Joint Circular No. 06/2012/TTLT-BTP-BNG dated June 19, 2012 of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs amending and supplementing a number of provisions of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Joint Circular No. 11/2008/TTLT-BTP-BNG of December 31, 2008, guiding the Government’s Decree No. 158/2005/ND-CP of December 27, 2005, on civil status registration and management at overseas diplomatic missions and consulates of Vietnam

THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE - THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Joint Circular No. 06/2012/TTLT-BTP-BNG of June 19, 2012, amending and supplementing a number of provisions of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Joint Circular No. 11/2008/TTLT-BTP-BNG of December 31, 2008, guiding the Government’s Decree No. 158/2005/ND-CP of December 27, 2005, on civil status registration and management at overseas diplomatic missions and consulates of Vietnam

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 93/2008/ND-CP of August 22, 2008, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 15/2008/ND-CP of February 4, 2008, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 158/2005/ND-CP of December 27, 2005, on civil status registration and management;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 06/2012/ND-CP of February 2, 2012, amending and supplementing a number of articles of the decrees on civil status, marriage and family and certification;

The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs jointly amend and supplement a number of provisions of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Joint Circular No. 11/2008/TTLT-BTP-BNG of December 31, 2008, guiding the implementation of the Government’s Decree No. 158/2005/ND-CP of December 27, 2005, on civil status registration and management at overseas diplomatic missions and consulates of Vietnam (below referred to as Vietnamese representative missions), as follows:

Article 1. Amended and supplemented provisions

1. To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 1 of Section II as follows:

“b/ The order of and procedures for birth registration for children are provided as follows:

A birth registration applicant shall submit a declaration (made according to a set form), the written birth certification and a duplicate of the marriage certificate of the parents of the child (if their marriage has been registered) and produce the original marriage certificate for comparison.

Written birth certifications are those granted by medical establishments where children are born. For a child born outside a medical establishment, such written birth certification may be replaced with a witness’ written certification. If there is no witness, the birth registration applicant shall make a written commitment that the birth is real.

After checking all valid papers, a consular officer shall record information in the birth registration book and the original birth certificate. The head of the Vietnamese representative mission or an authorized consular officer shall sign and grant the original birth certificate to the birth declarant. Duplicates of a birth certificate may be granted at the request of the birth declarant.

For birth registration of an out-of-wedlock child, if his/her father cannot be identified, the section for information on the father in the birth registration book and the birth certificate must be left blank. If at the time of birth registration, a child is recognized by a person, the Vietnamese representative mission shall register the child recognition and the birth at the same time.”

2. To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 5 of Section II as follows:

“a/ Vietnamese representative missions in the countries in which guardians and wards being Vietnamese citizens reside shall register guardianship.

The order of and procedures for guardianship registration are provided as follows:

A person appointed to be a guardian shall submit a declaration (made according to a set form) and a guardian appointment paper. Guardian appointment papers are made by the guardian appointers. If many persons appoint a guardian, they shall all sign a guardian appointment paper.

Within 5 working days after fully receiving valid papers, if seeing that the guardianship satisfies the law-prescribed conditions, the Vietnamese representative mission shall register such guardianship. When verification is required, within 2 working days after fully receiving valid papers, the Vietnamese representative mission shall send written verification requests to competent agencies. Within 5 working days after receiving these verification requests, competent agencies shall send their verification results to the Vietnamese representative mission. Within 2 working days after receiving the verification results, the Vietnamese representative mission shall register the guardianship. The total time limit for guardianship registration in this case must not exceed 30 working days after fully receiving valid papers.

Upon guardianship registration, the presence of the guardian appointer and the appointed guardian is compulsory. A consular officer shall record information in the guardianship registration book and the guardianship recognition decision. The head of the Vietnamese representative mission or an authorized consular officer shall sign the guardianship recognition decision and grant the original decision to the guardian appointer and appointed guardian. Duplicates of a guardianship recognition decision may be granted at the request of guardians and guardian appointers.

If a ward has his/her own properties, the guardian appointer shall make a list of such properties, clearly stating their conditions, which must be signed by the guardian appointer and the appointed guardian. Such list must be made in 3 copies, one of which to be archived at the Vietnamese representative mission in which the guardianship is registered, one to be handed to the guardian and one to the guardian appointer.”

3. To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 6 of Section II as follows:

“b/ The order of and procedures for registration of father, mother or child recognition are provided as follows:

A person recognizing his/her father, mother or child shall submit a declaration (made according to a set form). In case a father or mother recognizes a minor child, consent of the current father or mother of such child is required, except such person has died, been missing, lost his/her civil act capacity or been restricted in his/her civil act capacity.

Together with a declaration, the following papers shall be produced:

- The birth certificate (original or duplicate) of the child, if the child’s birth has been registered;

- Papers, objects or other evidences proving the father-child or mother-child relationship (if any).

Within 3 working days after fully receiving valid papers, if seeing that the recognition of father, mother or child is true and dispute-free, the Vietnamese representative mission shall register such recognition. When verification is required, within 2 working days after fully receiving valid papers, the Vietnamese representative mission shall send written verification requests to competent agencies. Within 5 working days after receiving these verification requests, competent agencies shall send their verification results to the Vietnamese representative mission. Within 2 working days after receiving the verification results, the Vietnamese representative mission shall register the father, mother or child recognition. The total time limit for registration of father, mother or child recognition in this case must not exceed 30 working days after fully receiving valid papers.

Upon registration of father, mother or child recognition, the presence of the father, mother and child is compulsory, except the person recognized as father or mother has died. A consular officer shall record information in the father, mother or child recognition registration book and the father, mother or child recognition decision. The head of the Vietnamese representative mission or an authorized consular officer shall sign the father, mother or child recognition decision and grant the original decision to the involved parties. Duplicates of a father, mother or child recognition decision may be granted at the request of involved parties.”

4. To amend and supplement Clause 9 of Section II as follows:

“a/ Overdue birth registration shall be effected at a Vietnamese representative mission only when a Vietnamese citizen was born overseas but his/her birth has not yet been registered (at a Vietnamese representative mission or a competent foreign office).

The competence for overdue birth registration complies with Point a, Clause 1, Section II of this Joint Circular. A person having full civil act capacity under the Civil Code may make his/her overdue birth registration at the Vietnamese representative mission in the locality in which his/her parents reside or the Vietnamese representative mission in the locality in which he/she resides and shall himself/herself apply for the registration.

b/ Overdue death registration shall be effected at a Vietnamese representative mission only when a  Vietnamese citizen has died overseas and his/her death has not yet been registered (at a Vietnamese representative mission or a competent foreign office).

The competence for overdue death registration complies with Point a, Clause 3, Section II of this Joint Circular.

c/ The  order of  overdue birth or death registration

- The order of and procedures for overdue birth registration are provided as follows:

An overdue birth registration applicant shall submit a declaration (made according to a set form), the written birth certification and the duplicate of the marriage certificate of the parents of the child (if their marriage has been registered) and produce the original marriage certificate for comparison.

Written birth certifications shall be granted by medical establishments where children are born. For a child born outside a medical establishment, the written birth certification may be replaced with a witness’ written certification. If there is no witness, the birth registration applicant shall make a written commitment that the birth is real.

After fully receiving valid papers, a consular officer shall record information in the birth registration book and the original birth certificate. The head of the Vietnamese representative mission or an authorized consular officer shall sign and grant the original birth certificate to the birth declarant. When verification is required, within 2 working days after fully receiving valid papers, the Vietnamese representative mission shall send written verification requests to competent agencies. Within 5 working days after receiving these verification requests, competent agencies shall send their verification results to the Vietnamese representative mission. Within 2 working days after receiving the verification results, the Vietnamese representative mission shall make the birth registration. The total time limit for overdue birth registration in this case must not exceed 30 working days after fully receiving valid papers.

The section for information on parents in the birth certificate and the birth registration book shall be recorded with information available at the time of overdue birth registration. Particularly, if the father or mother has renounced Vietnamese nationality and has been naturalized in the foreign country, the section on nationality of the father or mother must still be written with Vietnamese nationality. The current nationality of the father or mother shall be written in the column of notes on later changes of the birth registration book and on the back of the original birth certificate.

- The order of and procedures for overdue death registration are provided as follows:

An overdue death declarant shall submit the death notice or its substitute.

After fully receiving valid papers, a consular officer shall record information in the death registration book and the death certificate. The head of the Vietnamese representative mission or an authorized consular officer shall sign and grant the original death certificate to the death declarant. When verification is required, within 2 working days after fully receiving valid papers, the Vietnamese representative mission shall send written verification requests to competent agencies. Within 5 working days after receiving these verification requests, competent agencies shall send their verification results to the Vietnamese representative mission. Within 2 working days after receiving the verification results, the Vietnamese representative mission shall make the death registration. The total time limit for overdue death registration in this case must not exceed 30 working days after fully receiving valid papers.”

5. To amend and supplement Point c, Clause 10 of Section II as follows:

“c/ The order of and procedures for birth, death or marriage re-registration are provided as follows:

An applicant for re-registration of birth, death or marriage shall submit a declaration (made according to a set form) and produce a lawfully granted duplicate of the civil status paper (if any). In case this duplicate is unavailable, the applicant shall make a commitment that civil status registration had been made but the civil status book was no longer kept and shall take responsibility for his/her commitment.

Within 3 working days after fully receiving valid papers, a consular officer shall record information in the corresponding civil status book and the original birth, death or marriage certificate. The head of the Vietnamese representative mission or an authorized consular officer shall sign and grant the original civil status paper to the applicant. Old civil status papers related to the re-registered civil status event (if any) shall be withdrawn and filed. When verification is required, within 2 working days after fully receiving valid papers, the Vietnamese representative mission shall send written verification requests to competent agencies. Within 5 working days after receiving these verification requests, competent agencies shall send their verification results to the Vietnamese representative mission. Within 2 working days after receiving the verification results, the Vietnamese representative mission shall re-register the birth, death or marriage. The total time limit for registration in this case must not exceed 30 working days after fully receiving valid papers.

Upon birth, death or marriage re-registration, if the applicant produces a lawfully granted duplicate of the civil status paper, the content of birth, death or marriage registration shall be recorded according to the content of such duplicate.

The section for information on parents in the birth certificate and the birth registration book shall be recorded with information available at the time of birth re-registration. Particularly, if the father or mother has renounced Vietnamese nationality and has been naturalized in the foreign country, the section on nationality of the father or mother must still be written with Vietnamese nationality. The current nationality of the father or mother shall be written in the column of notes on later changes of the birth registration book and on the back of the original birth certificate.

Upon marriage re-registration, the presence of the involved persons is compulsory. The marriage relationship shall be recognized from the date of previous marriage registration.”

6. To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 1 of Section IV as follows:

“a/ The Vietnamese representative mission in which civil status books are archived shall grant duplicates of civil status papers from civil status books. If a civil status book has been transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for archive, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Consular Department) also has competence to grant duplicates of civil status papers from civil status books when so requested by persons concerned.

A requester for grant of duplicates of civil status papers from civil status books may submit the dossier directly or by post. For submission by post, the requester shall also send the fee for duplicates, postage for sending duplicates and an envelope bearing the recipient’s name and address.

The duplicates of civil status papers from civil status books shall be granted at the Vietnamese representative mission or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Consular Department) on the dossier-receiving day. If a dossier is received after 15:00 hrs., the duplicates shall be granted on the subsequent working day. In case the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Consular Department) has not yet received the civil status book from the Vietnamese representative mission, it shall call to ask the Vietnamese representative mission to verify information on the dossier-receiving day. Within 1 working day after receiving the verification request, the Vietnamese representative mission shall reply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Consular Department). Within 1 working day after receiving the Vietnamese representative mission’s reply, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Consular Department) shall grant the duplicates of civil status papers. The total time limit for the grant of duplicates in this case must not exceed 5 working days after fully receiving valid papers.”

7. To amend Point b, Clause 2 of Section VI as follows:

“b/ The order of and procedures for re-grant of original birth certificates are provided as follows:

A requester for re-grant of an original birth certificate shall submit a declaration (made according to a set form) and the old original birth certificate (if any).

A requester for re-grant of an original birth certificate may submit the dossier directly or by post. For submission by post, the requester shall also send the fee for re-grant, postage for sending the re-granted original birth certificate and an envelope bearing the recipient’s name and address.

The original birth certificate shall be granted at the Vietnamese representative mission or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Consular Department) on the dossier-receiving day. If a dossier is received after 15:00 hrs., the duplicates shall be granted on the subsequent working day. In case the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Consular Department) has not yet received the birth registration book from the Vietnamese representative mission, it shall call to ask the Vietnamese representative mission to verify information on the dossier-receiving day. Within 1 working day after receiving the verification request, the Vietnamese representative mission shall reply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Consular Department). Within 1 working day after receiving the Vietnamese representative mission’s reply, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Consular Department) shall grant the original birth certificate to the requester. The total time limit for the re-grant of the original birth certificate in this case must not exceed 5 working days after fully receiving valid papers.

Upon re-grant, the principles of recording information in the original birth certificate comply with Article 61 of Decree No. 158/2005/ND-CP.”

Article 2. Implementation provisions

1. This Joint Circular takes effect on August 3, 2012.

2. Any difficulties or problems arising in the course of implementation should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice for consideration, amendment and supplementation.-

For the Minister of Justice
Deputy Minister
DINH TRUNG TUNG

For the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Deputy Minister
NGUYEN THANH SON