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