1. In what cases can a child acquire Vietnamese citizenship?

According to Article 19 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality, in case a child acquires Vietnamese nationality if he/she is a foreign citizen and a stateless person permanently residing in Vietnam and has an application for Vietnamese nationality in the following cases:

“Being the wife, husband, biological father, biological mother or biological child of a Vietnamese citizen.

However, children of Vietnamese citizens can only acquire Vietnamese citizenship when they meet the following conditions:

- Have full civil act capacity.

However, based on Point c Clause 1 Article 10 Decree No. 16/2020/ND-CP, if the child is a minor, he/she must be a naturalized Vietnamese citizen according to his/her parents.

- Comply with the Constitution and laws of Vietnam and respect the traditions, customs and practices of the Vietnamese people.

If you are not the child of a Vietnamese citizen, the person applying for Vietnamese citizenship must meet 3 additional conditions:

- Know Vietnamese to integrate into the community (study and get a degree in Vietnam).

- Have resided for 5 years or more in Vietnam (up to the time of applying for citizenship).

- Able to ensure life in Vietnam.

2. Procedures for obtaining Vietnamese citizenship for your child

2.1 Documents to prepare

In the case of being a child of a Vietnamese citizen, to obtain Vietnamese citizenship for your child, you need to prepare the following documents:

- Application for Vietnamese nationality (this application has been issued as a ready-made form in the Circular No. 02/2020/TT-BTP).

- Passport or other documents (copy). These documents must have a stamped photo with full information about full name, date of birth, passport or valid international travel documents.

- Background statement.

- A criminal record certificate is issued within no more than 90 days from the date of submitting the application for naturalization (this document can be issued by the Department of Justice of the place of residence in Vietnam or by a competent authority abroad if this person is residing abroad).

- Birth certificate to prove the relationship between parents who are Vietnamese citizens and their child.

- A written agreement with enough signatures from the parents to apply for Vietnamese nationality for their minor children to join their parents if only the father or mother is naturalized. This document does not have to authenticate the signature, the applicant is responsible for the accuracy of the signature in the application.

If the parents have died or lost or limited civil act capacity, this written agreement is replaced by documents proving that the parents have died or lost or limited civil act capacity.

Note: This dossier must be made in 03 sets.

2.2 Implementing agency

The requester submits the application to the Department of Justice of the place of residence if living in Vietnam. After that, the application for naturalization will be reviewed and verified by the following agencies: Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Provincial Police, Ministry of Justice, Prime Minister and President of the State. is the person who signed the decision to naturalize Vietnam.