CIRCULAR

STIPULATING THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT, PROCESS AND PROCEDURE FOR GRANT OF NATURALIZED VIETNAMESE CITIZENSHIP AND REGISTRATION FOR BIRTH, MARRIAGE OF MIGRANTS LIVING AT VIETNAM-LAOS BORDER DICTRICTS

Pursuant to the Agreement between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic dated July 8, 2013 on dealing with people who spontaneously migrate and illegitimately get married inside the border areas of two countries;

Pursuant to the Law on Vietnamese Nationality adopted in 2008;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 78/2009/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2009 on providing specific regulations and detailed instructions on the implementation of several articles of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 158/2005/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2005 on registration and management of civil status;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 06/2012/NĐ-CP dated February 2, 2012 on amendments to several articles of Decrees on civil status, marriage, family and authentication;

Upon implementing the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 2627/QĐ-TTg dated December 31, 2013 on approving the project for implementation of "Agreement between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic on dealing with people who spontaneously migrate and illegitimately get married inside the border areas of two countries”;

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The Minister of Justice hereby stipulates the eligibility requirement, process and procedure for grant of naturalized Vietnamese citizenship and registration for birth, marriage of migrants living at Laos-Vietnam border districts as follows:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of application

1. This Circular shall provide for the eligibility requirement, process and procedure for grant of naturalized Vietnamese citizenship and registration for birth, marriage of Laotian people migrating from Laos to live at Vietnam-Laos border districts under the Agreement between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic on dealing with people who spontaneously migrate and illegitimately get married inside the border areas of two countries (hereinafter referred to as Agreement), and nationality and civil status forms used for the abovementioned action.

2. This Circular shall be also applicable to dealing with birth and marriage registration of Vietnamese citizens returned by Laos in accordance with regulations laid down at Point 2.1 Clause 2 Article 3 of the Agreement.

Article 2. Applicable entities and localities

1. Laotian people migrating to Vietnam's districts located in Vietnam – Laos border areas are specified as entities who are permitted to reside in Vietnam under the provisions of Clause 1 Article 3 of the Agreement and approved by the Leader of Vietnam Border Committee Delegation (hereinafter referred to as Laotian migrants accepted as legal residents).

2. Vietnamese people migrating to Laos’ districts located in Laos - Vietnam border areas are specified as entities that are permitted to reside in Vietnam under the provisions of Clause 1 Article 3 of the Agreement, and returned by Laos, and approved by the Leader of Laos Border Committee Delegation, and received by the Leader of Vietnam Border Committee Delegation.

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Article 3. Interpretation of terms

Terms used herein shall be construed as follows:

1. Laotian people refers to those who have Lao national or are descended from Laotian people. They migrate from Laos to reside at Vietnam’s districts in the Vietnam-Laos border areas but have yet to be granted documents indicating their citizenship, civil status and other documents by Vietnam's competent authorities as stipulated by laws.

2. Vietnamese citizen refers to those who have Vietnamese national but have yet to be granted documents indicating their citizenship, civil status and other documents by Laos’ competent authorities as stipulated by laws.

Chapter II

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT, PROCESS AND PROCEDURE FOR GRANT OF NATURALIZED VIETNAMESE CITIZENSHIP AND REGISTRATION FOR BIRTH, MARRIAGE

Article 4. Eligibility requirements for grant of naturalized Vietnamese citizenship

Laotian people who are specified as entities stipulated in Clause 1 Article 2 hereof, if they wish to be granted the Vietnamese citizenship and meet the following requirements, shall be eligible to apply for a Vietnamese citizenship:

1. Voluntarily file their application for becoming Vietnamese citizenship;

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3. Do not violate criminal laws;

4. Have a stable living standard, house or other real property, or farmlands at their residence;

5. Not a wanted person or a persons subjected to the enforcement of the court decision as prescribed in Vietnam's laws;

6. Have a Vietnamese name. This name must be chosen by the applicant for Vietnamese citizenship and specified in the Vietnamese naturalization application form.

Article 5. Process and procedure for dealing with application for Vietnamese naturalization

1. Laotian migrants accepted as legal residents who express their wish for grant of Vietnamese citizenship shall be required to contact the People's Committee of a commune or town (hereinafter referred to as Communal People’s Committee) where they are residing to receive instructions and assistance to complete their application. Each applicant shall be required to submit 02 set of documents; each set of documents shall include the application for becoming Vietnamese citizenship and résumé according to the form enclosed herein.

2. Process for completing and processing applications for Vietnamese naturalization shall include:

a) Within a maximum period of 10 working days of receipt of the list of Laotian migrants accepted as legal residents approved by the Leader of Vietnam Border Committee Delegation, the Provincial People’s Committee shall direct the Department of Justice to preside over and collaborate with the Police authority at the same level and the People's Committee of the border district in sending a mobile working team to the Communal People’s Committee of that border district in order to provide instructions and support for completion and receipt of such applications.

b) Within a maximum period of 05 working days from the date of completing required applications, after the Department of Justice shall consider and check whether these applications have included required information and applicants for Vietnamese citizenship through naturalization has proved eligible to become Vietnamese citizens in compliance with regulations laid down in Article 4 hereof, this Department shall send a request to the Provincial People’s Committee enclosing the list of applicants and applications for grant of Vietnamese citizenship.

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d) Within a maximum period of 10 working days from the date of receiving the request of the President of the Provincial People’s Committee, the Ministry of Justice shall double check these applications. If they judge that applicants are eligible to become Vietnamese citizens, the Minister of Justice shall exercise their authority delegated by the Prime Minister to sign the request for submission to the President of Vietnam for consideration and decision.

dd) Within a maximum period of 05 working days from the date of receiving the Decision to grant permission for grant of Vietnamese citizenship through naturalization from the President of Vietnam, the Ministry of Justice shall send a copy of that Decision and the list of applicants obtaining permission for naturalization to the Provincial People’s Committee, and concurrently to the Leader of Vietnam Border Committee Delegation.

e) Within a maximum period of 05 working days from the date of receiving the notification of the result of application for grant of Vietnamese citizenship through naturalization, the Provincial People’s Committee shall direct the Department of Justice to confer this Decision on naturalization applicants.

Article 6. Notification of the list of Vietnamese people permitted to become Laotian citizens

1. Within a maximum period of 03 working days from the date of receiving the notification from Lao authorities and the list of Vietnamese people permitted to become Laotian citizens, the Leader of Vietnam Border Committee Delegation shall send the Ministry of Justice a copy of the decision on permission for naturalization from Laos' competent authorities enclosing the list of Vietnamese people permitted to become Laotian citizens.

2. Within a maximum period of 05 working days from the date of receiving the copy of that decision and the list of Vietnamese people permitted to become Laotian citizens, the Ministry of Justice shall report to the Government so that the Government can send a report to the President of Vietnam, and update the data of those subjected to cessation/loss of Vietnamese citizenship stored at the Ministry of Justice.

Article 7. Birth registration

1. The Communal People’s Committee of a border district where applicants for birth registration are residing shall be responsible for the birth registration.

2. Application for the birth registration shall include documents like the birth registration form (according to the form issued together with this Circular) and notice of birth (according to the regulated form); if the notice of birth is not available, the written confirmation of birth must be submitted.

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As for the birth registration for an illegitimate child, if a father of this child is not identifiable, the section for information about this father in the birth record book and birth certificate must be kept blank. If there is someone accepting such child at the birth registration date, the Communal People's Committee shall collaborate in dealing with this acceptance and deciding birth registration issues.

4. In case of the birth registration for a child of a Vietnamese citizen and a Laotian citizen, the nationality section in the birth certificate shall be filled in according to a written consent of the father or mother; if the child's parents do not agree to selection of nationality, Vietnamese citizenship shall be accepted.

In case the birth registration is not for a child, the nationality of the birth certificate holder shall be defined on the basis of nationality defined in the list approve by the Leader of Vietnam Border Committee Delegation.

5. As for those who has been granted the naturalized Vietnamese citizenship in accordance with regulations laid down in Article 5 hereof, if that person requires a birth certificate, (s)he is also eligible for the birth registration under the provisions of this Article and his/her Vietnamese nationality shall be clearly written in the birth register and birth certificate.

Article 8. Marriage registration

1. The Communal People's Committee of a border district where both spouses are residing shall be responsible for the marriage registration for entities stipulated in Clause 1 and 2 Article 2 hereof.

Both spouses must submit the marriage registration form (according to the form issued together with this Circular) to the Communal People’s Committee.

2. Within a permitted period of 01 working day of receipt of the marriage registration form, if both spouses are eligible for marriage registration in conformity with the Law on Marriage and Family, registrars must record their marriage in the marriage register, marriage certificate and report to the Communal People’s Committee for his/her signature and grant of the marriage certificate to both spouses.

3. When registering their marriage, both spouses must be present and sign their names into the marriage register and marriage certificate before obtaining the confirmatory signature from the registrar; if they are unable to sign their names, their fingerprints must be appended.

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Chapter III

IMPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

Article 9. Effect

This Circular shall come into force from May 16, 2015 and shall be declared void if the agreement is terminated.

After the validity of this Circular ends but dealing with applications for grant of Vietnamese citizenship, birth, marriage registration for entities stipulated by Article 2 hereof still continues, this Circular shall continue its effectiveness till the end of this action. As for Vietnamese naturalization application, birth and marriage registration that may arise after the end of the validity of this Circular, general legal regulations shall be the basis for considering any solution to such actions.

Article 10. Implementary responsibility

The People’s Committee of Dien Bien, Son La, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam and Kon Tum at all administrative levels and relevant agencies shall be responsible for implementing this Circular.

In the course of implementation, if there is any difficulty that may arise, organizations or individuals must promptly notify the Ministry of Justice to seek their instructions./.

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PP. THE MINISTER
THE DEPUTY MINISTER




Nguyen Khanh Ngoc