Circular No. 16/2010/TT-BTP guiding the registration in household registers of divorces conducted abroad

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for recording in household registers divorces that have been conducted abroad

_____________________

Pursuant to the Law on Legislative Documents No. 17/2008/QH12 dated June 3, 2008 of the National Assembly;

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;

To ensure the legitimate rights and interests of Vietnamese citizens and foreign nationals who registered their marriage with Vietnamese citizens at competent authorities in Vietnam and subsequently divorced abroad; the Ministry of Justice temporarily guides the recording in household registers of divorces conducted abroad without requests for enforcement in Vietnam and without petitions for non-recognition in Vietnam as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular provides detailed guidelines for recording in household registers divorces conducted abroad without requests for enforcement in Vietnam and without petitions for non-recognition in Vietnam.

Article 2. Scope of Application

The objects regulated by this Circular are:

1. Vietnamese citizens.

2. Foreign nationals who registered their marriage with Vietnamese citizens at competent authorities in Vietnam and subsequently divorced abroad.

Article 3. Principles for recording in household registers divorces that have been conducted abroad

1. Decrees/Judgments of divorce, Divorce Settlement Agreements, or other documents recognizing divorces issued by competent authorities of foreign countries without requests for enforcement in Vietnam and without petitions for non-recognition in Vietnam shall be recorded in household registers according to the guidelines set forth in this Circular.

2. Decrees/Judgments of divorce, Divorce Settlement Agreements, or other documents recognizing divorces issued by competent authorities of countries that have signed mutual legal assistance agreements with Vietnam regarding such matters shall be considered grounds for recording in household registers divorces that have been conducted abroad.

3. For countries that have not signed mutual legal assistance agreements with Vietnam regarding such matters, after consulting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Justice shall decide on the recording in household registers of divorces that have been conducted abroad based on the principle of reciprocity.

Article 4. Cases requiring procedures for recording in household registers divorces that have been conducted abroad

1. Vietnamese citizens who have divorced abroad and returned to reside in Vietnam.

2. Cases where registration of marriage or notation of marriage was made at competent authorities in Vietnam, followed by divorce abroad.

3. Cases where there is a request for marriage in Vietnam but a divorce had previously occurred abroad;

4. Other cases if the parties have a request.

In cases where multiple divorces have occurred, only the most recent divorce needs to be noted.

Article 5. Competent authority for recording in household registers divorces that have been conducted abroad

1. Provincial Department of Justice (hereinafter referred to as the Department of Justice) within the province or municipality where the parties previously registered their marriage or noted their marriage shall record in household registers divorces that have been conducted abroad.

Determination of the place of registration of marriage or notation of marriage is based on the declaration of the parties when applying for the notation of divorce.

2. In cases where Vietnamese citizens residing abroad return to reside in Vietnam and request recording in household registers of divorces, and their previous marriage was registered at Vietnamese representative offices abroad, the recording in household registers of divorces shall be carried out at the Department of Justice where the Vietnamese citizen resides.

3. In cases where Vietnamese citizens residing abroad request recording in household registers of divorces, and their previous marriage was registered at Vietnamese representative offices abroad, the recording in household registers of divorces shall be carried out at the Department of Justice where the Vietnamese citizen resided before departure, if the recording in household registers of divorces does not aim at marriage.

If the recording in household registers of divorces aims at marriage, then the competent authority for recording in household registers of divorces is the Department of Justice where the party submits the application for registration of marriage.

PART II

PROCEDURES AND PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS FOR HANDLING APPLICATIONS FOR RECORDING IN HOUSEHOLD REGISTERS OF DIVORCES

CONDUCTED ABROAD

Article 6. Documents for requesting registration in the household register of a divorce finalized abroad

1. The documents for requesting registration in the household register of a divorce finalized abroad include:

a) A declaration form for registering a divorce finalized abroad (in accordance with the model issued together with this Circular);

b) A copy of the Judgment/Decision on Divorce of a foreign court that has taken effect; a copy of the Divorce Agreement recognized by a foreign court or another competent authority of a foreign country that has taken effect, or copies of other documents issued by a foreign competent authority recognizing the divorce;

c) A copy of the identity card, passport, or other valid documents to prove the identity of the person making the request;

d) A copy of the household register to prove the authority to record the divorce according to the guidance provided in Clause 2, Article 5 of this Circular.

2. The above documents shall be prepared in two sets and sent through postal service or submitted directly to the Department of Justice with jurisdiction as stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular. Documents in foreign languages must be legalized, translated into Vietnamese, and certified in accordance with the provisions of the law.

The person requesting the registration may authorize another person to carry out the registration. The authorization must be in writing and certified legally. If the authorized person is the father, mother, husband/wife, son/daughter, brother/sister of the authorizing person, then there is no need for a written authorization.

Article 7. Procedure and formalities for registering a divorce finalized abroad in the household register

1. Within three working days from the date of receiving complete and valid documents, the Department of Justice shall send a letter, along with one set of documents, to the Ministry of Justice (Department of Administrative Justice) for comments on the conditions for registration.

2. Within seven working days from the date of receipt of the request from the Department of Justice, the Ministry of Justice shall examine the conditions for registering a divorce finalized abroad. If it determines that the divorce judgment, decision, or agreement does not fall under the cases specified in Article 356 of the Civil Procedure Code and there is no request for non-recognition, the Ministry of Justice shall send a letter to the Department of Justice with jurisdiction to implement the registration of the divorce in the household register in accordance with this Circular; if the conditions are not met, the Ministry of Justice shall return the documents to the Department of Justice and explain the reasons in writing.

3. Within three working days from the date of receipt of the letter from the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Justice shall carry out the registration in the household register and issue a Certificate confirming the registration of the divorce finalized abroad (in accordance with the model issued together with this Circular) to the parties. In case the conditions for registration are not met, a written response must be given and the documents returned to the parties.

Article 8. Method of registering a divorce finalized abroad in the household register

1. The registration of a divorce finalized abroad in the household register shall be carried out as follows:

The divorce shall be recorded in the note column of the previous Marriage Registration Book. When recording, the form of the divorce document; number; date, month, year when the divorce became legally effective; name of the foreign court or other competent authority recognizing the divorce, and the number, date, month, year of the letter from the Ministry of Justice must be clearly stated.

In cases where the parties previously registered their marriage at the People's Committee of a district or commune, after the note is made, the Department of Justice shall notify in writing the People's Committee of the district or commune where the marriage was registered to continue recording the note in the Marriage Registration Book in accordance with the regulations on household registration.

In cases where the parties previously registered their marriage at a Vietnamese representative office abroad, the notification shall be sent to the Vietnamese representative office abroad where the marriage was registered; if the Marriage Registration Book has been stored in one volume at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Vietnamese representative office abroad shall be responsible for notifying the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to record the note in the Marriage Registration Book stored at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

2. In cases where the person requesting the registration of a divorce finalized abroad had previously married at a Vietnamese representative office abroad without completing the procedure for recording the marriage, the Department of Justice shall simultaneously record both the marriage and the divorce in the Marriage Registration Book used at the Department of Justice.

In cases where the parties registered their marriage at a competent authority of Vietnam within the country but the Marriage Registration Book is no longer available, the registration of the divorce shall also be carried out in accordance with the guidance provided in Clause 2 of this Article.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 9. Effectiveness of this Circular

This Circular takes effect from December 1, 2010.

Article 10. Implementation

During implementation, if there are any difficulties or new matters arise, the Departments of Justice and relevant agencies must promptly report to the Ministry of Justice for guidance./.