Decree 06/2025/ND-CP amending the Decrees on adoption

DECREE

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Decrees on child adoption^[1]

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government; and the November 22, 2019 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration;

Pursuant to the June 17, 2010 Law on Adoption;

At the proposal of the Minister of Justice;

The Government promulgates the Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Decrees on child adoption.

Article 1. To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP March 21, 2011, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Adoption (below referred to as Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP), which had a number of articles amended and supplemented under the Government’s Decree No. 24/2019/ND-CP of March 5, 2019

1. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP as follows:

“2. The children specified in Clause 1 of this Article, if adopted abroad, shall be exempted from the procedure for introducing children for adoption as specified in Clause 1, Article 36 of the Law on Adoption.”

2. To amend and supplement Article 5 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP as follows:

“Article 5. Validity duration and validity of documents

1. The health certificate and certificate of family circumstances, housing status and economic conditions of the person registering for child adoption in case of domestic adoption specified in Article 17 of the Law on Adoption and the health certificate specified at Point dd, Clause 1, Article 21 of this Decree are valid if issued within 6 months prior to the date of submitting the dossier to the commune-level People’s Committee.

2. The health certificate, filled-out psychological and family background information form, and certificate of income and property specified in Clause 1, Article 31 of the Law on Adoption, the health certificate and document on the remarkable characteristics, hobbies and habits of the child specified in Clause 1, Article 32 of the Law on Adoption are valid if formulated, issued or certified within 12 months prior to the date of submitting the dossier to a competent agency.

3. The criminal record certificate issued by a foreign authority for the person registering for child adoption specified at Point g, Clause 1, Article 31 of the Law on Adoption and Point b, Clause 1, Article 21 of this Decree, or the person expected to act as the head of the foreign adoption office in Vietnam specified at Point g, Clause 1, Article 31 of this Decree is valid if issued within 12 months prior to the date of submitting the dossier to a competent agency.

4. Documents in the dossiers of the perspective adoptive parent and the to-be-adopted child or the dossier of application for grant, extension or modification of the operation license for a foreign adoption service provider in Vietnam, formulated, issued or certified by a competent agency, organization, or person, that are erased or modified, thus falsifying their contents, or contain untruthful declarations, are invalid. Those who erase or modify documents to falsify the contents of such documents or make false declarations shall be handled in accordance with law.”

3. To amend and supplement Article 6 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP, which has been amended and supplemented under Clause 4, Article 1 of Decree No. 24/2019/ND-CP, as follows:

“Article 6. Checking and seeking for a person to adopt a child

1. For an abandoned child, an orphan or a child without support who is being temporarily nurtured by, or placed under alternative care of, an individual, a family, or an organization in accordance with law, the commune-level People’s Committee shall check and assess every 6 months the child’s need to be adopted. If there is a Vietnamese citizen permanently residing in the country wishing to adopt the child, the commune-level People’s Committee shall consider and settle the case, or instruct the settlement of, the adoption in accordance with law. If there is no Vietnamese citizen permanently residing in the country wishing to adopt the child, the commune-level People’s Committee shall send a document, enclosed with the child’s dossier, to the provincial-level Department of Justice for the latter to seek a person to adopt the child according to Clause 3 of this Article and, at the same time, report thereon to the district-level People’s Committee for information.

2. For an abandoned child, an orphan or a child without support living in a nurturing establishment, the nurturing establishment shall assess the child’s need to be adopted and make the child’s dossier comprising the papers and documents specified in in Clause 1, Article 18 of the Law on Adoption, and consult the provincial-level Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, for nurturing establishments managed by provincial-level authorities, or the district-level People’s Committee, for nurturing establishments managed by district-level authorities. Within 5 working days after receiving a complete dossier, the provincial-level Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs or district-level People’s Committee shall send its opinions to the provincial-level Department of Justice, enclosed with the child’s dossier, for the latter to announce the search for a person to adopt the child according to Clause 3 of this Article.

3. The search for a person to adopt a child is as follows:

a/ When receiving the child’s dossier as specified Clause 1 or 2 of this Article, if there is a Vietnamese citizen permanently residing in the country registering  the demand for child adoption as specified in Article 16 of the Law on Adoption, the provincial-level Department of Justice shall check the conditions of the person registering the demand for child adoption before handing over 1 set of the child’s dossier to him/her and introduce him/her to the commune-level People’s Committee competent to settle the adoption for consideration and settlement in accordance with law.

In case there is no Vietnamese citizen permanently residing in the country registering the demand for child adoption, the provincial-level Department of Justice shall announce the search for a person to adopt the child by the method and within the time limit specified at Point c, Clause 2, Article 15 of the Law on Adoption;

b/ During the period of announcement in the provincial-level scope, if there is a Vietnamese citizen permanently residing in the country registering the demand for child adoption as specified in Article 16 of the Law on Adoption, the provincial-level Department of Justice shall carry out the procedures specified at Point a of this Clause. After the announcement period expires, if there is no Vietnamese citizen permanently residing in the country adopting the child, the provincial-level Department of Justice shall send the list of children to the Ministry of Justice for the latter to announce the search for a person to adopt the child by the method and within the time limit specified a Point d, Clause 2, Article 15 of the Law on Adoption;

c/ During period of announcement within the national scope, if there is a Vietnamese citizen permanently residing in the country wishing and being eligible to adopt the child, he/she shall contact the provincial-level Department of Justice to carry out the procedures specified at Point a of this Clause.

After the period of announcement within the national scope expires, if there is no Vietnamese citizen permanently residing in the country adopting the child, for the child specified in Clause 2 of this Article, the Ministry of Justice shall notify such to the provincial-level Department of Justice for the latter to carry out the procedures for certifying the child’ eligibility for intercountry adoption.

For a child specified in Clause 1 of this Article, if there is no Vietnamese citizen permanently residing in the country adopting the child, the Ministry of Justice shall notify such to the provincial-level Department of Justice for the latter to request the commune-level People’s Committee to prepare a dossier to send the child to a nurturing establishment if the child is not provided with alternative care in another appropriate form as specified by law. In case the nurturing establishment has assessed the child’s need to be adopted and made the child’s dossier according to Clause 2 of this Article, it is not required to re-announce the search for a person in the country to adopt the child;

d/ The content of the announcement on the search for a person to adopt a child must ensure the child’s right to privacy, personal secrets and family secrets in accordance with law.”

4. To amend and supplement Article 7 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP as follows:

“Article 7. Dossiers of adopting persons

In case of domestic adoption, the dossier of an adopting person shall be made in 1 set, comprising the documents specified in Article 17 of the Law on Adoption, and must comply with the following regulations:

1. The adopting person shall submit the dossier to the commune-level People’s Committee competent to settle the adoption in person, by post or online in accordance with the regulations on performance on administrative procedures in the electronic environment.

For the criminal record certificate specified in Clause 3, Article 17 of the Law on Adoption, the adopting person shall submit the criminal record certificate, Form No. 1.

2. In case the adopting person submits an electronic criminal record certificate, if the commune-level People’s Committee competent to settle the adoption can search information and data on the personal identity and marital status of the adopting person from the National Population Database and specialized databases, the adopting person is not required to submit paper copies of the documents specified in Clauses 2, 3 and 4, Article 17 of the Law on Adoption.

The search results shall be stored by the commune-level People’s Committee in electronic or paper form and must fully and accurately reflect the information at the time of search and be attached to the dossier of the adopting person.

3. For the certificate of family circumstances, housing status, and economic conditions of adopting persons specified in Clause 5, Article 17 of the Law on Adoption: In case the adopting person’s place of permanent residence differs from his/her current place of domicile, within 2 working days after receiving the request of the adopting person, the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where he/she registers permanent residence shall itself verify within 5 working days or send a written request to the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the adopting person is currently residing for the latter to verify and evaluate his/her family circumstances, housing status, and economic conditions. Within 5 working days after receiving the request, the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the adopting person is currently residing shall carry out verification and evaluation based on the contents of the certificate of family circumstances, housing status, and economic conditions of the adopting person and notify thereof in writing to the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the adopting person registers permanent residence.”

5. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 10 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP as follows:

“1. Within 5 working days from the deadline for changing opinions as specified in Clause 3, Article 9 of this Decree, the commune-level People’s Committee shall carry out the procedure for registering the adoption and organize the handover of the adopted child. The handover of the adopted child shall be organized at the working office of the commune-level People’s Committee where the adoption is registered in the presence of the adoptive father and mother, biological father and mother, guardian or representative of the nurturing establishment and the to-be-adopted child. In case either of the adoptive parents or either of the biological parents of the child cannot be present at the handover ceremony for an objective reason, he/she shall authorize the other person.

The civil servant in charge of justice-civil status affairs shall make an entry in the Adoption Register and hand over the domestic adoption certificate to the parties to the handover. An electronic copy of the domestic adoption certificate shall be sent via their personal electronic data management storages or personal emails. A record on the handover of the adopted child must be made, bearing the signatures or fingerprints of the parties to the handover and the representative of the commune-level People’s Committee where the adoption is settled.”

6. To add Article 10a below Article 10 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP, which had been amended and supplemented under Clause 5, Article 1 of Decree No. 24/2019/ND-CP, as follows:

“Article 10a. Provision of information on the growth of the adopted child

1. In case the adoptive parents change their place of permanent residence before the expiration of the period during which they are obliged to inform the growth of the adopted child, the adoptive parents shall continue providing information to the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where they move to until the expiration of such period as specified in Clause 1, Article 23 of the Law on Adoption.

2. The commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the adoptive parents move to shall check and monitor the adoption according to Clause 2, Article 23 of the Law on Adoption.”

7. To amend and supplement Clause 5, Article 13 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP as follows:

“5. Certificate of the commune-level public security agency of the locality where the adopting person is residing in Vietnam and other papers and documents proving that the adopting person is a foreign national who has been continuously working or studying in Vietnam for at least 1 year, counted by the date of dossier submission to the Ministry of Justice.”

8. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 15 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP as follows:

“1. The provincial-level Department of Justice shall examine the dossier and assign a civil servant to seek opinions of related persons on the intercountry adoption of the child in accordance with Clause 1, Article 33 of the Law on Adoption.

In case the biological parents or guardian of the child are/is residing in another locality, the provincial-level Department of Justice that settles the adoption shall assign a civil servant or send a written request to the provincial-level Department of Justice of the locality where the biological parents or guardian of the child are/is residing for the latter to seek opinions of such person(s) on the intercountry adoption of the child. Within 5 working days after receiving the request from the provincial-level Department of Justice that settles the adoption, the provincial-level Department of Justice of the locality where the biological parents or guardian of the child are/is residing shall seek opinions on the intercountry adoption of the child in accordance with law and send the collected opinions to the provincial-level Department of Justice that settles the adoption.”

9. To amend and supplement a number of clauses of Article 16 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP, which have been amended and supplemented under Clause 7, Article 1 of Decree No. 24/2019/ND-CP, as follows:

a/ To amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:

“1. Before certifying a child’s eligibility for intercountry adoption as specified in Clause 2, Article 33 of the Law on Adoption, the provincial-level Department of Justice shall examine and appraise the child’s dossier and check it against the regulations on the category and age of to-be-adopted children, cases that must go through the placement procedures, and cases that are settled under Clause 2, Article 28 of the Law on Adoption.

In case an abandoned child is introduced for intercountry adoption, there must be a document made by the provincial-level public security agency verifying and clearly concluding on the origin of the abandoned child and the facts that his/her biological parents have not been identified and that no issues related to human trafficking have been detected. In case the child’s dossier indicates that the child’s biological parents are residing in another locality, the provincial-level public security agency of the locality where the adoption is settled shall itself carry out verification or send a written request to the provincial-level public security agency of the locality where the child’s biological parents are residing for the latter to carry out verification.

In case the provincial-level public security agency can verify the information about the biological parents of the abandoned child and the provincial-level Department of Justice can contact them, the provincial-level Department of Justice shall seek opinions of the biological parents before certifying that the child is eligible for adoption.

In case it is impossible to contact the biological parents, the provincial-level Department of Justice shall post information on the adoption of the child at its working office for 60 days from the date of receiving the verification result, and, at the same time, send a written request to the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the biological parents are residing for the latter to post information on the adoption of the child at its working office. The period of posting information is 60 days after the commune-level People’s Committee receives the request from the provincial-level Department of Justice. Within 5 working days after the period of posting information expires, the commune-level People’s Committee shall send to the provincial-level Department of Justice a notice of feedback received after posting the information in the locality.”

b/ To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

“3. After certifying the child’s eligibility for placement for intercountry adoption, the provincial-level Department of Justice shall send to the Ministry of Justice a dossier comprising the documents specified in Clause 1, Article 32 of the Law on Adoption, enclosed with a certificate of the child’s eligibility for placement for intercountry adoption, and a verification document of the provincial-level public security agency, in case the child is an abandoned child; written opinions of the biological parents or guardian and the opinions of the child, in case the child is aged full 9 years or older, stating their/his/her consent to the intercountry adoption of the child; or written opinions of the director of the nurturing establishment on the intercountry adoption of the child, in case the child is living in a nurturing establishment.”

10. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2, Article 17 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP as follows:

“1. In case of adopting a child under Points a, b, c and dd, Clause 2, Article 28 of the Law on Adoption, the adopting person shall submit the dossier to the Ministry of Justice in person or by post. In case the adopting person authorizes a person who is residing in Vietnam to submit the dossier, a letter of authorization is required. The letter of authorization that is made, issued and certified by a foreign authority must be translated into Vietnamese; the consular legalization of such letter of authorization must comply with law.

2. In case of adopting a child living in a nurturing establishment, if the adopting person is permanently residing in a country that is a member state to a treaty on adoption to which Vietnam is also a contracting party, he/she shall submit the dossier to the Ministry of Justice through an adoption service provider of that country that is licensed to operate in Vietnam. The adoption service provider may choose to hand-deliver or send by post the dossier to the Ministry of Justice.

In case the adopting person is permanently residing in a country where there is no adoption service provider licensed to operate in Vietnam, he/she shall submit the dossier to the Ministry of Justice through the Central Adoption Authority of the country where he/she is permanently residing, or the diplomatic mission or consular office of that country in Vietnam.”

11. To amend and supplement Article 19 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP as follows:

“Article 19. Transfer of the adopting person’s dossier to the provincial-level Department of Justice

1. For the cases specified at Points a, b and c, Clause 2, Article 28 of the Law on Adoption, the Ministry of Justice shall transfer the dossier of the adopting person to the provincial-level Department of Justice for the latter to check and verify the dossier of the to-be-adopted child, seek opinions of related persons on the adoption settlement, and certify the to-be-adopted child’s eligibility for intercountry adoption.

2. For a child living in a nurturing establishment as specified in Clause 1, Article 3 of this Decree, after receiving the child’s dossier and the documents specified in Clause 3, Article 16 of this Decree, the Ministry of Justice shall issue a document requesting foreign adoption offices in Vietnam to seek a person with suitable conditions to care for and nurture the child. After finding a person with suitable conditions, the Ministry of Justice shall settle the intercountry adoption of the child according to the method and within the time limit specified in Clauses 2 and 3, Article 36 of the Law on Adoption and transfer the adopting person’s dossier to the provincial-level Department of Justice for the latter to complete the procedures.

3. In case of settling the adoption of children living in a nurturing establishment according to the placement procedures, the Ministry of Justice shall transfer the adopting persons’ dossiers to the provincial-level Department of Justice according to Clause 3, Article 34 of the Law on Adoption for the latter to carry out the procedures for placement of children for adoption. The transfer of dossiers must be based on the number of children eligible for intercountry adoption and the number of approved dossiers of adopting persons, ensuring the selection of the most suitable families for the children.”

12. To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 20 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP, which has been amended and supplemented under Clause 8, Article 1 of Decree No. 24/2019/ND-CP, as follows:

“3. While examining results of the settlement of intercountry adoptions as specified in Clause 2, Article 28 and Clause 2, Article 36 of the Law on Adoption, the Ministry of Justice shall seek opinions of psychological, medical, family and social experts, if necessary. If the child is eligible for intercountry adoption and the adoption complies with the law-specified procedures and ensures the best interests of the child, the Ministry of Justice shall send a notice to the adopting person and the Central Adoption Authority of the country where the adopting person is permanently residing, enclosed with the following documents and papers:

a/ The report assessing the child’s eligibility for intercountry adoption;

b/ The birth certificate of the child;

c/ The admission decision, for children living in nurturing establishments;

d/ The health certificate of the child;

dd/ The document stating opinions of the biological parents or guardian, and opinions of the child, in case the child is aged full 9 years or older, on the adoption; written opinions of the director of the nurturing establishment on the adoption of the child, in case the child is living in a nurturing establishment.

In case the child is ineligible for adoption or the settlement of adoption does neither comply with the law-specified procedures nor ensure the best interests of the child, the Ministry of Justice shall notify thereof to the provincial-level Department of Justice.”

13. To amend and supplement Article 22 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP as follows:

“Article 22. Procedures for certifying eligibility of Vietnamese citizens permanently residing in border areas to adopt children of neighboring countries residing in border areas, making of entries in the Adoption Register the adoption that has been settled by authorities of the neighboring countries

1. Vietnamese citizens permanently residing in border areas who wish to adopt children of neighboring countries residing in border areas of the neighboring countries must fully meet the conditions specified in Article 14 of the Law on Adoption.

2. A dossier of request for certification of eligibility for adoption must comprise the documents specified in Article 17 of the Law on Adoption and shall be made in 1 set.

3. The adopting person may choose to submit the dossier to the district-level People’s Committee of the locality where he/she registers permanent residence in person, by post or online in accordance with the regulations on performance of administrative procedures in the electronic environment.

The district-level People’s Committee shall check the dossier and make certification if that person is eligible for adopting the child as specified in Article 14 of the Law on Adoption. The certificate of eligibility shall be sent to the requester via his/her email or electronic data management storage, by post or at the working office of the district-level People’s Committee.

4. After registering the adoption at the authority of the neighboring country, the adopting person shall carry out procedures for recording the adoption at the district-level People’s Committee of the locality where he/she is residing in accordance with the law on civil status.”

14. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 26 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP as follows:

“1. The adopting person’s dossier shall be made in 1 set, comprising the documents specified in Article 17 of the Law on Adoption.

For the criminal record certificate specified in Clause 3, Article 17 of the Law on Adoption, the adopting person shall submit the criminal record certificate, Form No. 1.

In case the adopting person submits an electronic criminal record certificate and the representative mission can search information about his/her personal identity and marital status from the National Population Database and specialized databases, the adopting person is not required to submit paper copies of the documents specified in Clauses 2, 3 and 4, Article 17 of the Law on Adoption.

Search results shall be stored by the representative mission in electronic or paper form, fully and accurately reflecting the information at the time of search and being attached to the dossier of the adopting person.

In case the adopting person has been residing abroad for 6 months or more, the criminal record certificate, health certificate, and certificate of family circumstances, housing status, and economic conditions of that person may be those issued by the authority of the country where he/she is residing.”

15. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 27 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP as follows:

“1. The adopting person shall submit his/her dossier and the dossier of the to-be-adopted child to the representative mission as specified in Clause 3, Article 2 of this Decree in person, by post or online in accordance with the regulations on performance of administrative procedures in the electronic environment.”

16. To amend and supplement Clauses 3 and 4, Article 29 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP as follows:

“3. The person requesting re-registration of adoption may choose to submit the declaration form for re-registration of adoption in person, by post or online in accordance with the regulations on performance of administrative procedures in the electronic environment. The declaration form must contain a commitment of the person requesting re-registration regarding the truthfulness of the previous adoption registration and the signatures of at least two witnesses.

The commune-level People’s Committee or provincial-level Department of Justice shall clearly explain to the person requesting re-registration of adoption the responsibilities and legal consequences of making an untrue commitment. Within its authority, the commune-level People’s Committee or provincial-level Department of Justice may refuse to re-register the adoption or request a competent agency to cancel the re-registration of adoption, if there is a basis to believe that the committed contents are untrue.

4. Within 5 working days after receiving sufficient valid documents, the chairperson of the commune-level People’s Committee shall sign the domestic adoption certificate. The original of the domestic adoption certificate shall be sent to the person requesting re-registration by post or handed over to him/her at the working office of the commune-level People’s Committee. The electronic copy of the domestic adoption certificate shall be sent via the electronic data management storage or email of such person.

Provincial-level Departments of Justice shall, before carrying out the subsequent procedures, report cases of re-registration of adoption involving foreign elements to provincial-level People’s Committees for decision.”

17. To amend and supplement a number of clauses of Article 33 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP as follows:

a/ To amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:

“1. Within 60 days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Ministry of Justice shall examine and appraise the dossier; conduct interviews to examine and evaluate the qualifications of the person expected to act as the head of the foreign adoption office in Vietnam; examine and evaluate the conditions and professional capacity of the foreign adoption service provider and its staff; and request the Ministry of Public Security to give its opinions.”

b/ To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

“3. Within 5 working days after receiving the written reply from the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice shall consider and decide to grant a license for provision of foreign adoption services in Vietnam (below referred to as the license) to the foreign adoption service provider and notify such to the Ministry of Public Security and the competent tax agency for coordinated management. In case of refusal to grant a license, the Ministry of Justice shall notify the reason in writing to the foreign adoption service provider.”

18. To amend and supplement a number of clauses of Article 34 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP as follows:

a/ To amend and supplement Clauses 2 and 3 as follows:

“2. Within 60 days before its license expires, the foreign adoption service provider shall submit an application for extension of the license to the Ministry of Justice, enclosed with the license, a document issued by the authority of the country where the service provider is established, allowing it to operate in the field of intercountry adoption, and a report on its activities in Vietnam.

3. Within 30 days after receiving a complete dossier, the Ministry of Justice shall appraise the dossier; examine the activities of the foreign adoption office in Vietnam; re-evaluate the professional capacity of the foreign adoption service provider if deeming it necessary; and request the Ministry of Public Security to give its opinions.”

b/ To amend and supplement Clause 5 as follows:

“5. Within 5 working days after receiving a written reply from the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice shall consider and decide to extend the license and notify such to the Ministry of Public Security and the competent tax agency for coordinated management. In case of refusal to extend the license, the Ministry of Justice shall notify the reason in writing to the foreign adoption service provider.”

19. To amend and supplement Article 35 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP as follows:

“Article 35. Modification of the License

1. In case a foreign adoption service provider changes its name or head office location in the country where it is established, or changes the name or head office location of its foreign adoption office in Vietnam, it shall submit to the Ministry of Justice a request for recording of such change.

Within 5 working days after receiving the request for acknowledgement of change, the Ministry of Justice shall record the change in the license, notify the Ministry of Public Security and the competent tax agency in case of change of the name or head office location of the foreign adoption office in Vietnam for coordinated management.

2. In case of change of the head of the foreign adoption office in Vietnam, the foreign adoption service provider shall submit an application to the Ministry of Justice, enclosed with the license and 2 sets of dossier of the person expected to act as the head of the foreign adoption office in Vietnam as specified at Point g, Clause 1, Article 31 of this Decree.

Within 15 days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Ministry of Justice shall appraise the dossier and send a request, enclosed with 1 set of dossier of the person expected to act as the head of the foreign adoption office in Vietnam, to Ministry of Public Security to seek the latter’s opinions. Within 15 days after receiving the request from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Public Security shall reply the Ministry of Justice in writing.

Within 5 working days after receiving the written reply from the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice shall consider and decide to allow the change of the head of the foreign adoption office in Vietnam and notify thereof to the Ministry of Public Security and competent tax agency for coordinated management. If refusing to accept the person expected to act as the head of the foreign adoption office in Vietnam, the Ministry of Justice shall notify the reason in writing to the foreign adoption service provider.”

Article 2. To replace or annul a number of provisions of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Decree No. 24/2019/ND-CP and the Government’s Decree No. 114/2016/ND-CP of July 8, 2016, providing the adoption registration fee and fee for licensing the operation of foreign adoption service providers

1. To replace the following provisions:

a/ To replace the phrase “Department of Child Adoption” in Article 13; Clause 3, Article 17; Clauses 1, 2 and 3, Article 18; Clause 2, Article 20; Clauses 3 and 4, Article 27; Clause 2, Article 31; Clauses 2 and 3, Article 36; and Clause 2, Article 47, of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP, with the phrase “Ministry of Justice”;

b/ To replace the phrase “personal information” at Point g, Clause 1, Article 31 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP with the phrase “Curriculum vitae”;

c/ To replace the phrase “Department of Child Adoption under the Ministry of Justice (below referred to as the Department of Child Adoption)” at Point b, Clause 3, Article 4 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP, which has been amended and supplemented under Clause 3, Article 1 of Decree No. 24/2019/ND-CP, with the phrase “Ministry of Justice”;

d/ To replace the phrase “Department of Child Adoption” at Point c, Clause 3, Article 4 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP, which has been amended and supplemented under Clause 3, Article 1 of Decree No. 24/2019/ND-CP, with the phrase “Ministry of Justice”;

dd/ To replace the phrase “Department of Child Adoption” at Point b, Clause 2, Article 14 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP, which has been amended and supplemented under Clause 6, Article 1 of Decree No. 24/2019/ND-CP, with the phrase “Ministry of Justice”;

e/ To replace the phrase “Department of Child Adoption” at Clause 3, Article 30 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP, which has been amended and supplemented under Clause 9, Article 1 of Decree No. 24/2019/ND-CP, with the phrase “Ministry of Justice”;

g/ To replace the phrase “Department of Child Adoption (Ministry of Justice)” in Clause 2 and Clause 6, Article 3 of Decree No. 114/2016/ND-CP with the phrase “Ministry of Justice”;

h/ To replace the phrase “Department of Child Adoption (Ministry of Justice)” in Clause 3, Article 5 of Decree No. 114/2016/ND-CP with the phrase “Office of the Ministry of Justice”.

2. To annul Article 12 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP.

Article 3. Implementation provisions

1. This Decree takes effect on the date of its signing.

2. Dossiers of adopting persons that have been submitted to provincial-level Departments of Justice as specified in Clause 3, Article 22 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP before the effective date of this Decree, shall continue to be processed in accordance with Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP.

3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees, and relevant organizations and individuals shall implement this Decree.-

On behalf of the Government
For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
LE THANH LONG