Decree No. 55/2000/NĐ-CP amending certain Articles of Decree No. 104/1998/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 1998 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality.

DECREE

Amending some articles of Decree No. 104/1998/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 1998 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on Vietnamese Citizenship

 of the Government detailing and

 guiding the implementation of the Law on Vietnamese Citizenship

_______________

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Government Organization Law dated September 30, 1992;

Pursuant to the Nationality Law of May 20, 1998;

At the proposal of the Minister of Justice.

DECREE:

Article 1. Amending some articles of Decree No. 104/1998/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 1998 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on Vietnamese Citizenship as follows:

1. Article 12 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 12. Procedures and sequence of handling at the central level
1. Within thirty days from the date of receipt of the request document from the provincial People's Committee or the Vietnamese diplomatic mission, the Ministry of Justice shall be responsible for rechecking the file, and if it finds that the file is complete and the applicant meets the conditions to acquire Vietnamese citizenship under the law, it shall notify the provincial People's Committee or the Vietnamese diplomatic mission about the completion of the application for Vietnamese citizenship. The provincial People's Committee or the Vietnamese diplomatic mission shall issue a confirmation letter to the applicant regarding the completion of the application for Vietnamese citizenship so that the applicant can proceed with the procedure to renounce their foreign citizenship. In special cases, when the applicant requests to retain their foreign citizenship according to Clause 3, Article 20 of the Law on Vietnamese Citizenship, the Minister of Justice, acting on behalf of the Prime Minister, shall submit a report to the President for consideration and decision, including a detailed proposal regarding the retention of the applicant's foreign citizenship, along with one set of the applicant's application file for Vietnamese citizenship. In such cases, within seventy-five days from the date of receipt of the request from the Ministry of Justice as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the provincial People's Committee, the Vietnamese diplomatic mission, or domestic specialized agencies must complete the file or conduct supplementary verification as required and respond in writing to the Ministry of Justice.

If the file is found incomplete or there are issues requiring clarification, the Ministry of Justice shall issue a document requesting the provincial People's Committee or through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request the Vietnamese diplomatic mission to complete the file or conduct supplementary verification. For files sent by the Vietnamese diplomatic mission which require verification by domestic specialized agencies, the Ministry of Justice shall directly issue a document requesting verification. In this case, the time limit mentioned above is seventy-five days.

2. Within thirty days from the date of receipt of the request from the Ministry of Justice as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the provincial People's Committee, the Vietnamese diplomatic mission, or domestic specialized agencies must complete the file or clarify the issues requested and respond in writing to the Ministry of Justice.

3. Within seven days from the date of receipt of the certificate of renunciation of foreign citizenship from the applicant, the Ministry of Justice shall complete the file; the Minister of Justice, acting on behalf of the Prime Minister, shall submit a report to the President for consideration and decision, including one set of the applicant's application file for Vietnamese citizenship.

In the event of granting Vietnamese citizenship, the Decision of the President shall record the name of the applicant using their Vietnamese name."

2. Article 16 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 16. Procedures and sequence of handling at the central level
1. Within thirty days from the date of receipt of the request document from the provincial People's Committee or the Vietnamese diplomatic mission, the Ministry of Justice shall be responsible for rechecking the file, and if it finds that the file is complete and the applicant meets the conditions to regain Vietnamese citizenship under the law, the Minister of Justice, acting on behalf of the Prime Minister, shall submit a report to the President for consideration and decision, including one set of the applicant's application file for regaining Vietnamese citizenship.

In the event of granting the restoration of Vietnamese citizenship, the Decision of the President shall record the name of the applicant using their Vietnamese name.

If the file is found incomplete or there are issues requiring clarification, the Ministry of Justice shall issue a document requesting the provincial People's Committee or through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request the Vietnamese diplomatic mission to complete the file or conduct supplementary verification. For files sent by the Vietnamese diplomatic mission which require verification by domestic specialized agencies, the Ministry of Justice shall directly issue a document requesting verification. In this case, the time limit mentioned above is sixty days.

2. Within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the request from the Ministry of Justice as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the provincial People's Committee, the Vietnamese diplomatic mission, or domestic specialized agencies must complete the file or clarify the issues requested and respond in writing to the Ministry of Justice."

3. Article 24 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 24. Procedures and sequence of handling at the central level
1. Within thirty days from the date of receipt of the request document from the provincial People's Committee or the Vietnamese diplomatic mission, the Ministry of Justice shall be responsible for rechecking the file, and if it finds that the file is complete and the applicant meets the conditions to renounce Vietnamese citizenship under the law, the Minister of Justice, acting on behalf of the Prime Minister, shall submit a report to the President for consideration and decision, including one set of the applicant's application file for renouncing Vietnamese citizenship.

If the file is found incomplete or there are issues requiring clarification, the Ministry of Justice shall issue a document requesting the provincial People's Committee or through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request the Vietnamese diplomatic mission to complete the file or conduct supplementary verification. For files sent by the Vietnamese diplomatic mission which require verification by domestic specialized agencies, the Ministry of Justice shall directly issue a document requesting verification. In this case, the time limit mentioned above is sixty days.

2. Within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the request from the Ministry of Justice as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the provincial People's Committee, the Vietnamese diplomatic mission, or domestic specialized agencies must complete the file or clarify the issues requested and respond in writing to the Ministry of Justice."

Article 2

1. This Decree takes effect 15 days from the date of signature.

2. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall be responsible for implementing this Decree.