscribed and the adjusted contents shall be stamped with a seal.
For errors detected beyond the above-said time
limit, if the involved person wish to adjust them, he/she shall have to fill in
the procedures for civil status corrections according to the provisions in
Articles from 52 to 55 of the Decree and the provisions at Point G, Section I
of this Circular.
B. MARRIAGE REGISTRATION
The registration of marriage shall comply with
the provisions in Articles from 22 to 26 of the Decree.
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The registration of marriage must be made at the
commune-level People’s Committee in the locality where the permanent residence
of either the male or female party is registered.
Where both the male and female parties have no
or have not yet got their places of permanent residence registration, but have
got the time-limited temporary residence registration according to the
provisions of legislation on residence registration, the commune-level People’s
Committee of the locality where either of the couple has registered his or her
time-limited temporary residence shall effect the registration of marriage.
Where both the male and female parties are
Vietnamese citizens who are studying, laboring or working for given periods of
time in foreign countries, have disregarded their permanent residence
registrations and now return to the country applying for registration of their
marriage, the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the
parents of either of the couple have registered their permanent residence shall
effect the marriage registration.
2. The certification of marital status in the
marriage certificate must be effected by the commune-level People’s Committee
of the locality where the involved person registers his/her permanent residence;
if the involved person has no or has not yet got a place of permanent residence
registration but has got the time-limited temporary residence registration
according to the provisions of the legislation on residence registration, the
commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the involved person has
registered his/her time-limited temporary residence shall make such
certification after verifying the marital status of the involved person before
the time of his/her temporary residence in the locality.
Where the involved person is an official,
employee or laborer working at a Party or State agency, a socio-political
organization, a State enterprise or is serving in the People’s Armed Forces
unit, the certification of the marital status in the marriage certificate shall
be made by the head of his/her agency or unit.
The certification of marital status should be
written according to the following contents:
Mr.(Ms.)....... (writing clearly the full name)
has the permanent/temporary residence registration at....... (or is working
at.......), is at present not married to anyone. This is the...... marriage
(clearly writing the time of marriage).
3. Where both the male and female parties work
at the same agency or unit or reside in the same locality (commune, ward,
district town) and request the registration of their marriage, only one
declaration for marriage certificate is filled in.
4. Persons applying for marriage registration,
who are Vietnamese citizens studying, laboring or working for given periods of
time in foreign countries, and now return home to apply for their marriage
registration, must obtain the certification by the Vietnamese diplomatic
missions or consulates in the foreign countries where they are studying,
laboring or working of their marital status during their stays in such foreign
countries and the certification by the commune-level People’s Committees of the
localities where they had previously registered their permanent residences of
their marital status before leaving abroad, if the place of marriage
registration is different from the place of previous permanent residence
registration.
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"Within 7 days after the public notice is
posted up, if no complaint or denunciation is made against this marriage as
being illegal, the People’s Committee shall effect the marriage
registration".
6. While the marriage registration is being
processed and either party or both parties withdraw the dossiers of application
for registration of their marriage, the commune-level People’s Committee shall
return the dossiers, but the involved persons shall not be refunded the fees.
C. DEATH REGISTRATION
The death registration shall comply with the
provisions in Articles from 27 to 34 of the Decree.
1. The death-registering competence defined in
Clauses from 1 to 4 of Article 27 of the Decree shall be effected as follows:
The death registration must be effected at the
commune-level People’s Committee where the dead person registered his/her
permanent residence; if the dead person has had no place of permanent residence
registration but the time-limited temporary residence registration according to
the provisions of legislation on residence registration, the commune-level
People’s Committee where the dead person made his/her time-limited temporary
residence registration shall effect the registration of death.
The death registration at the commune-level
People’s Committee of the locality where the person has died shall be effected
in the following cases:
- The dead person has neither place of permanent
residence registration nor place of time-limited temporary residence
registration;
- The dead person’s place of last residence
cannot be identified;
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2. A newborn who stays alive for 24 hours or
more before he/she dies must also have his/her death registered; if the person
who would have to make such registration fails to do so, the juridical-civil
status official shall make the registration at such person’s house; no death
certificate shall be issued if it is not so requested; in the "Ghi
chu" (notes) of the death register, the following " the child dies
infant" must be inscribed for statistical purpose.
3. When making death registration for an
unidentified dead person, the commune-level People’s Committee shall have to
fully comply with the procedures defined in Article 31 of the Decree. The
minutes certifying the status of the unidentified dead person must be regular
and contain the following details: day, month, year and location of discovering
the dead person; sex, identity characteristics, property and other objects of
the dead person (if any); the full name, address and identity card of the
person who discovered the dead person. In the "Ghi chu" (notes)
column of the death register, the burial location and the serial number of the
grave card (if any) must be clearly inscribed; columns without details shall be
left blank.
Where the trace of the dead person is detected
and his/her relatives are identified after the death registration and burial,
the commune-level People’s Committee where the death is registered shall
additionally fill the necessary information in the blank columns in the death
register and issue the death certificate to the relatives of the dead person.
4. The death notice defined in Clause 1, Article
33 of the Decree, shall be sent to the commune-level People’s Committee which
is competent to make the death registration under the guidance at Point C.1,
Section I of this Circular.
D. REGISTRATION OF CHILD
ADOPTION
The registration of child adoption shall comply
with the provisions in Articles from 35 to 40 of the Decree.
1. The competence to register child adoption
defined in Article 35 of the Decree shall be effected as follows:
The child adoption registration must be effected
at the commune-level People’s Committee where the child adoptor or the adopted
child has his/her permanent residence registered.
Where both have no or have not yet got the
places of permanent residence registration, but have the time-limited temporary
residence registration according to the provisions of legislation on residence
registration, the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the
child adoptor or the adopted child has his/her time-limited temporary residence
registered shall effect the adoption registration.
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2. The written consent to let the child to be
adopted must be signed by the natural parents of the child to be accepted as
the adoptive child, even when they have already been divorced; if the father or
the mother is declared missing or losing his or her civil act capacity by the
court, only the signature of the other person is needed.
Where the natural parents are dead or declared
missing or losing their civil act capacity by the court, the guardian may sign
such written consent; if it is the appointed guardian, the opinion of the
person, agency or organization that has appointed the guardian is also
required.
Where the person to be adopted is an abandoned
child living in a medical establishment or a fostering center, the written
consent shall be signed by the head of such medical establishment or fostering
center; if it is discovered that such child still has the father and/or mother,
the written consent must also be signed by the father and/or mother.
Besides the above-mentioned subjects, no one or
organization, including the foster parents, have the right to sign the written
consent to the child adoption.
3. Before registering the child adoption, the
commune-level People’s Committee shall have to examine and verify the dossiers
of application for the child adoption in accordance with the provisions of law,
with special attention being paid to the following points:
a/ The voluntariness and legality of the give
and take in the child adoption;
b/ The status of the child adoptor;
c/ The purpose of the child adoption;
d/ The origin of the abandoned child to be
accepted as the adoptive child.
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5. The consent of the to be-adopted person who
is full 9 years or older must be evidenced with the inscription "Dong
y" (consent) and the signature in the written consent to the child
adoption (according to the set form); if the child is illiterate, the
juridical-civil status official shall have to read and explain clearly the
child adoption; if the child agrees, he/she shall have to press his/her
fingerprints instead of signing on the written consent.
6. Where an abandoned child is to be adopted,
after the decision on such child adoption takes effect, the commune-level
People’s Committees of the locality where the child’s birth is registered shall
write the names of the persons recognized to be the foster parents in the
sections on the father and mother in the birth certificate and the birth
register; in the "Ghi chu" (notes) column of the birth register, the
following "cha, me nuoi" (foster father, mother) must be clearly
inscribed.
7. Where the foster parents wish to terminate
the child adoption, they must carry out the procedures for the termination
thereof according to the provisions of law, and must not terminate the child
adoption at their own will or hand over the adopted child to other people.
E. REGISTRATION OF
GUARDIANSHIP
The registration of guardianship shall comply
with the provisions in Articles from 41 to 46 of the Decree.
1. The competence for guardianship registration
defined in Article 41 of the Decree shall be effected as follows:
The guardianship registration must be effected
at the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the guardian
registers his/her permanent residence or where the agency or organization
undertaking the guardianship is headquartered.
Where the guardian is an individual who has no
or has not yet got the place of permanent residence registration, but has the
time-limited temporary residence registration according to the provisions of
legislation on residence registration, the commune-level People’s Committee of
the locality where the guardian registers his/her definite temporary residence
shall effect the registration of guardianship.
Where an agency or organization appoints its
representative to undertake the guardianship, the competence for guardianship
registration shall comply with the above provision.
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In this case, when the guardianship is altered
or terminated, the decision recognizing the termination of guardianship must
also inscribe the list of existing property and their status; if the dispute
over the ward’s property has not yet been settled by the court, the
commune-level People’s Committee shall not register the guardianship alteration
or termination.
F. REGISTRATION OF
RECOGNITION OF FATHERS, MOTHERS, CHILDREN
The recognition of fathers, mothers and/or
children shall comply with the provisions in Articles from 47 to 51 of the
Decree.
1. The competence to register the recognition of
fathers, mothers and/or children defined in Article 47 of the Decree shall be
effected as follows:
The recognition of fathers, mothers and children
must be registered at the commune-level People’s Committees of the localities
where the children register their permanent residence.
Where the children do not have or have not yet
got the place of permanent residence registration but have the time-limited
temporary residence registration according to the provisions of legislation on
residence registration, the commune-level People’s Committees of the localities
where the children register their time-limited temporary residence registration
shall register the recognition of fathers, mothers and/or children.
Where the children have neither the place of
permanent residence registration nor the place of time-limited temporary
residence registration, the commune-level People’s Committees of the localities
where the children are living shall register the recognition of fathers,
mothers and/or children.
2. The registration of father, mother or child
recognition shall only be effected in cases where the recognizer and the
recognized as being father, mother or child are still alive by the time of
registration.
3. Where a father or a mother registers to
recognize his or her child, the application for child recognition must be
evidenced with the consent of the other person except where such person has
been declared missing or losing her or his civil act capacity.
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5. The consent of a child recognized as son or
daughter aged full 9 or more must be indicated by the inscription "Dong
y" (Agreed) and his or her signature in the application (according to the
set form); if the child is illiterate, the juridical-civil status official
shall have to read the application and explain that he or she is to be
recognized as son or daughter; if the child agrees, he or she shall press his
or her finger-prints on the application instead of the signature.
The above regulations also apply to cases where
children aged from full 9 to under 15 apply for recognition of fathers or
mothers.
6. The notice posted up at the office of the
commune-level People’s Committee must contain the following details: the full
names, dates of birth, native places, places of permanent/temporary residence
of both the recognizer and the recognized as being the father, mother or
son/daughter and the father, mother or child recognition.
G. REGISTRATION OF CHANGES
OF FAMILY NAMES, GIVEN NAMES, MIDDLE NAMES; CORRECTION OF FAMILY NAMES, GIVEN
NAMES, MIDDLE NAMES, DAYS, MONTHS AND/OR YEARS OF BIRTH; REDETERMINATION OF
NATIONALITY
The change of family names, given names and/or
middle names; the correction of family names, given names and/or middle names,
days, months and/or years of birth; the redetermination of nationality
(hereafter referred to as civil status change and correction, redetermination
of natioinality) shall comply with the provisions in Articles from 52 to 55 of
the Decree.
1. The provisions in Article 52 of the Decree on
the provincial-level People’s Committee’s competence to register civil status
changes and corrections as well as the redetermination of nationality shall be
implemented as follows:
The registration of civil status changes and
corrections as well as the redetermination of nationality shall be effected at
the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where the applicant has
registered his/her permanent residence or where he/she had his/her birth
formerly registered.
Where the involved person has no or has not yet
got a place of permanent residence registration, but has the time-limited
temporary residence registration according to the provisions of legislation on
residence registration, the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality
where the time-limited temporary residence is registered shall also have the
competence to effect the civil status change and correction as well as the
redetermination of nationality of such person.
2. The civil status correction, particularly the
correction of birth days, months and/or years shall only be made for cases
where there are enough grounds to confirm that the errors were made in the
birth registration due to miswriting by the juridical-civil status officials or
misdeclaration by the involved persons. Where a civil status correction in a
birth certificate is requested by a person who deliberately makes false
correction of previously registered details in order to legalize his/her
available personal dossiers or papers, such request shall not be met.
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4. When writing the changed or corrected details
in the birth certificate, attention should be paid to the following:
a/ Only writing the changed and/or corrected
details at the back, not at the front of the original of the birth certificate;
b/ For former model forms of birth certificate
and the birth certificate copies from the original book, which have no sections
for notes on civil status changes and corrections at the back of the birth
certificates, the provincial/municipal Justice Services shall base themselves
on the contents of the model form issued together with the Justice Minister’s
Decision No.1203/QD/TP-HT of December 26, 1998 to write the changed and/or
corrected details.
After the civil status changes and/or
corrections are noted down in the birth certificate originals or the birth
certificate copies from the original books and the birth registers, the birth
certificate copies shall be issued according to the changed contents.
5. Where a child applies for the change of
his/her family name from the father’s family name to his/her mother’s family
name or for redetermination of his/her nationality from the father’s to the
mother’s nationality, or vice versa, the consents of both his/her father and
mother are required.
6. The change and/or correction of other details
in the birth certificate shall also comply with the provisions in Articles from
52 to 55 of the Decree and the provisions at Point G, Section I of this Circular.
7. The requests for correction in other civil
status papers (other than the birth certificate) shall not be subject to the
regulation of Point G, Section I of this Circular. Where an involved person
asks for the correction in such papers, the People’s Committee which previously
issued such civil status papers shall base itself on the birth certificate
original or the birth certificate copy from the original book of the involved
person, issued for less than 3 months, to make the appropriate correction.
H. BOOK ENTRY OF OTHER
CIVIL STATUS CHANGES
The book entry of other civil status changes
shall comply with the provisions in Articles from 56 to 58 of the Decree.
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a/ Divorces and annulment of illegal marriage
shall be recorded in the "Ghi chu" (Notes) column of the marriage
register;
b/ The change of citizenship shall be recorded
in the "Ghi chu"(Notes) column of the birth register;
c/ The determination of fathers, mothers,
children shall be recorded in the "Ghi chu" (Notes) of the children’
birth registers;
d/ Decisions on declaration of missing, losing
civil act capacity, the restriction of civil act capacity, the restriction of
parents’ rights toward their minor children shall be temporarily not recorded
in books, but only kept at the commune-level People’s Committees of the
localities where the involved persons are residing for management and
monitoring.
2. When recording in books things mentioned at
Points a, b and c above, the juridical-civil status officials shall have to
clearly record the changed contents, serial numbers of the decisions, days,
months and years of issuing decisions, agencies issuing decisions and persons
signing the decisions.
3. When recording in books the determination of
fathers, mothers or children based on decisions of the People’s Committees or
courts, the juridical-civil status officials shall have to add the names of the
fathers or mothers into the children’ birth registers and the children’s birth
certificates, if such have been left blank. Where such sections of the birth
registers and the birth certificates had been previously filled with the names
of other people, the involved persons shall have to carry out the procedures
applying for civil status changes or corrections according to the provisions in
Articles from 52 to 55 of the Decree and the provisions at Point G, Section I
of this Circular.
I. OVERDUE REGISTRATION,
RE-REGISTRATION
The overdue registration of births or deaths and
the re-registration of births, deaths, marriages and child adoptions shall
comply with the provisions in Articles from 59 to 67 of the Decree.
1. Competence to effect the overdue registration
of births and deaths prescribed in Article 60 of the Decree shall be effected
as follows:
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Where the involved person has no or has not yet
got the place of permanent residence registration but has the time-limited
temporary residence registration according to the provisions of legislation on
residence registration, the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality
where the involved person registers his/her time-limited temporary residence
shall effect the overdue registration of birth or death.
2. The competence to effect the re-registration
of births, deaths, marriages and child adoptions defined in Article 64 of the
Decree shall be effected as follows:
The re-registration of birth, death, marriage
and child adoption must be effected at the commune-level People’s Committee of
the locality where the involved person has registered his/her permanent
residence or his/her previous civil status.
Where the applicant for the re-registration of
birth, death, marriage or child adoption has no or not yet got the permanent
residence registration, but has the time-limited temporary residence
registration according to the provisions of legislation on residence
registration, the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the
involved person has registered his/her time-limited temporary residence
registration shall effect the re-registration of birth, death, marriage or
child adoption.
3. When effecting overdue registration or
re-registration, a seal must be put under the heading of the overdue
registration or the re-registration form according to the following samples:
- The overdue registration seal sample is:
OVERDUE
REGISTERED
- The re-registration seal sample is:
RE REGISTERED
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4. When making the overdue registration or
re-registration of birth, the contents of the birth declaration must be
recorded strictly according to the time of birth; particularly the day, month
and year recorded in the birth register and the birth certificate shall be
recorded according to the day, month, year of overdue registration or
re-registration.
II. CIVIL STATUS REGISTRATION
INVOLVING FOREIGN ELEMENTS
A. REGISTRATION OF BIRTH
The birth registration involving foreign
elements shall comply with the provisions in Articles 68, 69, 70 and 74 of the
Decree
1. The competence to make birth registration
prescribed in Articles 68 and 74 of the Decree shall be effected as follows:
a/ The registration of birth for an infant born
in Vietnam, whose father and mother are foreigners or Vietnamese citizens
residing overseas shall be effected in accordance with the applicant’s request
at the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where the child’s
parents have registered their permanent residence; in cases where the parents
have no permanent residence registration in Vietnam, the provincial-level
People’s Committee of the locality where the parents have registered their
temporary residence shall effect the registration;
b/ The registration of birth for an infant born
in Vietnam with only the father or the mother being foreigner or Vietnamese
citizen residing overseas while the other person is a Vietnamese citizen
permanently residing in Vietnam shall be effected at the provincial-level
People’s Committee of the locality where the mother or the father, who is a
Vietnamese citizen, registerers his/her permanent residence. Where the mother
or the father has no or not yet got a place of permanent residence registration
but the time-limited temporary residence registration according to the
provisions of legislation on residence registration, the provincial-level
People’s Committee of the locality where such person has the time-limited
temporary residence registration shall effect the registration of birth for the
child.
2. When registering birth for an infant born in
Vietnam with his/her father or mother being a foreign national while the other
being a Vietnamese citizen, the written agreement of the parents on the
selection of nationality for their child should be checked. Where the parents
select the foreign nationality for their child, there must be the certification
by the competent State body of the country which the foreigner bears the
nationality that the selection of such foreign citizenship for their child
conforms to legislation of that country. The written certification must be
consularly legalized and translated into Vietnamese; the translation must be
notarized according to the provisions of Vietnamese legislation.
B. DEATH REGISTRATION
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1. The competence to register death for
foreigners prescribed in Article 71 and for Vietnamese citizens residing
overseas prescribed in Article 74 of the Decree shall be effected as follows:
The death registration for foreigners or Vietnamese
citizens residing overseas who die in Vietnam shall be made according to
written applications at the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality
where the dead person’s permanent residence has been registered; if the dead
person has no place of permanent residence registration in Vietnam, his/her
death shall be registered at the provincial-level People’s Committee of the
locality where such person has registered his/her temporary residence.
2. After registering the death in Vietnam of a foreigner
or a Vietnamese citizen residing overseas, the provincial/municipal Justice
Service shall send to the Consular Department of the Ministry for Foreign
Affairs a copy of the death certificate for notification to the competent body
of the country which the dead person is the citizen of or for sending to the
Vietnamese diplomatic mission and consulate in the foreign country where such
Vietnamese citizen resides.
C. REGISTRATION OF MARRIAGE
BETWEEN FOREIGNERS
The registration of marriage between foreigners
in Vietnam shall comply with the provisions in Articles 76, 77 and 78 of the
Decree.
1. The competence to register marriage between
foreigners defined in Article 76 of the Decree shall be effected as follows:
The registration of marriage between foreigners
shall be effected upon the request of the involved persons at the
provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where the permanent
residence of the man or the woman is registered; if both the man and the woman
have no permanent residence registration in Vietnam, the registration of their
marriage shall be effected at the provincial-level People’s Committee of the
locality where either of them has registered the temporary residence.
2. The marriage registration dossier shall be
made in two sets for submission to the provincial/municipal Justice Service;
each set shall comprise:
a/ The marriage registration declaration
(according to the set form) by the man and the woman;
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c/ The written certification by the competent
body(ies)of the country(ies) which the foreigners are citizens that such
persons fully meets conditions for marriage and are allowed to register their
marriage in Vietnam.
Where the foreigners pemanently residing in
Vietnam or having lived in Vietnam continuously till reaching full 18 years of
age cannot, for objective reasons, obtain the written certifications by foreign
countries as stipulated at Points b and c above, such papers can be substituted
by the written certifications by the commune-level People’s Committees of the
localities where such people permanently reside.
The papers issued by the foreign competent
bodies must be legalized by consular offices, translated into Vietnamese and
the translation must be notarized according to the provisions of Vietnamese
law.
3. The registration of marriage between
foreigners shall be rejected if the marriage falls into one of the cases banned
from marriage according to Vietnam’s Law on the Family and Marriage.
D. REGISTRATION OF CIVIL
STATUS CHANGES AND/OR CORRECTIONS AS WELL AS THE REDETERMINATION OF NATIONALITY
FOR OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE
The registration of civil status changes and/or
corrections as well as the redetermination of nationality for overseas
Vietnamese shall comply with the provisions of Articles 79, 80 and 81 of the
Decree.
1. The competence to register civil status
changes and/or corrections as well as the redetermination of nationality for
overseas Vietnamese rests with the provincial-level People’s Committee of the
locality where the involved persons formerly registered their birth.
2. The applicants for civil status changes
and/or corrections as well as the redetermination of their nationality shall,
in principle, have to produce the originals of their birth certificates; if the
birth certificate originals are lost, they can be substituted by the copies of
birth certificates from the original books, which have been issued for not more
than 3 months.
3. Where a child applies for the change of
his/her family name from his/her father’s family name to his/her mother’s or
for the redetermination of his/her nationality from his/her father’s
nationality to his/her mother’s or vice versa, the consents of both the father
and the mother are required.
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The letter of authorization must clearly state
the full names, dates of birth, places of permanent residence, passports or
valid substitutes of the authorizer and the authorized; the authorization
contents; the reasons for the authorization; the relations between the
authorizer and the authorized. The letter of authorization must be certified by
the Vietnamese diplomatic mission or consulate in the country where the
concerned overseas Vietnamese are residing. If the involved person is of
Vietnamese stock, he/she may obtain the certification from the competent agency
of the country which he/she is a citizen of; for this case, the letter of
authorization must be consularly legalized, translated into Vietnamese and the
translation must be notarized in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese
law.
E. OVERDUE REGISTRATION OF
BIRTHS AND DEATHS AND RE-REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS, DEATHS, MARRIAGES AND CHILD
ADOPTION FOR OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE
The overdue registration of births and deaths as
well as the re-registration of birth, death, marriage and child adoptions
(hereafter referred to as the overdue registration and re-registration) for
overseas Vietnamese shall comply with the provisions in Articles from 86 to 91
of the Decree.
1. The competence to make the overdue registration
prescribed in Article 86 and the re-registration prescribed in Article 89 of
the Decree shall be effected as follows:
- For the overdue registration: the overdue
registration of birth or death occurring in Vietnam for the overseas Vietnamese
shall be carried out at the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality
where such birth or death has occurred.
- For the re-registration: The re-registration
of birth, death, marriage and/or child adoption for overseas Vietnamese shall
be effected at the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where
the involved person formerly registered such birth, death, marriage, child
adoption or where he/she last resided before his/her departure.
2. In case of overdue registration or
re-registration of birth for a person of Vietnamese origin (who has
relinquished (lost) his/her Vietnamese nationality), the birth certificate is
still inscribed with the Vietnamese nationality. If the involved person
produces papers evidencing his/her relinquishment (loss) of Vietnamese
nationality, such shall be noted down on the back of the birth certificate.
3. Where the involved person cannot return to
the country to personally apply for birth or death overdue registration or
re-registration, he/she may authorize his/her relative(s) in the country to do
it. The authorization must comply with the provisions at Point D.4, Section II
of this Circular.
No authorization for re-registration of marriage
or child adoption is accepted.
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The book recording of civil status changes due
to marriage, child adoption, divorce or termination of child adoption of
Vietnamese citizens, which have been registered or settled at the competent agencies
of foreign country(ies) (hereafter referred to as book entry of civil status
alterations in foreign countries) shall comply with the provisions in Articles
83, 84 and 85 of the Decree.
1. The following cases shall have to go through
procedures of book recording of civil status changes overseas:
a/ Returning to the country for permanent
residence, including repatriates;
b/ Having had one’s marriage or child adoption
formerly registered in the country;
c/ Other cases at the request for settling in Vietnam
the civil status matters related to the civil status changes overseas.
Where the involved person requests book entry of
his/her divorce or child adoption termination but the marriage or child
adoption was formerly not yet book-recorded in Vietnam, he/she shall have to
fill in the procedures for book entry of the marriage or child adoption first
before his/her request for book entry of the divorce or child adoption
termination is met.
2. The competence to book-record civil status
changes overseas prescribed in Article 83 shall be effected as follows:
a/ The provincial-level People’s Committee of
the locality where the involved person previously registered his/her marriage
or child adoption shall make the book entry of the divorce or child adoption
termination overseas.
b/ The provincial-level People’s Committee of
the locality where the involved person has registered his/her permanent
residence shall make the book entry of civil status changes overseas; if the
involved person has no or has not yet got the permanent residence registration
but only the time-limited temporary residence registration according to the
legislation on residence registration, the provincial-level People’s Committee
of the locality where the involved person has registered his/her time-limited
temporary residence shall make the book entry thereof.
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3. The dossier of application for book entry of
civil status changes overseas shall be made in 02 sets to be submitted to the
provincial/municipal Justice Service, each comprising the following papers:
a/ The application for book entry of civil
status changes overseas (according to set form);
b/ The copy of the passport or the regular
substitute paper which is still valid;
c/ Copies of civil status papers should be
book-recorded (including marriage certificate, decision to recognize child
adoption, judgement/decision on divorce or child adoption termination) with
certification of competent foreign agencies. These papers must be consularly
legalized, translated into Vietnamese and the translation must be notarized
according to the provisions of Vietnamese law.
Where the involved person cannot return to the
country to personally carry out the procedures applying for the book entry of
civil status alterations overseas, he/she may authorize his/her relative in the
country to do it. The authorization must comply with the provisions at Point
D.4, Section II of this Circular
If deeming that the dossier, after being
examined, is complete and regular, the provincial/municipal Justice Service
shall make a report and send it to the Ministry of Justice together with a
dossier set.
4. The book-recording of civil status changes
overseas shall be effected only after the Ministry of Justice send its written
consent to the provincial-level People’s Committee.
5. When book-recording civil status alterations
overseas, attention should be paid to some following points:
a/ The marriage and divorce shall be recorded in
the marriage register; the child adoption and termination thereof shall be
recorded in the child adoption register;
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c/ Previous civil status happenings which have
not been registered in Vietnam shall be book-recorded anew.
6. After book-recording civil status alterations
overseas, the provincial/municipal Justice Service shall notify such in writing
to the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the involved
person formerly registered his/her civil status or where he/she registered
his/her permanent residence or time-limited temporary residence for making
additional notes on the civil status alterations overseas.
7. The noting in the domestic civil status
register of the civil status papers issued by Vietnamese diplomatic missions or
consulates overseas as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 82 of the Decree shall
be effected as follows:
Vietnamese citizens returning to the country for
permanent residence, including repatriates, and being granted civil status
papers by Vietnamese diplomatic missions or consulates overseas, shall have to
produce them to the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the
permanent residence is registered for making notes in the civil status book.
The book-recording must be made in strict accordance with the contents of the
civil status papers issued by Vietnamese diplomatic missions or consulates
overseas.
8. The provisions on consular legalization at
Points A.2, C.2, D.4 and E.3, Section II of this Circular shall not apply to
papers of the competent agencies of the foreign country(ies) which has(have )
signed with the Vietnamese State international agreement(s) which contains
provisions on exemption of consular legalization.
III. SOME REGULATIONS ON
SUBSTITUTE REGULAR PAPERS
1. In case of lack of the family household
residence register as prescribed in Articles 23, 34, 36, 43, 46, 48, 49, 53 and
65 of the Decree, the time-limited temporary residence registration paper or
written residence certification of the Police office shall be considered
regular paper substituting the family household residence register.
Particularly where a marriage is registered at
the place of permanent residence of the father, the mother of the male or
female party according to the provisions at Point b, Section I of this
Circular, the family household residence register of the father/mother is
considered the regular paper substituting the family household residence
register of the male or female party.
2. Where there is no passport as prescribed in
Articles 69,72,80,85,87 and 90 of the Decree, the laissez- passer shall be
considered the regular paper substituting the passport.
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A. THE COMMUNE-LEVEL
JURIDICAL-CIVIL STATUS OFFICIALS
The appointment of juridical-civil status
officials to help the commune-level People’s Committee perform its tasks and
exercise its powers in the field of civil status management shall have to
comply with the criteria defined in Article 13 of the Decree. Particularly for
the criterion of graduation from the senior high-education or higher, in
mountain, deep-lying and far-flung communes which meet with difficulty in personnel,
the junior high-school graduate may be temporarily appointed, who, however,
must be further trained according to plans in order to achieve the prescribed
educational level.
B. CIVIL STATUS FORMS AND
BOOKS
For civil status forms and books printed and
distributed by the Ministry of Justice under Decision No.1203/QD/TP-HT of
December 26,1998 of the Justice Minister, before the 15th of October every
year, the provincial/municipal Justice Services shall have to submit their
respective estimates for the subsequent year so that the Ministry of Justice
may work out plan for printing and timely distribution. The
provincial/municipal Justice Services and district Justice Bureaus shall have
to distribute the civil status forms and books in time, fully meeting the
demands of the provincial/municipal as well as district People’s Committees.
For civil status forms and books which the
Ministry of Justice only manage in term of their contents, the
provincial/municipal Justice Services shall base themselves on the Ministry of
Justice’s guidance to print and distribute them in time to civil status
registry offices in their respective provinces.
The civil status official of the
provincial/municipal Justice Services and the commune-level People’s
Committees, when effecting civil status registrations, must not accept forms
presented by the involved persons themselves.
The provincial/municipal Justice Services and
the district Justice Bureaus shall have to coordinate with concerned agencies
in inspecting and strictly dealing with individuals and organizations that
circulate civil status forms in contravention of the Ministry of Justice’s
regulations.
C. CIVIL STATUS BOOK AND
DOSSIER-KEEPING REGIME
1. Civil status books keeping
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b/ In principle, the civil status register shall
be closed on the 31st of December every year. Basing themselves on the
situation of actual use in their respective localities, the directors of the
provincial/municipal Justice Services may allow the continued use of the book, half
of which has not been used yet in the preceding year. The continued use of
books must not last for more than 1 year.
b/ The civil status register keeping shall be
effected as follows:
- For books with civil status registrations
undertaken by the commune-level People’s Committees:
Right after the closing date of a book, the
commune-level People’s Committee shall have to carry out procedures to put 01
of such book in its archive and send the second to the district-level People’s
Committee (through the Justice Bureau) before January 15 for keeping at the
provincial/municipal Justice Service.
The district-level People’s Committee shall have
to examine and collect in full the civil status registers of the commune
People’s Committees within the district and send them to the
provincial/municipal Justice Service before January 31.
Right after receiving the civil status registers
of the commune-level People’s Committees, which have been forwarded by the
district-level People’s Committee, the provincial/municipal Justice Service
shall have to fill in procedures for putting them into archive.
- For books with civil status registrations
undertaken by the provincial-level People’s Committees:
Right after the closing date of books, the
provincial Justice Services shall have to carry out the procedures for putting
them in their archive
2. Civil status dossiers archiving
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In order to serve the consultation and use when
necessary, the civil status registration dossiers must be kept and preserved at
the registry offices for 5 years. The further archiving after 5 years shall
comply with the State’s general regulations on archive.
D. ISSUING COPIES OF CIVIL STATUS
PAPERS FROM THE ORIGINAL BOOKS
1. The issuing of copies of civil status papers
must be based on the original books;
2. The agencies which issue the originals of
civil status papers shall issue the copies thereof from the original books,
except for cases where the registration of birth for infants is made at the
place of birth as provided for at Point A.1, Section I of this Circular.
Where the commune-level People’s Committee has
failed to keep the original of the civil status register, the provincial-level
People’s Committee of the locality where the original register has been kept
shall issue the copies thereof.
3. When issuing copies of civil status papers
from the original books, attention should be paid to the following points:
- The details inscribed in the copies must be in
line with the current model forms of copy.
- Where the current copy form contains details
which are not available in the original books, such contents in the copy form
shall be left blank; where the original books contains details which are not
avaible in the current copy form, such details shall not be written therein.
E. STATISTICAL AND
REPORTING REGIME
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1. The report contents must fully reflect the
actual situation on civil status registration, the civil status management in
the localities and at the same time clearly state the difficulties and problems
which have arisen as well as recommendations (if any) on amendments and/or
supplements to the legislation on civil status registration;
Enclosed with reports shall be tables of the
statistical reports on the civil status registration data (according to set
forms). The statistical data enclosed with the biannual reports shall be
reckoned from January 1st to the end of June 30; the statistical data enclosed
with the annual reports shall be reckoned from January 1st to the end of
December 31 of that year. The reporting data must be true, without depending on
norms, particularly the birth registration data. The higher-level People’s
Committees must not readjust the data reported by the subordinate People’s
Committees.
2. The time-limit for submitting reports by the
People’s Committees at all levels is stipulated as follows:
- The commune-level People’s Committees shall
have to send to their district-level People’s Committees (through the district
Justice Bureaus) their biannual reports before July 10 of that year and their
annual reports before January 31 of the following year;
- The district-level People’s Committees shall
have to send to their provincial-level People’s Committees their biannual
reports before July 31 of that year and their annual reports before January 31
of the following year;
- The provincial-level People’s Committees shall
have to send to the Ministry of Justice their biannual reports before August 31
of that year and their annual reports before March 1st of the following year.
V. SETTLEMENT OF COMPLAINTS
AND DENUNCIATIONS
The settlement of complaints and denunciations
aims to protect the legitimate interests of citizens, agencies and
organizations, thus contributing to the enhancement of the qualifications of
the contingent of civil status officials from the central to grassroots levels.
The competent State bodies shall have to create conditions for citizens,
agencies and organizations to exercise their right to make complaints and
denunciations in strict accordance with the legislation on complaints and
denunciations.
A. SETTLEMENT OF COMPLAINTS
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The competence and time-limit for settling
complaints shall be as follows:
1. The presidents of the commune-level People’s
Committees shall accept and settle complaints of citizens and organizations
about decisions to refuse their civil status registration. Within 10 days after
receiving a complaint, the concerned president of the commune-level People’s
Committee shall have to process and settle the complaint and notify in writing
the complainant thereof; in case of refusal, a written notification shall also
be sent to the complainant, clearly stating the reason(s) therefor.
Within 30 days after the expiry of the time
limit for settlement as defined in Article 36 of the Law on Complaints and
Denunciations, if the complaint is not settled or after the receipt of the
settling decision of the president of the commune-level People’s Committee, if
the complainant disagrees therewith, the involved person may lodge his/her
complaint to the president of the district-level People’s Committee or initiate
an administrative lawsuit at court as prescribed by law. For mountainous,
deep-lying and distant regions with difficult conditions for movement, the
above time-limit may be prolonged but shall not exceed 45 days.
2. The presidents of the district-level People’s
Committees shall process and settle complaints already settled by presidents of
the commune-level People’s Committees but further lodged. In this case, the
complainant shall have to file an application enclosed with the copy of the
settling decision of the president of the commune-level People’s Committee and
relevant documents (if any) to the president of the district-level People’s
Committee.
Within 10 days after receiving a complaint, the
president of the district-level People’s Committee shall have to process and
settle it and notify such in writing to the complainant and the president of
the commune-level People’s Committee who earlier settled the complaint; in case
of refusal, a written notification must also be sent to them, clearly stating
the reason(s) therefor.
Within 30 days after the expiry of the settling
time limit as defined in Article 43 of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations,
if the complaint is not settled or after the receipt of the decision on
settlement of the complaint, if the complainant disagrees therewith, he/she may
further lodge the complaints to the president of the provincial-level People’s
Committee.
3. The directors of the provincial/municipal
Justice Services shall process and settle complaints of citizens and
organizations about the refusal to register their civil status registrations by
the civil status officials of the Justice Services. The time limit for
notifying the complainant and settling the complaint by the directors of the
provincial/municipal Justice Services shall comply with those prescribed for
the provincial-level People’s Committee.
4. The presidents of the provincial-level
People’s Committees shall accept, process and settle the following complaints:
a/ About decisions to refuse civil status
registration by the provincial-level People’s Committees;
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c/ About decisions on settlement of civil status
complaints of presidents of the district-level People’s Committees, but the
complaints are further lodged; the decisions of the presidents of the
provincial-level People’s Committees shall be the final.
Within 10 days after receiving complaints, the
concerned presidents of the provincial-level People’s Committees shall have to
process and settle them and notify such to the complainants. For complaints
already settled by presidents of the district-level People’s Committees, but
further lodged, the presidents of the district-level People’s Committees shall
be informed in writing of the further complaint. In case of refusal, a written
notification must also be sent to them, clearly stating the reason(s) therefor.
The time limit for the settlement of a complaint
at the provincial-level People’s Committee shall not exceed 30 days after the
receipt of the written complaint ( for first-time complaints) and 45 days ( for
second-time complaints).
5. The Ministry of Justice shall process and
settle complaints about decisions on the settlement of first-time complaints by
the presidents of the provincial-level People’s Committees, which have been further
lodged; the decisions of the Justice Minister shall be the final.
B. SETTLEMENT OF
DENUNCIATIONS
Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 1, and Clause 5,
Article 2, of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations, in the civil status
domain, citizens may denounce with competent bodies, organizations or
individuals any illegal acts committed by civil status registries or officials,
causing damage or threatening to cause damage to the legitimate interests of
their own or others.
The competence and time limit for settling
denunciations as follows:
The denouncers shall have to file applications
to the competent bodies, organizations or individuals according to the
provisions of law. The applications must clearly state their full names, addresses
and the contents of denunciation. Where a denouncers personally goes to make
the oral denunciation, the responsible person shall have to accept the
denunciation and carefully record the contents of denunciation, the full name
and address of the denouncers; the record of the contents of the denunciation
must be re-read or re-heard by and signed for confirmation by the denouncers.
If a written denunciation is made against a
civil status official for his/her law violations in the civil status registration,
the head of the civil status registry shall have to settle it.
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Within 10 days after the receipt of the
denunciation, the agency, organization or individual accepting it shall have to
process and settle it; where the denunciation does not fall under its or
his/her settling jurisdiction, it must be forwarded to the competent body or
organization for settlement, and the denouncers shall be notified of this in
writing.
In case of emergency, the denunciation-accepting
bodies, organizations or individuals shall have to promptly inform the
responsible agencies for the application of measures to prevent in time acts of
law offenses, as well as necessary measures to ensure safety for the denouncers
when they so request.
The time limit for settling a denunciation shall
not exceed 60 days after it is accepted and processed for settlement; for
complicated cases, the time limit may be prolonged, but shall not exceed 90
days after the cases are accepted and processed for settlement.
The denunciation-accepting, - processing and-
settling bodies, organizations and individuals shall have to keep
confidentiality for the denouncers; must not disclose their full names,
addresses, autographs and other information detrimental to them.
The competence to settle denunciations shall
comply with the provisions of the legislation on complaints and denunciations.
Pursuant to the Law on Complaints and Denunciations, the Ministry of Justice
hereby temporarily guides a number of contents as follows:
1. The presidents of the commune-level People’s
Committees shall accept, process and settle written denunciations of citizens
about law violations in the field of civil status registration by commune
officials in charge of civil status registration and juridical matters.
2. The presidents of the district-level People’s
Committees shall accept, process and settle written denunciations by citizens
about acts of law violation in the field of civil status registration by
members of the commune-level People’s Committees, who have been assigned to
take charge of the civil status registration.
3. The directors of the provincial/municipal
Justice Services shall accept, process and settle citizens’ denunciations about
acts of law violation in the field of civil status registration by the
Services’ officials who have been assigned to take charge of the civil status
registration.
4. The presidents of the provincial-level
People’s Committees shall accept, process and settle citizens’ denunciations
about acts of law violations in the field of civil status registration by
leading members of the provincial/municipal Justice Services who have been
assigned to take charge of the civil status registration.
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VI. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS
1. This Circular takes effect as from July 10,
1999.
2. In the course of implementation, if any
problems or matters arise, the concerned bodies, provincial-level People’s
Committees and provincial/ municipal Justice Service shall report them in their
official dispatches to the Ministry of Justice for written guidance.
THE MINISTRY OF
JUSTICE
MINISTER
Nguyen Dinh Loc