What papers are required abroad to legally marry in Vietnam?

Just bring your divorce decree if any.
Otherwise a 'single status certificate'. If you are in Vietnam just go to your embassy/consulate and get it.

Canuck2014 wrote:

Hi. I am from Canada and will be returning to Vietnam end of the year to get marry. What documents are required from my home country to be legally marry in Vietnam? Thanks.

http://vietem-ca.com/consular-services/ … -procedure

Been there, done that, not easy, and dealing with So Tu Phap is a pain in the butt.

Thanks Mikey. OMG! Lot of documents. Could they just take my words that I am single?

What is SO TU PHAP??

It takes some time (several days minimum)  to do all the paperwork before getting married.  So be sure to allow yourself enough time to get it all done before you return home.  And no, they won't take your word for it.

In order to marry in VietNam, one of the parties must have official status in the country: (1) Citizenship; (2) Permanent Resident; (3) Work Permit.

From Canada you will require papers from both provincial and federal governments as well as your doctor.

The doctor can provide:(1) Not crazy certificate (letter - saying you are of sound mind and have no record of mental illness); (2) HIV test. Both these are free under provincial health schemes.

Then you have to get (1) Certificate of Unmarried Status (Provincial)(name varies by province -Impediment, etc); (2) If divorced a copy of the Decree Nisi - which is a form signed by the Clerk of the Court. Note that, in Ontario, this requires the papers to be retrieved from the Oakville archives ($50+), plus the preparation of the Decree (the court will give you a sample copy. You might as well get a spare, too)(More money). A Statutory Declaration signed by any solicitor practicing in your province).

These then have to be sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs (in the other posters link).

Then back to the VN Embassy.

AN EXPLANATION.
The provinces record births, marriages and deaths; the Feds record divorces. Provinces has no official relationships with VietNam but, of course, they do with Ottawa. Ottawa certifies everything is kosher and then, as Canada has relationships with the VietNam Embassy, the Embassy has to certify that the Foreign Affairs signature is genuine!

BUT THERE IS ANOTHER WAY IN SAIGON
Regional non-Vietnamese spouses are permitted to skip all the government crap and simply complete an Affidavit, translated and signed off by a Notary Public (of the City) .

This method is quicker and cheaper. This will require a copy of your birth certificate, a copy of your immigration **certificate**, a copy of your Divorce Final Order (see above). These are Canadian sourced.

Travel to VN. Prepare an Affidavit stating you were born on XXX; are a Canadian citizen by birth or naturalisation. (Either) you have never been married or were divorced on XXX.

NOTE: MEDICAL CHECKS HAVE TO BE DONE IN VN FOR THIS METHOD.

Then take it to the Official Notary Public (the one in Quan 1 is opposite the Diamond Pllaza - park at the Plaza as the notary has no parking). Get the paper translated and signed off.

If they ask why you are doing it this way just say you think your fiancée is pregnant and you want to get married before baby arrives. Remember to use the word THINK.

Guidelines for Application for Marriage to a Foreigner
(According to Government Decree 68/2002/ND-CP dated July 10, 1992)
< http://www.eng.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/vis … T10:32:13Z >

NOTE: This is ONLY GOOD FOR TP HCM

For foreigners

1-A marriage registration application, as per the form stipulated by the Ministry of Justice, with certification for the applicant's single status. The certification must be within six months of the date of receipt of the application by the competent authority.
The certification may be in the form of a separate paper. In case foreign laws do not have stipulations for certification in the marriage registration application or for issuing the certification paper, the certification can be made under the form of an oath of single status made by the applicant in accordance with the law of his/her own country.

2-A certificate that the applicant does not have a mental disease, or does have a mental disease but not so serious that he/she cannot realize his/her action. The certificate must be issued by the competent health authority of Vietnam, for example, the HCM City Mental Health Center, or of the foreign country concerned within six months of the date of receipt of the application.

3-A copy of the passport. For foreigners living in Vietnam, a copy of the permanent residence card, the temporary residence card or the certificate for temporary residence.

4-Personal resume as per form.

Explanation:
Ho Chi Minh City is smart. They are doing it their own way - so don't go plan a wedding in Ha Noi without checking!

None of my countries in which I have citizenship know of my marriage status. In other words any certificates they issue would be worthless (and inaccurate). Therefore I used this VN Affidavit method to get married - it works!

Canuck2014 wrote:

Thanks Mikey. OMG! Lot of documents. Could they just take my words that I am single?

What is SO TU PHAP??

So Tu Phap is the government office that handles all marriage related stuff.  They're extremely inefficient and slow, expect long lineups when you're going there, and believe me, you will have to go there at least 2 or 3 times.  It's pretty annoying while you're at the booth when its your turn, and then you have 3 other couples trying to cram themselves into your booth.

One important thing to remember (and is not indicated on the website above) is when you go to Vietnam with these documents, your Ceritifcate of Non Impediment of Marriage, cannot be more than 3 months old.  It takes a couple weeks to a month for the Department of Foreign Affairs to stamp this document, so you will have to plan well.  I suggest 2 months before you marry, gather all your documents in one day, and send them all together to Department of Foreign Affairs to be stamped.  Also you need to have these documents translated and legalized.  I kind of regret using the Embassy of Vietnam to translate them because they charged me $70 per document.

You will have an interview because you're a foreigner, but don't worry, its very easy.  They only ask very basic questions.  They will interview your wife, the interviewer will write down her answers on a piece of paper.  When its your turn, she will ask you the same questions, and then flip over her page to see if your answers match hers.

mikeymyke wrote:

Canuck2014 wrote:

Thanks Mikey. OMG! Lot of documents. Could they just take my words that I am single?

What is SO TU PHAP??

So Tu Phap is the government office that handles all marriage related stuff.  They're extremely inefficient and slow, expect long lineups when you're going there, and believe me, you will have to go there at least 2 or 3 times.  It's pretty annoying while you're at the booth when its your turn, and then you have 3 other couples trying to cram themselves into your booth.

One important thing to remember (and is not indicated on the website above) is when you go to Vietnam with these documents, your Ceritifcate of Non Impediment of Marriage, cannot be more than 3 months old.  It takes a couple weeks to a month for the Department of Foreign Affairs to stamp this document, so you will have to plan well.  I suggest 2 months before you marry, gather all your documents in one day, and send them all together to Department of Foreign Affairs to be stamped.  Also you need to have these documents translated and legalized.  I kind of regret using the Embassy of Vietnam to translate them because they charged me $70 per document.

You will have an interview because you're a foreigner, but don't worry, its very easy.  They only ask very basic questions.  They will interview your wife, the interviewer will write down her answers on a piece of paper.  When its your turn, she will ask you the same questions, and then flip over her page to see if your answers match hers.

If the documents need to be translated and legalized, where else can you do it if not at the embassy?

I heard you can do it at the Canadian Consulate in HCMC or Candian Embassy in Hanoi, but I cannot 100% confirm this.  I also heard other translation companies can do it, but the documents have to be legalized too, not just translated, I can't 100% confirm that there are companies that will do these services that is acceptable to So Tu Phap.

But if you do it at the Embassy of VN in Ottawa, they're 100% guaranteed to be recognized by So  Tu Phap.  I guess in my mind I felt I wanted a sure thing, rather than take a gamble, gather my docs to VN, only to find out no one can properly legalize them, that would suck.  I just played it safe, sucked it up, and paid $70 x 6 = $420.

Might want to ask your fiance to see if she knows any places, and ask her to call around to confirm they're capable of legalizing the docs.

Canuck2014 wrote:

If the documents need to be translated and legalized, where else can you do it if not at the embassy?

The Canadian Embassy/Consulate does NOT translate documents in VN.

All documents HAVE to be translated by the OFFICIAL CITY NOTARY PUBLIC. They are the ONLY translations that will be accepted.

REMEMBER: There are TWO procedures (1) All done in Canada; (2) All done in VN. The Canadian process is for spouses who will only attend for the registration of the marriage and not the filing of documents (30 days before registration of marriage).

The VN version is the easiest. And you just sign an affidavit that says you have (a) Never been married; (b) Are divorced; (c) Are widowed. You will need documentation of divorce or death certificate.

IF YOU live in TORONTO there area couple of Caucasian lawyers specialising in VNese marriage documentation.

mikeymyke wrote:

I
>> (a)  heard you can do it at the Canadian Consulate in HCMC or Candian (sic) Embassy in Hanoi,

>> (b) I cannot 100% confirm this.  I also heard other translation companies can do it, but the documents have to be legalized too, not just translated,

>> (c) I can't 100% confirm that there are companies that will do these services that is acceptable to So Tu Phap.

But if you do it at the Embassy of VN in Ottawa, they're 100% guaranteed to be recognized by So  Tu Phap.  I guess in my mind I felt I wanted a sure thing, rather than take a gamble, gather my docs to VN, only to find out no one can properly legalize them, that would suck.  I just played it safe, sucked it up, and paid $70 x 6 = $420..

(a) You heard WRONG. Canadian Embassies and Consulates will NOT translate documents.

(b) Again you heard WRONG. Only the provincial Translator and Notary Public can handle documents for use by the government from within VietNam.

(c) WRONG again. See (b).

Understand. The province licences lawyers, records births, marriages and deaths. NOT divorce (Federal). Since the VN Embassy doesn't legally recognise Canadian provinces, the Federal government certifies all the provincial documents are good. the VN Embassy recognises the Federal Canadian government and documents certified by it.

And a province in VietNam recognises VN embassies and accepts their certification.

No mystery.

My marriage documentation cost ONLY the Notary Public fees and those of the VN doctor.

Haha, see that's why I'm glad I played it safe   Good thing I trusted my gut.

Jaitch wrote:

Canuck2014 wrote:

If the documents need to be translated and legalized, where else can you do it if not at the embassy?

The Canadian Embassy/Consulate does NOT translate documents in VN.

All documents HAVE to be translated by the OFFICIAL CITY NOTARY PUBLIC. They are the ONLY translations that will be accepted.

REMEMBER: There are TWO procedures (1) All done in Canada; (2) All done in VN. The Canadian process is for spouses who will only attend for the registration of the marriage and not the filing of documents (30 days before registration of marriage).

The VN version is the easiest. And you just sign an affidavit that says you have (a) Never been married; (b) Are divorced; (c) Are widowed. You will need documentation of divorce or death certificate.

IF YOU live in TORONTO there area couple of Caucasian lawyers specialising in VNese marriage documentation.

According to the Vietnamese Embassy here in Canada a marriage dossier consists of the following:

        - Statement in lieu of Certificate of non-impediment, issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs of Canada.
        - Marriage Search, issued by Provincial Vital Statistics  certifies that no marriage certificate or marriage record of the applicant has been found for the period from the beginning of legal age for marriage to date.
        - Single Status Declaration certified by a Notary Public or Commissioner for Oath,
        + In case of divorce, please provide a Divorce Judgment and Certificate of Divorce, .
        + In case the applicant is widowed, please provide a Certificate of Death of his/her spouse .
        - Medical Certificate, issued by an authorized medical organization or physician and clearly indicates that the applicant is free from mental and infectious diseases, has no sexually transmitted diseases (especially free from HIV/AIDS) with supporting reports of physician examination and blood tests and is generally healthy and fit to get married (only the page with the comments of doctor needs to be translated into Vietnamese; results of tests are not required to be translated).
        - Copy of Birth Certificate certified by a Notary Public or Commissioner for Oath. In case of having no copy of Birth Certificate (lost, dismissed or can not obtained), the applicant should make an Affidavit or Statutory Declaration in lieu of Birth certificate .
        - Copy of personal documents (Passport, Citizenship Card/Landed Immigrant document) certified by a Notary Public or Commissioner.
        - Certified of changing name (if any)
        - In case the applicant can not come to Vietnam to submit in person all marriage documents or divorce papers, the applicant has to make a Power of Attorney (Download Form UQ/LS), certified by a Notary Public or Commissioner for Oath and fill out 02 Biography Information Sheet (Download Form LLKH) and 02 Applications for Marriage Registration (Download Form DKKH) with 01 latest photo attached to each form.


I am not good with official documents, but, If I read you correctly Jaitch. If my wife handle the documents and have it done VN [(2) All done in VN] all she required from me is when I return is a health certificate and a marriage search or affidavit of single status?

Canuck2014 wrote:

According to the Vietnamese Embassy here in Canada a marriage dossier consists of the following:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am not good with official documents, but, If I read you correctly Jaitch. If my wife handle the documents and have it done VN [(2) All done in VN] all she required from me is when I return is a health certificate and a marriage search or affidavit of single status?

First of all the VN Embassy likes the business as it's boosts their income and proves to Ha Noi they do something.

IF YOU READ MY POSTS I said HO CHI MINH CITY/SAIGON. Every province (or city with provincial status) can set it's own rules BUT TP HCM has more power to do this than most every other province other than Ha Noi.

I gave you the URL (as well as a partial quote) so have your fiancée pop along and get the form and scan it to you.

The VN Embassy also provides the minimum requirements for all the provinces - therefore they use those standards. TP HCM is the centre of foreigners in VN and they have chosen to to cut the bull in many ways. TP HCM also has legal relationships with consulates in the city, which most other provinces don't have.

If you you are tight for money and don't want to fly over early, you can make your wife your wife your PROXY (Power of Attorney, etc) so she can act in your place.

Your file your papers at the Justice Ministry. This is usually done by the man and the wife together. After the papers are accepted you are given a target date for your registration - usually 30 days after your filing date.

This period of time is used to verify the documents and the status if the parties. (Some VNese are not allowed to marry Foreigners due to their employment in the government). After everything is cleared your fiancée will get a call confirming your tentative date.

You attend the Ministry of Justice, sign the papers and the registry and the deed is done. It is as exciting as renewing your driving licence is Ontario. (When I got married they had a table in the courtyard where the registrar signed you up, now they have a building)  Get several spare copies of your marriage licence - you will need them.

IF you have your wife do the filing, you have to follow the Embassy procedure. If YOU come over you can use the TP HCM form (it requires you signing in front of the Notary). Your choice - I always thought it was easier this way).

The Affidavit (form) is really great - it cuts out a lot of bull.

If you want to use an Ontario lawyer, and you live in Toronto, go to the VN travel agencies on Spadina and inquire if they know a lawyer who handles it. Same hassle except they can speed up Ottawa a little. The Ottawa VN Embassy uses the usual bribe techniques to improve service. DO NOT PAY ANYONE TO GET THE NAME OF A LAWYER OFFERING THIS SERVICE.

Yep just went to Canadian Consulte for 2nd straight day. They said they don't provide translation service only legalize. Will be back there tomorrow again. I paid for affadavit of marital status and non-impediment to marriage abroad. $50 each. They will give you an affidavit form that you can fill out.

The security guard at the consulate thinks she knows it all. I had to argue with her to let me see the consul. She kept saying they don't provide these services and told me to get it from within Canada.

The female security at the consulate is very mean and impolite She acts  like she knows it all Specially if u are Vietnamese Canadian she thought you are dump ass no speaking English , she will treat you without dignity and respect She acts like VN police in VN If you do not know she will not explain to you anything and said there is no providing these service in house  and sometime she do not let you in ?  If you have no guts and no time Please do it all ( documents) in Canada The Canadian people in Canada they treat you way better than this place Believe me this is all the truth I have been experiences in This place We wished something could change over here... Good luck to all my friends Who want to marry lady in Vietnam Otherwise you should be prepared if you are Vietnamese Canadian when you deal with So Tu Phap  if you intent to marry the lady who not living in SaiGon...

She treats the non-Vietnamese Canadians well. I just got my marriage certificate yesterday married outside Saigon. Know I know why these people want $2000 USD to help with my marriage certificate application.

Congratulations to you Khanh. Finally you got what you want . How long it took you to have marry certificate my friend . I was married my wife who live Outside SaiGon It took me 2 months already but the marry certificate is not issue yet As a pride CANADIAN the consulate should help CANADIANS and hiring Canadian working there to help Canadian abroad That why the VN girls working over there once time ask me you need the VN lawyer to do paper work And they act like big shot in Canada Making me remember my Leader at work . I like your post Sometimes you stop by at SaiGon contact me for a drink I am not happy with paper work and processing system here but what can we do?

July I started gathering documents. I followed everything on the checklist but they keep asking for more documents. I submitted everything in January. Despite the new law saying 20 days from date of submission I didn't get my marriage certificate until 2 months later. 

I think the delay was because during interview she said she couldn't understand my Vietnamese and I needed an interpretor for $500,000 dong. I noticed all the foreigners had a representative that probably bribed her well and I went alone with just my wife.

I have come to this Office in SG sometime last year I have talked to some guys like us staying outside the building , They from other towns far away therefore they has showed up early at 6 Am And you know what is happened Some of them has to take a trip back because they are missing some papers work or be denied for some reason ? Maybe we should prepare all documents in Canada rather coming here asking for help and assistant if you know and having experiences for this We should share and let people know and learn

Problem is each city has different criteria and documents for obtaining a marriage certificate.
If they had a uniform standard than the out of towners wouldn't have to go back and forth.

If you don't have the time to spend in Vietnam better to prepare it in Canada for when you arrive in Vietnam can just sign the marriage certificate.

marriage...it depends on the department of justice where your fiance come from officially...if the age gap is large, that could be issue.  seek help from marriage lawyers in Vietnam.  Cheers, Jenny

jennyphamau1111 wrote:

marriage...it depends on the department of justice where your fiance come from officially...if the age gap is large, that could be issue.  seek help from marriage lawyers in Vietnam.  Cheers, Jenny

Better still, don't get married in VN.

In HCMC, it takes at the minimum, approx. 3 weeks.  about 7 - 10 days longer around Vietnam's New Year (I think beginning around 26 JAN, this coming year).

In HCMC it has a lot of requirements but most are perfunctory.  Everything you have to provide will require translation to Vietnamese but that is inexpensive here in Vietnam.  Make sure you get the right number of copies.

Just go online and do a search for Canadian requirements to marry a Vietnamese citizen and check with your countries requirements and then with the Canadian Consulate in HCMC.

Things change - especially with a new year coming.  I called and was told from US Consulate no appointment required in DEC (I told them I was coming in JAN) upon arriving EARLY JAN I found out they required an appointment that could only be done online!

Good luck,


/Gary/

Has anyone done the paperwork to get married in Vietnam recently? I have a friend that wants to get married here and needs the Certificate of Good Mental Health completed.

Unfortunately, when he went to the big provincial hospital, they wanted to do a full physical with blood and urine tests when no forms in on the internet in regards to this asks for such extensive testing.

Has this happened to anyone else trying to go through the process? We're particularly worried because our friend has been out partying and has taken god knows what on this trip. If he come back positive for anything, we're not really sure what we can do to protect him. Not only did they test him, they also tested his Vietnamese fiancee for a full work up billed them both and handed them a receipt for what I can translate loosely as "full physical for those applying for a permit to work abroad" without any mention of a mental health assessment being done at all in the package. Is that even valid for a marriage license? I don't believe they have a psychiatrist on staff either at this specific hospital. Has any one come across another region that requested such a work up before?

How worried should we be about all this? Has anyone who has done this process before in Vietnam just printed and used the forms found online or were they provided to you by the doctor's office. The province that I am in is a little behind the rest of the country so I don't know if this just a big cash grab so they're just giving us a hard time or it's a legitimate thing for to ask for all this? We're thinking of telling them to leave town for a while until know more or am I overreacting?

I got married last January. It is a mental health certficate, not physical health certificate. All we did was go to the mental hospital in Saigon on Vo Van Kiet (google Bệnh Viện Tâm Thần Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh). We both went into an office on the second floor, the man looked at the paperwork, I didn't have to say a word, he shuffled some papers, we were out in a few minutes. We had a lawyer, some money changed hands for the service but I didn't see it.

I see you're in Tuy Hoa, every area has its own way of doing things. I did my marriage in a small town, all they wanted was a mental health certificate. The new local hospital for mental checks advised us they don't do foreigners, yet all the signs there were in English, go figure. We ended up going to D5 in Saigon and having it done. Basically it's a scam, 10 mins of general chit chat, and then pay 800k for the certificate.

You need to talk to the person at the UBND who is handling the application, find out exactly where and what they want. Most of the staff at these places are useless and just hunting for a buck for the release of information.

The whole idea of getting a Certificate of Good Mental Health to get married is really quite funny ...

Are the VN authorities saying "Are you crazy enough to get married here in VN, or just barely sane enough to get married ? ... either way, just pay someone some money, here's your paper, and good luck with your marriage!"  ...

Something puzzling about the whole process.
The VN Health Ministry people must be having a really good laugh about that policy.

Does that same requirement for a Certificate of Good Mental Health also apply for getting a motorbike license ?