According to Joint Circular No. 02/2016/TTLT-BNG-BTP, the procedure for marriage registration to a foreigner at a Vietnamese diplomatic mission or Consular office is conducted as follows:

1. The representative mission in the consular region where the male or female partner who is a Vietnamese citizen resides shall receive the registration of marriage between two Vietnamese citizens residing abroad or between a Vietnamese citizen residing abroad with a foreigner.

   The registration of a marriage between a Vietnamese citizen and a foreigner must comply with the laws of the host country. 

2. Both parties who apply for marriage registration must submit the following documents:

a) The marriage registration declaration (using the prescribed form); both male and female partners may submit one marriage registration declaration;

b) If the marital partner(s) is/are Vietnamese citizens, subject to each specific case, the following documents proving their marital status must be submitted:

• If a Vietnamese citizen has a permanent residence in Vietnam, and was of marriageable age before leaving Vietnam as prescribed by the regulations on the Law on Marriage and Family of Vietnam, he/she must submit a marital status certificate issued by the People’s Committee of the commune, ward or township (hereinafter referred to as Communal-level People’s committee) where he/she permanently resided before leaving Vietnam;

• If a Vietnamese citizen has resided in various countries, marital status certificates issued by representative missions in the consular regions where he/she resided must be submitted.  If he/she is unable to obtain a confirmation on marital status at the places where he/she formerly resided, this person must submit a written statement as to his/her marital status during his/her of residence in such places and shall assume responsibility for its sworn contents;

Such sworn contents should indicate clearly the duration, identity, and locations where he/she resided and his/her marital status.

• If a Vietnamese citizen concurrently holds a foreign nationality, he/she must submit papers proving his/her marital status issued by a competent authority of the country of which he/she holds nationality. 

• If a Vietnamese citizen permanently residing abroad does not concurrently hold a foreign nationality, or a Vietnamese citizen concurrently holds a foreign nationality but permanently resides in a third country, a document proving his/her marital status issued by a competent authority of the country in which he/she permanently resides must be submitted.

c) If a Vietnamese citizen divorced or annulled the marriage with a competent foreign authority, a copy of the civil status extract recording the divorce or the annulment of the marriage in the civil status registers (Extract of the divorce note) must be submitted.

d) If one party is a foreigner, he/she must submit a document proving his/her marital status certifying such person is currently single.

If the law of the foreign country does not provide for the issuance of a document proving marital status, it shall be replaced by a document issued by a competent authority of that country to certify that the person concerned is eligible to get married in accordance with the laws of that country.

The validity of the document proving marital status of a foreigner shall be determined by its expiration date stated in the document. If the document proving marital status of a foreigner does not include an expiration date, it shall be deemed valid for 06 months as of the date of issue; 

If a Vietnamese citizen temporarily residing abroad gets married to a Vietnamese citizen permanently residing abroad, or two Vietnamese citizens permanently residing abroad get married, or a Vietnamese citizen gets married to a foreigner, both male and female partners must submit certificates granted by competent Vietnamese or overseas health organizations within 06 months to certify that they do not have a mental illness or other diseases that could cause them lose awareness or control of their behavior.

e) If a Vietnamese citizen temporarily residing abroad gets married to a Vietnamese citizen permanently residing abroad, or two Vietnamese citizens permanently residing abroad get married, or a Vietnamese citizen gets married to a foreigner, both male and female partners must submit certificates granted by the competent Vietnamese or overseas health organizations within 06 months to certify that they do not have a mental illness or other diseases that could cause them lose awareness or control of their behavior.

3. Within 10 working days from the receipt of the valid application dossiers, the consul shall check and verify the received application dossiers, and take reasonable measures to verify them where necessary. If the application dossiers are sufficient and valid, and the verification results show that both partners of the marriage are eligible to get married in accordance with the law and regulations, the consul shall request the representative mission’s head to sign 02 original copies of the marriage certificate.
4. Within 03 working days from the date on which the marriage certificate is signed by the representative mission’s head, the representative mission shall deliver the signed marriage certificate to both male and female partners.

   When carrying out the registration of marriage, both male and female partners must be present at the representative mission’s head office. The consul shall record the marriage in the marriage register after confirming that the male and female partners are voluntarily getting married, instruct them to sign the marriage certificate and, together with them, affix his/her signature to the marriage register. Both husband and wife shall receive an original copy of the marriage certificate. An extract of the marriage certificate (duplicate) shall be issued upon request.

5. If either partner cannot be present to receive the marriage certificate, at their written request the District-level Justice Division shall extend the time limit for handover of the marriage certificate not exceeding 60 days from the date the district-level People’s Committee chairperson signs the marriage certificate.

After the 60-day time limit, if both partners fail to appear and receive the certificate of marriage, the district-level Justice Division shall propose that the District-level People’s Committee chairperson cancel the signed marriage certificate. If the two partners still wish to marry each other, they are required to resubmit the marriage registration from the beginning.