I am a Vietnamese citizen and currently planning to marry my fiancé, who is a foreign national. We intend to carry out the marriage registration procedure in Vietnam. I would like to consult a lawyer regarding the process, required documents, legal conditions, and any other important considerations we should take into account when completing this procedure.
Answer
The procedure for registering marriage with a foreigner is an administrative procedure with foreign elements, regulated by the Law on Marriage and Family, the Law on Civil Status and related guiding documents. Therefore, when carrying out the marriage registration procedure, you need to pay attention to the following contents:
1. Regarding the conditions for marrying a foreigner:
- Each party to the marriage must meet the marriage conditions according to the laws of their country. If the marriage is performed at a competent authority in Vietnam, the foreigner must comply with the marriage conditions according to Vietnamese law;
- Men must be 20 years of age or older, women must be 18 years of age or older;
- The marriage is voluntarily decided by the man and woman;
- Not having lost civil capacity;
- Not falling into cases where marriage is prohibited such as fake marriage, having a spouse, marriage within three generations, etc.
Legal basis: Points a, b, c, d, Clause 2, Article 5, Article 8 and Article 126 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family.
2. Marriage registration dossier with foreign elements:
- Marriage registration form: Both parties can fill out a joint application form;
- Documents proving the marital status of a foreigner: A document issued by a competent authority of a foreign country, confirming that the person is currently single or that the person is eligible to marry under foreign law;
- Mental health certificate: Issued by a competent medical organization in Vietnam or abroad, confirming that the person does not have a disease that affects cognitive capacity or behavioral control;
- A copy of the foreigner's passport or valid replacement document (international travel document, residence card, etc.);
- If the partner being Vietnamese citizen obtained divorce or granted marriage annulment at a the foreign competent authority, but, the information found in the Electronic Civil Status Database; through the connection between the Provincial information system for handling administrative procedures and the Electronic Civil Status Database, the National Population Database does not show any recorded divorce or annulment of marriage, the civil status registration agency shall guide citizens to carry out the procedures for recording divorce/annulment of marriage in the civil register at the competent state agency before processing the marriage registration;
- If the applicant for marriage registration is a official, public employee or is serving in the armed forces, he/she must submit a document from the agency or management unit certifying that his/her marriage to the foreigner is conformable with regulations of such sector.
Legal basis: Article 30 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP, amended by Clause 9, Article 2 of Decree 07/2025/ND-CP and Clause 1, Article 38 of the Law on Civil Status.
3. Procedures:
- Submit the above dossier to the competent authority;
- Within 10 working days from the date of receiving the complete and valid dossier, the competent authority shall conduct research, examine the dossier and verify if necessary;
- If the dossier is valid, the competent authority shall sign 02 original copies of the Marriage Certificate;
- Based on the specific situation, when necessary, the competent authority shall report to the Prime Minister to prescribe additional interview procedures when handling marriage registration requests to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of the parties and the effectiveness of State management;
- Within 03 working days from the date of signing the Marriage Certificate, the competent authority shall organize the awarding of the Marriage Certificate to the male and female parties. The Marriage Certificate is valid from the date it is recorded in the book and awarded to the parties according to the provisions of this Clause.
Note: When registering for marriage, both the man and woman must be present at the competent authority. The civil status officer will ask for the opinions of both the man and woman. If both parties voluntarily marry, the marriage will be recorded in the Civil Status Book and both the man and woman will sign the Civil Status Book. Both the man and woman will sign the Marriage Certificate.
Legal basis: Article 38 of the 2014 Civil Status Law, Clause 1, Article 11 of Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP and Articles 30, 31, 32 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP.
- Authority to register marriage
- From now until June 30, 2025: District-level People's Committee where Vietnamese citizens reside;
- From July 1, 2025, according to new regulations in Article 4 of Decree 120/2025/ND-CP, the authority will be transferred to the People's Committees of communes, wards, and special zones.
Legal basis: Article 37 of the 2014 Law on Civil Status, amended and guided in Article 4 of Decree 120/2025/ND-CP effective from July 1, 2025.
- How to submit the application:
A person who requests marriage registration can submit the application in 1 of 2 ways:
- Directly at the One-Stop Department/Public Administration Center of the competent authority;
- Online on the National Public Service Portal (https://dichvucong.gov.vn) or the Provincial Public Service Portal (https://dichvucong.---.gov.vn) (either the man or the woman can submit the application without the authorization of the other party).
Note:
- Documents in foreign languages must be consularized and notarized translated into Vietnamese;
- The marriage status certificate and health certificate are only valid for 6 months from the date of issue;
- The actual processing time may be extended if further verification is required.
