Marriage in VN and documents

THIGV wrote:

That is a little more like it, vndreamer.  Your prior post sounded like one could arrive with a K-1, which by the way is a non-immigrant visa, and not apply for a green card and SS# indefinitely.  In fact in your new timeline, your spouse has applied for both when she submitted the I-485 in item #3.  The work permit and the ITIN are valuable but still temporary solutions that are ultimately replaced by the green card and SS#. 

By the way you might want to recheck your link.  I may have missed it but I could not find Vietnam in the list of countries from which a non-resident spouse could claim spousal social security survivor benefits.  Benefits are available if the couple has lived together for five years in the US but except in unusual circumstances, like studying for an advanced degree while on a student visa, that would mean legal immigration.  This means that, unless things have changed in recent years, a Vietnamese spouse will need to emigrate to the US and obtain a green card or later citizenship in order to receive such benefits.

THIGV - no worries and I sincerely apologize if my comments were not clear to some.  With respect to a VN spouse and U.S. social security, I did not opine as the rules can be complex and each couple has individual fact patterns and thus, I will not opine/provide legal advice on a subject matter that I am not a legal expert on a public forum.  Thus, I do apologize if it was not clear when I stated "qualified foreign spouse" which means each couple would have to navigate the complex rules to determine whether their foreign spouse qualifies.  Let's make it clear, I was not referencing a VN spouse, I was referencing all foreign spouses and each would have to determine individually whether they qualify or not.

All done in DaNang...no hassles and all legal.  Eight days for a 3 year (TT) TRC out of Hanoi.

Anthony64 wrote:

All done in DaNang...no hassles and all legal.  Eight days for a 3 year (TT) TRC out of Hanoi.

I tried to get 3 years here in Ba Ria, immigration wont issue it. Apparently the provences can make their own regulation in relation to this matter. I could only get 2 years which was damn annoying.

I know about the single status document from my government.
But what kind of health documents are required?
From my government (Norwegian) and/or from the Viet government?
I will be back in Vietnam in August and planned to get married according to Viet law end September and according to Norwegian law in June next year.
All I really want is a checklist over which documents are required from whom.
Anyone have that simple list?
reading through all this on this tread doesn't make clear.
Martin
Nha Trang, Vietnam.

RealPommy wrote:

I know about the single status document from my government.
But what kind of health documents are required?
From my government (Norwegian) and/or from the Viet government?
I will be back in Vietnam in August and planned to get married according to Viet law end September and according to Norwegian law in June next year.
All I really want is a checklist over which documents are required from whom.
Anyone have that simple list?
reading through all this on this tread doesn't make clear.
Martin
Nha Trang, Vietnam.

You will need to do a health check for the VN govt. Best to get your spouse to ask what the officials want, every town/city/ provence has it's own set of rules.

I got married today and I have my marriage cer. 10 weeks and 18 million USD $500

expat48 wrote:

I got married today and I have my marriage cer. 10 weeks and 18 million USD $500

You did it yourself or through an agent?

Thanks. Will do.

We did it ourselves but we had lots of friends helping us

I contacted the Vietnamese embassy in Oslo and got a very simple, straight forward answer as follows:

f)~ sir QuANCHXHCN VItT NAM T~I VUONG ouoc NAVY.
VIETNAMESE EMBASSY IN THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY.
- St.Olavs Gate 2IC, 0165 Oslo, Norway
P.O.Box: 6635 St.Olavsplass, 0130 Oslo
Tel: +47 22 20 3300 Fax: +4722203301
Email: vietnamnorway@gmail.com
Website: http://www.vietnamembassy-norway.org
H6 so' dang ky k~t hon tai Vi~t Nam, anh/chi cAnchuan bi nhtrng gi~y to' sau day:
In order to get marriage in. Vietnam, you should prepare the following documents:
1. Photocopy hQchieu Nauy
A certified copy of passport
2. Gi~y cho phep ket hon tai Vi~t Narn (Attest tit brukfor ekteskapsinngaelse etter
utenlandsk rett) . . - -.
A certified original of "Certificate of no Impediment to marriage" not older than 4
months, which indicates the marital status of the applicant. This document can be obtained
by the applicant from the Norwegian National Population Register (det sentrale
folkeregister) located closest to your domicile in Norway.
3. GiAycir tni (Bostedsattest)
Certificate of residence in Norway.
4. GiAyYte (chi cAnxac nh~ khong m~c benh tam than) - giAy_mlyc6 th6 xin tai
Nauy ho~c Vi~t Nam.
Medical Certificate of sound health status issued by the Psychiatric Centre at
provincial level in Vietnam or by a foreign medical organisation (must not be dated more
than 6 months prior to the date of submission of the documents), which should certify that
the applicant does not suffer mental illness to a degree that he/she is not conscious of
his/her deeds. -
5. Police Certificate (optional)
6. Quyet dinh ly hon (Skilsmissebevilling) neu dffk~t hon tnroc day hoac GiAychimg
ti:r(n~u vQ'/ch6ngdffm~t).
N~u anh/chi dff ly hen tai Na Uy thi phai lam thu tuc ghi chu viec ly hon tai Sa Ttr
phap tinh, thanh ph6 tnroc khi lam thu tuc dang ky ket hon moi tai Vi~t Nam.
In cases where the applicant has been previously married, the applicant's original
Divorce certificate (or certified copy) is needed;
In cases where the applicant's ex-spouse has passed away, the Death Certificate of
the deceased (or certified copy) is required.
7. GiAyxac nh~ tinh trang hon nhan
A Certified original of marital status (Utskrift av opplysninger registrert i Det
sentrale folkeregister)
8. Dan xin xac nhan chira dang ky ket hon tai Dai S11 quan Vi~t Nam.
Certified document proves that you haven't registered for marriage in the Embassy
of Vietnam in Norway.
Cac giAy(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) va (7) d.n xin xac nhan cua BQNgoai giao Nauy
tnroc khi girl den Dai S11 quan Vi~t Nam taiOslo.
Cac giAyto nay se duoc DSQ chirng nh?il va dich thanh 02 bQh6 so d6 nQPtai Sa Ttr
phap theo qui dinh cua phap luat Viet Nam.
All documents (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6)and (7) have been certified by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs in Oslo before submitting at Vietnam Embassy for legalization and
translation into Vietnamese.

Im in Saigon now and we finally received back my single status status and no marriage impediment document from some Vietnamese office on Pasteur street after getting them stamped by an officer at the US embassy so that the Vietnamese government will accept it. Yesterday wasn't any fun either as we had to go get our mental examination at the Tam Thanh Hospital in quan 5. FYI for anyone that needs this and goes to the same hospital. Walk in the front lobby, walk upstairs and go to the the back office marked room 118. Don't be like us and walk back and forth downstairs between windows 1 and 2 with the ill people.


Also, i havent seen anyone else post it before but bring eight 3x4 photos, four 4x6, plain photocopy of the vietnamese citizen's CMND ID card and the foreigner's  passport. All of that is needed for the mental examination.

Well, i messed up my single status affidavit,  wrote the wrong date down for my last marriage. Now i have to go back down to Saigon from Lam Dong and swear to a new one.

Good evening, I would like to answer your question simply:
Firstly, all the documents used in the administrative process in Vietnam must be in Vietnamese writing form, so yes, all your English documents have to be translated into Vietnamese. After the translating, you have to have these documents legalized at the US Embassy since you are an American. If you already have these ones translated, congratulations on finished half of the process.
The different administrative process requires different dossiers, which means one process may requires you 2 copies of everything but the other process could requires 3 or even 4 copies of your dossiers. This is the most annoying about the legal system of Vietnam. Since you are in the marriage process, everything becomes easier than other administrative process. The dossiers you need for this process contains:
1.    This personal information of you and your frouse: https://cdn.danluat.vn:4433/ls-file.ash … et-hon.doc
2.    Single affidavit of you and your frouse. Yours have to be translated in to Vietnamese. The process also requires you to have the confirmation in Vietnam or in US hospital to confirm that you have no mental problem and have fully abilities to control your own legal capicity.
3.    Copies of your frouse ID, copies your Passport.
Remember, all the English dossiers have to be translated into Vietnamese for the administrative process, if you did not, the dossiers could be rejected.

    After preparing all the required dossiers will be applied the Office of Justice where you frouse is living at. The government officers will take 10 working days to check the dossiers. After finishing the checking process, they have to take 3 more working day to have the confirmation of the Chairman of the District People’s Committee. The marriage certificate will be given to you and your frouse but this requires both of your appearance and your signature into the book of civil status.
    A few more note:
    If you guys cannot come to take the marriage certificate, the process can be postponed up to but no more than 60 days. If after the postponed time and you guys still cannot show up, the process will be rejected and will take a make-over.
    After 3 working days, the Chairman of People’s Committee rejects your dossiers, the Officer of Justice will have you guys notification by writing form.

    And that is it for now.

Thanks a lot. It is basically the same process as sketched out by the Vietnamese embassy here in Oslo.

Thanks for the info. I guess it was a good that i goofed on the date of my last marriage because that required me to go back down to Saigon where my fiance had heard that i needed to have my English documents translated to Viet. We just got them back yesterday all stamped and stuff so now back to Da Lat to get ready to turn them in Monday. Man its all hot and muggy down here.. makes my arms and legs all itchy.

Just wanted to report back that i am now officially married. We recieved our certificate back from the local government office in Lam Dong today around 230pm with three other couples in a pretty nice ceremony. Good luck to everyone else that needs to go through all the same process as we did.

Congratulations man, and all the best luck in your new adventure 

Congrats Lambert82!

Marrying a lady in December, best start now LOL. I live in VN and she is from VN.

OK, firstly ... my US divorce papers ... I know they will need translating ... but do they need an apostille?

Or can I get them stamped in any other manner? Apostille costs quoted by the lawyer who handled the divorce is $350 which is ... ugly.

Please remember, I am located in VN. Just for BG knowledge.

Does anyone know about having your divorce papers legalized/notarized/apostille/authenticated?

Another factor is ... I am not from the US, I am from the UK. However, my divorce was done in the US. So I am unsure if I can use the US Embassy notary?

In the UK and Europe, there is a section on services for non-US citizens, but I cannot see it for HCMC.

(I have lived a colorful life and I am now paying the cost with cross border headaches)

Lambert82 wrote:

Just wanted to report back that i am now officially married. We recieved our certificate back from the local government office in Lam Dong today around 230pm with three other couples in a pretty nice ceremony. Good luck to everyone else that needs to go through all the same process as we did.

Nice work. Have a great life together.

SongwriterUK wrote:

Does anyone know about having your divorce papers legalized/notarized/apostille/authenticated?

Why doesn't your fiancee ask the committee where you submit the papers? There is no such thing as a national 'rule' about anything, it depends on local jurisdiction interpretations.

SongwriterUK wrote:

Another factor is ... I am not from the US, I am from the UK. However, my divorce was done in the US. So I am unsure if I can use the US Embassy notary?

I don't think they will even let you into the US Embassy (Ha Noi) or Consulate (Saigon).
I'm American, there was some translation of divorce papers, then I signed a pre-translated one page document attesting to my current single status at the consulate. Can't remember what it was called, even if you aren't divorced you have to submit that, and there is no other divorce investigation that goes on.

I was told I had to do mine in the US.  Certified copies obtained from state govt., notarized, then notary to be authenticated by Secretary of State then whole package sent to Vietnam consulate for translation and authentication.  Flat fee for the consulate $350.00. I was TOLD this had to be done in the US but it may be possible to do on VN.  I suspect even UK will have to do in US as that is where divorce took place and is filed.

gobot wrote:

SongwriterUK wrote:

Another factor is ... I am not from the US, I am from the UK. However, my divorce was done in the US. So I am unsure if I can use the US Embassy notary?

I don't think they will even let you into the US Embassy (Ha Noi) or Consulate (Saigon).

I know that I did bring my wife into the consulate a few times when she was not a US citizen.  I don't know however if SongwriterUK can have an unrelated US citizen sponsor him in, but it might be worth a try.  Then there is the issue of whether they will provide the service even if you are in the room.  Do they take phone calls?

It's really too bad that the UK Foreign Service pulled the rug out on it's citizens a while back.  I liked their excuse at the time; something preposterous about having to deal with single child travelers and the elderly.

SteinNebraska wrote:

I was told I had to do mine in the US.  Certified copies obtained from state govt., notarized, then notary to be authenticated by Secretary of State then whole package sent to Vietnam consulate for translation and authentication.  Flat fee for the consulate $350.00. I was TOLD this had to be done in the US but it may be possible to do on VN.  I suspect even UK will have to do in US as that is where divorce took place and is filed.

Which consulate quoted you $350?  Was that per document or for the whole package?   Who told you that you had to do it in the US?  Since you are an American, and not a Brit,  you CAN still do the whole process in HCM or Hanoi.  The steps are detailed in other posts probably in this thread.  If not send me a PM and maybe we can find it.

]

SongwriterUK wrote:

Does anyone know about having your divorce papers legalized/notarized/apostille/authenticated?

gobot wrote:

Why doesn't your fiancee ask the committee where you submit the papers? There is no such thing as a national 'rule' about anything, it depends on local jurisdiction interpretations.

Yes, I will do that. I just wanted to know in general, but as you say each locale is different.

SongwriterUK wrote:

Another factor is ... I am not from the US, I am from the UK. However, my divorce was done in the US. So I am unsure if I can use the US Embassy notary?

gobot wrote:

I don't think they will even let you into the US Embassy (Ha Noi) or Consulate (Saigon).
I'm American, there was some translation of divorce papers, then I signed a pre-translated one page document attesting to my current single status at the consulate. Can't remember what it was called, even if you aren't divorced you have to submit that, and there is no other divorce investigation that goes on.

I have no idea about VN but in Italy and the UK, you can use the US embassy notary for US-related paperwork. Does not seem to be the case here though.

THIGV wrote:

It's really too bad that the UK Foreign Service pulled the rug out on it's citizens a while back.  I liked their excuse at the time; something preposterous about having to deal with single child travelers and the elderly.

Yes indeed. Too much work ... 3 hours per day for 3 days a week. Tough.

SteinNebraska wrote:

I was told I had to do mine in the US.  Certified copies obtained from state govt., notarized, then notary to be authenticated by Secretary of State then whole package sent to Vietnam consulate for translation and authentication.  Flat fee for the consulate $350.00. I was TOLD this had to be done in the US but it may be possible to do on VN.  I suspect even UK will have to do in US as that is where divorce took place and is filed.

My 'package' offered was apostille from the secretary of state only. I hope that is enough.

I will let everybody know how this pans out. Might have to 'pay' to make it all 'go away'.

Just FYI but I am now in process to have a Power of Attorney certified at the San Francisco consulate so that my wife can do some banking while in Vietnam in a few weeks.  (We have a certificate of deposit that is "and" instead of "and/or.")

The cost for certification in SF is $70.00 plus $7.35 postage each way, but does not include translation, which can be done at lower cost in Vietnam anyway.  Something seems really wrong with the $350 figure unless it is for doing all the legwork as well.

THIGV wrote:

Just FYI but I am now in process to have a Power of Attorney certified at the San Francisco consulate so that my wife can do some banking while in Vietnam in a few weeks.  (We have a certificate of deposit that is "and" instead of "and/or.")

The cost for certification in SF is $70.00 plus $7.35 postage each way, but does not include translation, which can be done at lower cost in Vietnam anyway.  Something seems really wrong with the $350 figure unless it is for doing all the legwork as well.

Yes, greed. This is a US lawyer by the way, not VN.

SongwriterUK wrote:

My 'package' offered was apostille from the secretary of state only. I hope that is enough.

I will let everybody know how this pans out. Might have to 'pay' to make it all 'go away'.

It may not work that way.  Expats in Vietnam should banish the word apostille from their vocabulary. Vietnam is not a party to the Hague Treaty which establishes rules for apostilles.   Your package needs to be "certified" and "legalized" by Vietnamese government authorities, either within Vietnam or at an overseas consulate/Embassy.   In the US, this is usually done after State authorities certify the documents and the notarization first.  I obviously don't know who or what agency in the UK but I expect some UK authority will need to certify the documents first.

It sounds like your documents (from the US?) are on the way so good luck.  I hope you can work it out.

Edit:  I just saw your post above: 

SongwriterUK wrote:

Yes, greed. This is a US lawyer by the way, not VN.

Your lawyer should have known that an apostille is not the correct format.  This is low level but still malpractice on his part.  Perhaps you should try to renegotiate the fee.

THIGV wrote:

[
Which consulate quoted you $350?  Was that per document or for the whole package?   Who told you that you had to do it in the US?  Since you are an American, and not a Brit,  you CAN still do the whole process in HCM or Hanoi.  The steps are detailed in other posts probably in this thread.  If not send me a PM and maybe we can find it.

I did it in New York as they were the only ones I was ever able to get to answer the phone so I knew how much of a fee to send.  I was told $70/document or $350 flat fee for marriage.  I had two divorce certificates so over 5 documents total so figured $350 was fair.  That was translate, authenticate and one day service.

SteinNebraska wrote:

I had two divorce certificates so over 5 documents total so figured $350 was fair.  That was translate, authenticate and one day service.

Looks like you will be OK.  Good luck with your future family.

I’m not the OP.  I’ve been married since April.

SteinNebraska wrote:

I’m not the OP.  I’ve been married since April.

Third marriage, youre a better man than me. 

Better? More like glutton for punishment.  It's all good, though.

THIGV wrote:

Just FYI but I am now in process to have a Power of Attorney certified at the San Francisco consulate so that my wife can do some banking while in Vietnam in a few weeks.  (We have a certificate of deposit that is "and" instead of "and/or.")

The cost for certification in SF is $70.00 plus $7.35 postage each way, but does not include translation, which can be done at lower cost in Vietnam anyway.  Something seems really wrong with the $350 figure unless it is for doing all the legwork as well.

2x on using the San Francisco Vietnamese consulate for just about ANYTHING . They are polite, English speaking and have recently upgraded their website.

Wow...my certifications for divorce from the US was a flat $5.00 to be notorized.  I spent another $15.00 to get it copied and registered at the court house.  Another 30 bucks for two official copies.  Had the translator in DaNang do the rest for 30,000 vnd and an additional 20,000 to get the 'almighty red stamp'.  My copier prints in color and it looks like the 'original'...made another 5 copies with the red stamp...looks like the real deal...
Why in the world are all you paying such high fees?  I don't understand. 
The only thing I ever spent money on was my apostille regarding my Educational degrees...that was a flat $250.00 including shipping and handling from New York.  That was years ago.  Marriage papers cost me another 1,000,000 vnd...after about 10 days...married.  Plus flowers for the young lady at the counter for the assistance...

I have not paid it, that was asked, not given.

You did not explain who was doing what for your cheapie deal, which looks great.

"Wow...my certifications for divorce from the US was a flat $5.00 to be notorized.  I spent another $15.00 to get it copied and registered at the court house.  Another 30 bucks for two official copies."

Who is the notary? Is this VN or US?

I don't understand why any foreigner gets married in Vietnam. It's a huge hassle and expensive. Why not get married in another country, particularly your own? Surely you can get her a tourist visa or, if you must, a visa by documenting that you are getting married there and returning.

Then in VN you have the ceremony in the morning, with foreigners with trays of gifts heading down the alley to ask permission to enter and take their daughter away. It's quite fun, all the neighbors come out to watch. And then the big party at night when you have 10 friends and she has 300 where you just do what you're told for several hours, stand and smile for 300 photos, and never complain because later you will get to experience the sacred wedding night's most blessed event: you 2 sit on the floor of the hotel, her in her 3rd dress of the evening, and giddily open all the envelopes and count all the money! Woohoo! That will still rank as the greatest moment in your marriage years later after a few kids, so enjoy it

And then... Get married overseas. If you want, have a small dinner party somewhere after a Justice of the Peace reads out whatever you want, which will cost around $100 or so. (City Hall has a list.) And then you get your official marriage document maximum 3 days later for $12 or so. We picked up and paid for our document at a drugstore chain. It was so funny we took a photo of it with the cashier

Total waiting time: 3 days. Total cost: $112 plus a dinner party for 8. Done. (No "Are you insane?" interviews. No health exams. No BS. No horror stories of dealing with grumpy, haughty, greedy, ill-informed bureaucrats.)

Previously you had the license notarized officially to use it in VN but now, for things like a TRC, you have to register the marriage officially which involves taking the notarized document to an office and getting a VN doc, no doubt, for some smallish fee. But then you don't need to do anything special in the future given the new VN doc.

Hi,
You have interesting idea, simple and easy  way. However  it means that you don’t really understand Vietnamese women and the culture here.

Anyway, thank you for your posting, it make me laugh at the first time reading . I love your post