According to Article 126 of the Law on Marriage and Family regulations:

Article 126. Marriage involving foreign elements

1. For marriages between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners, each party shall comply with his/her country’s law on marriage conditions; if their marriage is conducted at a competent Vietnamese state agency, the foreigner shall also comply with this Law’s provisions on marriage conditions.

2. Marriages between foreigners permanently residing in Vietnam at competent Vietnamese agencies must comply with this Law’s provisions on marriage conditions.

Thus, when foreigner and Vietnamese people register for marriage, each party must meet the marriage conditions of each country. At the same time, if getting married at a competent authority in Vietnam, the foreigner must meet the marriage conditions stated in Article 8 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 regulations:

Article 8. Conditions for getting married

1. A man and a woman wishing to marry each other must satisfy the following conditions:

a /The man is full 20 years or older, the woman is full 18 years or older;

b/ The marriage is voluntarily decided by the man and woman;

c/ The man and woman do not lose the civil act capacity;

d/ The marriage does not fall into one of the cases prescribed at Points a, b, c and d, Clause 2, Article 5 of this Law.

2. The State shall not recognize marriage between persons of the same sex.

What documents are needed to register a marriage with a foreigner?

In Article 30 of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP detailing a number of articles and measures to implement the Law on Civil Status, procedures for registering marriage with foreigners, requiring full preparation of documents, including:

Article 30. Application for marriage registration

1. An application for marriage registration shall be made as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 38 of the Law on civil status as follows:

a) The both partners may fill out in one single application form for marriage registration;

b) A document certifying marital status of a foreigner is a document which is issued by a foreign competent authority, remains valid, and certifies that the holder is being single. If the foreign country does not issue a document certifying marital status, an equivalent document issued by the foreign competent authority certifying the holder’s eligibility for marriage as prescribed in law of such country is required.

If the document certifying marital status of a foreigner has an indefinite term, such document and the certificate issued by the health facility as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 38 of the Law on civil status shall only remain valid in 6 months from the date of issue.

2. If the foreigner has no passport for presentation as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 2 of this Decree, he/she may present an international travel paper or a residence card.

3. Apart from the documents prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, if the partner being Vietnamese citizen obtained divorce or granted marriage annulment at a the foreign competent authority, he/she shall also submit a copy of vital records about such divorce or marriage annulment as prescribed in Clause 2 Article 36 of this Decree; or if the partner being Vietnamese citizen is an official/public employee or an armed force official, he/she shall also submit a document issued by the authority certifying that his/her marriage to the foreigner is conformable with regulations of such sector.

So when registering a marriage with a foreigner in Vietnam, you two need to prepare the following documents:

- Marriage registration statement;

- A certificate from a competent Vietnamese or foreign medical organization certifying that the person registering for marriage does not have a mental illness or other illness that prevents him/her from being able to perceive and control his/her behavior;

For foreigners, additional preparation is required:

+ Documents proving marital status:

A valid document issued by a competent authority certifying that the person is currently unmarried or unmarried. In case the foreign country does not issue confirmation of marital status, replace it with documents from a foreign competent authority certifying that the person is eligible for marriage according to the country's law. If the documents prove the person's marital status, If the expiry date is not stated in foreign countries, this document and the medical certificate are only valid for 6 months from the date of issue.

+ Copy of passport or valid passport replacement document (international travel document or residence card)

In addition, one of the two people is a Vietnamese citizen must prepare:

+ Copy of civil status extract recording the divorce or marriage annulment in case the marriage party is a Vietnamese citizen who has divorced or annulled the marriage at a foreign competent authority

+ Document from the agency or management unit certifying that the person's marriage to a foreigner does not violate that industry's regulations for people who are civil servants, public employees or serving in the armed forces.