Question: I am guy who is a USA national and lives in New York, has decided to get married to my Vietnamese girlfriend whom he met in Vietnam. She currently lives and works in Hai Duong city. If we decide to get married in Vietnam, would you be able to advise and help me with the process and what would be your fee?
As we know very little about the legal process of marriage in Vietnam, could you please clarify the following:
1) What is the legal process for a foreign national marrying a Vietnamese national in Vietnam, but not living in Vietnam post-marriage?
2) Will I be able to travel to Vietnam on a Tourist Visa to get married and then return to the UK once married?
3) How long does the process take?
4) How long do I need to be physically present in Vietnam to get married?
5) Are there any restrictions on where in Vietnam we can get married? Where would you recommend we should get married to minimise the time that he needs to be in Vietnam physically? Hanoi? Hai Duong? Ho Chi Minh?
6) Are there any official marriage fees payable to authorities and how much are we at present?
Answer: With reference to the questions in your email in relation to the marrying procedure between you and your girlfriend – a Vietnam citizen, please find the hereunder our advices for your information.
Legal ground:
- Law on Marriage and Family no.52/2014/QH13 approved by National Assembly of Socialist Republic of Vietnam on 19 June 2014;
- Decree no.126/2014/NĐ-CP issued by Vietnam Government on 31 December 2014 providing in detail the Law on Marriage and Family 52/2014/QH13;
- Circular no.02a/2015/TT-BTP issued by Ministry of Justice on 23 February 2015 on guiding the implementation of Decree no.126/2014/NĐ-CP,
Legal opinion:
(1) What is the legal process for a foreign citizen marrying a Vietnamese citizen in Vietnam, but not living in Vietnam post-marriage?
The procedure for registration of marriage between you and your Vietnamese girlfriend shall be carried out in brief as follows:
- Firstly, the couple shall prepare the dossier for registering their marriage and then submit it to the Provincial Department of Justice where the girl has permanent resident registration or where the girl has temporary resident registration in case she does not have a permanent resident registration;
- The marriage registration dossier shall be submitted by one of the two parties directly to the Department of Justice.
- The officer upon receiving the dossier shall be responsible to check the papers in the dossier, if the dossier is adequate and legitimate, such officer shall issue the receipt of dossier in which clearly states the interview date and the date returning the results.
- The Department of Justice shall make an interview with the couple within 15 working days from the date of receiving the dossier. In case the interview is not success, the second interview shall be held within 30 working days from the date of the first interview.
Note:
- The officer in the Department of Justice shall directly interview the marrying couple at the head office of the Department of Justice so as to inspect and clarify the identity; the volunteer in getting married; the marrying purpose; and the understanding of the couple on the family’s situation, individual status of each other, on the language, custom, culture, and the laws on marriage and family of each country.
- If the result of the interview shows that the couple has not understood the situation of each other, the Department of Justice shall arrange another day to re-interview. The re-interview shall be carried out within 30 working days from the previous interview.
- After having interviewed the couple and studied and evaluated the marriage registration dossier as well as the opinion of the police department (if any), the Department of Justice shall report the result to the provincial People’s Committee.
- Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the result and marriage registration dossier submitted by the Department of Justice, if the couple satisfies the marriage conditions, the President of provincial People’s Committee shall sign the Marriage Certificate and return the dossier to Department of Justice to hold a marriage registration ceremony for the couple.
- Within 05 working days from the date on which the President of provincial People’s Committee has signed the Marriage Certificate, the Department of Justice shall hold a marriage registration ceremony for the couple.
- Such marriage registration ceremony shall be held at the office of Department of Justice and the couple shall have to present at such ceremony and signing on the Marriage Certificate and marriage registration book. The husband and wife, each party shall receive an original of the Marriage Certificate.
2) Will I be able to travel to Vietnam on a Tourist Visa to get married and then return to the UK once married?
You can travel to Vietnam on a Tourist Visa to get married and then return to the UK once married.
(3) How long does the process take?
It is provided by the laws that the time limit to proceed the marrying registration procedure in Vietnam between a foreigner and a Vietnamese is 25 working days from the date on which the Provincial Department of Justice has received the adequate and duly dossier and the fees for registration.
However, in case the Department of Justice requires the Police Department to verify the information/papers submitted by the couple, the above-mentioned time limit shall be lengthened but not exceed over 10 working days.
In addition, during the marrying registration procedure, the Department of Justice shall make an interview with the couple within 15 working days from the date of receiving the dossier. In case the interview is not success, the second interview shall be held within 30 working days from the date of the first interview.
Therefore, the actual time to proceed the procedure may take longer than the laws provided.
(4) How long do I need to be physically present in Vietnam to get married?
It does not require you to be physically present in Vietnam to get married. However, you must present and attend at the interview and marriage ceremony as mentioned above in Question (1) and also, he may present at the time of submitting the dossier.
(5) Are there any restrictions on where in Vietnam we can get married? Where would you recommend we should get married to minimise the time that I need to be in Vietnam physically? Hanoi? Hai Duong? Ho Chi Minh?
It is provided by the laws that the provincial People’s Committee where the Vietnamese citizen having permanent resident shall carry out the marriage registration procedures between Vietnamese citizen and foreign citizen.
In case the Vietnamese citizen does not have a permanent resident registration, but have a temporary resident registration, the provincial People’s Committee where the Vietnamese citizen having the temporary resident registration shall proceed the marriage registration procedure.
In your case, if your girlfriend has a permanent resident registration in Hai Duong Province, then the marriage registration procedure shall be carried out in Hai Duong City.
(6) Are there any official marriage fees payable to authorities and how much are they at present?
There are fees for marriage registration in Vietnam and it depends on the province which carries out the procedures, for example, in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City the marriage registration fee is 1,000,00 VNĐ (One million Vietnamese Dongs).
