Instructions on conditions for naturalization and regaining Vietnamese nationality

The Government issued Decree No. 191/2025/ND-CP detailing a number of articles and measures to organize and guide the implementation of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality.

The Government issued Decree No. 191/2025/ND-CP detailing a number of articles and measures to organize and guide the implementation of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality.

The Decree consists of 6 chapters and 38 articles regulating procedures for naturalization, return, renunciation, revocation of Vietnamese nationality, decision to naturalize Vietnamese nationality, decision to restore Vietnamese nationality; notification of results of nationality settlement; issuance of certificates of Vietnamese nationality, issuance of certificates of Vietnamese origin; responsibilities of agencies in state management of nationality...

Obtain Vietnamese citizenship

The Decree stipulates a number of conditions for acquiring Vietnamese nationality as prescribed in Article 19 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality as follows:

1. Knowing Vietnamese enough to integrate into the Vietnamese community is the ability to listen, speak, read, and write in Vietnamese appropriate to the living and working environment of the person applying for Vietnamese nationality.

2. A person applying for Vietnamese nationality who is not exempted from the permanent residence conditions prescribed in Point d and Point dd, Clause 1, Article 19 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality must be a person permanently residing in Vietnam and has been granted a Permanent Residence Card by a competent Vietnamese Public Security agency.

The period of permanent residence in Vietnam of a person applying for Vietnamese nationality is calculated from the date he/she is granted a Permanent Residence Card.

3. The ability to ensure a living in Vietnam of the person applying for Vietnamese nationality is proven by the person's assets, legal source of income or the guarantee of an organization or individual in Vietnam.

Allowing Vietnamese nationality for people with special contributions to the cause of building and defending the Vietnamese Fatherland and benefiting the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, specifically:

A person with special meritorious contributions to the cause of building and defending the Vietnamese Fatherland must be a person who has been awarded a Medal, Medal of Honor, or other noble title by the State of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, or has had such special meritorious contributions confirmed by a competent authority of Vietnam based on records, opinions of relevant agencies and organizations, and provisions of specialized laws.

Cases beneficial to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam include:

- People with outstanding talents in the fields of science, technology, innovation, digital transformation, economics , law, culture, society, arts, sports, health, education or other fields whose talents have been confirmed by a ministry-level state management agency or have received international awards, medals, and there is a basis to show that such person will make positive, long-term contributions to the development of the above-mentioned fields in Vietnam;

- Entrepreneurs and investors are individuals with business and investment activities in Vietnam who have been confirmed by a ministerial-level state management agency that they will make positive, long-term contributions to the development of Vietnam.

The Decree also clearly states: The competent authority to manage, recruit and use civil servants and public employees according to the provisions of the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants and the Law on Public Employees shall decide on the recruitment and use of civil servants and public employees who are Vietnamese citizens and also have foreign nationality according to the provisions of Clause 6, Article 5 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality on the basis of determining that it is beneficial to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam according to the provisions.

Instructions on some documents in the application for re-acquiring Vietnamese nationality

The Decree also specifies a number of documents in the application for re-acquiring Vietnamese nationality.

Specifically, the documents proving that the person applying to regain Vietnamese nationality used to have Vietnamese nationality as prescribed in Point d, Clause 1, Article 24 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality are one of the following documents:

- Documents proving that the President has allowed the person to renounce Vietnamese nationality or has had their Vietnamese nationality revoked.

- Documents issued and certified by competent authorities or organizations of Vietnam, stating Vietnamese nationality or valuable documents proving the person's previous Vietnamese nationality.

In case information on the previous Vietnamese nationality status of the person applying to regain Vietnamese nationality can be found in the Electronic Civil Status Database or the National Population Database, the receiving agency does not require the person applying to regain Vietnamese nationality to submit the above documents.

Also according to the Decree, in case a person requests to regain Vietnamese nationality because he/she has renounced Vietnamese nationality to acquire foreign nationality, but is not allowed to acquire foreign nationality, he/she must have documents issued by a competent foreign authority clearly confirming the reason for not being allowed to acquire foreign nationality. In case the person is not allowed to acquire foreign nationality due to his/her fault, he/she must have a letter of guarantee from one of the following: father, mother, wife, husband, child or sibling who is a Vietnamese citizen residing permanently in Vietnam, along with the person's application to voluntarily return to reside in Vietnam.

In the case of a person applying to regain Vietnamese nationality and at the same time apply to retain foreign nationality, the following documents are required:

- Documents issued by a competent authority of a foreign country on the retention of foreign nationality in accordance with the laws of that country. In cases where foreign law does not stipulate the issuance of this type of document, the person must have a written commitment that the competent authority of the foreign country does not stipulate the issuance of this type of document and that the application to retain foreign nationality when returning to Vietnamese nationality is in accordance with the laws of that foreign country.

- Commitment not to use foreign nationality to harm the legitimate rights and interests of agencies, organizations and individuals; to infringe upon the security, national interests, social order and safety of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

In case a person applying to regain Vietnamese nationality and at the same time apply to retain foreign nationality but does not fully satisfy the conditions specified in Clause 5, Article 23 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality, he/she must renounce foreign nationality.

The Decree stipulates: Minor children who return to Vietnamese nationality with their parents must submit a copy of the child's birth certificate or other valid documents proving the father-child or mother-child relationship, in case the receiving agency cannot exploit information proving the father-child relationship in the Electronic Civil Status Database or the National Population Database. In case only the father or mother returns to Vietnamese nationality and the minor child living with that person returns to Vietnamese nationality with the father or mother, a written agreement with both parents' signatures on the child's request to return to Vietnamese nationality must be submitted. The written agreement does not need to be authenticated; the person applying for the child's return to Vietnamese nationality must be responsible for the accuracy of the other person's signature.

In case the father or mother has died, lost civil act capacity or has limited civil act capacity, the written agreement shall be replaced by documents proving that the father or mother has died, lost civil act capacity or has limited civil act capacity.

Nhandan.vn

Source: https://nhandan.vn/huong-dan-dieu-kien-nhap-quoc-tich-tro-lai-quoc-tich-viet-nam-post893278.html