Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality No. 79/2025/QH15 dated June 24, 2025 of the National Assembly

LAW

Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality^[1]

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Resolution No. 203/2025/QH15;

The National Assembly promulgates the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of Law No. 24/2008/QH12 on Vietnamese Nationality, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 56/2014/QH13.

Article 1. To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality

1. To amend and supplement Clause 4, and add Clauses 5, 6, 7 and 8 below Clause 4, Article 5 as follows:

“4. Within the territory of Vietnam, the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam only recognizes Vietnamese nationality for Vietnamese citizens who concurrently hold foreign nationality in their relations with Vietnam’s competent agencies, unless otherwise provided by treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party. The rights and obligations of Vietnamese citizens who concurrently hold foreign nationality and currently reside overseas must comply with relevant laws.

5. Persons who stand for election, are elected, approved, appointed or designated to hold positions or titles for a fixed term of office in agencies of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the State, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, or socio-political organizations at the central or local level; persons working in cipher organizations; and persons serving in the armed forces of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam must be those holding a single nationality, which is Vietnamese nationality, and permanently residing in Vietnam.

6. Civil servants and public employees not falling into the case specified in Clause 5 of this Article must be those holding a single nationality, which is Vietnamese nationality, except cases in which the holding of another nationality is considered beneficial to the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and not harming the national interests of Vietnam, and must be those permanently residing in Vietnam. The Government shall detail this Clause.

7. In case another law promulgated before the effective date of this Law has provisions on nationality that are different from those of Clauses 5 and 6 of this Article, the provisions of this Law shall prevail; in case another law promulgated after the effective date of this Law has provisions on nationality that are different from those of Clauses 5 and 6 of this Article, it is required to specify what provisions are applied or not applied in accordance with this Law, and what provisions are applied in accordance with such another law.

8. Vietnamese competent state agencies’ administrative decisions relating to Vietnamese nationality under this Law shall not be subject to complaint or lawsuit.”.

2. To amend and supplement a number of clauses of Article 11 as follows:

a. To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. People’s identity card; citizen identity card; identity card; or electronic identity card;”;

b/ To amend and supplement Clause 4, and add Clause 5 below Clause 4, as follows:

“4. Decision permitting naturalization in Vietnam; decision permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality; decision recognizing adoption of a foreign child; or decision permitting a foreigner to adopt a Vietnamese child;

5. Other papers as specified by the Government.”.

3. To amend and supplement Clause 2, and add Clause 3 below Clause 2, Article 13 as follows:

“2. Overseas Vietnamese who have not yet lost Vietnamese nationality under Vietnam’s law before the effective date of this Law may retain their Vietnamese nationality.

Overseas Vietnamese who have not yet lost Vietnamese nationality and cannot produce any papers proving their Vietnamese nationality as specified in Article 11 of this Law shall send a request to overseas representative missions of Vietnam for certifying their holding of Vietnamese nationality.

3. The Government shall specify the order and procedures for certification of the holding of Vietnamese nationality.”.

4. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 16 as follows:

“2. For a child born to a parent being a Vietnamese citizen and the other parent being a foreign citizen, he/she will be considered holding Vietnamese nationality if his/her parents agree to choose Vietnamese nationality for him/her when carrying out birth registration procedures at a Vietnamese competent agency under the Government’s guidance. In case a child is born in the territory of Vietnam while his/her parents cannot agree on the choice of nationality for him/her, the child will be considered holding Vietnamese nationality.”.

5. To amend and supplement Article 19 as follows:

“Article 19. Conditions for naturalization in Vietnam

1. A foreign national or stateless person who applies for naturalization in Vietnam may be permitted for naturalization in Vietnam if he/she fully meets the following conditions:

a/ Having full civil act capacity under Vietnam’s law, except a minor who applies for naturalization in Vietnam together with his/her father or mother or a minor whose father or mother is a Vietnamese citizen;

b/ Abiding by the Constitution and law of Vietnam; respecting the culture, traditions, customs and practices of the Vietnamese nation;

c/ Being proficient in Vietnamese that is enough for him/her to integrate into the Vietnamese community;

d/ Permanently residing in Vietnam;

dd/ Having permanently resided in Vietnam for 5 years or more by the time of application for naturalization in Vietnam;

e/ Being able to ensure his/her livelihood in Vietnam.

2. A person applying for naturalization in Vietnam may be considered for naturalization in Vietnam without having to meet the conditions specified at Points c, dd and e, Clause 1 of this Article if his/her spouse or offspring is a Vietnamese citizen.

3. A person applying for naturalization in Vietnam may be considered for naturalization in Vietnam without having to meet the conditions specified at Points c, d, dd and e, Clause 1 of this Article if he/she falls into one of the following cases:

a/ His/her biological father or mother or paternal grandparents or maternal grandparents is/are a Vietnamese citizen(s);

b/ He/she has made special merits as contributions to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland of Vietnam;

c/ His/her naturalization in Vietnam is considered beneficial to the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

d/ He/she is a minor applying for naturalization in Vietnam together with his/her father or mother.

4. A person applying for naturalization in Vietnam must have a name in Vietnamese or in another ethnic language of Vietnam. A person applying for naturalization in Vietnam and also applying for retention of his/her foreign nationality may choose a compound name consisting of his/her Vietnamese name and foreign name, and the chosen name shall be stated in the decision permitting naturalization in Vietnam.

5. Persons applying for naturalization in Vietnam may not be permitted for naturalization in Vietnam if such naturalization is deemed to harm the national interests of Vietnam.

6. Persons applying for naturalization in Vietnam as specified in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article may retain their foreign nationality if so permitted by the President and meeting the following conditions:

a/ The retention of foreign nationality complies with the law of the concerned foreign country;

b/ Refraining from using foreign nationality to infringe upon the lawful rights and interests of agencies, organizations and individuals, or to harm national security, national interests or social order or safety of the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

7. The Government shall detail this Article.”.

6. To amend and supplement a number of points and clauses of Article 20 as follows:

a/ To amend and supplement Point d, Clause 1 as follows:

“d/ Papers proving criminal record information, issued by a competent foreign authority in accordance with the law of that foreign country, for the period during which the person applying for naturalization in Vietnam resides in the foreign country. Such papers must be those issued within 90 days by the date of dossier submission;”;

b/ To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. Persons exempt from certain conditions for naturalization in Vietnam as specified in Clauses 2 and 3, Article 19 of this Law are not required to submit the papers corresponding to the exempted conditions.”.

7. To amend and supplement a number of clauses of Article 21 as follows:

a/ To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2; to add Clause 2a below Clause 2, as follows:

“1. A person applying for naturalization in Vietnam shall submit a dossier to the concerned provincial-level Department of Justice if he/she resides in Vietnam or to the Vietnamese representative mission in the host country if he/she resides overseas. In case the dossier does not comprise all the papers specified in Clause 1, Article 20 of this Law or is invalid, the dossier-receiving agency shall immediately notify such to the person applying for naturalization in Vietnam for supplementation and completion of the dossier.

2. Within 5 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the provincial-level Department of Justice shall send a written request to the provincial-level public security agency for verifying the personal background of the person applying for naturalization in Vietnam.

Within 30 days after receiving the request from the provincial-level Department of Justice, the provincial-level public security agency shall conduct verification and send verification results to the provincial-level Department of Justice. During this period, the provincial-level Department Justice shall verify papers in the dossier of application for naturalization in Vietnam.

Within 5 working days after receiving the verification results, the provincial-level Department of Justice shall complete the dossier for submission to the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee.

Within 5 working days after receiving a request from the provincial-level Department of Justice, the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee shall make consideration and conclusion, and send a proposal to the Ministry of Justice.

2a. Within 20 days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the overseas representative mission of Vietnam shall verify the papers in the dossier of application for naturalization in Vietnam, and forward the dossier together with its proposal on naturalization in Vietnam to the Ministry of Justice, and, at the same time, send information thereon to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for coordination in performing the state management of nationality.

The Ministry of Public Security shall, at the proposal of the Ministry of Justice, verify the personal background of the person applying for naturalization in Vietnam.”;

b/ To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

“3. Within 20 days after receiving the proposal of the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee or after receiving the Ministry of Public Security’s verification results with respect to the dossier sent from the overseas representative mission of Vietnam, the Ministry of Justice shall re-examine the dossier and, if finding that the conditions for naturalization in Vietnam are fully met, send a notice to the person applying for naturalization in Vietnam for carrying out procedures to apply for renunciation of his/her foreign nationality, unless he/she wishes to retain his/her foreign nationality or is a stateless person.

Within 10 working days after receiving a document permitting renunciation of foreign nationality for the person applying for naturalization in Vietnam, the Minister of Justice shall report it to the Prime Minister for submission to the President for consideration and decision.

In case the person applying for naturalization in Vietnam applies for retention of his/her foreign nationality or is a stateless person, within 20 days after receiving the proposal of the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee or after receiving the verification results from the Ministry of Public Security for the dossier sent from the overseas representative mission of Vietnam, the Ministry of Justice shall re-examine the dossier and, if finding that the person applying for naturalization in Vietnam is eligible for naturalization in Vietnam, report such to the Prime Minister for submission to the President for consideration and decision.”.

8. To amend and supplement the title, and a number of clauses, of Article 23 as follows:

a/ To amend and supplement the title of Article 23 as follows:

“Article 23. Conditions for restoration of Vietnamese nationality”;

b/ To amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:

“1. A person who has lost his/her Vietnamese nationality as specified in Article 26 of this Law and files an application for restoration of Vietnamese nationality may be considered for having his/her Vietnamese nationality restored.”;

c/ To amend and supplement Clauses 4, 5 and 6 as follows:

“4. A person applying for restoration of Vietnamese nationality is required to resume his/her former Vietnamese name. In case the person applying for restoration of Vietnamese nationality also applies for retention of his/her foreign nationality, he/she may choose a compound name consisting of his/her Vietnamese name and foreign name. The chosen name shall be stated in the decision permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality.

5. A person applying for restoration of Vietnamese nationality may retain his/her foreign nationality if so permitted by the President and meeting the following conditions:

a/ The retention of foreign nationality complies with the law of the concerned foreign country;

b/ Refraining from using foreign nationality to infringe upon the lawful rights and interests of agencies, organizations and individuals, or to harm national security, national interests or social order and safety of the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

6. The Government shall detail this Article.”.

9. To amend and supplement or annul a number of points of Clause 1, Article 24 as follows:

a/ To amend and supplement Point d as follows:

“d/ Papers proving criminal record information, issued by a competent foreign agency in accordance with the law of that foreign country, for the period during which the person applying for restoration of Vietnamese nationality resides in the foreign country. Such papers must be those issued within 90 days by the date of dossier submission;”;

b/ To annul Point e.

10. To amend and supplement Clauses 3 and 4, Article 25 as follows:

“3. Within 20 days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the overseas representative mission of Vietnam shall verify papers in the dossier of application for restoration of Vietnamese nationality, forward the dossier together with its proposal on the restoration of Vietnamese nationality to the Ministry of Justice, and concurrently send information thereon to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for coordination in performing the state management of nationality.

The Ministry of Public Security shall, at the proposal of the Ministry of Justice, verify the personal background of the person applying for restoration of Vietnamese nationality.

4. Within 20 days after receiving the proposal of the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee or after receiving the verification results from the Ministry of Public Security for the dossier sent from the overseas representative mission of Vietnam, the Ministry of Justice shall re-examine the dossier and, if finding that the person applying for restoration of Vietnamese nationality is eligible for restoration of Vietnamese nationality, send a notice to such person for carrying out procedures for applying for renunciation of his/her foreign nationality, unless he/she wishes to retain his/her foreign nationality or is a stateless person.

Within 10 working days after receiving a letter of confirmation on renunciation of foreign nationality for the person applying for restoration of Vietnamese nationality, the Minister of Justice shall report such to the Prime Minister for submission to the President for consideration and decision.

In case the person applying for restoration of Vietnamese nationality also applies for retention of his/her foreign nationality or is a stateless person, within 15 days after receiving the proposal of the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee or after receiving the verification results from the Ministry of Public Security for the dossier sent from the overseas representative mission of Vietnam, the Ministry of Justice shall re-examine the dossier and, if finding that the person applying for restoration of Vietnamese nationality is eligible for restoration of Vietnamese nationality, report such to the Prime Minister for submission to the President for consideration and decision.”.

11. To add Clause 2a below Clause 2, Article 26 as follows:

“2a. Being subject to annulment of the decision permitting naturalization in Vietnam or the decision permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality.”.

12. To amend and supplement or annul a number of points and clauses of Article 28 as follows:

a/ To amend and supplement Point e, Clause 1 as follows:

“e/ The letter of confirmation stating that the person applying for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality has no tax arrears, issued by the tax administration agency of the locality where the person applying for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality resides;”;

b/ To annul Point d, Clause 1;

c/ To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. Vietnamese citizens who do not permanently reside in Vietnam are not required to submit the papers specified at Points e and g, Clause 1 of this Article.”.

13. To amend and supplement Clauses 4 and 5, Article 29 as follows:

“4. Within 20 days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the overseas representative mission of Vietnam shall examine papers in the dossier of application for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, and forward the dossier together with its proposal on the renunciation of Vietnamese nationality to the Ministry of Justice; and concurrently send information thereon to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for coordination in performing the state management of nationality.

The Ministry of Public Security shall, at the proposal of the Ministry of Justice, verify the personal background of the person applying for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality. For cases exempt from verification under this Law, the Ministry of Justice shall propose the Ministry of Public Security to conduct verification in case of necessity.

5. Within 20 days after receiving the proposal of the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee or the overseas representative mission of Vietnam, or after receiving the verification results from the Ministry of Public Security, for cases subject to verification of personal background, the Ministry of Justice shall re-examine the dossier and, if finding that the person applying for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality is eligible for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, report such to the Prime Minister for submission to the President for consideration and decision.”.

14. To amend and supplement the title of Section 4, Chapter III as follows:

“Section 4

ANNULMENT OF DECISIONS PERMITTING NATURALIZATION IN VIETNAM OR DECISIONS PERMITTING RESTORATION OF VIETNAMESE NATIONALITY

15. To amend and supplement Articles 33 and 34 as follows:

“Article 33. Grounds for annulment of decisions permitting naturalization in Vietnam or decisions permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality

1. A person who has been naturalized in Vietnam or has Vietnamese nationality restored under Article 19 or 23 of this Law, and resides inside or outside the territory of Vietnam, will be subject to annulment of the decision permitting naturalization in Vietnam or the decision permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality when committing one of the following acts:

a/ Intentionally making false declarations or commitments or using forged papers when applying for naturalization in Vietnam or restoration of Vietnamese nationality;

b/ Abusing the naturalization in Vietnam or restoration of Vietnamese nationality; or abusing the retention of foreign nationality when permitted for naturalization in Vietnam or restoration of Vietnamese nationality to infringe upon the lawful rights and interests of agencies, organizations or individuals, or to harm national security, national interests, or social order and safety of the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

2. The annulment of the decision permitting naturalization in Vietnam or the decision permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality of a person does not change the Vietnamese nationality of his/her spouse.

Article 34. Order and procedures for annulment of decisions permitting naturalization in Vietnam or decisions permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality

1. Within 15 days after detecting or receiving a complaint or denunciation about the acts specified in Clause 1, Article 33 of this Law, the provincial-level People’s Committee or the overseas representative mission of Vietnam shall conduct verification and, if obtaining sufficient grounds, make a dossier to propose the President to annul the decision permitting naturalization in Vietnam or the decision permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality for the person committing such acts.

The court which has tried the person committing the acts specified in Clause 1, Article 33 of this Law shall make a dossier to propose the President to annul the decision permitting naturalization in Vietnam or the decision permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality for the person committing such acts.

The Government shall specify papers in the dossier of proposal to annul the decision permitting naturalization in Vietnam or the decision permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality.

2. The dossier of proposal to annul the decision permitting naturalization in Vietnam or the decision permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality shall be sent to the Ministry of Justice.

Within 15 days after receiving the dossier of proposal to annul the decision permitting naturalization in Vietnam or the decision permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality from the provincial-level People’s Committee or the overseas representative mission of Vietnam or the court, the Ministry of Justice shall examine the dossier, and report such to the Prime Minister for submission to the President for consideration and decision.

3. Within 20 days after receiving the Prime Minister’s proposal, the President shall make consideration and decision.”.

16. To amend and supplement Clause 1, and add Clause 1a below Clause 1, Article 35 as follows:

“1. Upon occurrence of a nationality-related change as a result of naturalization in Vietnam or restoration of Vietnamese nationality of parents of a minor who lives together with his/her parents, the nationality of the minor will be changed accordingly.

1a. Upon occurrence of a nationality-related change as a result of renunciation of Vietnamese nationality of parents of a minor who lives together with his/her parents, the nationality of the minor will be changed accordingly, unless otherwise required by his/her parents.”.

17. To amend and supplement Article 36 as follows:

“Article 36. Nationality of minors whose parents are deprived of Vietnamese nationality or are subject to annulment of decisions permitting naturalization in Vietnam or decisions permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality

The nationality of a minor will not be changed when both or either of his/her parents are/is deprived of Vietnamese nationality or are/is subject to annulment of the decision permitting naturalization in Vietnam or the decision permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality.”.

18. To amend and supplement Article 38 as follows:

“Article 38. The President’s tasks and powers concerning nationality

1. To decide on the permission for naturalization in Vietnam, permission for restoration of Vietnamese nationality, permission for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, deprivation of Vietnamese nationality, and annulment of decisions permitting naturalization in Vietnam or decisions permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality.

2. To decide on the negotiation and conclusion of treaties on nationality under this Law and the Law on Treaties.”.

19. To amend and supplement Clause 2, and add Clause 7 below Clause 6, Article 39 as follows:

a/ To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. To negotiate and conclude treaties on nationality or propose the President to decide on the negotiation and conclusion of treaties on nationality under this Law and the Law on Treaties.”;

b/ To add Clause 7 below Clause 6 as follows:

“7. Based on socio-economic conditions, needs and capacity of implementation in each period, the Government shall provide regulations on processing of nationality-related dossiers in the electronic environment.”.

20. To amend and supplement Clauses 4 and 5, Article 40 as follows:

“4. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall consider and propose their opinions on cases of application for naturalization in Vietnam, application for restoration of Vietnamese nationality, application for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, deprivation of Vietnamese nationality, and annulment of decisions permitting naturalization in Vietnam or decisions permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality under this Law; and annually make statistics on Vietnamese nationality-related matters already settled for reporting to the Ministry of Justice.

5. Overseas representative missions of Vietnam shall consider and propose their opinions on cases of application for naturalization in Vietnam, application for restoration of Vietnamese nationality, application for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, deprivation of Vietnamese nationality, and annulment of decisions permitting naturalization in Vietnam and decisions permitting restoration of Vietnamese nationality; and annually make statistics on Vietnamese nationality-related matters already settled for reporting to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice.”.

21. To amend and supplement Article 41 as follows:

“Article 41. Notification and uploading of results of settlement of nationality-related matters

The Ministry of Justice shall send results of settlement of nationality-related matters to provincial-level People’s Committees or overseas representative missions of Vietnam for notification thereof to applicants and uploading on the website of the Ministry of Justice.”.

Article 2. Implementation provisions

1. This Law takes effect on July 1, 2025.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies and related agencies shall review; amend and supplement according to their competence or propose competent agencies to amend and supplement, legal documents that have the provisions relating to rights and obligations of Vietnamese citizens who currently hold foreign nationality (if any) within 2 years from the effective date of this Law.

Article 3. Transitional provisions

Dossiers of application for naturalization in Vietnam, application for restoration of Vietnamese nationality or application for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality that were received before the effective date of this Law shall be processed under this Law.

This Law was passed on June 24, 2025, by the 15^th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its 9^th session.-

Chairperson of the National Assembly
TRAN THANH MAN