Circular No. 337/TT-PLQT guides the implementation of certain provisions of Circular No. 503-TT/LB dated May 25, 1995, issued by the Ministry of Justice - Foreign Affairs - Interior detailing procedures for marriage, acknowledgment of children born out of wedlock, adoption, and guardianship between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners.

CIRCULAR

GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF CIRCULAR NO. 503/TT-LB DATED MAY 25, 1995 ISSUED BY THE JOINT MINISTRY OF JUSTICE - FOREIGN AFFAIRS - INTERIOR REGULATING IN DETAIL THE PROCEDURES FOR MARRIAGE, RECOGNITION OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK, ADOPTION, AND GUARDIANSHIP BETWEEN VIETNAMESE CITIZENS AND FOREIGNERS

Pursuant to the Ordinance on marriage and family relations between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners adopted by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on December 2, 1993 (hereinafter referred to as the Ordinance) and Decree No. 184-CP dated November 30, 1994 of the Government regulating procedures for marriage, recognition of children born out of wedlock, adoption, and guardianship between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 184-CP);

Pursuant to Point 2, Section V of Circular No. 503/TT-LB dated May 25, 1995 issued by the Joint Ministry of Justice - Foreign Affairs - Interior guiding in detail the implementation of Decree No. 184-CP dated November 30, 1994 of the Government regulating procedures for marriage, recognition of children born out of wedlock, adoption, and guardianship between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 503/TT-LB);

Based on the practical application of Circular No. 503/TT-LB and according to the Decree of the Provincial Department of Justice at the Southern and Northern provinces' training conference in June and July 1995;

After exchanging opinions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice guides the implementation of certain provisions of Circular No. 503/TT-LB as follows:

Regarding the scope of regulation:

Circular No. 503/TT-LB guides the implementation of six procedures concerning marriage and family relations between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners:

Registration of marriage;

Recognition of marriage registered abroad by competent authorities of foreign countries;

Recognition of parents' acknowledgment of children born out of wedlock;

Registration of adoption;

Recognition of adoption registered abroad by competent authorities of foreign countries;

Recognition of guardianship.

Therefore, Circular No. 503/TT-LB does not regulate issues within the jurisdiction of the courts (annulment of illegal marriages, divorce, resolution of disputes over adoption, etc.) and also does not regulate other issues related to household registration between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners, such as birth registration, remarriage registration, change of name, date of birth, correction of household registration, etc., except for the six procedures mentioned above.

Regarding the subjects of the relationship, Circular No. 503/TT-LB only regulates one type of cross-border marriage and family relationship - that is, the marriage and family relationship between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners.

Vietnamese citizens are those who have Vietnamese nationality according to Vietnamese laws on nationality. According to this legal document, Vietnamese people residing abroad who have not renounced their Vietnamese nationality or been deprived of their Vietnamese nationality remain Vietnamese citizens, even if they may have acquired another country's nationality; and the Vietnamese State only recognizes Vietnamese citizens having one nationality, which is Vietnamese nationality.

Foreigners are those without Vietnamese nationality, including foreign nationals (who do not simultaneously hold Vietnamese nationality) and stateless persons.

Thus, Circular No. 503/TT-LB does not regulate marriage and family relationships between foreigners temporarily or permanently residing in Vietnam, or between Vietnamese citizens in Vietnam where neither party resides abroad.

Pursuant to Article 22 of the Ordinance and Clause 2 of Article 36 of Decree No. 184-CP, Circular No. 503/TT-LB stipulates the application of its provisions to the registration of marriage, recognition of marriage, recognition of parents' acknowledgment of children born out of wedlock, registration of adoption, recognition of adoption, and recognition of guardianship between Vietnamese citizens where one party resides abroad. The term "residing abroad" is understood as continuous and long-term residence abroad.

Cases where Vietnamese citizens temporarily reside abroad, such as going abroad for a limited period for work, study, labor, visiting relatives, tourism, medical treatment, although they have exceeded the temporary stay period abroad but are not allowed to continue residing there, do not fall under the concept of "Vietnamese citizens residing abroad." Similarly, cases where individuals illegally go abroad but are not allowed to continue residing there also do not fall under the concept of "Vietnamese citizens residing abroad." Procedures for registering marriage, recognizing marriage, recognizing parents' acknowledgment of children born out of wedlock, registering adoption, recognizing adoption, and recognizing guardianship between them or between them and Vietnamese citizens permanently residing in the country shall be carried out according to general legal regulations on household registration. However, if it is a request for marriage registration, then the Vietnamese citizen temporarily residing abroad must provide a certificate from the diplomatic mission or consulate of Vietnam in that country confirming that the party is currently unmarried.

Regarding marriage registration:

When submitting the application for marriage registration, it is not mandatory for both parties to be present; it is sufficient for one party, either a Vietnamese citizen or a foreigner, to appear and submit the application, provided that the absent party has completed all required procedures for the application as stipulated by Circular No. 503/TT-LB beforehand.

Regarding the certified copy of the Birth Certificate of each party to the marriage, in principle, this is one of the mandatory documents required in the file when applying for marriage registration. In practice, based on the certified copy of the Birth Certificate, some Departments of Justice have prevented cases of marriage applications that violate the prohibition stipulated in the Law on Marriage and Family regarding blood relations and kinship. Therefore, only in exceptional cases where the foreign country does not provide for birth registration and issuance of Birth Certificates, may the parties be exempted from submitting the certified copy of the Birth Certificate. However, as a substitute, the parties must submit a Certificate of Date, Month, Year of Birth issued by the competent authority of the foreign country; or a Confirmation Letter from the Diplomatic Mission or Consular Office of the foreign country confirming that the law of that country does not provide for the issuance of Birth Certificates or Certificates of Date, Month, Year of Birth. In the case of overseas Vietnamese who previously did not register their birth or lost their Birth Certificate, they must complete the birth registration or re-registration procedures beforehand.

Regarding the confirmation letter from a health organization, Decree No. 184-CP and Circular No. 503-TT/LB do not mandate that it must be issued by a Vietnamese health organization, provided that the health organization issuing it must be a competent health organization recognized by the Department of Justice, and the Department of Justice shall bear responsibility for such recognition.

This provision also applies to adoption cases.

Regarding the coordination procedure between the Department of Justice and the Public Security agency, the Department of Justice does not need to send the original file but only needs to send a letter to the Public Security agency specifying the request for verification and investigation of both parties. Depending on specific requirements, the Department of Justice decides which documents should be attached to the letter and bears responsibility for such decision.

This provision also applies to adoption cases.

Regarding signing and delivering the Marriage Registration Certificate, both parties only need to sign the Marriage Registration Certificate at the ceremony, and it is not allowed to sign before the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province makes the decision.

At the ceremony for delivering the Marriage Registration Certificate, both parties must be present; if one party is absent, the ceremony must be postponed to another day. Delegation to receive the Marriage Registration Certificate is not permitted.

Regarding recognition of marriages registered abroad:

Circular No. 503-TT/LB only provides for the provincial People's Committee to recognize marriages registered with competent authorities in foreign countries, without providing for recognition of marriages registered with diplomatic missions or consular offices of Vietnam abroad. Documents, decisions, and other civil status papers issued by diplomatic missions or consular offices of Vietnam abroad have the same validity as those issued by domestic civil status authorities.

Regarding recognition of parents acknowledging children born out of wedlock:

This is a new task, the Department of Justice needs to handle carefully, especially to prevent parties from exploiting these provisions of the law to essentially adopt a child.

The Ordinance, Decree No. 184-CP, and Circular No. 503-TT/LB stipulate the recognition of parents acknowledging children born out of wedlock for children born out of wedlock whose biological parents were unknown or falsely identified at birth. Now, the biological parents are requesting recognition of the child born out of wedlock. Therefore, the provisions of the Ordinance, Decree No. 184-CP, and Circular No. 503-TT/LB do not apply to the acknowledgment of children born out of wedlock.

The application for recognition of a child born out of wedlock should include signatures of both parents.

If there is any complaint, accusation, or dispute regarding the recognition of a child born out of wedlock by parents, the Department of Justice must suspend the examination and guide the parties to initiate litigation before the Court.

Regarding the registration of adoption between a foreigner adopting a Vietnamese citizen:

Regarding the determination of the place of habitual residence of a child, for children living with their parents, grandparents, relatives, etc., or those placed in limited care facilities, the place of permanent household registration must be taken into account; for abandoned, orphaned, or disabled children living in care facilities without a fixed term, the location of the care facility must be considered; for newborns left at healthcare facilities, the location of the healthcare facility must be considered; for children previously collected from families and placed in care facilities established by foreign projects, the address of the families must be considered.

Regarding the confirmation letter agreeing to a child living in a care facility being adopted by a foreigner, Circular No. 503-TT/LB stipulates that it must be signed in writing by the head of the care facility. If the child has biological parents or was brought to the care facility by grandparents or relatives, confirmation letters from these individuals are also required.

For newborns left at healthcare facilities, if there is already a formal record confirming the abandonment, only a written agreement from the head of the healthcare facility is required.

To facilitate the process for those seeking to adopt a child, Circular No. 503-TT/LB does not mandate that the person seeking to adopt must personally submit the application to the Department of Justice. This means that the person seeking to adopt can delegate someone else to handle the adoption procedures on their behalf; the power of attorney must be properly executed and valid, and prior to delegation, the person seeking to adopt must complete all required documentation according to the provisions of Circular No. 503-TT/LB. However, until the Government establishes regulations on the formation and operation of domestic service organizations and mediators for adoption, as well as detailed regulations allowing foreign service organizations and mediators for adoption to establish representative offices in Vietnam, only delegations to diplomatic missions or consular offices of the country of which the person seeking to adopt is a citizen or resident will be accepted.

The adoption proceedings must be conducted at the Department of Justice's office, and the adoptive parent(s) (adoptive father, adoptive mother, sole adoptive father, or sole adoptive mother) must personally attend and directly receive the adopted child, signing the Adoption Registration Book. Delegation of authority to another person, individual, or organization to receive the adopted child is not accepted; in principle, both spouses must be present. In truly exceptional cases, if one of the two individuals cannot travel to Vietnam due to health reasons at the scheduled time, delegation to the other spouse (the adoptive father delegates to the adoptive mother or vice versa) may be accepted. However, the power of attorney must be established properly and have validity; third-party delegation is not accepted.

Regarding the introduction of Vietnamese children who have not been previously identified for foreign nationals seeking to adopt them:

Upon receiving the Circular from the Ministry of Justice attached with the Application of foreign nationals seeking to adopt Vietnamese children without specifying a particular child, the Department of Justice shall cooperate with local orphanages, abandoned children shelters, and disabled children care facilities to introduce children based on the specific requirements stated in the Application for adoption. Children outside these care facilities shall not be introduced, nor shall children be collected into such facilities for the purpose of introducing them to foreign nationals seeking to adopt them.

In cases where children in care facilities still have biological parents or were placed in the facility temporarily by grandparents or relatives, their consent must be sought before introducing them to foreign nationals seeking to adopt them.

Regarding the collection of fees:

The fee is collected once when the party submits the dossier, and after the civil registrar verifies its completeness and validity. If the dossier is incomplete or contains invalid documents, the civil registrar returns the dossier and the fee (if paid) to the party. If the party does not reclaim the fee, they will not need to pay it again upon resubmitting a complete and valid dossier.

If the party's request is denied after the Department of Justice has processed the dossier, the fee will not be refunded to the party.

This Circular takes effect from the date of signature. Previous guidelines issued by the Ministry of Justice that conflict with this Circular are hereby abolished./.