How a US Citizen Can Marry a Vietnamese Citizen in Vietnam

A US citizen can marry a Vietnamese citizen in Vietnam, and the marriage is registered by the Vietnamese authorities in the same way as any other marriage with a foreign partner. The US Embassy does not perform marriages, and the marriage takes effect under Vietnamese law once it is registered.

Most of the process is the same for every foreign partner, but three points are specific to Americans. The United States has no national marriage register and does not issue a certificate of no impediment, so an American proves they are free to marry in a different way. US documents have been authenticated differently since the Apostille Convention took effect for Vietnam in September 2026. And an American who plans to bring their spouse to the United States needs to decide where to marry before starting, because that choice shapes the US visa route.

Marrying in Vietnam or Using a K-1 Fiancé Visa

If the couple intend to live in the United States, there are two main visa routes, and the place of the wedding decides which one is open.

Marry in Vietnam, then apply for a spouse visa. The American spouse files a petition for their husband or wife, who then applies for an immigrant visa as a spouse.
Marry in the United States on a fiancé(e) visa. The Vietnamese partner enters on a K-1 visa, and the couple must marry in the United States within 90 days of arrival. This route is only open to couples who are not yet married.

Each route has its own timing, costs and evidence requirements under US immigration law, which is a matter for US immigration counsel. For planning purposes, registering the marriage in Vietnam closes the fiancé(e) route. Couples who choose the K-1 path and marry in the United States will generally need to record that marriage in Vietnam so that it appears in Vietnamese civil status records, which we explain in our guide to marrying a Vietnamese citizen abroad.

Where to Register Your Marriage in Vietnam

Since 1 July 2025, a marriage between a Vietnamese citizen and a foreigner has been registered by the People’s Committee at commune level, usually where the Vietnamese partner lives, under Decree 120/2025. Before that date, the district-level authority handled these cases, so older guides may send you to an office that no longer does this work.

The file can usually be submitted in person or through the online public service portal, and one partner can submit it for both. Both partners must then attend in person to sign the register and receive the marriage certificate. The registration cannot be done through a representative.

The Affidavit of Single Status for US Citizens

Vietnamese law requires the foreign partner to prove they are not currently married. Most countries do this with a single document, usually called a certificate of no impediment. The United States does not issue one, because marriage records are kept by each state rather than nationally. Where a country issues no such certificate, Vietnamese rules accept another document confirming that the person is eligible to marry, and for Americans this is an affidavit of single status. There are two ways to obtain it.

The first is to swear the affidavit before a consular officer at the US Embassy in Hanoi or the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City. Both offices provide this service for marriages in Vietnam, by appointment. Because the affidavit is executed by a consular officer, it sits outside the apostille system. Some registration offices accept it as it is, while others ask for it to be certified by Vietnam’s foreign affairs authorities first, so check with the office handling your file before you book the appointment.

The second is to sign the affidavit before a notary in the United States and have it apostilled by the competent US authority, usually the Secretary of State of the state where it was notarised. This suits couples who are preparing documents before travelling.

Whichever route you use, the affidavit is generally treated as valid for six months from the date it was made, so obtain it close to the date you plan to file.

Apostilles for US Documents Used in Vietnam

Vietnam began applying the Apostille Convention on 11 September 2026. For public documents issued in the United States, such as a state-notarised affidavit or a divorce decree, an apostille from the US authority now replaces the old chain of consular legalisation through a Vietnamese embassy or consulate. The United States is not among the countries that objected to Vietnam’s accession, so the apostille route applies to American documents.

An apostille does not replace the need for a certified Vietnamese translation. Many guides written before September 2026, including some official pages that have not yet been updated, still describe consular legalisation as the only route, so check the date of any guidance you rely on.

Documents a US Citizen Needs to Marry in Vietnam

The registration file follows Article 30 of Decree 123/2015. For a US citizen, the core documents are:

The marriage registration declaration, completed by both partners.
A valid US passport.
Proof of single status, in the form of the affidavit described above.
A medical certificate confirming that the person does not have a mental illness or condition that prevents them from understanding and controlling their actions, generally valid for six months. Many couples obtain this from an authorised hospital in Vietnam, which avoids having a foreign medical document authenticated and translated.
Proof that any previous marriage has ended, such as a divorce decree or a death certificate, if the American partner was married before.
Certified Vietnamese translations of every document in English.

If the American partner is divorced, the decree needs extra care. Since 17 March 2025, the US Embassy and Consulate no longer prepare affidavits vouching for US-issued documents such as divorce decrees or birth certificates. A divorce decree therefore has to be authenticated in the United States, which now means an apostille, before it is translated and filed.

The Vietnamese partner supplies their own identity documents, and the registering office confirms their marital status. Where the Vietnamese partner was previously divorced overseas, that divorce generally has to be recorded in Vietnam before they can remarry, as explained in our guide to the recognition of a foreign divorce.

What Happens at the Marriage Registration

Once the file is complete, the office reviews it and may verify any document it has doubts about, which adds time. When the review is done, both partners come in to sign. The officer will confirm that each of them is marrying of their own free will, usually with a few simple questions, and may ask more where the couple share no common language or something in the file looks unusual.

After both partners sign the register and the certificate, the marriage is complete under Vietnamese law. If the couple cannot collect the certificate on the appointed day, they need to arrange collection promptly, because a certificate that is not collected within 60 days of being signed is cancelled and the process has to start again.

Using a Vietnamese Marriage Certificate in the United States

A marriage validly registered in Vietnam is generally recognised in the United States, so there is no need to marry again there. For a US spouse visa petition, the Vietnamese marriage certificate is filed with a full English translation, certified by the translator as complete and accurate. Where another US authority asks for the certificate to be authenticated, Vietnam can now issue an apostille for its public documents, a service that also began on 11 September 2026.

Residence and Property Planning After the Wedding

If the couple intend to live in Vietnam rather than the United States, the Vietnamese spouse can sponsor the American spouse for a family visa and then a temporary residence card based on the marriage. Our guide to getting a spouse visa in Vietnam sets out how that works.

Couples with significant assets, or with children from earlier relationships, should also consider property before the wedding. In Vietnam, a prenuptial agreement must be made in writing and notarised or certified before the marriage is registered. Where one spouse is American, the agreement also needs to work alongside US state law, which we cover in our guide to prenuptial agreements for mixed-nationality couples.

Vietnamese-Americans Who Still Hold Vietnamese Nationality

Many Vietnamese-Americans still hold Vietnamese nationality alongside US citizenship, often without having thought about it. Becoming a US citizen does not by itself end Vietnamese nationality, which is generally lost only on grounds set by Vietnamese law, such as a formal renunciation. A marriage between a Vietnamese citizen living in Vietnam and a Vietnamese citizen living abroad is still treated as a marriage with a foreign element, but the documents the overseas partner needs can differ from those of a foreign national. The questions that usually need answering are which identity document to file with, and how to prove marital status for the years spent living in the United States. If this applies to you, confirm which set of documents applies before you start preparing them.

How We Help US Citizens Marry in Vietnam

Our marriage registration lawyers at Family Lawyers Vietnam work with American and Vietnamese couples at each stage: confirming which commune office will handle the file and how it treats the Embassy affidavit, preparing and translating US documents under the apostille rules, and handling the registration itself. For couples still deciding between marrying in Vietnam and the K-1 route, we explain the Vietnamese side of each option so they can plan it alongside their US immigration counsel. We also advise on prenuptial agreements before the wedding and, for couples who will stay in Vietnam, on the American spouse’s visa and temporary residence card. We have guided many foreign nationals, from a wide range of countries, through marriage in Vietnam. Reach us at [email protected].