1. What is dual citizenship?

Dual citizenship is the case of a carrier Nationality of 2 different countries, meaning that person is recognized as a citizen of both countries.

Many countries allow their citizens to hold two or more nationalities at the same time, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, England, etc. Accordingly, when naturalizing in these countries, they do not require registration. Naturalization must give up current citizenship, or citizens with citizenship in these countries can apply for additional citizenship in other countries.

According to the provisions of the Vietnamese Nationality Law, in some cases, a citizen can simultaneously hold foreign nationality and Vietnamese nationality. Specifically, Vietnamese law allows people who previously had nationality to Vietnamese citizenship and then naturalization of a foreign country (also known as Viet Kieu) but without completing procedures to renounce Vietnamese nationality are allowed.Register permanent residence in Vietnam, accordingly, Overseas Vietnamese regain Vietnamese nationality if the conditions are met according to regulations of the Law.

2. Legal regulations on applying for Vietnamese dual citizenship for children

Current Vietnamese lawallow and create conditions for Vietnamese people who have settled and naturalized abroad to return and naturalize Vietnamstill retain foreign nationality at the same time. In particular, Vietnamese law also allows applicants to register for dual citizenshipThey can also register their children to return to Vietnam for permanent residence, meaning their children can have both foreign and Vietnamese nationality at the same time.

Conditions, order and procedures register for dual citizenship for children of overseas Vietnamese is specifically stipulated in legal documents including:

• The Residence Law 2021 promulgated by the National Assembly takes effect from July 1, 2021.
• Circular No. 55/2021/TT-BCA dated May 15, 2021 of the Ministry of Public Security guiding the implementation of the Residence Law 2021.

3. Conditions for dual Vietnamese citizenship for children

Case 1: If the child is under 14 years old, the applicant for dual citizenship and their child will apply for dual citizenship within 01 set of documents and submit that application to the state agency as mentioned in section 5.

Overseas Vietnamese are implementedRegister for dual Vietnamese citizenship when the following two conditions are satisfied:

• First: Overseas Vietnamese have documents to prove they used to have Vietnamese nationality and still retain Vietnamese nationality according to the provisions of Vietnamese law.
• Second: Overseas Vietnamese Have legal residence in Vietnam include houses owned by oneself or houses rented, borrowed, or staying at someone else's house or sponsored by a relative.

Case 2: If the child is 14 years old or older, the applicant for dual citizenship and their child will make 2 separate sets of documents as mentioned in section 5 to submit to the state agency. This meansEach person must meet 02 conditions to register for dual citizenship as in case 1.

4. Procedures for applying for dual Vietnamese citizenship for children under 14 years old

ProceduresRegister for dual Vietnamese citizenshipLet your child follow04 steps as follows:

Step 1:You prepare the application for dual citizenship (registration for overseas Vietnamese and children) in Vietnam according to the instructions in Section 5.

Step 2: You submit your application at the Immigration Management Department of the Provincial Police or centrally run city where Overseas Vietnamese have legal residence or the Immigration Management Department - Ministry of Public Security.

Step 3:When the appointment deadline stated on the application receipt arrives, you go to that agency to receive the results of processing the application. If your application is valid, you will receive a document allowing you and your children to permanently reside in Vietnam. In case the profile is invalid, you will be asked to provide additional papers, documents or explanations. In case your application is rejected, you will also receive a document clearly stating the reason for the rejection.

Step 4: In case you are approved for permanent residence, you carry out the following procedures: register for permanent residence in the locality, apply for a Citizen Identification Card and Vietnamese passport.

5. What does an application for dual citizenship include?

ToRegister for Vietnamese dual citizenship,you need to prepare02 sets of documents includes the following documents:

1) Application to return to Vietnam for permanent residence.

2) Foreign passport or permanent residence document issued by a foreign country (for you and your children).

3) One of the following documents is valid to prove the parents' Vietnamese nationality, including:

• Birth certificate (in case the birth certificate does not clearly show Vietnamese nationality, it must be accompanied by documents proving the Vietnamese nationality of the father and mother).
• Nation ID.
• Vietnamese passport.
• Decision to restore Vietnamese nationality, Decision to recognize adoption of foreign children, Decision to allow foreigners to adopt Vietnamese children.
• Other documents (certificate of citizenship) issued by a competent Vietnamese agency certifying that the applicant still retains Vietnamese nationality according to the provisions of Vietnamese law on nationality.

4) Copy of documents proving legal housing in Vietnam:

• In case an Overseas Vietnamese already owns a house in Vietnam, submit a Certificate of home ownership or documents on buying, selling, donating, exchanging, inheriting housing, housing purchase contract...
• In case an Overseas Vietnamese rents, borrows, or stays at someone else's house or is sponsored by a relative, then submit the rental, loan, or stay-at-home contract; Document proving that the person renting, lending, or staying at the house agrees to let that person register for permanent residence; Papers and documents proving ownership of the house by the person renting, borrowing, or staying.

6. Agency for filing dual citizenship applications

Overseas Vietnamese can apply register for dual citizenship in02 agencies or:

• Immigration Management Office of the Police of the province or centrally run city where Overseas Vietnamese have legal residence.
• Immigration Department - Ministry of Public Security.

7. Common difficulties when applying for dual citizenship for your child

– Dual citizenship registration for children under 14 years old is tied to the dual citizenship registration of the parents. And the most common difficulty for overseas Vietnamese parents is not having enough documents to prove that they once had Vietnamese nationality. Therefore, the applicant needs to carry out procedures to extract documents such as Birth Certificate and Permanent Residence Book before settling down at the competent agencies. The longer it takes for overseas Vietnamese to settle down, the more time it takes to extract these documents.

– Extraction can also be difficult when the personal information of overseas Vietnamese changes. For example, when some people naturalize in a foreign country, they will take a new name in a foreign language and without documents proving the relationship with the old name, it will be difficult to extract documents and process dual registration documents. citizenship because these documents are in the old name.

– In addition, during the process of carrying out procedures, state agencies may request to explain some information related to the identity of the person registering permanent residence.

– The actual processing time of the Immigration Department regarding the registration of permanent residence in Vietnam for overseas Vietnamese is quite long, from 4 - 6 months. Therefore, the applicant must regularly monitor the application processing status to promptly provide additional documents if requested by the Immigration Department/Department.

8. Dual citizenship service of Truong Quyen Law Office - Davilaw Branch

With experience in carrying out the procedures to register for dual citizenship For overseas Vietnamese, Truong Quyen Law Office - Davilaw Branch is proud to support many overseas Vietnamese to successfully register for Vietnamese dual citizenship.

Advantages of using services at Truong Quyen Law Office - Davilaw Branch:

• Consulting on conditions and procedures for applying for dual citizenship free of charge.
• Translation, notarized translation, consular legality Documents for dual citizenship registration.
• Extract and fully complete the dossier Register dual citizenship in Vietnam for customers.
• Carry out procedures to apply for dual citizenship registration at a competent state agency.

Consulting and implementing other legal procedures after being approved by the State agency to register for dual citizenship in Vietnam.