Viet national needs birth certificate

What you have written is somewhat confusing.  Allow me to interpret what you wrote and tell me if I am right or wrong.

1.  You were born in Rach Gia
2.  You now are a US citizen but you do not presently hold a US passport.

You may have entered the US on a refugee visa but if you are truly a US citizen you must have been naturalized at some point.  When you became a US citizen, did you not keep your naturalization certificate?  Did you not get a passport at that time?  You may have been a minor when you entered the country but I think by law, you must have been at least 18 years old when you were naturalized.

However, you can apply for a new copy of your naturalization certificate and with that you can obtain a US passport.  Check this link:  https://www.uscis.gov/forms/explore-my- … itizenship  This page has links to the application form for a duplicate.  If your original certificate was lost, you may have to provide a sworn (notarized?) statement to that effect.  If I recall correctly from my wife's naturalization, you only get to ask for a duplicate once in your lifetime, but I do not see that on the webpage for the duplicate.

I see nothing on the form or the instructions that would require you to submit your original Vietnamese birth certificate.

THIGV is correct. For naturalized citizens of the US, the naturalization certificate is accepted as replacement for the original birth certificate when applying for all ID documents including passport.

If you don’t mind if I jump in here. Thinking very seriously of relocating to Nha Trang from Los Angeles. My wife holds citizenship in the US as well as VN her country of birth. She has a valid VN passport as well as a US passport.

Do I have correctly that she/we could move to VN and she would need no visa and could also apply for work? Also as her spouse I would be able to piggyback on her citizenship and be allowed in country for one year? I realize I would not be able to work - but she’s a registered nurse and would hope to find employment at a local hospital and get insurance benefits for both of us.

Any insight you guys could provide on that subject I would be deeply grateful for. We both have our C19 vaccinations this past month and would like to make a scouting trip as soon as restrictions are lifted.

Any insight?

Thx - Kevin

Kjmwest wrote:

Do I have correctly that she/we could move to VN and she would need no visa and could also apply for work? Also as her spouse I would be able to piggyback on her citizenship and be allowed in country for one year? I realize I would not be able to work - but she’s a registered nurse and would hope to find employment at a local hospital and get insurance benefits for both of us.

You can get a Visa Exemption Certificate (VEC) which is good for 5 years but requires you to go to the border periodically.  If you decide to stay semi-permanently you can convert to a spousal Temporary Residence Card, which you should be eligible for.  There are lengthy threads on both of these on this forum.  If you decide to work, you will need a work permit which is an entirely different document unrelated to the visa.  Again, there is plenty of discussion in other threads.

For the VEC, utilize the Consulate in San Francisco, and not the Embassy in DC.  Their web address is https://vietnamconsulate-sf.org/en/home/  The site is fairly easy to navigate and their instructions have been well translated into English.  In your case the key documents will be your wife's passport and your marriage license.  You can get the VEC loose or you can send them your passport and have it glued in.  For me, I would prefer glued in for something I plan to keep for 5 years.  Your passport needs at least 6 years remaining validity in order to get the maximum length certificate.  Otherwise the VEC will end 6 months before your passport runs out.  If you are serious about relocating, you might want to consider getting a new US passport before you apply for the VEC.

@Kjmwest:

Everything THIGV said above.

Just a small clarification: VEC is valid for 5 years but each stay is only for 6 months.  You can do it the easy way by alternating between an in-country extension and a border run.  IOW, have an extension stamp at Immigration office once a year and take a trip out of the country once a year. 

VEC is the easiest and least expensive document to acquire and to extend, so don't spend money on agents.

Your wife can come and go as she wishes. 

However, the government has stopped issuing VEC at the moment so you'll have to wait until after Covid ends.

In re: health insurance, you must be in the same family book with your wife to benefit from the family coverage that her employment may (or may not) offer. Neither VEC nor TRC holders can be family book members. Private insurance, however, do not have such requirement.

And if you do get a new passport and intend to stay on a VEC get the large passport or you run out of pages very quickly with border runs.

This forum has deviated from the birth certificate topic.  Regardless the passport issue, does anyone know of any agency who can get the birth certificate for me?

lastronin wrote:

This forum has deviated from the birth certificate topic.

That's because if you get the passport, once COVID restrictions end you can simply take a trip and get it.  You seemed to think that you needed the birth certificate to get the passport but you don't.  If you need the birth certificate for some other reason, perhaps you might have said so.

lastronin wrote:

This forum has deviated from the birth certificate topic.  Regardless the passport issue, does anyone know of any agency who can get the birth certificate for me?

Your question was already answered.  See posts #2 and #3.

Recap: You don't need a birth certificate to apply for passport.

I need all my documents: birth certificate, state I.D./driver's license, citizenship certificate (it is not Certificate of Naturalization, it is Certificate of Citizenship), DD-214 (military service), U.S. Passport.  I lost all those documents all at once.  The only thing I have been able to get a fresh one is a Social Security card, which I had to show a recent, unexpired notarized affidavit to a *photocopy of "birth extract in lieu of birth certificate"*.  The photocopy is not good enough, and the information from the extract is not 100 percent accurate.  I need what's called a "true copy" or "reissue", since there is no original birth certificate to be had, only what's called an "extract".  I can't get any government-issued I.D. in the U.S. w/out the birth certificate (extract).

Also, in order to get a visa exemption from the Vietnamese govt, the birth certificate is something they want to see.  If I don't have that, it is a really complex process of trying to retro-pat (permanently relocate back to Vietnam).  I can leave the U.S. w/ a U.S. passport (whenever I get it later from today), but I can't enter Vietnam w/out "proof of identity" in addition to the passport.  I have to get the Certificate of Citizenship and U.S. Passport at the same time w/ a workaround: an affidavit saying I don't have a birth certificate document *and why*, that Vietnam law specifies I would have to get the birth certifcate in-person in-country or a trusted party in-country do it for me, etc.  I can't apply for VN Citizenship/VN Passport w/out it as far as I know.  The workaround would take 10 years of legal wrangling, and I want to relocate back to VN as soon as possible, whenever COVID restrictions are lifted.

It has taken me 6 years to figure out why I am going around in circles.  The VN Embassy in Washington, DC told me the same thing: hop on an airplane and go to VN to get your birth certificate.  I had to find my previous Citizenship Certificate through special permission for my records; luckily the U.S. Army made digital copies of my previous U.S. Passport and Citizenship Certificate.  But...

1) the Citizenship Certificate was issued in 1986 under the Justice Department, but those matters are handled by Department of Homeland Security now.  A one-time updated Certicate was available for a lesser processing fee, but that window of opportunity has passed, so it costs something like $600 now.  And, I still have to know the original A number, or N number, whichever one DHS uses.  That information took me 6 years to hunt down, for one number!  And I got that number off a bad digital copy from the National Archives through my military records by attesting to who I am and my service by separate means that involved visiting a U.S. Representative's office in-person.

No, there is no U.S. law that says I have to be >= 18 years before I can be a U.S. citizen; I was *conferred* citizenship when I was under 18, raised my hand in Washington, DC, took the Oath, and was made a U.S. Citizen by a State Dept official on the spot.  (The other legal functional procedure is to be "granted" citizenship, but I was in a special rare category... long story.)  True, the naturalization/citizenship certificate is the most important one required for getting a new passport (my old one expired over 20 years ago).

2.  I was born in June 1975 under the interim "republic of south vietnam" government that lasted about 18 months.  That govt is not considered legitimate and only some of the information they documented at the time is considered legally valid; the U.S. agreed w/ VN to that when relations were normalized during the Clinton administration in late 1980s-early 1990s.  That is something I understood and came to an agreement about w/ the current Vietnamese govt through our embassies in the past 15 years.  The U.S. State Dept cannot help me further.  Between the govt in Hanoi and myself, we agree that I am a true Vietnamese national.  Now, the birth extract information needs to reflect that; that was what I was told, and the U.S. State Dept washes their hands of the matter and DHS does not handle international relations.  The information on the birth extract was extrapolated from census information conducted in 1979 when I was in my hometown (Rach Gia) and was 4 years old at the time, plus extended family attestation to live birth after the fact some time in the early 1980s on my behalf that had to be OK'd by the United Nations (UNHCR), etc.  After all that information is to be stabilized and a reissue given to me on a new true document, only after that will they (the VN govt) consider opening discussions about Vietnamese citizenship.  I don't want to go into details about what's wrong w/ the extract up to now, but I agree it needs to be redone completely.  Besides, all I have left of it is a cheap photocopy, which I can't even get a driver's license in the U.S. w/ that piece of paper.

Again, if I cannot personally go to VN right now, which I cannot b/c I'm missing so many documents, is there or isn't there some sort of agency in VN that can help me?  Can they find my relatives in my hometown and maybe my relatives can do that for me?  Are there law offices in VN who handle fetching birth certificates for folks out-of-country?  I understand the answer "you can go to VN and do it yourself, just get your U.S. passport".   Ummm... in my case, it's really much more difficult than that, even though in theory it shouldn't be.

To the OP: I am in the same situation like yours; i got my US passport without my original birth cert.
I also got my 5 yr VN VEC 3 weeks ago without any old original documents from VN.  I went through a Vietnamese Service agency, or "dich vu" agency , to have it done.  All i need is my US passport and $80.

lastronin wrote:

I need all my documents: birth certificate, state I.D./driver's license, citizenship certificate (it is not Certificate of Naturalization, it is Certificate of Citizenship), DD-214 (military service), U.S. Passport.  I lost all those documents all at once.

Now your request is starting to make more sense.  By the way, Certificate of Naturalization and Certificate of Citizenship are the same thing.  The government just chose to change the name at some point in time.  The words "Replace My Naturalization Certificate or Certificate of Citizenship" are at the top of the page for which I gave you the link.  Near the top of that page it states that "You may apply for a replacement citizenship document if you:  Received a Certificate of Naturalization, Certificate of Citizenship, Declaration of Intention, or Repatriation Certificate which was lost, stolen, or destroyed;"  Common usage says that yours is "lost."  Did you obtain a police report when your documents disappeared?  If so, that should be sufficient evidence to attach to your application.  If not, a notarized statement should still suffice.  The other circumstances that require documentation are things like gender surgery or alteration/correction of birth dates.  Hopefully your Vietnamese birth records and your US records have the same date of birth.  Follow every link on the USCIS web page and read all instructions.  If you want to be sure hire a lawyer and give him a blank check.

I can't say this as an iron clad fact but I think you can obtain a new DD-214 without documents.  I know third parties can, but they must show a relationship.  Perhaps your could go around that circle by having a sibling or parent ask for your DD-214.  Although a DD-214 should have your birth date, it is not a legal form of identification.  Unless you are claiming medical benefits, it's not really good for much except a burial plot and a flag for your coffin.  If you were a commissioned officer, you may still be on inactive reserve status.  That could possibly be a way to obtain a legal ID card.

lastronin wrote:

Also, in order to get a visa exemption from the Vietnamese govt, the birth certificate is something they want to see.

Once you get a replacement Certificate of Citizenship and a US passport there is no reason (except current COVID restrictions) that you couldn't enter Vietnam on a 1 year tourist visa.  Then if you chose to, you could get a VEC while in Vietnam after obtaining your birth certificate.

lastronin wrote:

I can leave the U.S. w/ a U.S. passport (whenever I get it later from today), but I can't enter Vietnam w/out "proof of identity" in addition to the passport.

Where on earth did you hear this?  Any US citizen, no matter where they were born, can enter Vietnam as long as they have a passport and valid visa.  By the way, airlines won't let you on the plane unless they are reasonably sure that you will be admitted at your destination so your "can leave" but "can't enter" statement makes no sense.

lastronin wrote:

I have to get the Certificate of Citizenship and U.S. Passport at the same time w/ a workaround: an affidavit saying I don't have a birth certificate document *and why*

Once again, nothing in the application for a duplicate Certificate of Citizenship asks for a birth certificate unless you are asking to change your date of birth.

lastronin wrote:

No, there is no U.S. law that says I have to be >= 18 years before I can be a U.S. citizen; I was *conferred* citizenship when I was under 18, raised my hand in Washington, DC, took the Oath, and was made a U.S. Citizen by a State Dept official on the spot.

There were several exceptions to US immigration law enacted to assist Vietnamese refugees after 1975.  I suppose you must have been in one of those categories.

lastronin wrote:

The VN Embassy in Washington, DC told me the same thing: hop on an airplane and go to VN to get your birth certificate.

They are probably right but I would still highly recommend working with the San Francisco Consulate rather than the Embassy.

lastronin wrote:

Are there law offices in VN who handle fetching birth certificates for folks out-of-country?

First good idea you have had yet.  Monetary motives will work a lot better than appealing to relatives who barely remember you or to NGO's that have other work to do and probably no funding to travel the 250 km from HCM to Rach Gia.  Lawyers will do most anything for money.  Try using the search function on this site.
Instead of continuing to fret over it, why don't you just apply for a duplicate Certificate of Citizenship and see what happens.  (But read the instructions carefully from top to bottom.)  If they give you one, the passport and the rest will follow.  If they say no, hire a good lawyer.

One final note:  Your bio page on this site says that you are a Vietnamese citizen currently residing in Rach Gia.  If this is true, you have been trolling us and should be banned.

Wiinnddyy wrote:

To the OP: I am in the same situation like yours; i got my US passport without my original birth cert.
I also got my 5 yr VN VEC 3 weeks ago without any old original documents from VN.  I went through a Vietnamese Service agency, or "dich vu" agency , to have it done.  All i need is my US passport and $80.

I expect that they may have given you the VEC without other documents because the US passport bio page lists Vietnam as your place of birth.

Umm... given the amount of details I am giving, why would anyone think I am a troll?  a) The expax.com interface does not differentiate between nationality and citizenship.  I am a Vietnamese national, same as answering anyone's question about my nationality: What nationality are you?  I say, "I am a Vietnamese but I have U.S. Citizenship.  I was born in Viet Nam".  The "Personal Settings" section of this website says... "I am [choose: Vietnamese]".  I do not consider myself an American and never will.  b) It does not differentiate between where I live currently and where I was born.  It just automatically does that and says "Vietnamese Citizen".  I don't know where you got the idea that I currently live in Rach Gia.  I am in the United States right now.  I can't find any settings specific to my current location, so I'm not going to worry about that.

To the other poster who worked w/ an agency to get documents in Vietnam.  Can you private message me and pass along the info to me?  Thanks.

lastronin wrote:

I do not consider myself an American and never will.

Perhaps you should reconsider the oath that you attested to that day.  If you wish to renounce that oath, perhaps you could arrange to be deported to Vietnam.  In that case you will not need to worry about obtaining that US passport.

lastronin wrote:

I don't know where you got the idea that I currently live in Rach Gia.

Right after where it says "I am currently living here"

I don't think you know about the Oath.  It says to abide by the U.S. Constitution.  The State Dept still lists me as a Vietnamese national.  I don't think you know the difference between nationality and citizenship, and that varies legally depending on the country and bilateral treaties.  The same is true if I were to apply for Vietnamese citizenship.  The VNese govt will determine that on a case-by-case basis.  According to both countries, I was born in VN, both my parents are/were Vietnamese citizens.  That does not mean I am a Vietnamese citizen automatically, but it means both countries officially recognize I am a Vietnamese national.

Why are you being mean to me?  I don't think you understand several differences I have been discussing.  I don't see anything in Settings that says "I am currently living here".  There is nowhere I see where I show where I live, so I don't know where I can change that on this website.  I will look around again.

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

lastronin wrote:

The State Dept still lists me as a Vietnamese national. I don't think you know the difference between nationality and citizenship, and that varies legally depending on the country and bilateral treaties.  The same is true if I were to apply for Vietnamese citizenship.  The VNese govt will determine that on a case-by-case basis.  According to both countries, I was born in VN, both my parents are/were Vietnamese citizens.  That does not mean I am a Vietnamese citizen automatically, but it means both countries officially recognize I am a Vietnamese national.

In the legal term of US Immigration and Nationality Act, “the term ‘national of the United States’ means (A) a citizen of the United States, or (B) a person who, though not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the United States.” Therefore, U.S. citizens are also U.S. nationals.

Your ethnicity is Asian. Your ethnic group is Vietnamese, or Vietnamese American, but in the eyes of the US law, you're an American citizen, your nationality is American, and you're an American national.  The State Dept does not list you as a Vietnamese national, not after YOU have gone through so much trouble to become a US citizen, not after YOU have taken the oath to "absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen" etc. and etc.  When you receive your passport, look at the first page to see what the State Dept says of your nationality aka your national. 

You may dislike the citizenship which you or your parents had tried so hard to acquire, and you may think of yourself as a Vietnamese national, but neither government officially recognises you as a Vietnamese national.  To the US government, you're an American of Asian descent, or an American of Vietnamese birth.  To the Vietnamese government, you're a foreigner with Vietnamese roots. 

That's the fact, and I know that not only by being recognised by the US law as an American citizen/national of Vietnamese descent for the last 40+ years, but also by being recognised by the Vietnamese government as a foreigner with Vietnamese roots in the last 4 years.  No one in either country has ever recognised me a Vietnamese national for almost 50 years now.

Every time I went to Immigration office here in Vietnam, I was sent to the Office for Foreigner Service.  Every time I received medical service here, I was listed as foreigner in the records of all medical facilities.  I'm registered with the ward police as a foreigner in Vietnam, and I'm registered with the US Consulate as an American national in Vietnam.  Neither government is unclear about my identity.

lastronin wrote:

Also, in order to get a visa exemption from the Vietnamese govt, the birth certificate is something they want to see.  I can leave the U.S. w/ a U.S. passport (whenever I get it later from today), but I can't enter Vietnam w/out "proof of identity" in addition to the passport.

You don't need a birth certificate to apply for VEC.  Your passport says you're born in Vietnam so that's the requirement VEC asked.  I acquired VEC while living in CA using only Certificate of Naturalization. My husband used his Certificate of Citizenship (as THIGV said, both terms are used for the same document).  I was born in Vietnam. My husband was born in Canada. Neither of us had our birth certificate at the time we applied for VEC (he found his later, I never have mine).  My relatives also had their VECs without birth certificate.

No one who entered Vietnam was asked for proof of identity in addition to his passport and visa, or in your case, VEC.

Wiinnddyy wrote:

To the OP: I am in the same situation like yours; i got my US passport without my original birth cert.
I also got my 5 yr VN VEC 3 weeks ago without any old original documents from VN.  I went through a Vietnamese Service agency, or "dich vu" agency , to have it done.  All i need is my US passport and $80.

THIGV wrote:

I expect that they may have given you the VEC without other documents because the US passport bio page lists Vietnam as your place of birth.

Precisely.

lastronin wrote:

Why are you being mean to me?  I don't think you understand several differences I have been discussing.  I don't see anything in Settings that says "I am currently living here".  There is nowhere I see where I show where I live, so I don't know where I can change that on this website.  I will look around again.

Actually, THIGV has been admirably patient and generous in his sharing of information with you in this thread -- the reason I didn't feel the need to be an active participant until now.

Evidently you've found the part in Settings that asked where you're currently living because you've deleted that information from your profile.

lastronin wrote:

I do not consider myself an American and never will.

THIGV wrote:

Perhaps you should reconsider the oath that you attested to that day.  If you wish to renounce that oath, perhaps you could arrange to be deported to Vietnam.  In that case you will not need to worry about obtaining that US passport.

Or simply relinquish U.S. Citizenship since you're already had an agreement with Hanoi: "Between the govt in Hanoi and myself, we agree that I am a true Vietnamese national."  (post #12)

If they truly recognised you as such, they wouldn't have had any hesitation allowing you to reclaim your Vietnamese nationality, giving you a copy of your birth certificate, or issuing you a passport. Nothing is impossible if you have Hanoi behind you.

And as such, relinquishing the citizenship of a country you didn't care for and would never want to be a part of (but nevertheless voluntarily served in its military force!) is not at all a difficult thing to do.

lastronin wrote:

Also, in order to get a visa exemption from the Vietnamese govt, the birth certificate is something they want to see.  If I don't have that, it is a really complex process of trying to retro-pat (permanently relocate back to Vietnam).  I can leave the U.S. w/ a U.S. passport (whenever I get it later from today), but I can't enter Vietnam w/out "proof of identity" in addition to the passport.  I have to get the Certificate of Citizenship and U.S. Passport at the same time w/ a workaround: an affidavit saying I don't have a birth certificate document *and why*, that Vietnam law specifies I would have to get the birth certifcate in-person in-country or a trusted party in-country do it for me, etc.  I can't apply for VN Citizenship/VN Passport w/out it as far as I know.  The workaround would take 10 years of legal wrangling, and I want to relocate back to VN as soon as possible, whenever COVID restrictions are lifted.

It has taken me 6 years to figure out why I am going around in circles.  The VN Embassy in Washington, DC told me the same thing: hop on an airplane and go to VN to get your birth certificate.  I had to find my previous Citizenship Certificate through special permission for my records; luckily the U.S. Army made digital copies of my previous U.S. Passport and Citizenship Certificate.  But...

1) the Citizenship Certificate was issued in 1986 under the Justice Department, but those matters are handled by Department of Homeland Security now.  A one-time updated Certicate was available for a lesser processing fee, but that window of opportunity has passed, so it costs something like $600 now.  And, I still have to know the original A number, or N number, whichever one DHS uses.  That information took me 6 years to hunt down, for one number!  And I got that number off a bad digital copy from the National Archives through my military records by attesting to who I am and my service by separate means that involved visiting a U.S. Representative's office in-person.

No, there is no U.S. law that says I have to be >= 18 years before I can be a U.S. citizen; I was *conferred* citizenship when I was under 18, raised my hand in Washington, DC, took the Oath, and was made a U.S. Citizen by a State Dept official on the spot.  (The other legal functional procedure is to be "granted" citizenship, but I was in a special rare category... long story.)  True, the naturalization/citizenship certificate is the most important one required for getting a new passport (my old one expired over 20 years ago).

2.  I was born in June 1975 under the interim "republic of south vietnam" government that lasted about 18 months.  That govt is not considered legitimate and only some of the information they documented at the time is considered legally valid; the U.S. agreed w/ VN to that when relations were normalized during the Clinton administration in late 1980s-early 1990s.  That is something I understood and came to an agreement about w/ the current Vietnamese govt through our embassies in the past 15 years.  The U.S. State Dept cannot help me further.  Between the govt in Hanoi and myself, we agree that I am a true Vietnamese national.  Now, the birth extract information needs to reflect that; that was what I was told, and the U.S. State Dept washes their hands of the matter and DHS does not handle international relations.  The information on the birth extract was extrapolated from census information conducted in 1979 when I was in my hometown (Rach Gia) and was 4 years old at the time, plus extended family attestation to live birth after the fact some time in the early 1980s on my behalf that had to be OK'd by the United Nations (UNHCR), etc.  After all that information is to be stabilized and a reissue given to me on a new true document, only after that will they (the VN govt) consider opening discussions about Vietnamese citizenship.  I don't want to go into details about what's wrong w/ the extract up to now, but I agree it needs to be redone completely.  Besides, all I have left of it is a cheap photocopy, which I can't even get a driver's license in the U.S. w/ that piece of paper.

Again, if I cannot personally go to VN right now, which I cannot b/c I'm missing so many documents, is there or isn't there some sort of agency in VN that can help me?  Can they find my relatives in my hometown and maybe my relatives can do that for me?  Are there law offices in VN who handle fetching birth certificates for folks out-of-country?  I understand the answer "you can go to VN and do it yourself, just get your U.S. passport".   Ummm... in my case, it's really much more difficult than that, even though in theory it shouldn't be.

please excuse my ignorant because i didn't read the whole thread. as i understand, you've lost your birth certificate and is looking for ways to overcome this requirement. i was told that local government has residency records dating all the way back to the 70s. wherever you stayed in Rach Gia, you should be able to obtain these records from 'Phuong', as proof you were a Vietnamese National during that period. this information can be used in lieu of a birth certificate when applying for VN naturalisation.

i do know a person who may be able to help you. PM me.

Hello there, can you please post or send me the details of the agent/lawyer who was able to get birth certificate re-issued from Vietnam on your behalf? My situation is, I am trying to get married in France and they won’t allow me unless I have original copy. I am in France and cannot enter Vietnam due to Covid.

Hi there, did you ended up finding a way to get your original birth certificate from Vietnam?  I am trying to get original birth certificate from Vietnam for getting married in France and feeling very hopeless to be completely honest. We’ve tried so many things and spoken to so many people and everyone is clueless. If you have any advice or contact details for anyone who can help, that would be life saving

anhynguyen:  Who are you asking?  Some people insist on the quote function but you can address a question to anyone by name, as I have just done to you.

Can you post the details of the agent here?

Wiinnddyy wrote:

To the OP: I am in the same situation like yours; i got my US passport without my original birth cert.
I also got my 5 yr VN VEC 3 weeks ago without any old original documents from VN.  I went through a Vietnamese Service agency, or "dich vu" agency , to have it done.  All i need is my US passport and $80.

Hi, did you ended up resolving this? Can you please share agent/agency details if you were successful?

Sorry to see how your simple question was deviated massively as I know how frustrating it must be to be in limbo land for so long. Anyway, try to have a nice day and have faith it’ll all work out in the end.

lastronin wrote:

I don't think you know about the Oath.  It says to abide by the U.S. Constitution.  The State Dept still lists me as a Vietnamese national.  I don't think you know the difference between nationality and citizenship, and that varies legally depending on the country and bilateral treaties.  The same is true if I were to apply for Vietnamese citizenship.  The VNese govt will determine that on a case-by-case basis.  According to both countries, I was born in VN, both my parents are/were Vietnamese citizens.  That does not mean I am a Vietnamese citizen automatically, but it means both countries officially recognize I am a Vietnamese national.

Why are you being mean to me?  I don't think you understand several differences I have been discussing.  I don't see anything in Settings that says "I am currently living here".  There is nowhere I see where I show where I live, so I don't know where I can change that on this website.  I will look around again.

Thanks heaps

THIGV wrote:

anhynguyen:  Who are you asking?  Some people insist on the quote function but you can address a question to anyone by name, as I have just done to you.