Re-issuance of Birth Certificate for Overseas Vietnamese

Recently, the Government’s incentives for overseas Vietnamese to invest in Viet Nam have attracted Vietnamese to work and live in Viet Nam. To receive these incentives, they must first prove their Vietnamese origin. How to prove Vietnamese origin? That’s a big problem.

Birth certificates are the first legal basis for the State to recognize citizens. Birth certificates include important personal information such as full name, date of birth, parents’ names, nationality… However, there are people who have gone abroad for a long time, the previous documents have been lost. What is the legal basis to prove that they had Vietnamese nationality before? Re-registration of birth certificates is a necessary solution for them.

How to re-register the Birth Certificate for Overseas Vietnamese? We will find out with you!

Who are Overseas Vietnamese?

According to the current Law on Nationality, “Overseas Vietnamese” are Vietnamese citizens and people of Vietnamese origin who permanently reside in foreign countries.

• Persons who hold Vietnamese nationality are Vietnamese citizens.
• Persons of Vietnamese origin residing abroad are Vietnamese people who used to have Vietnamese nationality which had been determined at the time of their birth on the consanguinity principle and their offsprings and grandchildren are permanently residing in foreign countries.

What are the conditions for Vietnamese residing abroad to re-register the Birth Certificate?

Most overseas Vietnamese lose their original Birth Certificates. In case of re-issuance of the birth certificate, they must fully meet the following conditions:

• Registered birth at the competent authority of Vietnam before January 01, 2016 but both the birth register and the original birth certificate are lost.
• Alive at the time of requesting re-registration of birth certificate.
• Submit full copies of papers and documents related to the re-registration of birth certificates.

What is included in the application for re-issuance of the Birth Certificate?

The application for re-registration of birth certificate includes the following documents:

Documents must be presented:

Passports or identity cards or citizen identification cards or other documents with photos and personal information issued by competent authorities, valid for use to prove the identity of the person requesting re-registration of the birth certificate.

Documents must be submitted:

Birth re-registration form with a copy of all records and documents of the requester or other records, documents including information related to the content of the birth certificate, including:

• Copy of Birth Certificate issued by a Vietnamese competent authority.
• Originals or copies of valid documents replacing Birth Certificates issued before 1945 in the North and before 1975 in the South.
• Copies of documents validly issued by competent Vietnamese agencies such as: Identity card, citizen identity card or passport, household registration book, temporary residence book, proof of residence, diploma, certificate, academic records issued or certified by competent training and education management agencies or other papers containing information about the individual’s surname, middle name, first name, date, month and year of birth…

The applicant for birth registration is responsible for submitting all copies of the above-mentioned papers (if any) and must ensure that they have submitted all the papers they have; take responsibility, consequences of making false commitments in accordance with the law.

How to apply for re-issuance of Birth Certificate?

Step 1 – Submit application

Persons who request registration for re-issuance of Birth Certificates shall submit dossiers to competent People’s Committees.

The receiving judicial – civil status officer is responsible for checking the entire dossier, comparing the information in the declaration and the validity of the documents in the dossier submitted and presented by the requester.

If the dossier is complete and valid, the civil status officer who receives the dossier writes a receipt letter, which clearly states the date and time of return of the results; if the dossier is incomplete or complete, it shall guide the applicant to supplement and complete it according to regulations; in case it is not possible to supplement or complete the dossier immediately, it must issue a written instruction, clearly stating the type of document and contents to be supplemented, completed, signed, clearly stating the full name, middle name and name of the recipient.

Step 2 – Check and verify the profile

Judicial – civil status officers conduct examination and verification of records.

In case the re-registration of the birth is carried out at a place other than the place where the birth was previously registered, the civil registration agency shall request in writing the previous birth registration agency to inspect and verify the retention of the civil status book in the locality.

In case the document of the person requesting re-registration of the birth certificate does not have information proving the relationship between father, mother or child, the civil registration agency shall request the competent police agency in writing to verify.

Step 3 – Re-issuance of Birth Certificate

After receiving the verification results, if the dossier is complete, accurate and in accordance with the law, Judicial – civil status officers shall re-register the birth certificate.

When returning the results of civil registration, the person who returns the results is responsible for instructing the person requesting civil registration to check the contents of the Birth Certificate and the Birth Registration Book; and the requester for re-registration of birth registration to sign the Book, issue 01 original copy of the birth certificate to the person who is re-registered.

Above we have provided you with the conditions and procedures for re-registration for a Birth Certificate. Please contact us for more detailed instructions: letran@familylawyers.vn