PROCEDURES OF NATURALIZING VIETNAMESE NATIONALITY FOR FOREIGNERS

1. Legal basis

- Law on nationality 2008;

- Decree 16/2020/ND-CP elaborating to Law on vietnamese nationality;

- Circular 02/2020/TT-BTP guiding the use and management of citizenship book samples and citizenship papers.

2. Document prepare

Foreign individuals when carrying out procedures for naturalization in Vietnam need to prepare the following documents:

(i) The original application for naturalization of Vietnam (Form TP.QT.2020.DXNQT.1/ or form TP.QT.2020.ĐXNQT.2);

(ii) Copy of Birth Certificate, Passport or other equivalent document;

(iii) The original of the curriculum vitae;

(iv) For applicants for Vietnamese naturalization residing in Vietnam, they must provide the original of the criminal record card issued by a competent Vietnamese agency. Applicants for Vietnamese citizenship residing abroad need to provide a criminal record card issued by a competent foreign agency;

(v) Copies of documents proving Vietnamese language proficiency (copies of doctoral degrees, master's degrees, bachelor's degrees or university diplomas, college and intermediate diplomas; high school diplomas; or lower secondary school in Vietnam; a copy of the Vietnamese language certificate according to the Vietnamese competency framework for foreigners issued by a Vietnamese educational institution in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training).

In case an applicant for Vietnamese naturalization does not have documents proving his or her proficiency in Vietnamese, the Department of Justice shall organize an examination and interview on his or her ability to listen, speak, read and write in Vietnamese to ensure that he or she meets the requirements of the law. specified in Clause 1, Article 7 of Decree No. 16/2020/ND-CP;

(vi) A copy of proof of permanent residence and duration of stay in Vietnam (permanent residence card);

(vii) Originals of papers proving life security in Vietnam (including one of the following papers: papers proving property ownership; papers certified by the agency or organization where the person works. on salary or income; guarantee papers of organizations and individuals in Vietnam; certification of the commune-level People's Committee of the place of permanent residence of the applicant's housing, job and income status. Vietnamese nationality).

(viii) A copy of the birth certificate of the minor child who acquired Vietnamese nationality under the same parents or another valid document proving the parent-child relationship.

In case only the father or mother acquires Vietnamese nationality and the adolescent children living with that person acquire Vietnamese nationality according to the father or mother, the original written agreement signed by the parents must be submitted. Apply for Vietnamese citizenship for your child. The written agreement is not required to authenticate the signature; the person applying for Vietnamese citizenship for a child must be responsible for the accuracy of the other person's signature.

In case a parent has died, has lost his/her civil act capacity or has limited civil act capacity, the written agreement shall be replaced by a paper proving that the parent is dead, has lost or has limited capacity for civil acts. civil act force;

(ix) Those who are exempted from some conditions for naturalization of Vietnam are exempted from documents corresponding to the conditions of exemption, but must submit some of the following documents to prove the exempt conditions:

+ The person whose spouse is a Vietnamese citizen must submit a copy of the marriage certificate or the certificate of marital status;

+ If the father, mother or child are Vietnamese citizens, submit a copy of the birth certificate or other valid papers proving the parent-child relationship;

+ Persons with special meritorious contributions to the cause of construction and defense of the Vietnamese Fatherland must be the recipients of Orders, Medals and other noble titles of the State of Vietnam.

+ Persons whose naturalization of Vietnam is beneficial to the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: (certification by the agency or organization where such person works and certification by the ministerial-level state management agency on the talented and have grounds to show that the person who is naturalized in Vietnam will make a positive and long-term contribution to the development of the aforementioned field in Vietnam after being naturalized in Vietnam).

(x) An applicant for naturalization of Vietnam and at the same time applying to retain foreign nationality must submit the originals of the following documents:

+ Papers issued by a competent authority of Vietnam or abroad to prove: having special meritorious contributions to the cause of construction and defense of the Vietnamese Fatherland and the naturalization and retention of the country's nationality. outside is beneficial to the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

+ Papers issued by competent Vietnamese or foreign agencies to prove that: The person's application to retain foreign nationality when naturalizing Vietnam is in accordance with the laws of that foreign country. The renunciation of foreign nationality results in that person's interests in the country of the affected nationality;

+ The person's commitment on the following contents: Not to use foreign nationality to harm the lawful rights and interests of agencies, organizations and individuals; infringing upon security, national interests, social order and safety of the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Number of documents: 03 copies

Profile requirements

Firstly, the papers included in the application file for naturalization of Vietnam issued by a competent authority of a foreign country must be consularly legalized, except for cases exempted from consular legalization according to the provisions of Vietnamese law or an international treaty to which Vietnam is a signatory.

Secondly, documents in a foreign language included in the application for Vietnamese citizenship must be translated into Vietnamese; The translation must be notarized or authenticated with the translator's signature in accordance with Vietnamese law.

Thirdly, in cases where it is required by law that the documents to be submitted are copies, the petitioners for settlement of nationality matters may submit documents that are photocopies from the originals, certified copies from the originals or originals. stars are issued from the original book. If submitting a photocopy from the original, the original must be submitted for comparison; the person receiving the dossier shall check, compare the copy with the original and sign for verification.

Fourthly, the criminal record card must be issued within 90 days from the date of filing.

3. Carry out procedures for naturalization in Vietnam

Step 1: Submit your application

- Foreigners and stateless people permanently residing in Vietnam shall apply for Vietnamese citizenship at the Department of Justice where they reside.

Step 2: Competent authorities handle dossiers

- Within 05 working days from the date of receipt of complete and valid dossiers, the Department of Justice shall send a written request to the provincial-level police offices to verify the identity of the applicant for Vietnamese citizenship.

- Within 30 days from the date of receipt of the request of the Department of Justice, the provincial-level Public Security agency shall verify and send the results to the Department of Justice. During this time, the Department of Justice must conduct verification of documents in the application for Vietnamese citizenship; make a complete list of documents in each application, together with a list of applicants for Vietnamese citizenship according to the prescribed form.

- Within 10 working days from the date of receiving the request of the Department of Justice, the President of the People's Committee of the province shall consider, conclude and propose opinions to the Ministry of Justice.

- Within 20 days from the date of receipt of the written proposal of the President of the provincial People's Committee, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for re-examining the application file, if it deems that it is eligible for naturalization in Vietnam. then send a written notice to the applicant for naturalization in Vietnam to carry out the procedures for applying for renunciation of foreign nationality, unless the applicant for naturalization in Vietnam applies to retain foreign nationality (this person must satisfy the following conditions: to be considered a special case) or stateless.

Step 3: Get the result

If it is found that the application for Vietnamese citizenship is incomplete, the applicant for naturalization has not yet fully satisfied the conditions for naturalization in Vietnam, the Ministry of Justice shall notify in writing the People's Committee of the province and send it to the People's Committee of the province. to the Department of Justice to guide naturalization applicants to supplement dossiers and complete eligibility. Within 5 working days from the date of receipt of the Ministry of Justice's notice, the Department of Justice shall issue written instructions to the naturalization applicant to supplement the dossier and complete the eligibility requirements.

In case of applying for Vietnamese nationality and simultaneously applying to retain foreign nationality, without sufficient proof of falling into a special case as prescribed, the Ministry of Justice shall notify in writing the provincial-level People's Committee. to request that person to proceed with the renunciation of foreign nationality.

Within 9 months from the date on which the Ministry of Justice issues a written notice, the applicant for Vietnamese citizenship fails to supplement the dossier, fails to fully satisfy the conditions or fails to submit the documents of the competent authority of the foreign country. In addition to relinquishing foreign nationality, it is considered that such person does not continue to apply for Vietnamese citizenship and the Ministry of Justice returns the dossier. The time limit of 9 months shall not be included in the time limit for processing the dossier as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 21 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality.

Within 10 working days after receiving the certificate of renunciation of foreign nationality of the applicant for Vietnamese citizenship, the Minister of Justice shall, authorized by the Prime Minister, sign the written request to the State President. consider and decide.

In case an applicant for Vietnamese naturalization applies to retain foreign nationality and falls under special circumstances to retain foreign nationality or is a stateless person, within 20 days from the date of receipt of the written request of the applicant. Presidents of provincial-level People's Committees and the Ministry of Justice are responsible for re-checking the dossier. If deeming that the applicant for naturalization in Vietnam is fully eligible for naturalization in Vietnam, the Minister of Justice shall authorize the applicant to obtain Vietnamese citizenship. The Prime Minister signs a proposal to the State President for consideration and decision. When considering the application for naturalization in Vietnam and at the same time applying for the retention of foreign nationality in the special case specified in Article 9 of Decree No. 16/2020/ND-CP, if the application is found to be complicated or related Regarding political security, the Ministry of Justice consults with relevant ministries and branches before reporting to the Prime Minister for submission to the President for consideration and decision.

After the State President's decision on granting Vietnamese nationality is issued, the Office of the President shall publish it in the Official Gazette, and the Ministry of Justice shall post it on the website of the Ministry of Justice and within 10 working days, within 10 working days. From the date of receipt of the Decision on naturalization in Vietnam, the Ministry of Justice shall send a written notice enclosed with a copy of the Decision on naturalization of Vietnam to the People's Committee of the province where the application is accepted, in order to hold a ceremony. granting the decision for naturalization in Vietnam. After receiving a copy of the President's Decision for naturalization in Vietnam enclosed with the notice of the Ministry of Justice, the People's Committee of the province shall direct the Department of Justice to hold a ceremony to grant the decision to naturalize Vietnam. for people who are naturalized in Vietnam according to solemn and meaningful rituals, suitable to the actual situation in the locality.

In case a person who is naturalized in Vietnam has previously registered his/her civil status with a competent Vietnamese agency, within 10 working days from the date of receiving the decision on granting Vietnamese nationality, The Ministry of Justice shall notify in writing the Department of Justice where such person's civil status has been registered to make notes or guide notes in the civil status book. Contents of the note include: Decision number; date, month and year of issuance of the Decision; content of the Decision; Note-taking officer must sign, write full name and date of note.

In case the Department of Justice receives the notice of notes but can no longer keep the previous civil status books, it shall notify it back to the Ministry of Justice for monitoring and management.

Within 10 working days from the date of issuance of the decision to naturalize Vietnamese, the Ministry of Justice shall notify the Ministry of Public Security to direct the competent police agency to register for residence and issue a Vietnamese passport.

The above article is our firm's perspective towards procedures for naturalizing Vietnamese nationality for foreigners . For more information and advice on this issue, please contact Doanh Tri Law Firm directly via:
Hotline: 024 88 83 83 83

Email: [email protected]
Doanh Tri Law Firm is pleased to accompany our customers!