Thông tư 07/2023/TT-BNG hướng dẫn đăng ký và quản lý hộ tịch tại Cơ quan đại diện ngoại giao, Cơ quan đại diện lãnh sự của Việt Nam ở nước ngoài do Bộ trưởng Bộ Ngoại giao ban hành

CIRCULAR

GUIDING THE REGISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT OF CIVIL STATUS BY OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS AND CONSULAR OFFICES

Pursuant to the Law on Civil Status No. 60/2014/QH13 dated November 20, 2014;

Pursuant to the Nationality Law No. 24/2008/QH12 dated November 13, 2008; and the Law on amendments to the Nationality Law No. 56/2014/QH13 dated June 24, 2014;

Pursuant to the Law on Marriage and Family No. 52/2014/QH13 dated June 19, 2014;

Pursuant to the Law on Overseas Representative Missions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam No. 33/2009/QH12 dated June 18, 2009; Law on amendments to certain Articles of the Law on Overseas Representative Missions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam No. 19/2017/QH14 dated November 21, 2017;

Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP dated November 15, 2015 of the Government of Vietnam providing detailed regulations on some Articles and  measures for implementation of the Law on Civil Status;

Pursuant to Decree No. 87/2020/ND-CP dated July 28, 2020 of the Government on electronic civil status database and online civil registration;

Pursuant to Decree No. 47/2020/ND-CP dated April 09, 2020 of the Government of Vietnam management, connection and share of digital data of regulatory agencies;

Pursuant to Decree No. 81/2022/ND-CP dated October 14, 2022 of the Government of Vietnam on functions and tasks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam;

At the request of the Director of the Bureau of Consular Affairs of Vietnam,

The Minister of Foreign Affairs hereby promulgates a Circular guiding the registration and management of civil status by overseas Vietnamese diplomatic missions and consular offices:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Joint Circular elaborates Article 3 and Article 53 of the Law on Civil Status with regard to the civil registration for Vietnamese citizens residing abroad; re-registration of births, marriages and deaths; issuance of civil status record extract copies; issuance of marital status certificates to Vietnamese citizens residing abroad; state management of civil status by overseas Vietnamese diplomatic missions and consular offices (hereinafter referred to as representative missions) as referred to in the Law on civil status and the Government’s Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP dated November 15, 2015 providing for detailed regulations on a number of Articles and measures for implementing the Law on Civil Status (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP) and Decree No. 87/2020/ND-CP dated July 28, 2020 of the Government on electronic civil status database and online civil registration (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 87/2020/ND-CP.

Article 2. Power to receive civil registrations

1. Representative missions shall receive registrations of vital events as referred to in Article 3 of the Law on Civil Status, re-registrations of births, marriages and; issue civil status record extract copies from civil status registers or electronic civil status database; issue marital status certificates to Vietnamese citizens residing abroad in accordance with Vietnamese laws, laws of receiving countries and international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory.

2. In countries where two or more representative missions of Vietnam are situated, the representative mission in consular region where the applicant resides shall have the power to receive civil registrations.

3. In countries or territories where representative missions are not available, the civil registration shall be carried out at non-resident or convenient representative missions.

Article 3. Definitions

For the purposes of this Circular, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. A Vietnamese citizen residing abroad refers to a person who holds Vietnamese nationality and permanently or temporarily resides in a foreign country.

2. A Vietnamese citizen permanently residing abroad refers to a person who holds Vietnamese nationality and is granted with permanent resident card by the host country.

3. A Vietnamese citizen temporarily residing abroad refers to a person who holds Vietnamese nationality, works or studies in a foreign country and is granted with fixed-term temporary residence permit by the host country.

4. Consular officer is a diplomat or consul who is assigned to take charge of civil status job at a representative mission.

Article 4. Submission, receipt of applications for civil registration and giving of civil registration results

The submission, receipt applications for civil registration and giving of civil registration results by representative missions shall be governed by regulations in Article 3 of the Government’s Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP, Article 12 of Decree No. 87/2020/ND-CP, Articles 2, 3, 4, 5 of the Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BTP dated May 28, 2020 by Ministry of Justice elaborating the Law on Civil Status and the Government’s Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP dated November 15, 2015 providing for detailed regulations on a number of articles and measures for implementing the Law on Civil Status (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BTP) and the following guidelines:

1. An application for civil registration may be submitted in person or by post or via the online civil registration system.

2. When requesting a representative mission to handle procedures for civil registration, the applicant must present the original of any of the following documents: passport or passport substitute, ID card, Citizen Identity Card or other unexpired documents with photo and personal information issued by competent authorities (hereinafter referred to as identity papers) to prove his/her identity, and document(s) proving his/her residence in the host country (if any). The representative mission shall check, make a photocopy and certify that photocopy after having compared it with the original thereof for archiving. If the application for civil registration is submitted by post, certified copies of the said documents shall be submitted.

If the applicant is a Vietnamese citizen and is granted with ID card with a personal identification number (PIN), the applicant may present the original of such card in person or the photocopy of such card by post or via the online civil registration system to prove his/her identity when the technical infrastructure allows the representative mission to connect to the National Population Database

3. Representative missions shall receive and process requests for online civil registration in accordance with the capacity to provide online public services and the synchronous use of the shared electronic civil registration and management software at such representative missions. If online civil registration is not available, representative missions shall post notifications on their web portals or send written notifications with clear explanation to their applicants via email (if any).

4. Documents issued by competent authorities of a host country to use for carrying out civil registration procedures with representative missions do not require consular legalization.   If the authenticity of a document is doubted, that document must obtain consular legalization by a competent authority.

Documents issued by competent authorities of a third country to serve the civil registration carried out at representative missions must obtain consular legalization in accordance with regulations.

Documents in foreign languages included in the applications for civil registration must be translated into Vietnamese or English. The translation must be notarized or have the translators’ signatures certified as regulated by law.

5. When giving of civil registration results, if applicants wish to receive the results in person, the givers shall guide the applicants to check contents on the vital records and civil status registers. If applicants find the contents of such civil status documents or registers correct and consistent with the applications for civil registration, they shall sign and clearly state their full names in the civil status registers; if the results are sent by post or via online public service systems, signatures are not required, unless otherwise prescribed in Clause 6 of this Article.

6. Regarding the following vital events, applicants shall be present at representative missions to put their signatures to civil status registers and receive results of registering birth, marry and guardian; recognizing father, mother, child; changing and correcting civil status, re-determining ethnicity, supplementing civil status information; declaring death.

Regarding other vital events, applicants may choose to receive results in one of the methods prescribed in Clause 4 Article 12 of Decree No. 87/2020/ND-CP.

If the applicants wish to receive their results by post, they shall prepare envelopes with their addresses, stamps or return postage.

Article 5. Use of civil status forms and registers

When handling civil registration requests, representative missions shall use corresponding civil status forms and registers announced by Ministry of Justice in Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BTP in case of direct civil registration and Circular No. 01/2022/TT-BTP dated January 04, 2022 of the Minister of Justice providing detailed regulations on some Articles and measures for implementation of Decree No. 87/2020/ND-CP, Circular No. 03/2023/TT-BTP dated August 02, 2023 amending certain contents of Circular No. 01/2022/TT-BTP dated January 04, 2022 (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 01/2022/TT-BTP) in case of online civil registration.

Chapter II

CIVIL REGISTRATION

Section 1. Registration of births

Article 6. Power over registration of births

The representative mission in the consular region where the child’s parent resides or where the child was born shall receive the registration of birth for that child who was born abroad, has his/her birth been not yet registered at an overseas competent authority and belongs to any of the following cases:

a) His/her parents are Vietnamese citizens;

b) His/her mother is a Vietnamese citizen but his/her father is a stateless person or vice versa;

c) His/her mother is a Vietnamese citizen, but it is unable to identify his/her father;

d) His/her parent is a Vietnamese citizen, the other is a foreigner and the parents have made a written agreement to select Vietnamese nationality for their child upon the birth registration.

Article 7. Procedures for registration of births

1. The applicant for birth registration must submit the following documents:

a) Birth registration form (using the regulated form);

b) Birth certification paper or other papers issued by overseas competent authorities to certify that the child was born abroad and verify mother and child relationship. If the above documents are not submitted, the applicant must submit a document confirming his/her birth made by a witness; If there is no witness, there must be a written commitment to his/her birth.

c) A written agreement made by parents on selecting Vietnamese nationality for their child in case the child’s parent is a Vietnamese citizen and the other is a foreigner.

If the application for birth registration is not submitted in person, the signature appeared on the written agreement on selection of the child's nationality must be legally authenticated.

d) Document proving marital relationship in case the child’s parents have their marriage registered, unless the child's parents both are Vietnamese citizens with personal identification numbers (PINs) and have their marriage registered or recorded at a competent authority of Vietnam and the representative mission has connected with the electronic civil status database.

2. The consul shall check the application for birth registration upon the receipt. If birth registration information is sufficient and valid, the consul shall record the all birth registration information in the birth register and request the representative mission’s head to sign the Birth Certificate. The giving of birth registration results shall comply with the regulations in Clause 6 Article 4 of this Circular.

3. In case the representative mission uses shared electronic civil registration and management software, the consul shall create and update the birth registration information on the system and take a personal identification number (PIN) for the child whose birth is registered before recording all birth registration information in the birth register, granting the Birth Certificate and giving results to the applicant as regulated.

4. Birth registration contents are defined as regulated in Article 14 of the Law on Civil Status, Clause 1 Article 4 of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP, Articles 6, 29 and 31 of Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BTP, and the following guidelines:

a) If the child’s father is unidentified, the child’s surname, ethnic group, native land shall follow those of his/her mother. Parts of father’s information in the birth register and the Birth Certificate shall be left blank;

b) In case the child’s father carries out procedures for recognition of paternity at the time of birth registration, the representative mission shall handle the application for recognition of paternity and the application for birth registration at the same time. Applications and procedures for birth registration in combination with the recognition of paternity shall be governed by regulations in Clause 2 and Clause 3 of this Article and Articles 13 and 14 herein. The representative mission shall issue an extract of parent and child recognition certificate and the Birth Certificate to the applicant at the same time;

c) Parts of parent’s information that are unidentified (such as ethnic group or native land) in Birth Certificate and birth register shall be left blank.

d) If the child was born before the date of marriage registration, upon birth registration, the child’s parents have a written recognition of paternity, the father’s information shall be immediately recorded on the Birth Certificate of the child without carrying out procedures for application for recognition of paternity.

Section 2. REGISTRATION OF MARRIAGES

Article 8. Power over marriage registration

The representative mission in consular region where the male or female partner who is a Vietnamese citizen resides shall receive the registration of marriage between two Vietnamese citizens residing abroad or between a Vietnamese citizen residing abroad with a foreigner.

Article 9. Application for marriage registration

The male and female partners apply for the marriage registration must submit the following documents:

1. The marriage registration form (using the regulated form); both male and female partners may submit the one marriage registration form;

2. If marital partner(s) is/are Vietnamese citizens, as the case may be, following documents proving their marital status must be submitted:

a) If a Vietnamese citizen has permanently resided in Vietnam and was of marriageable age before leaving Vietnam as referred to by regulations of the Law on Marriage and Family of Vietnam, he/she must submit a Marital Status Certificate issued by the People’s Committee of commune/ward/district-level town (hereinafter referred to as Communal-level People’s Committee) where he/she has resided before leaving Vietnam. If the citizen's information was updated on the National Population Database and the representative mission applied the shared electronic civil registration and management software, the online information shall be used according to guidelines of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security to determine the marital status of the applicant for handling administrative procedures without submission of Marital Status Certificate.

b) If a Vietnamese citizen has resided in several countries, the Marital Status Certificates issued by representative missions in consular regions where he/she resided must be supplemented. If a person can not apply for Marital Status Certificates issued by competent authorities in regions where he/she has resided, he/she must submit a written commitment on his/her marital status during his/her residence in those regions and shall assume responsibility for his/her committed contents.

That commitment must include duration, identity paper, locations where he/she has resided and his/her marital status.

E.g.: I, Nguyen Van A, holder of passport No……….., residing at……………, do undertake that during my residence at…………[location]……………….., from………[date]……..to………[date]………, and at………[location]………………….., from………[date]……..to………[date]………, I have not yet got married. I shall assume responsibility under the law of Vietnam for my committed contents.

c) If a Vietnamese citizen concurrently holds a foreign nationality, a document proving his/her marital status issued by a competent authority of the country of which he/she holds nationality must be submitted.

d) If a Vietnamese citizen residing abroad does not concurrently hold a foreign nationality or a Vietnamese citizen concurrently holds a foreign nationality but permanently resides in a third country, a document proving his/her marital status issued by a competent authority of the country in which he/she permanently resides must be submitted;

dd) If a Vietnamese citizen has got a divorce or has his/her marriage dissolved at a competent authority abroad, the civil status record extract copy regarding the recording of divorce or dissolution of marriage in the civil status register (extract of divorce note) shall be submitted;

3. The male or female partner who is a foreigner must submit a document proving his/her marital status to certify that he/she is currently single.

If the issuance of document proving marital status is not governed by the law of a foreign country, it shall be replaced by a document issued by a competent authority of that country to certify that the person concerned is eligible to get married in accordance with the law of that country.

The document proving marital status of a foreigner shall be valid upon its expiration date.  If a document proving marital status of a foreigner does not include an expiration date, it shall be valid within 06 months as of the issued date.

4. If a Vietnamese citizen temporarily residing abroad gets married to a Vietnamese citizen permanently residing abroad or a foreigner; two Vietnamese citizens permanently residing abroad get married or a Vietnamese citizen gets married to a foreigner, both male and female partners must submit Certificates granted by competent Vietnamese or overseas health organizations within 06 months to certify that they do not get metal illness or other diseases that cause them lose their awareness or control of their behavior.

Article 10. Procedures for marriage registration

1. Within 10 working days from the receipt of the valid application, the consul shall check and verify the received application, and take reasonable measures to verify them, where necessary.  If the application is sufficient and valid, and the verification results show that both partners of the marriage are eligible to get married in accordance with the law regulations, the consul shall request the representative mission’s head to sign 02 original copies of Marriage Certificate.

2. Within 03 working days from the date on which the Marriage Certificate is signed by the representative mission’s head, the representative mission shall deliver the signed Marriage Certificate to both male and female partners.

When carrying out the registration of marriage, both male and female partners must be present at the representative mission's head office. The consul shall record the marriage in the marriage register after confirming that the male and female partners are voluntary to get married; instruct them to sign the Marriage Certificate, and together with them affix signature to the marriage register. Each of the husband and wife shall receive an original copy of Marriage Certificate.  Extract of Marriage Certificate (duplicate) shall be issued as requested.

3. In case either one of male and female partners cannot be present to receive Marriage Certificate as informed by the representative mission, he/she must make a written request for extension of period for delivery of marriage certificate. That extension shall not exceed 60 days from the date on which the marriage certificate is signed by the representative mission’s head.

Ending 60 days but both male and female partners are not present to receive their Marriage Certificate, the consul shall request the representative mission’s head to cancel the signed Marriage Certificate.

The male and female partners who want to get married after that cancellation of Marriage Certificate must re-carry out procedures for marriage registration.

Section 3. Registration of guardianship

Article 11. Power over registration, change or termination of guardianship

The representative mission in the consular region where the guardian or the ward who is a Vietnamese citizen resides shall receive the registration of guardianship established between two Vietnamese citizens residing abroad.

The representative mission that has received the registration of guardianship shall settle the registration of change or termination of guardianship.

Article 12. Procedures for registration, change and termination of guardianship

Procedures for registration of guardianship, termination or change of guardianship shall be carried out as referred to in Articles 20, 21, 22, 23 of the Law on Civil Status.

Section 4. REGISTRATION OF RECOGNITION OF PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP

Article 13. Power over registration of recognition of parent-child relationship

The representative mission in the consular region where recognized parent or child resides shall receive the registration of recognition of parent-child relationship between two Vietnamese citizens residing abroad or between a Vietnamese citizen and a foreigner jointly residing abroad.

Article 14. Procedures for registration of recognition of parent-child relationship

1. The applicant for registration of recognition of parent-child relationship must submit the following documents:

a) Registration form of recognition of parent-child relationship (using the regulated form).

b) The copy of Birth Certificate or extract of Birth Certificate (duplicate) of the child whose birth has been registered at a competent authority of Vietnam;

c) Written recognition of paternity or written recognition of maternity issued by health agency or assessment agency or another competent authority of Vietnam or foreign country.

The said written recognition may be replaced by a written commitment to the parent-child relationship made by the parents if there are at least two witnesses to the parent-child relationship.

2. Within 7 days from the receipt of complete application, the consul shall check the received application and post a notice of recognition of parent-child relationship at the representative mission’s head office. If the recognition of parent-child relationship is proper in conformity with the law and there is no dispute over that, the consul shall propose to the representative mission’s head to sign and issue the original extract of registration of recognition of parent-child relationship to the parties concerned, and provide duplications of the extract of registration of recognition of parent-child relationship upon request.

The parties concerned must be present when carrying out the registration of recognition of parent-child relationship. The consul record the registration of recognition of parent-child relationship in Register of recognition of parent-child relationship and together with the parties concerned affix signature to the Register of recognition of parent-child relationship.  The representative mission shall add parent’s information to the child’s original Birth Certificate (if any).

The required verification may be carried out within 15 days, if necessary.

3. If the child is a Vietnamese citizen and has his/her birth registered at a competent authority of Vietnam, the representative mission must send a notice, enclosed with an extract from the register of recognition of parent-child relationship (duplicate), to the civil registry where the child’s birth is registered.

Section 5. Registration of civil status change, correction and supplementation, and re-determination of ethnic group

Article 15. Power over registration of civil status change, correction and supplementation, and re-determination of ethnic group

1. The representative mission that received the previous civil registration shall receive the registration of civil status change, correction and supplementation, and re-determination of ethnic group.

2. The representative mission that recorded the vital events of a Vietnamese citizen, which have been handled by competent authorities in a foreign country, may also handle the application for civil registration change, correction and supplementation, and re-determination of ethnic group.

Article 16. Procedures for registration of civil status change, correction and supplementation, and re-determination of ethnic group

1. The scope of civil status change and procedures for civil status change, correction and supplementation, and re-determination of ethnic group shall be governed by Articles 26, 28, 29 and 47 of the Law on Civil Status, Clause 2 Articles 16, 17, 18, 19 and Clause 2 Article 20 of Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BTP.

2. If a civil status register has been handed over to Bureau of Consular Affairs for archiving, the representative mission must, after handling the application for registration of civil status change/correction/supplementation or re-determination of ethnic group, send a notice, enclosed with an extract of certificate of civil status change/correction/supplementation or re-determination of ethnic group (duplicate), to Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Section 6. DEATH REGISTRATION

Article 17. Power over death registration

The representative mission in the consular region where is the last place of residence of the deceased person shall receive the registration of death of Vietnamese citizen dying abroad. If the last place of residence of the deceased person is not identifiable, the representative mission in the consular region where that person dies or his/her body is found shall handle the death registration.

Article 18. Procedures for death registration

1. The applicant for death registration must submit the death registration form (using the regulated form) and the notice of death or other document substitute for the notice of death issued by a competent authority in foreign country.

2. The consul shall, upon the receipt of the complete application, record the death information in the death register.  The representative mission’s head shall sign the extract of death certificate issued to the applicant for death registration. The giving of death registration results shall comply with the regulations in Clause 6 Article 4 of this Circular. The required verification of death may be carried out within 03 working days, if necessary.

Section 7. Recording of civil status changes in civil status registers according to judgments or decisions by competent authorities of Vietnam

Section 19. Power over recording of civil status changes in civil status registers according to judgments or decisions by competent authorities of Vietnam

1. The representative mission where vital events of a Vietnamese citizen have been registered shall record civil status changes in civil status registers as referred to in Clause 2 Article 3 of the Law on Civil Status on the basis of the notice, enclosed with the extract of judgment or the copy of decision by a competent authority of Vietnam, sent by the Bureau of Consular Affairs.

2. If a civil status register has been handed over to the Bureau of Consular Affairs for archiving, the Bureau of Consular Affairs shall also record civil status changes and grounds thereof in the archived civil status register.

Article 20. Procedures for recording of civil status changes in civil status registers according to judgments or decisions by competent authorities of Vietnam

1. Upon receipt of the notice, enclosed with the extract of judgment or the copy of decision sent by the Bureau of Consular Affairs, the consul shall record the changes and grounds for such changes in the civil status register.

2. If the person whose civil status information is changed provides the copy of the valid and effective judgment or court decision before the representative mission receives such notification from the Bureau of Consular Affairs, the representative mission shall also record these changes to the civil status register in accordance with Clause 1 of this Article and specify these changes on the backside of the original vital record.

Section 8. Re-registration of births, marriages and deaths

Article 21. Power over re-registration of births, marriages and deaths

The representative mission that has handled the registration of birth/death/marriage before January 01, 2016 shall receive the re-registration of birth/death/marriage as requested in cases where both civil status register and original vital records are lost.   The re-registration of birth/marriage shall be accepted if the applicant is still alive at the time of receiving re-registration application.

Article 22. Procedures for re-registration of births, marriages and deaths

1. Upon the receipt of an application for re-registration of birth/death/marriage, the consul shall check the civil status register and vital records archived at the representative mission.

In case the civil status register was created at a representative mission previously but it was no longer archived, the representative mission shall, within 02 working days as of receipt of complete application dossiers for re-registration of birth/death/marriage, send a written request for verification of the retention of the civil status register to the Bureau of Consular Affairs. Within 05 working days as of receipt of the written request for verification, the Bureau of Consular Affairs shall provide the representative mission with verification results.

In case a civil status register is still archived at the representative mission or the Bureau of Consular Affairs, the representative mission shall instruct the applicant for re-registration of birth/death/marriage to carry out procedures for issuance of a civil status record extract copy as regulated.

2. Application and procedures for birth re-registration shall be governed by regulations in Article 26 of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP and Articles 9, 10 of Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BTP.

Application and procedures for re-registration of marriage/death shall be governed by regulations in Articles 27, 28 of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP.

Section 9. RECORDING OF VITAL EVENTS OF VIETNAMESE CITIZENS THAT HAVE BEEN HANDLED AT COMPETENT AUTHORITIES OF FOREIGN COUNTRY IN CIVIL STATUS REGISTERS

Article 23. Recording of births in civil status registers

The representative mission in charge of the consular region where the child’s parent resides or where the child was born shall record in the civil status register the birth of the child who is a Vietnamese citizen and has birth registered at a competent authority in a foreign country as referred to in Article 49 of the Law on Civil Status.

Article 25. Recording of marriages in civil status registers

1. Requirements for recording of the marriage of a Vietnamese citizen, which has been handled by an overseas competent authority, in a civil status register (hereinafter referred to as marriage note) shall be governed by regulations in Article 34 of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP.

2. The representative mission in the consular region where the Vietnamese citizen resides shall take marriage note.

3. A marriage record consists of:

a) The application form for marriage note (using the regulated form);

b) The copy of document certifying the marriage, issued by a competent authority in foreign country.

c) A Vietnamese citizen who has got a divorce or has his/her marriage dissolved at a competent authority of a foreign country must submit the extract of divorce note.

4. The period for handling an application for marriage note shall not exceed 05 working days as of receipt of complete application dossiers; if the verification is required, the period shall not exceed 10 working days.

5. The consul shall record the marriage in a civil status register if the application for recording meets the requirements mentioned in Article 34 of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP. The representative mission’s head shall sign and issue the original extract of marriage note to the applicant.

6. If the marriage is one of the cases prescribed in Clause 1 Article 36 of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP, the representative mission’s head shall reject the application for recording of that marriage in a civil status register by giving a written notice, in which reasons thereof are specified, to the applicant.

Article 26. Recording of divorces/ dissolution of marriages that has been handled at competent authorities of foreign country in civil status registers

1. The divorce/ dissolution of marriage of a Vietnamese citizen, which has been handled by a competent authority in a foreign country, shall be recorded in a civil status register at a representative mission if it meets all the requirements prescribed in Clause 1 Article 37 of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP.

2. The representative mission in the consular region where the Vietnamese citizen resides shall record the divorce/ dissolution of marriage for that Vietnamese citizen (hereinafter referred to as divorce note) in the civil status register.

3. A divorce record consists of:

- The application form for divorce note (using the regulated form);

- The copy of judgment/decision on divorce/ dissolution of marriage, effective divorce settlement agreement or other document recognizing the divorce, issued by a competent authority in a foreign country (hereinafter referred to as divorce papers).  

4. Within 05 working days as of receipt of complete record as regulated in Clause 3 of this Article, the consul shall check the received record.  If the divorce note does not violate the regulations in Clause 1 Article 37 of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP or is not eligible for updating on the web portal of the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam as prescribed in Clause 3 Article 37 of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP, the consul shall record the divorce in a civil status register. The representative mission’s head shall sign and issue the original extract of divorce note to the applicant.

The required verification may be carried out within 10 working days, if necessary.

If an application for divorce note fails to satisfy regulated conditions, the representative mission shall reject that application and inform the applicant thereof.

5. Updating information of divorce note:

a) In case the marriage has been registered at a Civil registry in Vietnam, the representative mission in charge of handling the divorce shall, after taking divorce note, send a notice enclosed with the extract of divorce note (duplicate) to Bureau of Consular Affairs to request the Civil registry to take notes in relevant civil status register.

b) In case the marriage has been registered at another representative mission, the representative mission in charge of handling the divorce, after taking divorce note, shall send a notice enclosed with the extract of divorce note (duplicate) to the previous representative mission in charge of the marriage registration to take notes in relevant civil status register.

Article 27. Recording of the guardianship, recognition of parent-child relationship, parent and child identification, child adoption, death registration and other civil status changes, which have been handled by competent authorities in foreign countries, of Vietnamese citizens in civil status registers

1. The representative mission in the consular region where a Vietnamese citizen resides shall record the guardianship, recognition of parent-child relationship, parent and child identification, child adoption, death registration and other civil status changes, which have been handled by competent authorities in foreign countries, of that Vietnamese citizen in a civil status register (hereinafter referred to as note of other vital events).

2. A record of other vital events consists of:

a. The application form (using the regulated form);

b. The copies of documents proving vital events have been handled by competent authorities of foreign countries.

3. The consul shall take a note of the vital events in a civil status register upon receipt of complete application dossiers as regulated. The representative mission’s head shall sign and grant an extract of the note of other vital events.

In case of recording of child adoption in a civil status register, after the recording, the representative mission shall grant an extract of the note of child adoption that has been handled at a competent authority of a foreign country.

If the verification is required, the period for handling an application for note of other vital events shall not exceed 03 working days.

Section 10. issuance OF civil status record extract copy

Section 28. Power over issuance of civil status record extract copy

1. Representative missions that archiving civil status registers shall issue civil status record extract copies at the request of individuals, competent organizations or authorities.

2. The Bureau of Consular Affairs in Vietnam shall be responsible for issuing civil status record extract copies to individuals who have carried out the civil registration at representative missions but currently reside in Vietnam.

Article 29. Procedures for issuance of civil status record extract copy

1. Upon receipt of an application for issuance of civil status record extract copy from an applicant, the representative mission shall issue a civil status record extract copy to that applicant. If the application is submitted after 15:00 PM, it shall be handled in the following working day.

2. The issuance of civil status record extract copies by the Bureau of Consular Affairs is also governed by regulations in Clause 1 of this Article.

If the Bureau of Consular Affairs does not receive any civil status register handed over by the representative mission for archiving, the Bureau of Consular Affairs shall, upon receipt of an application, request the representative mission to provide relevant information. The representative mission must respond to the Bureau of Consular Affairs within 03 working days as of receipt of the request for verification. The Bureau of Consular Affairs shall grant a civil status record extract copy to the applicant within 02 working days as of receipt of the response from the representative mission.

Section 11. Issuance of marital status certificate

Article 30. Power over issuance of marital status certificate

The representative mission in the consular region where a Vietnamese citizen resides shall issue a marital status certificate to that Vietnamese citizen to serve his/her marital purpose or other legal purposes.

Article 31. Procedures for issuance of marital status certificate

The issuance of a marital status certificate shall comply with the regulations in Articles 21, 22 and 23 of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP, and Article 12 of Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BTP and the following instructions:

1. The applicant for issuance of a marital status certificate shall submit the following documents:

a) The application form for issuance of marital status certificate (using the regulated form);

b) The applicant shall submit copies of effective divorce papers if he/she has got married but divorced; if his/her spouse died, a copy of death certificate or document proving his/her spouse’s death must be submitted.

A copy of extract from the divorce note shall be submitted if the application is in cases prescribed in Clause 1 Article 26 herein.

c) If the application for issuance of a marital status certificate is to register the marriage at a competent authority of a foreign country, the following additional documents must be submitted:

- The marital status certificate issued by the People’s Committee of a commune where the applicant who is a Vietnamese citizen has permanently resided before immigration if he/she was of marriageable age as referred to by regulations of the Law on Marriage and Family of Vietnam before immigration; in case a Vietnamese citizen has his/her marriage registered before immigration but he/she gets divorce or his/her spouse dies while he/she is living abroad, regulations in Point b Clause 1 of this Article shall apply.

- Marital status certificates issued by representative missions in consular regions where a Vietnamese citizen has resided if he/she has resided in different regions. If an applicant can not apply for marital status certificates issued by competent authorities in regions where he/she has resided, he/she must submit a written commitment on his/her marital status during his/her residence in those regions and shall assume responsibility before the law for his/her committed contents.

d) If an applicant who is a Vietnamese citizen and has been granted a personal identification number (PIN) has had his/her information updated on the national population database and a representative mission has used the shared electronic civil status management and registration software, the representative mission shall use online information according to guidelines of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security and the applicant shall not be required to submit the documents prescribed in Points b and c Clause 1 of this Article.

2. The applicant for issuance of a marital status certificate to serve his/her marital purpose must meet all of requirements to get married as referred to by regulations of the Law on Marriage and Family of Vietnam.

3. Within 03 working days as of receipt of complete and valid application, the consul shall, on the basis of the civil status register and application kept at the representative mission, check the marital status of the applicant, record information in the register of marital status certificates, request the representative mission's head to sign and issue 01 original marital status certificate to the applicant if he/she finds that all requirements are satisfied and the application for issuance of marital status certificate is in conformity with the law regulations.

If a marital status certificate is issued to serve a purpose other than marital purpose, the number of marital status certificate issued shall be at the request of the applicant.

4. Contents of a marital status certificate shall be specified as regulated in Article 33 of the Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BTP.

If an application for issuance of a marital status certificate is to register the marriage at a competent authority of a foreign country, the representative mission shall certify the marital status of the applicant up to the date of issuance.

If an application for issuance of a marital status certificate is to register the marriage in Vietnam or to serve other purposes, the representative mission shall base on the application status and requests of the applicant to issue a marital status certificate to certify the marital status of the applicant up to the date of issuance or for a definite period.

5. If a person applying for reissuance of a marital status certificate to register the marriage but he/she fails to submit the marital status certificate previously issued, he/she must state reasons for the failure. Within 03 working days as of receipt of the application, the representative mission shall submit a request to the Bureau of Consular Affairs for discussing with the place where the applicant intends to register the marriage for verification. In case of failure to verify or receive verification results, the representative mission will allow the applicant to make a written declaration of marital status according to the regulations in Article 4 and Article 5 of Circular No. 04/2020/ TT-BTP.

Chapter III

MANAGEMENT OF CIVIL STATUS REGISTERS, CIVIL STATUS PAPERS, VITAL STATISTICS AND REPORTS

Article 32. Management and use of civil status registers and vital records

Guidelines for recording information in civil status registers and vital records; the management and use of civil status registers are regulated in Section 2 Chapter II of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP, Article 15 of Decree No. 87/2020/ND-CP and Articles of from 29 to 37 of Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BTP.

Article 33. Retention of application for civil registration

Applications for civil registration must be numbered in corresponding with registration numbers in civil status registers, arranged in order and kept at representative missions in accordance with regulations of laws on archives.

Article 34. Vital statistics and reports

1. Representative missions must send reports on civil registration status and vital statistics to the Bureau of Consular Affairs for aggregating and sending to the Ministry of Justice.

2. Before March 01^st of every year, representative missions must send reports on civil registration status and vital statistics of previous year to the Bureau of Consular Affairs for aggregating and sending to the Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall send aggregated report on civil registration and vital statistics at representative missions to the Ministry of Justice before March 15^th.

3. This Circular is enclosed with the form of vital statistics prepared by representative missions and the form of aggregated vital statistics prepared and sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Ministry of Justice.

Chapter IV

ELECTRONIC CIVIL STATUS DATABASE, ONLINE CIVIL REGISTRATION AT REPRESENTATIVE MISSIONS

Article 35. General rules

1. After representative missions are qualified for connection, they shall use the shared electronic civil status registration and management software to register civil status, update, digitize, standardize and manage civil status data and use electronic civil status databases.

2. Representative missions use electronic civil status databases to register civil status according to their authority; issue civil status record extract copies; Issue certificates of marital status; compile statistics on civil status registration data and carry out other state management operations in civil status according to regulations of laws.

Article 36. Update, adjustment of personal civil status information in electronic civil status databases

1. Individual vital events shall, immediately after being registered in civil status registers, be promptly, fully and accurately updated in electronic civil status databases. Updated information includes the civil status information of individuals and of their fathers, mothers and spouses if there is a change due to marriage, change or correction of civil status, or addition of information on civil status, re-identification of ethnicity, recognition of parent-child relationship; Guardian; child adoption; death registration; recording of changes in civil status according to judgments or decisions of competent regulatory agencies in civil status registers; Recording of vital events that have been handled at competent authorities of foreign countries of Vietnamese citizens in civil status registers.

2. Representative missions are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of information updated in electronic civil status databases within their authority to register civil status.

Article 37. Online submission, receipt, and giving of civil status registration results

1. The online submission, receipt and processing of requests for civil status registration at representative missions shall be carried out according to the guidelines and procedures specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, Article 12 of Decree No. 87/2020/ ND-CP and Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, Article 6 of Circular No. 01/2022/TT-BTP. Requirements for consular legalization and translation of documents issued by competent authorities of foreign countries shall comply with the regulations of Clause 4, Article 4 of this Circular.

2. The online giving of civil status registration results shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations of Clause 4 and Clause 5, Article 12 of Decree No. 87/2020/ND-CP and Clause 5, Article 6 of Circular No. 01/2022/TT-BTP.

3. Regarding death registration, after completing procedures and issuing extracts from death certificates, representative missions shall lock the deceased's civil status information in electronic civil status databases or, if requested, the representative missions shall use the shared electronic civil status registration and management software to transfer information to population databases, residence databases and other databases related to the implementation of inter-connected administrative procedures.

Article 38. Issuance of copies of civil status record extracts from electronic civil status databases

The issuance of copies of civil status record extracts from electronic civil status databases at representative missions shall comply with the regulations of Clauses 1 and 3, Article 13 of Decree No. 87/2020/ND-CP and Article 7 of Circular No. 01/2022/TT-BTP.

Article 39. Digitization of civil status registers

1. Civil status information that needs to be digitized is civil status information that has been registered in civil status registers before representative missions officially deploy and put into use the shared electronic civil status registration and management software.

2. Representative missions shall be responsible for the accuracy and completeness of digitized civil status data according to the technical documents on the data digitization process of the Ministry of Justice and notify digitization results to the Bureau of Consular Affairs after completion of digitization before officially updating data in electronic civil status databases.

3. The digitization of civil status data must comply with regulations on protecting privacy, personal secrets, family secrets and relevant legal regulations. Representative missions shall be responsible for the security and assurance of safety of the digitized information.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 40. Transitional provisions

Applications for civil registration received by representative missions before the effective date of this Circular but have not yet been processed will continue to be resolved according to the regulations of Joint Circular No. 02/2016/TTLT-BNG-BTP dated June 30, 2016 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Justice guiding the registration and management of civil status at diplomatic missions and consular representative offices of Vietnam in foreign countries.

Article 41. Effect

1. This Circular comes into force from February 15, 2024.

2. Regulations in Joint Circular No. 02/2016/TTLT-BNG-BTP shall be annulled.

3. Difficulties that arise during the implementation of this Circular should be reported promptly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for consideration and guidance./.