LEGAL ADVICE ON THE ANNOTATION OF A FOREIGN DIVORCE

Marriage and family represent one of the core legal institutions of Vietnamese law, playing a pivotal role in social relations and in the protection of citizens’ fundamental rights. In the context of deepening international integration, legal relationships involving marriage and divorce with foreign elements have become increasingly prevalent.

This development necessitates a coherent and effective legal framework to ensure that civil status events lawfully established abroad are duly recognized and given legal effect within the Vietnamese legal system.

Within this framework, divorce annotation constitutes a particularly significant civil status procedure, serving to recognize and formally record divorces that have been lawfully resolved by foreign competent authorities in the Vietnamese civil status registers.

The implementation of this procedure not only enhances the State’s capacity to manage civil status matters in a consistent and transparent manner, but also safeguards citizens’ personal status rights, as well as their legally protected moral rights and freedom to marry and to divorce.

CONCEPT

Divorce annotation, also referred to as the recording in the civil status register of a divorce that has been settled abroad, is a procedure whereby a divorce or annulment of marriage resolved by a foreign competent authority is officially recorded in the Vietnamese civil status records.

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 37 of Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP, the recording in the civil status register of divorce and annulment of marriage is regulated as follows:

A judgment or decision on divorce or annulment of marriage, a divorce settlement agreement that has taken legal effect, or other documents recognizing a divorce issued by a competent foreign authority (hereinafter collectively referred to as “divorce documents”), provided that they do not contravene the provisions of the Law on Marriage and Family, shall be recorded in the civil status register.

Vietnamese citizens who have divorced or had their marriage annulled abroad and subsequently return to Vietnam for permanent residence, or carry out procedures to register a new marriage with a competent Vietnamese authority, are required to have such divorce or annulment recorded in the civil status register (hereinafter referred to as “divorce annotation”). In cases where a person has undergone multiple divorces or annulments of marriage, only the most recent divorce or annulment shall be subject to the divorce annotation procedure.

Based on officially received information, the Ministry of Justice publishes on its official electronic portal a list of judgments and decisions on divorce and annulment of marriage of Vietnamese citizens issued by foreign competent authorities that fall within cases where an application for enforcement in Vietnam has been filed or where an application for non-recognition in Vietnam has been submitted.

Accordingly, where a Vietnamese citizen returns to Vietnam for permanent residence and has previously obtained a divorce abroad, if he or she wishes to register a marriage with another person in Vietnam, the divorce annotation procedure must be carried out with the competent authority. The condition for divorce annotation is that the divorce judgment, decision, or divorce settlement agreement must have taken legal effect, be issued by a competent foreign authority, and not contravene the provisions of the Law on Marriage and Family.

PROCEDURE FOR DIVORCE ANNOTATION

The Dossier Comprises:

• A copy of the judgment or decision on divorce or annulment of marriage, a divorce settlement agreement, or other documents recognizing the divorce, issued by a competent foreign authority and having taken legal effect;
• A written power of attorney (in cases where the application is submitted through an authorized representative);
• Documents evidencing residence status (such as a certificate of residence, citizen identification card, passport, etc.);
• A declaration form for divorce annotation in the prescribed format (applicable where the applicant chooses to submit the dossier in person or via postal services);
• An interactive electronic civil status form for recording the divorce in the civil status register (to be completed by the applicant in accordance with the instructions on the Public Service Portal, applicable where the applicant chooses to submit the dossier online).

Methods of Submission

• In-person submission:
  The applicant for divorce annotation submits the application dossier to the competent Public Administrative Service Center and pays the applicable fees (if subject to divorce annotation fees), as well as fees for the issuance of certified copies of the divorce annotation extract, where such copies are requested.
• Online submission:
  The applicant accesses the National Public Service Portal, completes user authentication in accordance with the instructions, logs into the system, and selects the competent commune-level People’s Committee.
  The applicant completes the interactive electronic civil status form for recording the divorce in the civil status register (available on the Public Service Portal), uploads scanned copies or electronic copies of the required documents, pays the prescribed fees and charges via the online payment function or other lawful payment methods, and completes the submission of the application.

Competent Authority

The competent authority for carrying out the divorce annotation procedure is the commune-level People’s Committee.

REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS

• The judgment or decision on divorce or annulment of marriage, the divorce settlement agreement that has taken legal effect, or other documents recognizing the divorce issued by a competent foreign authority must not contravene the provisions of the Law on Marriage and Family.
• The divorce or annulment of marriage of a Vietnamese citizen resolved by a competent foreign authority must not fall within cases where an application for enforcement in Vietnam has been filed or where an application for non-recognition in Vietnam has been submitted.
• Vietnamese citizens who have divorced or had their marriage annulled abroad and subsequently return to Vietnam for permanent residence, or carry out procedures to register a new marriage with a competent Vietnamese authority, are required to complete the divorce annotation procedure. In cases where a person has undergone multiple divorces or annulments of marriage, only the most recent divorce or annulment shall be subject to annotation.

The above constitutes reference information regarding the procedures for carrying out divorce annotation in Vietnam.

DIVORCE ANNOTATION SERVICES PROVIDED BY HUY HOANG LAW FIRM

As a professional legal consultancy, we provide our clients with comprehensive, end-to-end legal services in relation to divorce annotation procedures, including:

• Providing thorough legal consultation on all applicable laws and regulations governing divorce annotation procedures in Vietnam;
• Assisting in the preparation and completion of the full set of required application documents in strict compliance with legal requirements;
• Representing clients in addressing and resolving any issues that may arise during the course of the procedure;
• Supporting clients in completing or supplementing documents that are not yet available or incomplete;
• Advising clients on appropriate solutions in cases where the application dossier is subject to requests for supplementation, amendment, or correction by the competent authorities.

Should you require further information or legal assistance, please do not hesitate to contact Huy Hoang Law Firm for detailed consultation.

This article on Legal Consultation on Divorce Annotation is intended to provide an overview of the relevant procedures. We hope it offers useful insight into the legal requirements involved, and we would be pleased to assist you with your divorce annotation needs in the future.

Huy Hoang Law Firm

📞 Telephone: +84 944 580 222
📧 Email: tuvan@luathuyhoang.vn
🌐 Website: https://luathuyhoang.vn/
🏢 Address: 2nd Floor, Lot 5, Block 54, Alley 85 Ha Dinh, Khuong Dinh Ward, Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam