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RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN JUDGMENTS AND DECISIONS ON DIVORCE IN VIETNAM

I. Jurisdiction

Pursuant to point 9 Article 29, point d clause 2 Article 39 and point b clause 1 Article 37 Code of Civil Procedure 2015, petitions for recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments or foreign decisions on divorce rendered outside of Vietnam shall fall under People’s Courts of provinces of the areas where the persons who are obliged to execute foreign courts  judgments or decisions reside or work.

Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and decisions on divorce in Vietnam - htlaw.vn

II. Prescriptive periods for filing applications for recognition and enforcement

The prescriptive periods for filing applications for recognition and enforcement as set forth in Article 432 Code of Civil Procedure 2015 is 03 years from the day on which the civil judgment/decision of a foreign Court takes legal effect.

III. Proceeding of recognition and enforcement

Step 1: Submit the documents to the Ministry of Justice (within the prescriptive periods mentioned above)

Step 2:  The Ministry of Justice forwards the documents to the authorized Courts (05 working days)

Step 3: The Courts accept the dossier and work on the petition

Step 4: Preparation for consideration of applications (04 months from the
day on which the application was accepted). On a case-by-case basis, the Court shall issue one of the following decisions:

– To suspend the consideration of the application;

– To terminate the consideration of the application;

– To hold a meeting for considering the application.

Step 5: The Courts issue decision whether to refuse or recognize and enforce the foreign judgments and foreign decisions. 

IV. Dossier for recognition and enforcement

The dossier for recognition and enforcement include an application and other documents enclosed thereof. Applications for recognition and enforcement pursuant to Article 433 of Code of Civil Procedure 2015 must contain the following principal details:

1. Full names and addresses of residence places or work places of the judgment creditors or their lawful representatives;

2. Full names and addresses of residence places or work places of the judgments debtors; in cases where the judgment debtors being individuals not having residence places or work places in Vietnam, their applications must also specify the addresses of the places at which the properties and assorted properties relating to the enforcement in Vietnam of foreign courts’ civil judgments/decisions exist;

3. Requests from judgment creditors; if foreign courts’ judgments/decisions have been partly enforced, the judgment creditors must clearly state the executed parts and the remaining parts requested for recognition and continued enforcement in Vietnam.

Applications in foreign languages must be accompanied by their Vietnamese versions which are duly notarized or authenticated.

The documents to be required to be enclosed with the application
with the following papers and documents:

1. Originals or certified copies of the judgment/decision issued by the foreign Court;

2. Documents made by the foreign Court or other competent foreign agencies certifying that such judgment/decision has taken legal effect, has not expired and should be enforced in Vietnam, except for when the details have already been clearly stated in the judgment/decision;

3. Documents made by the foreign Court or other competent foreign agencies certifying the lawful delivery of such judgment/decision to the judgment debtors who have to execute such judgments/decisions;

4. Documents made by the foreign Court or other competent foreign agencies certifying that they have been duly summoned are required in cases where the foreign Court rendered the judgment in the absence of the judgment debtors or their lawful representatives.

Documents enclosed with the application that are in foreign languages must be accompanied by their Vietnamese versions which are duly notarized or authenticated.

       To save time learning about the law, filling out forms, and submitting documents, you can contact HTLaw for consultation and legal services related to Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and decisions on divorce in Vietnam.

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone number: +84 935 439 454. 
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THE SCOPE OF TRADEMARK PROTECTION IN THE CASE OF BLACK-AND-WHITE TRADEMARKS VS COLOURED TRADEMARKS

I. Trademark and colours

Trademark is an intellectual property protected by law. According to Article 72 Vietnam Intellectual Property Law 2005, amended and supplemented in 2009, 2019, a mark is protected when it satisfies two conditions:

(1) Being a visible sign in the form of letters, words, drawings or images, including holograms, or a combination thereof, represented in one or more colours;

(2) Being distinguishable.

Therefore, colour is one of the elements that define and contribute significantly to a trademark’s distinctiveness. The colours used in a mark, therefore, must be included in the Trademark Registration in order to be protected.

The Scope Of Trademark Protection In The Case Of Black-And-White Trademarks Vs Coloured Trademarks - htlaw.vn

II. Scope of protection in the case of black-and-white trademarks and that of coloured trademarks

Black-and-white trademarks

The ground for trademark protection is the Certificate of Registered Mark. Thus, the scope of protection of a trademark will be determined by the sample of trademark enclosed in the Certificate of Registered Mark. In the case of black-and-white trademark, colours other than black and white would not be protected as part of a trademark.

However, it does not necessarily be implied that the mark owners are banned from using other colours in their black-and-white trademark. As stipulated in point 2 clause c Article 5 Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the use of a trademark by the proprietor in a form differing in elements which do not alter the distinctive character of the mark in the form in which it was registered shall not entail invalidation of the registration nor diminish the protection granted to the mark. The owners are able to use other colours in their black-and-white trademark as they do not alter the distinctive character of the mark. Nonetheless, such use may lead to several possible legal problems relating to trademark protection namely, (i) violation of other proprietor’s trademark; (ii) in case other people using identical or confusingly similar trademark with different colours, those colours would not be deemed as violating elements.

Coloured Trademarks

In order for coloured trademarks to be protected, the mark owners must include the colours in their registration form. Then, the registered colours are included in the mark’s protection scope. Therefore, the scope of protection in this case is broader and more efficient in minimizing the risk of trademark infringement.

However, although the protection scope of a colored mark is broader than that of a black-and-white mark, when registering a colored mark, the colors in the Trademark Registration Certificate constitute the “distinguishing characteristic of the mark” provided for in Article 5 of the Paris Convention. Therefore, the owners will not have the flexibility to use other colors for their trademark as for black and white trademarks.

       To save time learning about the law, filling out forms, and submitting documents, you can contact HTLaw for consultation and legal services related to trademark registration.

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone number: +84 935 439 454. 
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PROCEDURES FOR BIRTH REGISTRATION WITH FOREIGN ELEMENTS

I. Cases of birth registration with foreign elements

  1. Children born in Vietnam:

    – Having a parent being a Vietnamese citizen and the other being a foreigner or a stateless person;

    – Having a parent being a Vietnamese citizen residing in the country and the other being a Vietnamese citizen residing abroad;

    – Having both parents being Vietnamese citizens residing abroad;

    – Having both parents being foreigners or stateless persons.

  2. Children born abroad with their birth not yet registered abroad and taken to reside in Vietnam:

    – Having both parents being Vietnamese citizens;

    – Having a parent being a Vietnamese citizen.

II. Competent to register birth with foreign elements

The district-level People’s Committee of the place of residence of the father or mother (in the case of the child born in Vietnam) or the place of residence of the children (in the case of the child born abroad who has not yet been registered for birth and reside in Vietnam).

III. Order of processing

Step 1: Birth registrants shall submit the dossiers to the district-level People’s Committee

Step 2: Immediately after receiving all required documents, if seeing that the birth declaration information is complete and proper, the civil status officer shall record the birth declaration contents in the civil status book. The civil status officer and birth registrant shall both sign in the civil status book.

Step 3: The district-level Justice Division shall report to the chairperson of the district-level People’s Committee to grant a birth certificate to the person whose birth is registered.

IV. Dossiers

Case 1: Children born in Vietnam

  1. Declaration form
  2. Birth certification paper
  3. The agreement of the parents on the selection of citizenship for their child. If the parents choose a foreign citizenship for their child, their agreement document must contain certification of a competent foreign state agency of which they are citizens.
  4. Passports of father and mother
  5. Certificate of marriage
  6. Proof of residence (temporary residence certificate of the ward police/temporary residence card/permanent residence card…)

Case 2: Children born abroad with their birth not yet registered abroad and taken to reside in1. Declaration form

  1. Declaration form
  2. Birth certification paper
  3. A certificate of live birth or an equivalent document issued by the foreign competent authority certifying that the child was born abroad and mother-child relationship (if any
  4. The agreement of the parents on the selection of citizenship for their child. If the parents choose a foreign citizenship for their child, their agreement document must contain certification of a competent foreign state agency of which they are citizens.
  5. Passports of father and mother
  6. Certificate of marriage
  7. A documentary evidence of the child’s lawful entry into Vietnam (such as passport, documents enabling international travel bearing an entry stamp from an immigration authority)
  8. A written confirmation from the competent public security authority that the child is living in Vietnam

V. Settlement Time

Right on the day of receiving the dossier; in case the application is received after 15 o’clock but cannot be resolved immediately, the result shall be returned in the next working day.

VI. Fees

According to the fee rate set by each provincial People’s Council.

To save time learning about the law, filling out forms, and submitting documents, you can contact HTLaw for consultation and legal services related to Birth Registration with foreign elements.

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone number: +84 935 439 454. 
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Report the situation of using foreign employees

report the situation of using foreign employees

HT Law sends customers information to report the situation of using foreign employees for organizations and enterprises operating in Ho Chi Minh City according to Official Letter 18502/SLDTBXH-VLATLD issued on May 30, 2022.

Báo cáo tình hình sử dụng người lao động nước ngoài

Pursuant to Decree 152/2020/ND-CP issued on December 30, 2020 and Circular 01/2022/TT-BLDTBXH issued on January 25, 2022, in order to strictly comply with regulations on reporting the situation of using foreign employees and providing information on the working status of working foreign employees, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs proposes It is recommended that the units do the following:

    1. Make reports on the employment of foreign employees for 6 months and for the annual year as prescribed in Article 6 of Decree No. 152/2020/ND-CP:
    • Report form: Form No. 07/PLI, Appendix 1, Decree 152/2020/ND-CP
    • Time to submit reports:

+ 6-month report: The timeline for data aggregation is from December 15 of the previous year to June 14 of the reporting period.

Time to submit the report: from June 15 to July 4

+ Annual report: Timeline for data collection from December 15 of the previous year to December 14 of the reporting period.

    • Report submission form: Organizations and enterprises submit reports to the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (through the Department of Employment and Occupational Safety) in the online form by:

Access the Google Form link: https://forms.gle/JKW4gGgKUQfsrJYcA

Reports submitted online include general information, a signed and red-stamped copy of the report (*.pdf file) and a soft copy (Word or Excel file) for easy tracking and consolidation.

    1. Information on the working status of foreign workers currently working as prescribed in Article 14 of Circular 01/2022/TT-BLDTBXH:
    • Form of information provision form: Form No. 03 in the Appendix issued together with Circular 01/2022/TT-BLDTBXH.

Foreign employees self-declare the contents according to Form No. 03, in case foreigners are unable to do so, the organization or enterprise employing foreign employees shall declare information.

    • Form of implementation:

Organizations, businesses and individuals access the Google Form link: https://forms.gle/haXiymPeuKLeGQPx8

    • Time to provide information: From June 1 to June 30

After the time specified above, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs does not accept reports submitted by organizations or enterprises; at the same time, it will be aggregated as a basis to confirm the observance of legal regulations at the request of agencies to avoid regulations according to Article 32 of Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP dated January 17, 2022 The Government’s regulations on sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of labor, social insurance and Vietnamese employees working abroad under contracts.

HT provides legal services to report employee usage situations. If you do not have time to carry out the above procedure, you can contact us to receive a specific and detailed quote.

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone no.: +84 935 439 454. 
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Apply Vietnamese citizenship for foreigners

According to  Article 20 of the Law on Nationality 2008, a person who is applying for Vietnamese nationality, if falling into the case of a spouse, biological father, natural mother, or natural child of a Vietnamese citizen, can be naturalized in Vietnam without the following conditions :

– Knowing Vietnamese enough to integrate into the Vietnamese social community;
– Have permanently resided in Vietnam for five years or more;
–  Capable of securing life in Vietnam.

* Profile of a foreigner being the wife, husband, biological father, natural mother or biological child of a Vietnamese citizen  includes:

    1. An application for naturalization in Vietnam;
    2. A copy of the birth certificate, passport or another valid document that replaces the birth certificate or passport of the person applying for Vietnamese nationality, which is a valid document proving that person’s foreign nationality; A copy of the birth certificate of the minor child who acquired Vietnamese nationality together with his parents or another document proving the parent-child relationship. In case only one parent acquires Vietnamese nationality and the minor child lives with the person who acquires Vietnamese nationality according to his father or mother, a written agreement of the parents on the naturalization of the child must be submitted. ;
    3. Background statement;
    4. A criminal record card is issued by a competent authority of Vietnam for the time the applicant for naturalization resides in Vietnam, a criminal record card issued by a competent authority of a foreign country for the period of time. the period the applicant for Vietnamese citizenship resides abroad. The judicial record card must be the one issued within 90 days from the date of submission of the application;
    5. Proof of residence, period of permanent residence in Vietnam: Copy of Permanent Residence Card;
    6. Papers proving eligibility to be exempted from conditions for naturalization of Vietnamese nationality:
      • Persons who have a spouse who is a Vietnamese citizen must submit a copy of the marriage certificate proving the marriage relationship.
      • Persons who are biological fathers, natural mothers or biological children of Vietnamese citizens must submit a copy of their birth certificate or other valid papers proving the parent-child relationship.

Note: If these documents are issued, notarized or certified by a foreign competent authority, they must be consular legalized, unless they are exempted by law. 

Apply vietnamese citizenship for foreigners - htlaw

Specific situations:

The customer is French, has a Vietnamese wife, and applies for Vietnamese citizenship to live and work here. 

Below is HT’s advice on the conditions and documents required for naturalization customers:

1. Conditions:

Because the client is exempt from some conditions for applying for Vietnamese citizenship under Clause 2, Article 20 of the Law on Vietnamese nationality because his wife is a Vietnamese citizen, the client’s conditions are as follows:
– Having full civil act capacity as prescribed by Vietnamese law;
– Comply with the Constitution and laws of Vietnam; respect the traditions, customs and practices of the Vietnamese nation;

Although, customers do not need to meet the conditions of permanent residence in Vietnam for five years or more, but customers are required to have a “permanent residence card” in Vietnam (temporary residence in Vietnam continuously for 3 years or more).

Since this customer did not have a temporary residence card before, the customer first needs to make a temporary residence card for foreigners in accordance with Vietnamese law.

HT’s advice to this customer is to make a temporary residence card for visiting relatives with a term of 3 years and during this time, the clients does not leave Vietnam. After 3 years, clients are eligible to apply for a permanent residence card.

2. Dossier:

Documents submitted by customers to apply for Vietnamese citizenship include:

    1. An application for naturalization in Vietnam;
    2. Copy of Birth Certificate, Passport or other valid document replacing Birth Certificate, Passport of the applicant for Vietnamese citizenship;
    3. Background statement;
    4. Judicial record card issued by a competent Vietnamese agency;
    5. Copy of Permanent Resident Card;
    6. Copy of marriage certificate proving marital relationship

The above is HT’s legal opinion on naturalization for foreigners who are spouses, fathers, mothers or children of Vietnamese citizens.

To save time learning about the law, you can contact HT for Naturalization for foreigners. 

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone number: +84 935 439 454. 
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Procedures for recognition of foreign marriage in Vietnam

RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN MARRIAGE in vietnam - htlaw

1. Conditions for recognition of overseas marriage in Vietnam

When a Vietnamese person has carried out the procedure for marriage registration in a foreign country and wants to have that marriage recognized in Vietnam, he/she must carry out the procedure for noting the marriage in the civil status book.

Article 34 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP stipulating a number of conditions for recording in the civil status book the marriage of a Vietnamese citizen that has been settled abroad. Accordingly, the marriage registration must meet a number of conditions as prescribed by the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 to be recorded in the civil status book of Vietnam:

–  Male is full 20 years old or older, female is full 18 years old or older;

– The marriage is voluntarily decided by the man and the woman;

– No loss of civil act capacity;

– Do not violate the prohibition.

In addition, if the marriage registration in a foreign country does not meet the conditions for marriage, does not violate the prohibition of law in Vietnam, it will still be recorded in the civil status book if:

– By the time the request is recorded in the civil status book, the consequences have been overcome.

– The note is to protect the rights of citizens of Vietnam and children

Therefore, in order for a foreign marriage to be recognized in Vietnam, citizens need to carry out the procedure of noting the marriage registration in the civil status book.

In order to have a marriage recognized in Vietnam when a marriage has been registered abroad, the requester must follow the procedures for notifying the marriage. Accordingly, this procedure is performed as follows:

2. Competent Authority

According to Article 48 of the Law on Civil Status 2014, the People’s Committee of the district where the Vietnamese citizen resides has the authority to record in the civil status book the marriage that has been settled at a competent foreign agency.

RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN MARRIAGE in vietnam - htlaw

3. Documents to be prepared

According to Article 35 of Decree 123/ND-CP, when going to the district-level People’s Committee, the requester needs to prepare the following documents:

– Declaration of marriage notes (according to the form issued together with Circular 15/2015/TT-BTP)

– A copy of the marriage certificate issued by a foreign competent authority;

– Copies of identity papers of both male and female parties (if sending documents via the postal system);

– Certificate of the marital status of Vietnamese citizens from the age of 18 to marriage registration (issued by the People’s Committee of the ward (commune) where they permanently or temporarily reside);

– A copy of the extract of divorce notes (if the divorce record or annulment of marriage has been made in a foreign country before).

4. Steps to take notes

Procedures to be recognized for marriage abroad

– Step 1: Prepare all the above documents.

– Step 2: Go to the People’s Committee of the district where the Vietnamese citizen resides to submit the above documents. When submitting, you must bring identification documents for comparison. If these papers are issued, notarized or certified by a foreign competent authority, they must be consular legalized, unless otherwise exempted by law.

– Step 3: Within the prescribed time, the head of the district-level Justice Department shall record in the book and report to the President of the People’s Committee to sign the original when deeming that the conditions are satisfied, or refuse the request if it is refused to record in the household book foreclosure of marriage.

Above is the procedure for noting the marriage to be recognized as a marriage in Vietnam.

To save time learning about the law, filling the form, translating, notarizing, etc you can contact HT for  Recognition of foreign marriages in Vietnam service.

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone number: +84 935 439 454. 
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Consular legalization, Consular certification

Consular legalization and consular certification are important administrative procedures commonly used in the process of granting work permits to foreigners, temporary residence cards, etc.
So what is the consular legalization and consular certificate procedure? Let’s find out by reading the following article.

1. Definition of consular certification and legalization

According to Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree 111/2011/ND-CP, the definition of consular certification and legalization is as follows:

 

Consular certification

Consular legalization

Definition

Is the competent Vietnamese agency’s certification of seals, signatures and titles on Vietnamese papers and documents so that such papers and documents can be recognized and used abroad;

Is the competent Vietnamese agency certifies seals, signatures and titles on foreign papers and documents so that such papers and documents can be recognized and used in Vietnam.

2. Competent agency for consular certification and legalization of Vietnam

The competent authorities for consular certification in Vietnam are specified in Article 5 of Decree 111/2011/ND-CP including:

    • The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the authority to certify and legalize consular affairs in the country;
      The Ministry of Foreign Affairs may authorize foreign affairs agencies of provinces and centrally-run cities to receive dossiers of application for consular certification and legalization;
    • Diplomatic missions, consular offices, or other agencies authorized to perform the consular function of Vietnam in foreign countries (hereinafter referred to as representative offices) are competent to certify consular and legal consularization abroad. 

3. Papers exempt from consular certification and legalization:

In addition to the documents required for consular certification and legalization, there are also papers exempt from consular certification and are specified in Article 9 of Decree 111/2011/ND-CP.

    • Papers and documents exempted from consular certification and legalization according to international treaties to which Vietnam and related foreign countries are members, or on the principle of reciprocity;
    • Papers and documents transferred directly or through diplomatic channels between a competent Vietnamese agency and a foreign competent authority;
    • Papers and documents exempt from consular certification and legalization in accordance with Vietnamese law;
    • Papers and documents that do not require consular legalization or certification by a Vietnamese or foreign receiving agency or consular certification in accordance with relevant Vietnamese or foreign laws.

4. Dossier, time for consular certification and legalization

* Dossier for consular certification and legalization:

 CONSULAR LEGALIZATION CONSULAR CERTIFICATION
Foreign Office• 01 Consular legalization declaration according to the prescribed form;
• The original identity document in case of direct application;
• 01 copy of identity document in case of submitting application by post;
• Papers and documents requested for consular legalization;
• 01 translation of papers and documents requested for consular legalization into Vietnamese or English, if such papers and documents are not made in the above languages;
• 01 copy of papers proposed for consular legalization and 01 copy of translation to keep at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.		• 01 Consular legalization declaration according to the prescribed form;
• The original identity document in case of direct application;
• 01 copy of identity document in case of submitting application by post;
• Papers and documents requested for consular legalization;
Vietnamese representative offices abroad• 01 Consular legalization declaration according to the prescribed form;
• The original identity document in case of direct application;
• 01 copy of identity document in case of submitting application by post;
• Papers and documents requested for consular legalization;
• 01 translation of papers and documents requested for consular legalization into Vietnamese, English or a foreign language that the receiving officer can understand, if such papers and documents are not made in the above languages;
• 01 copy of papers proposed for consular legalization and 01 copy of translation to keep at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.		• 01 application form for consular certification according to the prescribed form;
• Present the original of the identification document in case of direct application;
• 01 copy of identity document in case of submitting application by post;
• Papers and documents requested for consular certification, enclosed with 01 copy of these papers and documents to keep at the representative office

* Processing time for consular legalization and certification procedures:

The time limit for processing consular legalization and certification procedures at both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnam’s representative missions abroad is 1 working day from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossier. In case the application has 10 or more papers and documents, the processing time may be longer but must not exceed 05 working days.

In order to save time to learn the procedures, fill out the form, Translate, notarize, and wait for the application to be submitted, you can contact HT for consular legalization and certification services. 

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone number: +84 935 439 454. 
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Consulting & Drafting Contracts

With a lot of practical experience in business activities of enterprises, HTLaw team supports customers in consulting, and drafting contracts. Especially, HTLaw supports drafting bilingual contracts, complying with Vietnamese and international laws.

Consulting and Drafting contracts

1. Contract consulting service

    • Advising on the provisions of the law and the application in practice related to the terms in various types of contracts of enterprises;
    • Participating in contract negotiations with the parties;
    • Consulting and participating in the negotiation stages to sign contracts with enterprises;
    • Researching relevant documents, and finding out relevant information about the parties to the contract in specific cases at the request of the business, thereby providing the optimal consulting solution for the drafting and signing of the contract. , ensure maximum benefits for the business and balance the interests of the parties in the contract;
    • Appraise the contents of the draft contract of the enterprise with its partners according to the requirements of the enterprise and according to the provisions of law;
    • Legal advice on other related issues on the basis of legal provisions on contracts at the request of enterprises;
    • Consulting and settling contract disputes;
    • Consulting and explaining contract-related contents for businesses;
    • Comprehensive consulting on issues related to contracts of enterprises.

2. Contract drafting service

Drafting the contract on the basis of the requirements of the business and in accordance with the law, ensuring maximum benefits of the customer and balancing the interests of the parties in the contract.

Some information customers need to provide when using contract consulting services

    • Information of the parties to the Contract (if individuals: provide identity cards, if organizations: provide business registration certificates of the parties);
    • Contract Type
    • The basic content of the Contract of the two parties towards;
    • Contract value and payment method and payment term;
    • Duration of contract;
    • Basic rights and responsibilities of the parties (if the two parties have a basic agreement);
    • Designated dispute resolution body (if any).

In case the customer does not have the above specific information, we will support the customer with unspecific information so that the customer has a comprehensive view of the contract to be drafted in the future.

To save time learning about the law, drafting contracts, as well as ensuring the benefits of the parties and minimizing risks, you can contact HTLaw for Consulting and Drafting Contract services. 

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone number: +84 935 439 454. 
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FORMS OF A WILL

I. What is a will?

Will means an expression of the wishes of a natural person, made in order to bequeath his or her property to others after his or her death.

II. Form of wills

    1. Oral wills
    • An oral will is only made in case a person’s life is threatened by death and it is impossible to make a written will.
    • An oral will shall be deemed lawful only if the testator orally expressed his or her last wishes before at least two witnesses who immediately thereafter recorded those wishes in writing and signed or fingerprinted the document. A will must be notarized or certified within five working days of the date on which the testator orally expressed his/her last wishes.
    • After 03 months from the time of an oral will, if the testator is still alive, sane and wise, the oral will shall automatically become invalid.

2. Written wills:

Unwitnessed written wills

A testator must write a will by his or her own hand and must sign it. If a will is a typed document signed by the testator or the testator writes it himself/herself but someone else signs it for him/her, it will not be considered legal.

A written will without witnesses must comply with the law to ensure the legitimacy of the will.

Witnessed written wills

Where a testator is not able to write a will by his or her own hand, the testator may type or request another person to write the will, but there must be at least two witnesses. The testator must sign or fingerprint the will in the presence of the witnesses; the witnesses shall acknowledge the signature or fingerprint of the testator and sign the will.

Witnessed written wills which are notarized or certified

The testator may request notarization or certification of the will at a notary practice organization, the People’s Committee of the commune, or request the notary to come to his/her residence to make a will.

Some written wills are as valid as notarized or certified wills, including:

    • A written will be made by a serving soldier who is not able to request a notarization or certification of his or her will provided that such will is certified by the head of his or her unit having the rank of a company commander or higher.
    • A written will is made by a person traveling on a seagoing vessel or aircraft provided that the will is certified by the captain of the vessel or aircraft.
    • A written will be made by a person undergoing medical treatment in a hospital or other medical establishment or sanatorium provided that the will is certified by the person in charge of such hospital or establishment or sanatorium.
    • A written will be made by a person conducting surveys, explorations, or research in mountainous areas, forests, or offshore islands provided that the will is certified by the person in charge of the unit.
    • A written will be made by a Vietnamese citizen residing abroad provided that the will is certified by a Vietnamese consular or diplomatic representative mission in that country.
    •  A written will be made by a person held in temporary detention, serving a prison sentence or administrative penalty, or at an educational or medical facility provided that the will is certified by the person in charge of such facility.

III. Notes when making a will

    • A will may not be written using abbreviations or other symbols. If a will consists of several pages, each page must be numbered and bear the signature or fingerprint of the testator.
    • Where a will has erasure or correction, the testator or the testament witness must sign beside erasing and corrected place.
    • Notarization or certification of a will is optional and does not affect the legality of the will, except in the case of a will of a person with physical limitations or of an illiterate person.
    • A will made by a person between fifteen and eighteen years of age must be made in writing and with the consent of the parents or guardian of such person.

To save time searching about the law, and ensure the validity of your will, you can contact HT for Will making service.

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone no.: +84 935 439 454. 
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LABOR DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES

1. What is a labor dispute?

A labor dispute means a dispute over rights, obligations and interests among the parties during the establishment, execution or termination of labor relation; a dispute between the representative organizations of employees; a dispute over a relationship that is directly relevant to the labor relation.

2. Competence to settle

    • Labor Mediators
    • Labor Arbitration Council
    • District People’s Court
    • Provincial People’s Courts to settle labor disputes involving foreign elements.

3. Statute of limitations for lawsuits

The time limit to bring an individual labor dispute to the Court is 01 year from the day on which a party discovers the act of infringement of their lawful rights and interests.

4. Order and procedures for implementation

Step 1: Submit application for divorce at the competent People’s Court;

Step 2: Within 7-15 days, the Court will check the application, if the application is complete and valid, the Court will send a notice of advance payment.

Step 3: Within 07 days from the date of receiving the Court’s notice of payment of the court cost advance, the plaintiff must pay the court cost advance and submit to the Court a receipt for the collection of the court fee advance.

Step 4: The judge accepts the case

Step 5: The court conducts conciliation so that the involved parties can reach agreement on the settlement of the case. If conciliation fails, the case will be brought to first instance trial.

5. Dossier composition

    • Lawsuit petition
    • Copy of ID card/Passport;
    • Copy of Household book;
    • Documents related to labor relations such as: Labor contract, decisions to terminate labor contract, …
    • If the employer initiates a lawsuit, it must submit additional documents on the legal status of the enterprise such as investment registration certificate, enterprise registration certificate, charter, labor regulations, etc.
    • Other documents and evidences evidencing the lawsuit claim (if applicable)
    • A list of documents to be submitted together with the lawsuit petition.

6. Settlement time

    • Preparation for trial: up to 04 months. In case the case is a complicated nature or there are objective obstacles, the extension may be extended for no more than 2 months.
    • Opening the court session: 01 month from the date of issuing the decision to bring the case to trial. If there is legitimate reasons, this time limit is 02 months.

In fact, the time to resolve divorce cases may be shorter or longer than the time prescribed by law depending on the nature of each case.

7. Court fee

Pursuant to the list of court fees and charges, promulgated together with Resolution 326/2016/UBNDVQH14, stipulating the level of advance payment of court fees for labor cases as follows:

Labor case has no value300.000 VND
Labor case has value
From 6.000.000 VND or less300.000 VND
From over 6.000.000 VND to under 400.000.000 VND5% disputed property value
From over 400.000.000 VND to 800.000.000 VND20.000.000 VND + 4% of the part of the disputed property value exceeding 400.000.000 VND
From over 800.000.000 VND to 2.000.000.000 VND36.000.000 VND + 3% of the part of the disputed property value exceeding 800.000.000 VND
From over 2.000.000.000 VND to 4.000.000.000 VND 72.000.000 VND + 2% of the part of the disputed property value exceeding 2.000.000.000 VND

In there:

    • A labor case that has no value is a case in which the claim of the parties is not an amount or the value cannot be determined in a specific amount.
    • A labor case has value is a case in which the claim of the involved parties is an amount of money or property that can be determined in a specific amount.

Labor disputes are always an exhausting and costly process. The most important thing when participating in a labor dispute is to have a reputable, experienced, and enthusiastic lawyer to support. HT’s team of lawyers is always ready to support customers with the highest sense of responsibility!

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone no.: +84 935 439 454. 
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Procedures for divorce with foreign elements in Vietnam

RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN MARRIAGE in vietnam - htlaw

1. Divorce cases involving foreign elements in Vietnam

    • Vietnamese citizens with foreigners
    • Foreigners with foreigners permanently residing in Vietnam

2. Competence to settle

    • Provincial People’s Court
    • District-level People’s Courts to handle divorce cases involving Vietnamese citizens residing in border areas with citizens of neighboring countries residing in border areas with Vietnam.

3. Order and procedures for implementation

Step 1: Submit application for divorce at the competent People’s Court;

Step 2: Within 7-15 days, the Court will check the file, if the file is complete and valid, the Court will send a notice of advance payment.

Step 3: Within 07 days from the date of receiving the Court’s notice of payment of the court cost advance, the plaintiff must pay the court cost advance and submit to the Court a receipt for the collection of the court fee advance. fee.

Step 4: The judge accepts the case

Step 5: The court conducts conciliation so that the involved parties can reach agreement on the settlement of the case. If conciliation fails, the case will be brought to first instance trial.

4. Profile composition

    1. Petition/complaint application
    2. Marriage registration certificate
    3. ID card and household registration
    4. Birth certificates of children (if applicable)
    5. Other documents and evidence evidencing common property such as Certificates of land use rights (red book); Vehicle registration; Savings…
DIVORCE in vietnam - htlaw

5. Settlement time

    • Preparation for trial: up to 04 months. In case the case is a complicated nature or there are objective obstacles, the extension may be extended for no more than 2 months.
    • Opening the court session: 01 month from the date of issuing the decision to bring the case to trial. If there is a legitimate reason, this time limit is 02 months.

6. Court fees

Pursuant to the list of court fees and charges, promulgated together with Resolution 326/2016/UBNDVQH14, stipulating the level of advance payment of court fees for divorce cases as follows:

Divorce has no value300.000 VND
Divorce has value
From 6.000.000 VND or less300.000 VND
From over 400.000.000 VND to 800.000.000 VND20.000.000 VND + 4% of the part of the disputed property value exceeding 400.000.000 VND
From over 400.000.000 VND to 800.000.000 VND36.000.000 VND + 3% of the part of the disputed property value exceeding 800.000.000 VND
From over 800.000.000 VND to 2.000.000.000 VND36.000.000 VND + 3% of the part of the disputed property value exceeding 800.000.000 VND
From over 2.000.000.000 VND to 4.000.000.000 VND72.000.000 VND + 2% of the part of the disputed property value exceeding 2.000.000.000 VND

In there:

    • Divorce has no value is a case in which the claim of the parties is not an amount or the value cannot be determined in a specific amount.
    • Divorce has value is a case in which the claim of the involved parties is an amount of money or property that can be determined in a specific amount.

In order to save time to learn the procedures, fill out the form, notarize, wait for the application to be submitted, you can contact HT for advice and support for Divorce with foreign elements the service.

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone number: +84 935 439 454. 
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CIVIL DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES

I. METHODS OF CIVIL DISPUTES

Civil dispute resolution methods:
– Self-agreement with each other;
– Reconcile;
– Ask the Court to settle. 

II. CIVIL DISPUTE SETTLEMENT AUTHORITY

    1. Court jurisdiction by level
      The determination of the Court’s competence by level is regulated based on the complexity of each type of case, the infrastructure conditions, and the actual professional qualifications of the court staff.
      – District People’s Court
      – Provincial People’s Court
      – High People’s Court
      – Supreme People’s Court
    1. Jurisdiction of the Court by territory
      – The court where the defendant resides or works, if the defendant is an individual, or where the defendant is headquartered, if the defendant is an agency or organization as prescribed by law
      – The court where the plaintiff resides or works, if the plaintiff is an individual, or where the plaintiff’s office is located, if the plaintiff is an agency as prescribed by law
      – The court where the real estate is located when the subject of the dispute is real estate
    1. Jurisdiction at the choice of the plaintiff
      Plaintiffs have the right to choose a Court to settle civil disputes. However, the selection must still ensure compliance with the provisions of the law on civil procedure

III. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCESS IN COURT

Step 1: After determining the settlement competence, the agency, individual or organization shall take a lawsuit according to the provisions of Article 189 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015, along with evidence and attached documents.

Step 2: The petitioner can apply directly to the court; Send it to the Court by post or Submit it online electronically via the Court’s Portal (if applicable).

Step 3. The court receives the lawsuit petition and issues a certificate of receipt of the lawsuit petition. The next time, the Court will assign a Judge to consider the petition. Within 05 working days, the Court will make a decision to amend or supplement the petition, transfer the petition to another Court, return the petition in case of improper competence; If the petition is suitable and satisfactory, the court will issue a decision to accept the case (Article 196, Article 197 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015).

Step 4. The petitioner must pay the court fee in advance and submit the receipt to the Court to avoid the Court suspending the settlement of the case.

Step 5. The process of settling the case is conducted according to first-instance procedures and other procedures according to general regulations on civil procedures.

IV. TRIAL PREPARATION TIME

According to Article 203 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015, the time limit for preparation for trial of all types of cases, except for cases being tried according to summary procedures or cases involving foreign elements, is prescribed as follows:

a) For the cases specified in Articles 26 and 28 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015, the time limit is 04 months from the date of acceptance of the case;

b) For the cases specified in Articles 30 and 32 of the Civil Procedure Code, the time limit is 02 months from the date of acceptance of the case.

For cases of a complicated nature or due to force majeure events or objective obstacles, the chief justices of the courts may decide to extend the time limit for trial preparation, but not exceeding 02 months, for cases falling under the following circumstances which specified at Point a of this Clause and within 01 month for the case specified at Point b of this Clause.

If there is a decision to temporarily suspend the settlement of the case, the time limit for trial preparation shall be recalculated from the date on which the Court’s decision to continue the settlement of the case takes legal effect.

After finishing the trial preparation process, the civil case will be conducted for first-instance, appellate, cassation (if applicable), and reopening (if applicable). The processing time will depend on the contents of the case.

Civil disputes are always an exhausting and costly process. The most important thing when participating in a civil dispute is to have a reputable, experienced and enthusiastic lawyer to support. HT’s team of lawyers is always ready to support customers with the highest sense of responsibility!

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone no.: +84 935 439 454. 
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PROCEDURES FOR SETTLEMENT OF COMMERCIAL DISPUTES

htlaw.vn

1. Common commercial disputes

Commercial disputes are conflicts over rights and obligations between parties in the process of conducting commercial activities.

Common commercial disputes

    • Purchasing and selling goods, providing services; lease, hire purchase; construction; freight; purchasing and selling bonds and stocks; financial investment, banking.
    • Disputes over intellectual property rights, technology transfer between individuals and organizations, and all have profit purposes.
    • Other business and commercial disputes as provided by law.

2. Methods of settling commercial disputes

Commercial disputes can be resolved through the following forms: Negotiation, Conciliation, Arbitration, Court. In particular, the Arbitration and the Court are considered to be highly effective, meeting the needs and desires of the disputing parties.

CourtArbitration
Advantages- Judgment of the Court is coercive.
- Expenses when participating in legal proceedings (court fees, charges) are reasonable.
- Respect the agreement of the disputing parties
- Quick and flexible procedure
- Information security
- The Arbitrator's decision is final, legally binding on the parties, the parties have no right to appeal
Disadvantages- Dispute resolution often takes a long time
- Rigid and complicated procedures
- Public trial, which is difficult to ensure the confidentiality of information for the parties
- High cost
- The Arbitrator's decision may be requested by the parties to be reviewed by the Court or may be annulled by the competent Court.

3. Jurisdiction and order to settle commercial disputes through Arbitration and Court

 CourtArbitration
Authorization
to handle
Competent People's Courts (district or provincial level) can resolve most commercial disputes, unless the parties have agreed to arbitration.Disputes shall be resolved by arbitration if the parties have an arbitration agreement. The arbitration agreement can be made before or after a dispute occurs.
Sequence of settlementStep 1: Submit the lawsuit petition and evidence documents at the competent People's Court
Step 2: Within 07-15 days, the Court will check the dossier and send a notice of advance payment (if the dossier is valid)
Step 3: Within 07 days, the litigators must advance court fees and submit the receipts for payment of Court fee advances to the Court
Step 4: The judge accepts the case
Step 5: The court conducts conciliation so that the involved parties can reach agreement on the settlement of the case. If conciliation fails, the case will be brought to the first-instance trial.

Step 1: The plaintiff submits the lawsuit petition, documents and evidence attached to the petition
Step 2: Defendant submits a self-defense or re-initiate lawsuits to the Commercial Arbitration Center
Step 3: The commercial arbitration center establishes an arbitration council to open a dispute settlement session
Step 4: After the end of the dispute resolution session, the Arbitral Council will issue an arbitral decision by voting on the principle of majority.
Settlement time- Preparation for trial: up to 04 months. In case the case is complicated or there are objective obstacles, the extension may be extended for no more than 2 months.
- Opening the court session: 01 month from the date of issuing the decision to bring the case to trial. If there is a legitimate reason, this time limit is 02 months.
In fact, the time to settle commercial disputes may be shorter or longer than the time prescribed by law depending on the nature of each case.
Depending on the nature of each case, the arbitration time will be different. However, in general, the majority of disputes resolved by Arbitration will take a shorter time than the Court.

Commercial disputes are always an exhausting and costly process. The most important thing when participating in a commercial dispute is to have a reputable, experienced, and enthusiastic lawyer to support. HTLaw’s team of lawyers is always ready to support customers with the highest sense of responsibility!

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone no.: +84 935 439 454. 
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How to apply for Vietnamese citizenship

Thing you need to know about application for vietnam visa - htlaw

1. Subjects to be naturalized in Vietnam

The naturalization of Vietnam is stipulated in the Law on Vietnamese nationality and other legal documents such as. Decree No. 16/2020/ND-CP of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Vietnamese nationality;

Foreign citizens and stateless persons who are permanently residing in Vietnam and who apply for Vietnamese citizenship may be granted Vietnamese citizenship if they fully satisfy the following conditions:

    1. Having full civil act capacity as prescribed by Vietnamese law;
    2. Comply with the Constitution and laws of Vietnam, respect the traditions, customs and practices of the Vietnamese nation;
    3. Knowing Vietnamese enough to integrate into the Vietnamese social community;
    4. Have permanently resided in Vietnam for 5 years or more;
    5. Able to secure life in Vietnam.

Foreign citizens and stateless people may be naturalized in Vietnam without having to fully meet the conditions specified above if they fall into one of the following cases:

    1. Being the wife, husband, child, father or mother of a Vietnamese citizen;
    2. Having meritorious contributions to the cause of construction and defense of the Vietnamese;
    3. In favor of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Foreign citizens who are granted Vietnamese nationality shall no longer retain their foreign nationality, except in special cases decided by the State President.

A person applying for Vietnamese citizenship may not acquire Vietnamese nationality if it harms the national interests of Vietnam.

Foreigners applying for Vietnamese nationality must make an application according to a form prescribed by the Ministry of Justice. Attached to the application for naturalization in Vietnam must have all the papers as prescribed by law.

The person applying for Vietnamese nationality must have a Vietnamese name; Vietnamese name must be clearly stated in the application for naturalization of Vietnam.

2. Conditions for naturalization in Vietnam

    1. Foreign citizens and stateless persons who are permanently residing in Vietnam, and apply for Vietnamese citizenship, may be granted Vietnamese citizenship if they fully meet the following conditions:
      a) Having full civil act capacity as prescribed by Vietnamese law;
      b) Comply with the Constitution and laws of Vietnam; respect the traditions, customs and practices of the Vietnamese nation;
      c) Know enough Vietnamese to integrate into the Vietnamese community;
      d) Have permanently resided in Vietnam for 5 years or more up to the time of applying for Vietnamese citizenship;
      dd) Capable of ensuring life in Vietnam.
    2. An applicant for Vietnamese nationality may be naturalized in Vietnam without having to satisfy the conditions specified at Points c, d and dd, Clause 1 of this Article if falling into one of the following cases:
      a) Being the wife, husband, natural father, mother or natural child of a Vietnamese citizen;
      b) Having special merits for contributing to the cause of construction and defense of the Vietnamese;
      c) It is beneficial to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
    3. Those who acquire Vietnamese nationality must renounce their foreign nationality, except for those specified in Clause 2 of this Article, in special cases, if so permitted by the President.
    4. The person applying for Vietnamese nationality must have a Vietnamese name. This name is chosen by the applicant for naturalization in Vietnam and clearly stated in the Decision for naturalization in Vietnam.
    5. A person applying for Vietnamese nationality may not acquire Vietnamese nationality if it is detrimental to Vietnam’s national interests. 

3. Dossier for naturalization in Vietnam

    1. Application for naturalization of Vietnam;
    2. Copy of Birth Certificate, Passport or other valid substitute document;
    3. Background statement;
    4. A judicial record card issued by a competent Vietnamese agency for the time the applicant for Vietnamese citizenship resides in Vietnam, a judicial record card issued by a competent foreign agency for the period of time the time the applicant for Vietnamese citizenship resides abroad. Judicial record cards must be issued within 90 days from the date of filing;
    5. Documents proving Vietnamese proficiency;
    6. Proof of residence, permanent residence time in Vietnam;
    7. Proof of life insurance in Vietnam.
Thing you need to know about application for vietnam visa - htlaw

4. Procedures for processing applications for naturalization in Vietnam

    1. The person applying for Vietnamese citizenship shall submit a dossier to the Department of Justice of the place where he/she resides. In case the dossier does not contain all the papers specified in Clause 1, Article 20 of this Law or is invalid, the Department of Justice shall immediately notify the applicant for Vietnamese citizenship to supplement and complete the dossier.

    2. Within 5 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Department of Justice shall send a written request to the police agency of the province or city under central authority (hereinafter referred to as the provincial level) to verify the application. identity of the applicant for Vietnamese citizenship.

      Within 30 days from the date of receipt of the request of the Department of Justice, the provincial-level police agency shall verify and send the results to the Department of Justice. During this time, the Department of Justice must conduct verification of documents in the application for Vietnamese citizenship.

      Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of verification results, the Department of Justice shall complete the dossier and submit it to the President of the provincial People’s Committee.

      Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of the request of the Department of Justice, the President of the People’s Committee of the province shall consider, conclude and propose opinions to the Ministry of Justice.

    3. Within 20 days after receiving the proposal of the President of the provincial People’s Committee, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for re-examining the dossier, if it deems that it meets the conditions for naturalization in Vietnam, it shall send a notice to the Ministry of Justice. notify in writing the applicant for naturalization in Vietnam to carry out the procedures for applying for renunciation of foreign nationality, unless the applicant for naturalization in Vietnam applies to retain foreign nationality or is a stateless person. Within 10 working days after receiving the certificate of renunciation of foreign nationality of the applicant for Vietnamese citizenship, the Minister of Justice shall report to the Prime Minister for submission to the State President for consideration and decision.

      In case an applicant for naturalization in Vietnam applies to retain foreign nationality and the applicant for naturalization in Vietnam is stateless, within 20 days from the date of receipt of the proposal of the President of the People’s Committee, Provinces, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for re-checking the application file, if deems that the applicant for naturalization in Vietnam is fully qualified to be naturalized in Vietnam, it shall report it to the Prime Minister and submit it to the State President for consideration and decision.

    4. Within 30 days after receiving the Prime Minister’s proposal, the State President shall consider and decide. 

      Order, procedures and dossiers of application for Vietnamese citizenship for stateless persons who have permanently resided in Vietnam.

      Stateless persons without full identification papers, but have resided stably in the Vietnamese territory for 20 years or more as of the effective date of this Law and comply with the Constitution and laws of Vietnam. shall be entitled to naturalization in Vietnam according to the order, procedures and documents prescribed by the Government.

5. Fee for naturalization in Vietnam

Pursuant to Circular 281/2016/TT-BTC, the fee for applying for Vietnamese citizenship is VND 3 million/case.

The following cases are exempted from fees for applying for Vietnamese citizenship:

– Persons with special meritorious contributions to the cause of construction and defense of the Vietnam: are awarded with Orders, Medals and other noble titles of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Revolutionary Government, provisionally for the Republic of South Vietnam, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam or certified by a competent Vietnamese agency or organization for such special merit.

– Stateless people apply for Vietnamese citizenship;

– Migrants from Laos are allowed to reside and apply for Vietnamese citizenship.

To save time learning about the law, prepare the dossier, you can contact HT for Apply Vietnamese Citizenship service. 

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone number: +84 935 439 454. 
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APEC BUSINESS TRAVEL CARD

1. What is APEC business travel card (ATBC)?

According to the consular portal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the APEC card (or APEC business card, ABTC card) is a document issued by the competent authority of the country and territory participating in the APEC business card program grants its businessmen to facilitate travel 

    • carry out business, trade, investment and service cooperation activities;
    • attend conferences, seminars, and other economic purposes in the countries and territories of APEC participating in the Program.

ABTC cardholders, when entering or exiting the countries and territories listed in the card, do not need a visa of those countries and territories.

2. How long is the ABTC valid for?

According to the latest regulations on issuance of APEC cards, the APEC card is valid for 5 years from the date of issue (previously, the APEC card was valid for 3 years).

The APEC business card is not renewable upon expiration. That is, when the APEC card expires if there is still a need to travel within the APEC bloc and are still eligible to be issued a card, the businessman needs to go through the procedures to apply for a new APEC card.

3. Benefits of APEC Card (ABTC)

Entrepreneurs owning an APEC card will have the following benefits:

    • Being exempted from entry visas to the countries printed on the back of the APEC card, thus reducing the time required to apply for an entry visa as well as extending the visa if you want to stay longer than the allowed visa period.
    • There is no limit to the number of visa-free entries to those countries during the validity of the card.
    • Priority entry procedures to these countries access to separate gates for business people with ABTC cards (APEC),
    • Stay in APEC countries from 60 to 90 days,
    • Business people with APEC cards will easily apply for visas from developed countries that are not in APEC such as the UK, or countries that are in APEC but have not participated in the APEC business travel card program such as the US and Canada.

4. Which countries are exempt from visa for APEC cards?

The APEC card is also known as the 19-country APEC card because the holder of this card can be exempted from visa to 19 APEC countries, except the US and Canada. As follows:

However, which countries your APEC card can go to depends on the list of countries printed on the back of your card.

4. Subjects granted APEC card ​

According to  Decision No. 54/2015/QD-TTg   of the Prime Minister amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Regulation on issuance and management of APEC business travel cards issued together with Decision No. 45/2006 /QD-TTg e Regulations on the issue of APEC cards, the following subjects are considered for issuance of APEC business cards:

1. Vietnamese entrepreneurs are working in state-owned enterprises, including:

    • The Chairman of the Members’ Council, the President of the company, the General Director of the Corporation shall be appointed by the Prime Minister;
    • Members of the Members’ Council; General Director, Deputy General Director; Directors, deputy directors of enterprises, industrial parks, export processing zones and economic zones; Directors, deputy directors of banks or bank branches;
    • Chief accountant, Head, Deputy Head of Departments of enterprises, industrial parks, export processing zones, economic zones, banks; Head of a branch of an enterprise or a bank branch.

2. Vietnamese entrepreneurs are working at enterprises legally established in accordance with Vietnamese law

    • The owner of a private enterprise, the chairman of the Members’ Council, a member of the Members’ Council, the chairman of the Board of Directors, a member of the Board of Directors, the general director or director of the company;
    • Chairman of the Board of Directors, members of the Board of Directors, Director or General Director of the cooperative or union of cooperatives;
    • Chief Accountant, Head of Department in enterprises; Heads of branches of enterprises and other equivalent titles.

3. Cadres, civil servants, and public employees are responsible for participating in APEC activities

    • Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Governmental agencies, Presidents and Vice Presidents of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities have the duty to attend meetings and conferences. and activities on cooperation and economic development of APEC;
    • Cadres, civil servants, and public employees have the duty to attend meetings, conferences, seminars and other activities of APEC;
    • Chief representative, deputy representative of Vietnam’s trade representative offices in APEC member countries and territories.

5. Conditions for granting APEC card

Also according to Decision No. 54/2015/QD-TTg, businessmen belonging to the target group to be considered for an APEC card must fully meet the following conditions to be granted an APEC card before they can apply for an APEC card. :

    • Entrepreneurs applying for APEC cards must be at least 18 years old; not have restricted civil act capacity or have not lost civil act capacity.
    • Passport of the businessman applying for an APEC card is valid for at least 12 months.
    • Entrepreneurs working at enterprises with business, trade, investment, and service cooperation activities with partners in member economies participating in ABTC cards are represented through business contracts, economic, commercial, investment projects, and specific service contracts.
    • Entrepreneurs working in enterprises are represented by labor contracts, decisions on the appointment of positions, and full participation in social insurance contributions at the enterprises they are working for.
    • Not falling into the cases that have not yet been allowed to leave the country specified in Article 10 of the Regulation promulgated together with the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 45/2006/QD-TTg dated February 28, 2006 on the issuance and management of travel cards. from APEC businessmen.
    • Entrepreneurs working at businesses that have been operating for 06 (six) months or more.
    • Entrepreneurs are working at enterprises that well comply with the laws on trade, tax, customs, labor, and social insurance.

6. Procedures for applying for an APEC card

The process of making an APEC card will have to go through two stages, including:

    • Apply for written permission to use the ABTC card from the competent authority
    • Apply for an APEC card.

6.1 Guidance on procedures for applying for a written authorization to use the APEC card from the competent authority

In this step, businesses will need to perform 2 steps as follows:

Step 1. Prepare documents

Dossier to apply for an official letter of permission to use the APEC card includes:

    1. The written request of the enterprise, signed and stamped by the legal representative of the enterprise (according to the form);
    2. Joint venture contract, business cooperation contract, service provision contract or other import-export documents (L/C, bill of lading, customs declaration, payment invoice) within 01 year up to the time of applying for ABTC cards with partners of APEC member economies participating in the ABTC card program (attach the originals of the above documents for comparison). If the documents are in a foreign language, the Vietnamese translation must be attached;
    3. Certificate of business registration/investment certificate (the latest certification);
    4. Passport Original and 3 copies (latest certified) on all sides with contents.
    5. A copy of the decision on the appointment of a position with more than 1 year of holding the position, Minutes of the meeting on appointment of a position with more than 1 year of holding the position;
    6. Certificate of social insurance (according to the form);
    7. Copy of Labor Contract (Indefinite term labor contract for more than 1 year in charge of the position);

For officials and employees, the application file for permission to use the APEC card will include:

    1. A written request for permission to use the ABTC card from a ministry, department, department or branch.
    2. Certified copy of the decision of the competent authority to send to participate in APEC activities.
    3. Certified copy of Personal Passport for permission to use ABTC card.

Step 2. Submit application

After preparing the dossier, the enterprise will submit the application to one of the following authorities to apply for permission to use the APEC card:

    1. Department of Planning and Investment or Department of Foreign Affairs (for other businesses not in the cases below).
    2. Management Board of Export Processing Zones and Industry (for entrepreneurs of enterprises operating in industrial parks – export processing zones).
    3. Hi-Tech Park Management Board (for entrepreneurs of enterprises operating in the Hi-Tech Park).
    4. Urban Area Management Board (for entrepreneurs of businesses operating in the Special Urban Area).

After obtaining the written permission to use the ABTC card, the enterprise will continue to carry out process 2 to obtain the APEC card.

6.2. Procedure to apply for official APEC card

In this process, the entrepreneur will need to take 3 steps.

Step 1. Prepare documents to apply for an official APEC card, including:

    1. 01 application for issuance and re-issuance of ABTCs (Form X05), certified and enclosed with a photo of the head of the enterprise or the agency directly managing the entrepreneur.
    2. 02 photos of size 3cm x 4cm, recently taken, white background, bare head, face looking straight ahead, without colored glasses (01 photo glued to the declaration, 01 photo to leave).
    3. Document permitting the use of ABTC issued by competent authorities:
      – A document from the Prime Minister (if a businessman is appointed to a position or directly managed by the Prime Minister), or
      – A document from the head of a ministerial-level agency (if he is an entrepreneur appointed to a position by the head of a ministerial-level agency or is an entrepreneur working at an enterprise established or directly managed by a ministerial-level agency). ), or
      – A document from the Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee if he is an entrepreneur appointed to a position by the President of the Provincial People’s Committee or is an entrepreneur working at an enterprise established by the decision of the Provincial People’s Committee. or directly managed.

Step 2. Apply for an APEC card at the Immigration Department, Ministry of Public Security

In this step, the businessman will bring the dossier to the receiving and returning department at the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security to submit the dossier. The specific addresses of the Immigration Department in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang are as follows:

    • Hanoi: 44-46 Tran Phu Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
    • Ho Chi Minh City: 333-335-337 Nguyen Trai Street, District 1, City. Ho Chi Minh
    • Da Nang: No. 7 Tran Quy Cap, Da Nang City

Note: * When submitting the application for ABTC card, the businessman must present a valid passport. In case the agency or enterprise appoints another officer or employee to submit the application file and receive the card on behalf of the businessman, such officer or employee must present a letter of introduction from the agency or enterprise, his/her identity card or his/her citizen identification card and the ABTC card’s applicant’s passport.

At that time, the staff receiving the application will check the legality and content of the file:

    • If the application is complete and valid, the receiving officer will write a receipt to give it to the submitter and request the payment of the fee. The toll collector will write a receipt and hand over the receipt and the receipt to the applicant.
    • If the application is missing or invalid, the applicant will be given additional instructions.
      Time to receive applications:

From Monday to Saturday every week (holiday).

Step 3: Receive ABTC at the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security:

On the appointment day, the businessman goes to the Immigration Department to receive the APEC card. Upon arrival, the businessman needs to present the receipt and the collection receipt for comparison. The officer returning the results will then check and ask the business to sign for it, then return the APEC card to the recipient.

Time to return results: From Monday to Saturday every week (holiday).

Above is the entire process of applying for an APEC card for business people in Vietnam. This entire process will take approximately 31 working days (not including preparation time).

7. Note when using APEC card ​

    • When using the APEC card, business people should enter the country for the right business purposes as prescribed. Thus, entrepreneurs need to have working addresses of partner agencies and business contracts.
    • On the other hand, when asked about the purpose of entry, business people need to answer that they are entering for business purposes.
    • Business people should stay within the allowed period of stay under the APEC card. If you want to stay longer, you should inquire about an extension of your temporary stay. If you overstay and do not renew, your APEC card may be confiscated and deported from that country.

8. Responsibilities of businesses whose business people are granted APEC cards

After an entrepreneur is granted an APEC card, an enterprise must always remember to fulfill the following responsibilities on time:

    • Annually (by December 31 at the latest) must report on the use of ABTCs by business people of their own enterprises, including the contents promulgated together with the Regulation on the issue and management of APEC cards. Enterprises must be solely responsible for the accuracy of the information declared in the report and commit to strictly abide by the laws and regulations of APEC member countries and territories applicable to the carrier ABTC card. If the enterprise does not report or does not report on time, it is considered as a violation of the regulations and the businessmen in the enterprise will be submitted by the competent authorities where the enterprise submits the application for permission to use the ABTC card. The People’s Committee of the city shall issue a decision and notify the Immigration Department of the ABTC card that is no longer valid.
    • For businessmen of enterprises who have changed jobs, stopped holding positions or have quit their jobs, the enterprises must retain the APEC card and immediately report to the competent authorities where the enterprises submit their application documents. permit the use of ABTC cards to report to the City People’s Committee for a decision that the card is no longer valid, contact and return the issued card to the businessman to the Immigration Department – Ministry of Public Security to manage .
      In case the enterprise is found to introduce the wrong person the enterprise or the person of the enterprise but not in accordance with the criteria and conditions for considering the use of ABTCs, the legal representative of the enterprise and the Businessmen who are asked to allow the use of their cards will be submitted to the City People’s Committee for decision and notified by the competent authorities where the business is located. Immigration management about the ABTC card is no longer valid for use and subject to other legal sanctions.

Owning an APEC card is indeed very convenient for international businessmen. If this time is not suitable for you to apply for an ABTC, or you are waiting for an ABTC, you can contact HT for business visa service.

To save time learning about the law, filling the form, preparing the dossier, you can contact HT for Making ABTC service.

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone number: +84 935 439 454. 
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NEW POINT ON MATERNITY BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYEES IN VIETNAM

According to the latest Circular No 06/2021/TT-BLDTBXH issued on July 7th, 2021, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs amended detailed regulations and guidance for the implementation of a number of articles of the law regarding social insurance. In particular, there are three notable new points about maternity benefits for male and female workers as follows:

(i) Clarifying
the case of receiving a one-time allowance upon childbirth for male workers

According
to Clause 5, Article 1 of Circular 06/2021/TT-BLDTBXH, Point c, Clause 2,
Article 9 of Circular 59/2015/TT-BLDTBXH is amended as follows: “In cases where
the mother participates in social insurance and she is not eligible for
benefits but the father meets all the conditions specified at Point a, Clause
2, Article 9 of Circular 59/2015/TT-BLDTBXH at the time of childbirth, the
father is entitled to a one-time allowance upon childbirth according to Article
38 of the Law on Social Insurance.”

The Regulation
at Point a, Clause 2, Article 9 of Circular 59/2015/TT-BLDTTXH, states, “in
case only the father participates in social insurance, the father must fully
pay the social insurance premiums at least 06 months within 12 months before childbirth.”

Previously,
male workers were only entitled to a one-time allowance when their wives did
not participate in social insurance. When the new regulations take effect, male
workers will be entitled to a one-time allowance even if both the husband and
wife participate in compulsory social insurance but the wife is not eligible
for maternity benefits.

(ii) Male
workers are entitled to maternity leave

From
September 1st, 2021, male workers may take maternity leave according
to the  provisions of Clause 2, Article
34 of the Law on Social Insurance. In case of multiple leave, the most recent leave
taken must still be within 30 days from the date of childbirth and the total
period of maternity leave must not exceed the prescribed time.

Therefore,
the period of maternity leave for male workers who are paying social insurance
can be divided into several flexible times within the first 30 days after the
date of childbirth, as follows:

a/ 5 working days;

b/ 7 working days, in case their wives
undergo a surgical birth or give birth to children before 32 weeks of
pregnancy;

c/ 10 working days, in case their wives
give birth to twins; or additional 3 working days for each infant after the
second;

d/ 14 working days, in case their wives
give birth to twins or more infants and underwent an operation during childbirth.

(iii)
Twin pregnancy is entitled to maternity benefits according the number of
children born

This
new regulation helps female workers receive additional benefits when having a
dead or stillborn child.

Specifically,
Clause 6, Article 1 Circular 06/2021/TT-BLDTBXH, Clause 3, Article 10 of
Circular 59/2015/TT-BLDTBXH has been amended as follows: “In case a female
employee is pregnant with twins or more, then her children die before birth or
are stillborn, the period of maternity leave and allowance upon childbirth and
the one-time allowance upon childbirth shall be calculated according to the
number of children born, including all stillborn and dead children.”

Thus, the previous regulation on pregnant employees with twins whose children die before birth or are stillborn, dispensing maternity benefits according to the surviving children, has been amended in the new circular. Employees who are pregnant with twins whose children die or are stillborn can receive maternity benefits based on the number of children born, including stillbirths and deaths.

Please feel free to contact us by email: huonghue.ht@htlaw.vn or phone number +84 935 439 454 if you need any further clarification. We look forward to long-term co-operation with you.

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How to get a valid Vietnamese passport?

Procedure to get vietnam passport - htlaw

Today, HT would like to mention a case relating to the application for Vietnamese citizens, which HT just receives to carry out and take care. Specifically, our client who is of Vietnamese origin with foreign nationality, then now wants to live here as a Vietnamese citizen. Following are indispensable procedures based on Vietnamese law to get the Vietnamese nationality and Vietnamese passport that be advised by HT: 

I. Legal documents

    • Law on Vietnamese nationality
    • Residence Law
    • Decision No. 1217/QĐ-BTP of the Ministry of Justice 
Procedure to get vietnam passport - htlaw

II. Procedures

To get a certificate of Vietnamese nationality and passport, our client should follow the steps below:

Step 1: Obtain a Vietnamese citizenship certificate from the Department of Justice

First of all, The Applicant completes the dossier and submit it directly to the Department of Justice’s Receiving and returning Section.

The dossier includes:

Case 1: For cases where there are papers proving nationality:

    1. Declaration of Vietnamese nationality (form) with 02 photos 04cm x 06cm;
    2. The notarized copies of ID card, passport, or substitute documents; A copy enclosed with the original for comparison/notarized copies of one of the documents proving Vietnamese nationality specified in Article 11 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality 2008/similar documents previously issued by the former government grant, even the birth certificate in which no nationality or nationality section is blank with the Vietnamese full name was written (name of the Applicant, full name The Applicant’s father and mother);

Case 2: For cases without documents proving nationality:

    1. Declaration of Vietnamese nationality (form) with 02 photos 04cm x 06cm;
    2. The notarized copies of ID card, passport, or substitute documents;
    3. A curriculum vitae and other documents for nationality verification, including Copies of ID card, civil status, and nationality of grandparents, parents, sibling intestines, and children; copies of documents with contents related to the nationality of the involved parties, granted by the old regime before April 30, 1975; a copy of the document on which the Vietnamese nationality or Vietnamese nationality issued by foreign competent agencies.

Officers receive the dossier at the Receiving Section and return the results of checking the validity and completeness of the dossier. In case the application file is not complete and valid, supplementary guidance will be provided once. In case the dossier is complete and valid, the officer will receive the file, write an appointment slip to return the result to the citizen, and transfer the file to the specialized department within the same day for processing according to regulations.

Department of Justice researches and verifies the records (in case of further verification, the Department of Justice sends a written request to the Ministry of Justice and the City Police for verification) and returns result to the Applicant.

Step 2: Register name in the household book of any Vietnamese family such as a relative person or friends at Police Department.

The applicant complies with the procedures and dossiers of the state agency of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

Note: According to the updated Residence law No. 68/2020/QH14 on 1st July 2021, the government will not require Vietnamese citizens to register the household book anymore. But Vietnamese citizens still register a permanent residence/temporary residence where he or she is living. Before this regulation takes effect practically, people who need to be issued a citizen’s identity card, have to name on household book.

Step 3: Apply for the ID card at the Police Office

Bring the household book to the police office where the household registration is located and follow the procedures of the state agency of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Step 4: Apply for a Vietnamese passport at Immigration Department.

Bring the ID card and household book to the Immigration Department and follow the procedures of the state agency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

To save time learning about the law, you can contact HT for Vietnam passport services. 

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone number: +84 935 439 454. 
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How to apply for Vietnamese citizenship but still keep foreign citizenship?

How to apply vietnam citizenship - htlaw
How to apply vietnam citizenship - htlaw

Recently, HTLaw received a question from a French of Vietnamese origin who wants to be naturalized in Vietnam but still wants to keep the French nationality. Specifically, this customer, whose father is French, mother is Vietnamese, after one year of living in Vietnam, intends to naturalize Vietnam.

To answer this question, HT based on the provisions of Vietnamese law on naturalization of
foreigners and gave the following legal opinions:

-According to Clause 2, Article 16 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality 24/2008/QH12 “A child either of whose parents is a Vietnamese citizen at the time of his/her birth and the other is a foreign national has the Vietnamese nationality if so agreed in writing by his/her parents at the
time of birth registration.”

Therefore, after checking the birth certificate registered in France, we found that there is no
written agreement or content of agreement between the customer’s parents about the child keeping Vietnamese nationality.

 -According to Article 9 of Decree No. 16/2020/ND-CP stipulating Special cases of naturalization of Vietnamese nationality and retention of foreign nationality as specified in Clause 3 Article 19 of Law on Vietnamese Nationality , in order to be considered this special case, the following conditions must be met:

1. He/she satisfies the conditions for naturalization of Vietnamese nationality according to Law of Vietnamese Nationality.

2. He/she has made meritorious contribution to Vietnam’s national construction and defense and the naturalization of Vietnamese nationality with retention of foreign nationality is beneficial to
the Government of Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

3. Retention of his/her foreign nationality upon naturalization of Vietnamese nationality is satisfactory to regulations and law of said foreign country.

4. Renunciation of foreign nationality leads to impacts on his/her rights and benefits in the foreign country.

5. He/she does not utilize foreign nationality to harm legal rights and benefits of agencies, organizations and individuals; harm national security and benefits, social order and safety of the Government of Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Note: In order to explain Clause 2 about a person with special meritorious services, this person must be a recipient of Orders, Medals and other noble titles of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam or certified by a competent Vietnamese agency or organization for such special labor.

Based on the above provisions, the client’s dossier is deemed not to meet the conditions to retain French nationality if the application for naturalization is submitted in Vietnam (unless there is a written verification of the agreement between customer’s parents about keeping the Vietnamese nationality at the time of making the birth certificate.)

Therefore, the conclusion of HT Immigration & Investment Company is that customers cannot have dual French-Vietnamese citizenship at the same time.

To save time learning about the law, you can contact HT for Apply for Vietnam citizenship services. 

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone number: +84 935 439 454. 
Posted on

Trademark registration in Vietnam

Trademark registration in Vietnam
Trademark registration in Vietnam

In the extremely competitive market such as nowaday, a product or service can be identified and selected by customers is the important thing for the activity of the company. Besides the quality of products or services, owning an unique and attracting trademark is also one thing that all the company should care about.

So, what is the trademark, owning a trademark and registering it gives the company which benefits?

1. What is trademark?

First of all, the trademark is one of objects that is protected by the intellectual property law, Trademarks belong to the group of industrial property rights defined in the Intellectual Property Law. 

According to clause 16, Article 4 of the Intellectual Property Law, “a trademark means any sign used to distinguish products or services of different organizations or individuals, these signs may be in letters, numbers, figures, colors, etc. or a combination of the above factors to express the nature and spirit of the product / service it represents. In particular, the trademark needs to show its ability to distinguish it from others”.

2. What kinds of benefits the company gets from trademark registration?

Owning and registering the trademark brings a lot of benefits to the enterprises:

    1. The registration of trademark protection represents the recognition and protection of Goverment throughout the territory of Vietnam with the registered trademark. On that basis, the enterprises are protected from copying or faking their products based on the trademarks of the enterprises.
    2. In addition to being legally recognized and protected, enterprises are able to use that trademark to carry out advertising and introducing products to consumers legally to expand their market, create the trust of customers when using products / services 
    3. Registering the trademark to avoid distinguishing from other similar products in the market. The reputation or the market of the enterprise might be lost by this confusion and there is no mechanism to request to deal with breaches of regulations on use of the trademark.
    4. The trademark is also accepted as a valuable asset for transferring (licensing, franchising,..), raising capital from investors. Thereby developing the scale and profitability of the enterprise.

4. Procedure to register trademark

To be register for the protection, the trademark needs to meet a number of general conditional:

    1. It is a visible sign in the form of letters, words, drawings or images including holograms, or a combination thereof, represented in one or more colours.;
    2. It is capable of distinguishing goods or services of the mark owner from those of other subjects.

The trademark registration is implemented by following step:

Step 1:

Send the dossier to the NOIP (National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam) or their representative office in Ho Chi Minh city or in Da Nang.

The required documents:

    • Declaration for registration (2 copies)
    • 10 trademark samples clearly showing their colors, designs, .. with sizes not exceeding 80mmx80mm..
    • Receipt of fees and charges

In addition, some documents may be added such as:

    • Letter of authorization
    • Documents certify the use of special signs (if the trademark contains symbols, flags and badges of domestic and international agencies, organizations, etc.);
    • Document certify registration rights;
    • Documents certify the enjoyment of registration rights from others;
    • Document prove the priority (if the application has a claim for priority)

Step 2:

After the NOIP receives the application, they will conduct an examination of the form and content of the trademark registration application:

    • Formal examination: 01 month. If it has any mistakes in the application, NOIP will send an announcement to the applicant to fix all the mistakes within 01 month from the day the announcement has been received.
    • Publication of valid application: within 2 months from the date the application has The decision to accept the valid application
    • Content examination: no more than 09 months from the date of publication of the valid application (may be extended for not more than 3 months if requested from the applicant).

In this period, NOIP may request applicant to provide explation for the application, or applicant may send requirement to add or modify the application.

Step 3: 

If the trademark meets the conditions for granting the certification, the NOIP shall issue an annoucement of intention to grant the certificate and proceed to grant the certificate when the applicant has fully paid the fees within 03 months since the date of receiving the notice.

However, in reality, the time limit for examining dossiers of the NOIP may be extended from 1 to 2 years due to overcrowding of protection registration applications.

To save time learning about the law, filling out forms, waiting to submit the dossier, you can contact HTLaw for advice and support for Register trademark legal services.

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone number: +84 935 439 454. 
Posted on

INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION

Intercountry adoption - htlaw

Currently, the adoption of a foreign child is increasingly popular and has priceless values.
Current Vietnamese regulations have many specific provisions on the adoption of foreign elements, so HT would like to send readers the basic information about adopting foreign elements below.

I. Cases of intercountry adoption

1. Overseas Vietnamese, foreigners permanently residing in the countries being contracting parties to an adoption treaty along with Vietnam adopt a Vietnamese child.

2. Overseas Vietnamese, foreigners permanently residing abroad may adopt a specific child in the following cases:

a/ He/she is the stepfather or stepmother of the to-be-adopted child;

b/ He/she is the natural aunt or uncle of the to-be-adopted child;

c/ He/she has adopted a child who is a sibling of the to-be-adopted child;

d/ He/she adopts a child who is disabled or infected with HIV/AIDS or another dangerous disease;

e/ He/she is a foreigner currently working or studying in Vietnam for at least 1 year;

3. Vietnamese citizens permanently residing in the country adopt a foreign child.

4. Foreigners permanently residing in Vietnam adopt a child in Vietnam.

II. Conditions on adopting persons

1. An adopting person must fully meet the following conditions:

a/ Having full civil act capacity;

b/ Being 20 years or older than the adopted person;

c/ Having health, financial, and accommodation conditions for
assuring the care for and nurture, and education of the adopted child.

d/ Having good ethical qualities.

2. The following persons may not adopt a child:

a/ Having some of the parental rights over a minor child restricted:

b/ Currently serving an administrative handling decision at an  educational institution or medical treatment establishment;

c/ Currently serving an imprisonment penalty:

d/ Having a criminal record of the commission of any of the crimes: intentionally infringing upon another’s life, health, dignity, and honor; maltreating or persecuting one’s grandparents, parents, spouse, children, grandchildren, or caretaker; seducing, forcing or harboring minors to violate the law; buying, selling, exchanging and appropriating children.

3. In case the stepfather or stepmother adopts a stepchild or a natural aunt or uncle adopts a nephew or cousin. Points 1b and 1c will not apply. 

4. Vietnamese citizens who seek to adopt a foreigner must meet all conditions required by the law of the country in which the to-be-adopted person permanently resides.

III. Dossiers of adopting persons

1. A dossier of an overseas Vietnamese or a foreigner permanently residing abroad seeking to adopt a Vietnamese must comprise:

a/ A written request for adoption;

b/ A copy of the passport or a valid substitute paper;

c/ A written permission for adopting a person in Vietnam:

d/ A completed questionnaire on psychology and family;

e/ A health certificate;

f/ An income and property certificate;

g/ A criminal record sheet:

h/ A written certification of the marital status;

i/ Papers and documents to prove the relationship between the adopter and the adopted person (if any).

2. Papers and documents stated at Points 1b thru 1h. must be made, issued, or certified by competent agencies of the country in which the adopting person permanently resides.

3. A dossier of the adopting person shall be made in 2 sets and submitted to the Ministry of Justice via the central adoption agency of the country in which the adopting person permanently resides; in the case of adopting a specific person, the adopting person may submit the dossier directly to the Ministry of Justice.

Note: Documents issued by foreign countries must be consular legalized unless exempted.

IV. The process of adopting

Place of adoption application: Department of Adoption of the Ministry of Justice.

– Within 30 days from the date of receiving dossiers of adopting persons, the Department of Justice shall consider and introduce the children to be adopted. Note: in the case of specific adoption according to regulations, there is no need to introduce the child to be adopted.

In cases where the step-father or step-mother of the adopted child is not required to carry out the procedures for introducing the child to be adopted.

– Within 10 days after receiving the dossier from the Department of Justice, if the People’s Committee of the province agrees, it shall notify the Department of Justice of the procedure for transferring the dossier to the Ministry of Justice; In case of disagreement, it shall reply in writing and clearly state the reason.

– Within 30 days from the date of receipt of the report on the result of introducing children for adoption, the Ministry of Justice shall inspect the introduction of the child for adoption, if it is valid, it shall assess Vietnamese children The man is eligible to be a foreign child and informs the competent authority of the country where the adopting person is residing.

– Within 15 days from the date of receipt of a written notice from the competent authority of the adoptive country of the adoptive’s consent to the introduced child. Children will be admitted to and permanently reside in the country where they are adopted, the Ministry of Justice notifies the Department of Justice.

– After receiving a notice from the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Justice shall submit to the provincial-level People’s Committee for the decision of the child to be adopted abroad. Within 15 days after receiving the dossier submitted by the Department of Justice, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall decide to allow the child to be adopted abroad.

– The Department of Justice notifies the adoptive person to come to Vietnam to adopt a child. Within 60 days, adopting persons must be present in Vietnam to directly adopt the child; in case the husband and wife apply for adoption but either of them cannot attend the child adoption delivery ceremony for objective reasons, they must authorize the other person; can be extended, but not more than 90 days. If the above time limit expires, if the adopting party does not come to adopt the child, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall cancel the decision to allow the child to be adopted abroad.

V. Fee amounts

a) Amount of domestic adoption registration fee: VND 400,000/case.

b) Amount of adoption registration fee collected from Vietnamese people residing in foreign countries or foreigners permanently residing in foreign countries that adopt children being Vietnam nationals: VND 9.000.000/case.

c) Amount of fee collected from foreigners permanently residing in Vietnam that adopt children being Vietnamese nationals: VND 4.500.000/case.

d) Amount of fee collected from foreigners residing in border regions of neighbor countries that adopt Vietnamese children permanently residing in such border regions: VND 4.500.000/case.

dd) Amount of adoption registration fee at Vietnam’s overseas representative bodies: USD 150/case. The above fee shall be converted into the receiving country’s currency according to the selling rate of USD announced by a bank where Vietnam’s overseas representative body opens its account.

Exemption from and deduction in adoption registration fees

1. Domestic adoption registration fees shall be exempted in one of the following cases:

a) A stepfather or stepmother adopts a stepchild of his/her spouse, or an aunt or uncle adopts a niece or nephew;

b) A person adopts one of the following children: Disabled children, HIV/AIDS infected children, or children suffering fatal disease/illness as prescribed in the Law on adoption and guiding documents;

c) A people with meritorious services to the revolution adopts a child.

2. Intercountry adoption registration fees shall be deducted in one of the following cases:

a) A reduction of 50% in intercountry adoption registration fee shall apply to a stepfather or stepmother that adopts a stepchild of his/her spouse or an aunt or uncle that adopts a niece or nephew;

b) In case of simultaneously multiple adoptions of biological brothers/sisters, a reduction of 50% in intercountry adoption fee shall apply to each of children excluding the first child;

c) In case of an adoption falling into both aforesaid cases prescribed in Point a and Point b of this Clause, the payer may select to apply the reduction in fees prescribed in either of those Points.

3. Exemption from adoption registration fees shall apply to the cases of re-registration of adoption as prescribed in law on adoption.

In order to save time to learn the procedures, fill out the form, notarize, and wait to submit the dossier, you can contact HT for Intercountry Adoption service.

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone number: +84 935 439 454. 
Posted on

PROCEDURES FOR MARRIAGE TO FOREIGNERS

Marry to Vietnamese - htlaw

Currently, Vietnam is one of the countries that are particularly interested by international investors because of its geographical location as well as abundant resources. The number of foreigners coming to live and work in Vietnam is increasing, so it is more common for Vietnamese people to marry foreigners. So, what is the procedure for marriage involving foreign elements and what difficulties? Please also follow the following article. 

1. Legal basis:

Law on civil status 2014, Decree 123/2015 / ND-CP

a. Authority to register marriage
The district People’s Committee where the Vietnamese citizens reside will be:
–  Vietnamese citizens and foreigners;
– Vietnamese citizens residing in the country with Vietnamese citizens residing abroad;
–  Vietnamese citizens residing abroad together;
– Vietnamese citizens who simultaneously hold foreign nationality with Vietnamese citizens or with foreigners conducting marriage procedures.

In cases where foreigners residing in Vietnam require marriage registration in Vietnam, the district-level People’s Committee of the residence of either party shall effect the marriage registration.

b. Procedures for marriage registration
The man and the woman shall submit a declaration form and a certification of a competent Vietnamese or foreign medical organization certifying that the person does not have a mental illness or other disease and is incapable of receiving it. awakening and mastering their own acts for civil status registration agencies.

Foreigners and Vietnamese citizens residing abroad must submit additional documents proving marital status, copy of passport or valuable papers in lieu of passport.

Within 15 days after receiving the full papers, civil status officials shall verify if they deem eligible to get married according to the provisions of law. The Justice Division reports to the President of the district People’s Committee for settlement.
When registering marriage for both men and women, they must be present at the headquarters of the People’s Committee and civil servant performing civil status work, consulting both men and women, if the parties voluntarily get married, write the married in the civil status book, together with both men and women, to sign the civil status book. The two sides shall sign marriage certificate.

Chairpersons of district-level People’s Committees shall grant marriage certificates to both men and women.

The Government shall provide supplementary papers in the marriage registration dossier, the interview, verify the purpose of marriage when settling the request for marriage registration; procedures for granting certificates of marital status for Vietnamese citizens to marry foreigners at foreign competent agencies in order to ensure the lawful rights and interests of the parties.

2. Application for marriage registration: (Article 30 of Decree 123/2015 / ND-CP)

a) The application for marriage registration is made in accordance with Clause 1 Article 38 of the Law on civil status and the following provisions:
– Both partners may fill out a single marriage registration form;
Documents proving the marital status of a foreigner is a paper issued by a competent foreign agency which is still valid and certifies that such person has no wife or no husband; in cases where a foreign country does not grant a certificate of marital status, it must be replaced by papers issued by a competent foreign agency certifying that such person is eligible for marriage under the law of that country.

If the certificate proving the marital status of the foreigner does not specify the expiry date, this document and the certification of the medical organization are only valid for 6 months from the date of issuance.

b) If a foreigner does not have a passport to present under the provisions of Clause 1, Article 2 of this Decree, he/she may produce international travel papers or residence cards.

c) Apart from the papers prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, if the married party is a Vietnamese citizen who has divorced or canceled the marriage at a foreign competent agency, he / she must also submit a copy of the civil status excerpt have recorded in the divorce record or canceled the marriage according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 36 of this Decree; If they are civil servants or officials, or they are currently serving in the armed forces, they must submit the documents of the agencies or management units certifying that such persons are married to foreigners not contrary to the provisions of that branch.

Marry to Vietnamese - htlaw

3. Order of marriage registration: (Article 31.32 Decree 123/2015 / ND-CP)

a) Within 10 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Justice Department shall conduct research, verify the dossier and verify it if necessary. The Head of the Justice Division is responsible for the results of the examination and the Justice Office’s proposal in handling marriage registration documents.

b) If the dossier is valid, the parties are eligible to get married under the provisions of the Law on Marriage and Family, not falling into the case of refusing to get married, The Justice Division reports to the President of the district People’s Committee to sign 02 originals of the Marriage Certificate.

c) Based on the specific situation, when necessary, the Ministry of Justice shall report to the Prime Minister on additional regulations on interview procedures when handling marriage registration requests to ensure the lawful rights and interests of State management and efficiency.

d) Within 3 working days after the Chairman of the district-level People’s Committee signs the marriage certificate, the Justice Office shall grant the marriage certificate to both male and female partners.

e) The handover and receipt of marriage certificates shall comply with the provisions of Clause 3, Article 38 of the Law on Civil Status.
The marriage certificate is valid from the date recorded in the book and given to the parties.

f) If one or both of the male and female partners cannot present to receive the Marriage Certificate, at their written request, the Justice Department shall extend the time limit for granting the Marriage Certificate but must not exceed 60 days. , from the date the Chairman of the district People’s Committee signs the Marriage Certificate. At the end of 60 days but both men and women do not come to receive the marriage certificate, the Justice Department shall report to the President of the district-level People’s Committee to cancel the signed marriage certificate.

If later, both men and women still want to get married, they must carry out procedures for marriage registration from the beginning.

In order to save time to learn the procedures, filling out the form, notarizing, and waiting for the application to be submitted, you can contact HT for advice and support for the Marriage to foreigners service.

Contact us

    • Email: hue.truong@htlaw.vn
    • Phone number: +84 935 439 454.