Question: I am a foreigner currently holding Taiwan and German nationalities, living and studying in Viet Nam from 2008 to the present (2026). I have a half-sibling with the same father but a different mother, and my paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother and mother are Vietnamese, furthermore I can write, read and communicate in Vietnamese. Now I wish to apply for admission to Vietnamese nationality while still wanting to maintain dual nationality, is this possible? If so, what dossiers and procedures are required?
1. Conditions for naturalization in Vietnam
Pursuant to clause 1 Article 19 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality 2008, amended by clause 5 Article 1 of the Law on Amended Vietnamese Nationality 2025 on the conditions for admission to nationality as follows:
“Article 19. Conditions for naturalization in Vietnam
Foreign citizens and stateless persons having applications for naturalization in Vietnam may be naturalized in Vietnam, if meeting fully the following conditions:
a) Having full civil act capacity as prescribed by the law of Vietnam, except for the case of being a minor applying for naturalization in Vietnam together with the father or mother, a minor having a father or mother being a Vietnamese citizen;
b) Complying with the Constitution and the law of Vietnam; respecting the culture, traditions, customs, practices of the Vietnamese nation;
c) Knowing Vietnamese sufficiently to integrate into the Vietnamese community;
d) Currently residing permanently in Vietnam;
đ) Having a permanent residence period in Vietnam of 05 years or more calculated up to the time of applying for naturalization in Vietnam;
e) Being capable of ensuring livelihood in Vietnam.”
However, in case the person applying for naturalization in Vietnam has a biological father, biological mother or paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother or maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother being a Vietnamese citizen, they may be naturalized in Vietnam without having to satisfy the conditions specified at points c, d, đ and e mentioned above.
The case of the Client has satisfied the conditions to apply for naturalization in Vietnam. However, the Client needs to provide the documents proving the blood relationship for the competent authority to consider.
2. Applying to retain foreign nationality
Pursuant to clause 6 Article 19 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality 2008, amended by clause 5 Article 1 of the Law on Amended Vietnamese Nationality 2025, in addition to satisfying the conditions for naturalization in Vietnam mentioned above, the person applying for naturalization in Vietnam may be allowed to retain the foreign nationality if satisfying the following conditions and being permitted by the President of the State:
- Retaining the foreign nationality is in accordance with the law of that country.
- Not using the foreign nationality to cause harm to the lawful rights, interests of agencies, organizations, individuals, to infringe upon the national security, interests, national order, social safety of Vietnam.
Thus, in case the Client wishes to retain the foreign nationality, first it is necessary to check the legal regulations of Taiwan and Germany to ensure that retaining the foreign nationality is in accordance with the laws of these countries.
3. Application dossier for naturalization in Vietnam
Pursuant to clause 1, 2 Article 20 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality 2008, amended by point a, b clause 6 Article 1 of the Law on Amended Vietnamese Nationality 2025, the application dossier for naturalization in Vietnam comprises the following documents:
- Application for naturalization in Vietnam.
- Copy of Birth Certificate, Passport or other documents having substitute value.
- Curriculum vitae declaration.
- Documents proving the criminal record information issued by the competent foreign authority in accordance with the law of that country for the period the person applying for naturalization in Vietnam resided overseas, and issued not exceeding 90 days calculated up to the date of submitting the dossier.
- Documents proving the Vietnamese language proficiency.
- Documents proving the accommodation, period of permanent residence in Vietnam.
- Documents proving the assurance of livelihood in Vietnam.
However, those who are exempted from certain conditions for naturalization in Vietnam specified at clause 2 and clause 3 Article 19 of this Law shall be exempted from the documents corresponding to the exempted conditions.
Additionally, the person applying for naturalization in Vietnam concurrently applying to retain the foreign nationality must have the following documents:
- Documents issued by the competent authority of the foreign country regarding the retention of the foreign nationality being in accordance with the law of that country.
- Written commitment not to use the foreign nationality to cause harm to the lawful rights, interests of agencies, organizations, individuals; to infringe upon the national security, interests, national order, social safety of Vietnam.
4. Order, procedure for implementing naturalization in Vietnam
- Step 1: Foreigners applying for naturalization in Vietnam submit the dossier to the Department of Justice (if residing domestically) or the representative agency of Vietnam in the host country (if residing overseas).
- Step 2: Verification of dossier
+ Within a time limit of 05 working days from the date of receiving the full valid dossier, the Department of Justice sends a written request to the provincial-level Police agency to verify the identity of the person applying for naturalization.
+ Within a time limit of 30 days, the provincial-level Police agency conducts the verification and sends the result to the Department of Justice; concurrently, the Department of Justice proceeds to verify in detail the documents in the dossier.
+ Within a time limit of 05 working days from the date of receiving the verification result, the Department of Justice completes the dossier to submit to the Chairperson of the provincial-level People's Committee. Then, within a time limit of 05 working days, the Chairperson of the provincial-level People's Committee considers, concludes and issues a written proposal of opinions to send to the Ministry of Justice.
- Step 3: Handling by the Ministry of Justice
+ Within a time limit of 20 days, from the date of receiving the proposal from the Chairperson of the provincial-level People's Committee (or the verification result from the Ministry of Public Security), the Ministry of Justice proceeds to re-examine the dossier.
+ For normal cases: Within a time limit of 10 working days, from the date of receiving the document permitting the renunciation of foreign nationality, the Minister of Justice reports to the Prime Minister to submit to the President of the State for consideration, decision.
+ For cases of applying to retain the original nationality: Within a time limit of 20 days, from the date of receiving the proposal from the provincial level, if considering that the conditions are satisfied, the Ministry of Justice reports directly to the Prime Minister to submit to the President of the State for consideration, decision.
- Step 4: Within a time limit of 30 days, from the date of receiving the request of the Prime Minister, the President of the State considers, decides.
(Based on Article 21 of the Law on Vietnamese nationality 2008, amended by point a, b clause 7 Article 1 of the Law on Amended Vietnamese Nationality 2025)
