JOINT CIRCULAR No. 05/2010/TTLT/BTP-BNG-BCA guiding the implementation of Decree No. 78/2009/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2009 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for implementing Decree No. 78/2009/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2009, of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Vietnamese Citizenship

and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Vietnamese Citizenship

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Pursuant to Decree No. 78/2009/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2009 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Vietnamese Citizenship;

Pursuant to Decree No. 93/2008/NĐ-CP dated August 22, 2008, promulgated by the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice;

Based on Decree No. 15/2008/NĐ-CP dated February 4, 2008, issued by the Government, stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

Pursuant to Decree No. 77/2009/NĐ-CP dated September 15, 2009 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Public Security,

The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Public Security issue these joint circulars to guide the implementation of Decree No. 78/2009/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2009 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Vietnamese Citizenship as follows,

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

These joint circulars guide the acceptance, examination, and transfer of citizenship files; notification of results of matters concerning citizenship; processing of applications to renounce Vietnamese citizenship when supporting documents for obtaining foreign citizenship have expired; granting Vietnamese citizenship to stateless persons under Article 22 of the Law on Vietnamese Citizenship; registration to retain Vietnamese citizenship and notification of foreign citizenship; confirmation of Vietnamese citizenship, confirmation of Vietnamese origin; recording information about citizenship in the Birth Registration Book.

Article 2. Acceptance and Examination of Files Requesting Acquisition, Reacquisition, and Renunciation of Vietnamese Nationality

1. When accepting applications for acquisition, reacquisition, or renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship, if the application is complete and valid, the Vietnamese representative office abroad, the Department of Justice (hereinafter referred to as the receiving authority) shall record the application in the Register of Applications for Acquisition, Reacquisition, or Renunciation of Vietnamese Citizenship, and at the same time issue to the applicant a Receipt for Application Form as prescribed and must be stamped with the seal of the receiving authority. In cases where the application is incomplete or invalid, the receiving authority shall guide the applicant to supplement and complete the application in accordance with the Law on Vietnamese Citizenship 2008 and related guiding documents.

2. The receiving authority shall conduct an examination of applications for acquisition, reacquisition, or renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship to verify the legality of the documents in the file and the authenticity of the information about the applicants for acquisition, reacquisition, or renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship. If there are unclear or inaccurate points regarding the name, address, family relationships, purpose of acquisition, reacquisition, or renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship, information proving contributions to the construction and defense of the country, benefits to the State of Vietnam from acquiring or reacquiring Vietnamese citizenship, or other relevant information, the receiving authority shall request competent authorities to check and verify.

3. The receiving authority shall prepare a list of documents in each file and a list of individuals proposed for resolution of citizenship matters according to the prescribed form.

4. For applications to renounce Vietnamese citizenship, the receiving authority shall classify them into those exempted from verification of personal background according to Article 30 of the Law on Vietnamese Citizenship and those requiring verification of personal background. In cases where applications to renounce Vietnamese citizenship are exempted from verification of personal background, the validity period of the supporting documents for obtaining foreign citizenship must be at least 120 days from the date of receipt of the application; in cases not exempted from verification of personal background, the validity period must be at least 150 days from the date of receipt of the application.

Article 3. Transfer of Applications for Acquisition, Restoration, and Renunciation of Vietnamese Nationality

1. The Vietnamese representative office abroad (through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities (hereinafter referred to as the provincial People's Committee) shall submit to the Ministry of Justice a proposal along with a list of individuals proposed for resolution and applications for acquisition, reacquisition, or renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship.

When submitting a proposal regarding the resolution of applications for acquisition, reacquisition, or renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship, the Vietnamese representative office abroad, the provincial People's Committee shall simultaneously send the list of individuals proposed for resolution to the email address of the Ministry of Justice: [email protected].

2. After receiving the proposal along with the list of individuals proposed for resolution and applications for acquisition, reacquisition, or renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the Ministry of Justice shall record the applications in the Register of Received Applications and publish the list of individuals proposed for resolution of citizenship matters on the Ministry of Justice's website. The Ministry of Justice shall update the progress of the resolution of applications in the published list.

Article 4. Notification of Resolution Results of Applications for Acquisition, Restoration, and Renunciation of Vietnamese Nationality

1. In cases where the applicant for acquisition, reacquisition, or renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship resides within the country, within ten days from the date of receipt of the President's Decision on acquisition, reacquisition, or renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship, the Ministry of Justice shall send a copy of that Decision along with a list of individuals who have been granted, reacquired, or renounced Vietnamese citizenship to the individual concerned, and at the same time send one copy to the provincial People's Committee where the application was received for monitoring, management, and statistics of resolved citizenship matters.

2. In cases where the applicant for reacquisition or renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship resides abroad, within ten days from the date of receipt of the President's Decision on reacquisition or renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship, the Ministry of Justice shall send a copy of that Decision along with a list of individuals who have been reacquired or renounced Vietnamese citizenship to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for transmission to the Vietnamese representative office abroad where the application was received. Within ten days from the date of receipt of the copy of the Decision, the Vietnamese representative office abroad shall notify the individual concerned in writing, specifying: the Decision number; the date of issuance of the Decision; the content of the Decision.

3. In cases where the Ministry of Justice finds that the conditions for submission to the President for resolution of acquisition, reacquisition, or renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship are not met or the President does not agree to grant, reacquire, or renounce Vietnamese citizenship, it shall notify the Vietnamese representative office abroad (through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) or the provincial People's Committee to inform the applicant.

- International treaties to which Vietnam is a member.

1. Within ten days from the date of the President's Decision on granting or withdrawing Vietnamese nationality, the Ministry of Justice shall notify the Department of Justice where the Vietnamese citizen had previously registered their birth, or where the Birth Registration Book of the former regime is stored, to make a note in the Birth Registration Book in accordance with Article 14 of this Joint Circular. In cases where the party had previously registered their birth at the People's Committee of the district, town, city under province (hereinafter referred to as the District People's Committee) or the People's Committee of the commune, ward, town (hereinafter referred to as the Commune People's Committee), then upon receiving the notification from the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Justice shall be responsible for notifying the District People's Committee and the Commune People's Committee where the birth was registered to make a note in the Birth Registration Book.

In cases where the person granted or withdrawn Vietnamese nationality had previously registered their birth at a Vietnamese representative agency abroad, the notification shall be sent to the Vietnamese representative agency abroad where the birth was registered; if the Birth Registration Book has been transferred and stored in one volume at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then the Vietnamese representative agency abroad shall be responsible for further notifying the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make a note in the Birth Registration Book stored at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

2. In cases where the person returning to Vietnamese nationality had previously noted the withdrawal of Vietnamese nationality in the Birth Registration Book, the notification and making a note in the Birth Registration Book regarding the return to Vietnamese nationality shall also be carried out as directed in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. In cases where the authority that registered the birth no longer retains the previous Birth Registration Book upon receipt of a notification about granting, returning, or withdrawing Vietnamese nationality, the authority receiving the notification shall report back to the Ministry of Justice for monitoring and management.

Article 6. Handling applications for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality where supporting documents for foreign nationality acquisition have expired

1. In cases where the processing of the application to withdraw Vietnamese nationality is delayed, leading to the supporting documents for obtaining foreign nationality expiring, the Ministry of Justice shall notify the Vietnamese representative agency abroad to inform the applicant of the withdrawal of Vietnamese nationality and to proceed with the procedures to extend or obtain new supporting documents.

2. If the applicant requests assistance, the Vietnamese representative agency abroad shall take measures to support the procedures for extending or obtaining new supporting documents for obtaining foreign nationality.

3. The applicant for withdrawal of Vietnamese nationality shall submit the extended or newly issued supporting documents for obtaining foreign nationality to the Vietnamese representative agency abroad for transfer to the Ministry of Justice to present to the President for consideration and decision on withdrawing Vietnamese nationality.

Article 7. Granting Vietnamese nationality to stateless persons pursuant to Article 22 of the Vietnamese Nationality Law

1. The Department of Justice shall take the lead and coordinate with the Provincial Public Security Agency (hereinafter referred to as the Provincial Public Security Authority), the Foreign Affairs Office, and other relevant agencies and organizations to develop a Plan to grant Vietnamese nationality to stateless persons who do not have complete personal documents but have resided stably in Vietnam for twenty years or more up to July 1, 2009, and are currently residing in the local area, to be submitted for approval by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

Based on the approved Plan, the Department of Justice shall take the lead and coordinate with the District People's Committee to guide the Commune People's Committee to review and compile a list of persons falling within the scope of resolution currently residing in the local area.

2. The Provincial Public Security Authority shall take the lead and coordinate with the Department of Justice and relevant agencies at the local level to verify the personal information and period of residence of stateless persons in the local area.

In cases where stateless persons falling within the scope of resolution reside in multiple provinces or centrally-administered cities, the Provincial Public Security Authority shall contact the Public Security Authorities of the places where such persons have previously resided to verify their personal information and period of residence.

Article 8. Posting the List of Vietnamese Representative Offices Abroad to Register for Retaining Vietnamese Citizenship and Receiving Notifications of Foreign Nationality

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall post on its electronic portal the list of Vietnamese representative offices abroad authorized to handle registration for retaining Vietnamese citizenship and receiving notifications of foreign nationality from Vietnamese citizens residing abroad. This list shall also be posted on the electronic portal of the Ministry of Justice.

- Resolution No. 1043/NQ-TVQHK6 dated February 8, 1971 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on renunciation or acquisition of Vietnamese nationality;

1. Vietnamese representative offices abroad shall apply legal documents on Vietnamese citizenship issued from 1945 to before July 1, 2009 to determine whether applicants have Vietnamese citizenship at the time of application, including the following documents:

- Decree No. 53/SL dated October 20, 1945 stipulating Vietnamese citizenship;

- Decree No. 73/SL dated December 7, 1945 stipulating procedures for acquiring Vietnamese citizenship;

- Decree No. 25/SL dated February 25, 1946 amending Decree No. 53/SL dated October 20, 1945 stipulating Vietnamese citizenship;

- Decree No. 215/SL dated August 20, 1948 granting special benefits to foreign individuals who contributed to the Vietnam resistance war;

- Decree No. 51/SL dated December 14, 1959 abolishing Articles 5 and 6 of Decree No. 53/SL dated October 20, 1945 stipulating Vietnamese citizenship;

- Resolution No. 1043/NQ-TVQHK6 dated February 8, 1971 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on applications to renounce or acquire Vietnamese nationality;

- Decision No. 268/TTg dated September 12, 1980 of the Government Chairman regarding policies for renouncing and reacquiring Vietnamese citizenship for overseas Vietnamese;

- The Nationality Law of 1998 and guiding documents;

- International treaties to which Vietnam is a member.

2. Documents concerning personal status, civil status, and nationality issued by previous regimes before April 30, 1975 are also grounds for Vietnamese representative offices

2. Personal documents, household registration, and citizenship certificates issued by previous regimes prior to April 30, 1975 are also grounds for Vietnamese representative offices abroad to consider and determine Vietnamese citizenship of applicants seeking to retain Vietnamese citizenship.

3. When applying Vietnamese legal documents on citizenship or examining documents to determine Vietnamese citizenship as provided in Clause 1 of this Article, in specific cases, if there are any difficulties, Vietnamese representative offices abroad shall report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to coordinate with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security to provide timely guidance.

Article 10. Verification of Vietnamese Nationality for Individuals Registering to Maintain Vietnamese Nationality

1. In cases where applicants for retaining Vietnamese citizenship do not have sufficient documents proving their Vietnamese citizenship or the documents are unclear, in addition to the information in the Application Form for Registration of Retaining Vietnamese Citizenship, the applicant must submit additional Personal History Forms and the following documents (if available) to assist in verifying their citizenship:

- Copies of documents issued by the former regime before April 30, 1975, containing information related to the nationality of the individual;

- Copies of documents issued by foreign authorities indicating Vietnamese nationality or original Vietnamese nationality.

2. Within five working days from the date of receipt of the Application Form for Registration to Maintain Vietnamese Nationality, in cases requiring verification to determine whether the applicant has Vietnamese nationality, the Vietnamese representative office abroad shall send a request for verification to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs along with copies of the documents and information provided by the applicant for the purpose of verification.

2. Within five working days from the date of receipt of the Application Form for Registration of Retaining Vietnamese Citizenship, for cases requiring verification to determine whether the applicant has Vietnamese citizenship, Vietnamese representative offices abroad shall send a request for verification to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs along with copies of the documents and information provided by the applicant for verification purposes.

Within five working days from the date of receipt of the request from Vietnamese representative offices abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall send a request for verification of personal information to the Ministry of Public Security and simultaneously send a request for search to the Ministry of Justice to check whether the individual is listed in the database of those who have been granted renunciation or deprivation of Vietnamese citizenship.

Within sixty days from the date of receipt of the request for verification, the Ministry of Public Security shall conduct the verification of personal information and respond to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the results of the verification.

Within thirty days from the date of receipt of the request for search, the Ministry of Justice shall be responsible for searching the list of individuals who have been granted renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship and the list of individuals who have been deprived of Vietnamese citizenship in the system's archives and respond to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the results of the search.

3. Within five working days from the date of receipt of the response about the results of verification and search as provided in Clause 2 of this Article, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall send a notification of the results of verification and search to Vietnamese representative offices abroad to complete the procedure for registering to retain Vietnamese citizenship.

In cases where the previous birth registration was carried out elsewhere, the Receiving Authority must notify the Department of Justice or the Vietnamese representative office abroad, where the individual previously registered their birth, to make the note in the Birth Registration Book. If the previous birth registration was carried out at the People's Committee of the district or commune, then after receiving the notification, the Department of Justice shall notify the People's Committee of the district and the People's Committee of the commune to make the note in the Birth Registration Book.

1. Vietnamese citizens who concurrently hold foreign nationality and are subject to the provisions of Clause 1 of Article 21 of Decree No. 78/2009/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2009 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Vietnamese Citizenship shall directly or through their parents or guardians submit a written notification of having foreign nationality to Vietnamese representative offices abroad or the Department of Justice where they reside (hereinafter referred to as the Notification Receiving Authority). The notification must be made according to the prescribed form and signed by the notifier.

In cases where it is not possible to make such a notification, the notifier may send a written notification of foreign nationality to the Notification Receiving Authority via postal service, accompanied by a copy of their identity document.

2. Within ten working days from the date of receipt of the notification of foreign nationality, the Notification Receiving Authority shall record the notification in the previous Birth Registration Book according to the guidelines set out in Article 15 of this Circular, if the previous birth registration was conducted at the Notification Receiving Authority. The determination of the place of previous birth registration is based on the declaration of the individual in the notification.

If the previous birth registration was conducted elsewhere, then the Notification Receiving Authority must notify the Department of Justice or the Vietnamese representative office abroad where the individual previously registered their birth to record the notification in the Birth Registration Book. If the previous birth registration was conducted at the People's Committee of a district or commune, then after receiving the notification, the Department of Justice shall notify the People's Committee of the district and commune to record the notification in the Birth Registration Book.

In cases where the authority that registered the birth no longer retains the previous Birth Registration Book upon receipt of a notification about having foreign nationality, the Notification Receiving Authority shall notify the Ministry of Justice again.

Article 12. Report on the results of registering to retain Vietnamese nationality, registering citizenship, and reporting foreign nationality

1. The Vietnamese representative office abroad that receives applications for retaining Vietnamese nationality and reports of having foreign nationality shall periodically compile and report annually to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists of persons who have registered to retain Vietnamese nationality and lists of Vietnamese citizens who have reported having foreign nationality. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall notify the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security about these lists.

Annually, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall inform the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security about the results of registering citizenship at Vietnamese representative offices abroad for the purpose of handling, managing, compiling, and statistically processing matters related to nationality.

2. The Department of Justice that receives reports of having foreign nationality from citizens shall periodically compile and report annually to the Ministry of Justice lists of Vietnamese citizens who have reported having foreign nationality. The Ministry of Justice shall notify the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security about these lists.

Article 13. Confirmation of Vietnamese Nationality, Confirmation as a Person of Vietnamese Origin

1. When there is a need to confirm Vietnamese nationality, the applicant shall submit a Request for Confirmation of Vietnamese Nationality to the Vietnamese representative office abroad or the Department of Justice where the applicant resides, clearly stating the purpose of requesting confirmation of Vietnamese nationality, along with a copy of the document proving Vietnamese nationality.

Within five working days from the date of receipt of the Request for Confirmation of Vietnamese Nationality, the Vietnamese representative office abroad or the Department of Justice shall request the Ministry of Justice to search the list of individuals who have been granted permission by the President of the State to renounce Vietnamese nationality and the list of individuals whose Vietnamese nationality has been revoked. Within ten days from the date of receipt of the request, the Ministry of Justice shall search the nationality database and provide the result.

Based on the document proving Vietnamese nationality and the search result from the Ministry of Justice, if it is determined that there is sufficient basis to confirm that the applicant has Vietnamese nationality, the Vietnamese representative office abroad or the Department of Justice shall respond in writing confirming that the applicant has Vietnamese nationality.

2. When there is a need to confirm Vietnamese origin, the applicant shall submit a Request for Confirmation of Vietnamese Origin to the Vietnamese representative office abroad or the Department of Justice where the applicant resides, clearly stating the purpose of requesting confirmation of Vietnamese origin, along with a copy of the document proving that they were once Vietnamese nationals whose nationality was determined by bloodline.

Within five working days from the date of receipt of the Request for Confirmation of Vietnamese Origin, the Vietnamese representative office abroad or the Department of Justice shall request the Ministry of Justice to search the list of individuals who have been granted permission by the President of the State to renounce Vietnamese nationality and the list of individuals whose Vietnamese nationality has been revoked. Within ten days from the date of receipt of the request, the Ministry of Justice shall search the nationality database and provide the result.

Based on the verification and search results, if it is determined that there is sufficient basis to confirm that the applicant is of Vietnamese origin, then within five working days from the completion of the verification and review procedures, the Vietnamese representative office abroad or the Department of Justice shall respond in writing confirming that the applicant is of Vietnamese origin.

3. In cases where there is insufficient basis to confirm that the applicant has Vietnamese nationality or is of Vietnamese origin, the Vietnamese representative office abroad or the Department of Justice shall notify the applicant in writing.

Article 14. Note on the Birth Registration Book regarding acquisition, re-acquisition, or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality

Upon receiving notification of acquisition, return, or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, the agency responsible for maintaining the Birth Registration Book according to the guidance provided in Article 5 of this Joint Circular shall note in the remarks column of the Birth Registration Book. The content of the note shall include: the Decision number; the date of issuance of the Decision; the content of the Decision. The staff member performing the note must sign, write their full name, and indicate the date of the note.

2. After noting the notification of the Vietnamese citizen having foreign nationality, the section on nationality of that person in the Birth Registration Certificate when reissuing the original Certificate or issuing a copy of the Birth Registration Certificate from the Birth Registration Book shall be noted as both Vietnamese nationality and foreign nationality.

1. Upon receiving notification of having foreign nationality, the agency responsible for maintaining the Birth Registration Book according to the guidance provided in Article 11 of this Joint Circular shall note in the remarks column of the Birth Registration Book the fact that the Vietnamese citizen also has foreign nationality. The content of the note must include: current foreign nationality, time of acquiring foreign nationality, method of acquiring foreign nationality. The staff member performing the note must sign, write their full name, and indicate the date of the note.

2. After noting the report of the Vietnamese citizen having foreign nationality, when issuing the original Birth Certificate or providing a copy of the Birth Certificate from the Birth Registration Book, the nationality section shall include both Vietnamese nationality and foreign nationality.

Article 16. Implementation Organization

(name of the agency receiving and processing the application)

Full name of the applicant: