CNC has prepared and published this article Divorce involving foreign spouses in Vietnam to provide clients and potential clients with the most detailed information related to Divorce involving foreign spouses. The article includes the following content: (i) What is divorce involving foreign spouses; (ii)Competent authority; (iii)Documentation preparation; (iv) Procedures for settling divorces involving foreign spouses; (v) Division of property, child custody, child support, and alimony obligations post-divorce.
What is divorce involving foreign spouses?
Divorces involving foreign spouses are understood as follows:
Divorces with foreign elements according to the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, Article 127
Divorces involving foreign spouses – jurisdiction
Regulations on Jurisdiction to settle divorce by administrative subdivisions according to Civil Procedure Code 2015, Article 35,37
In addition, the jurisdiction of the Court by territory is also determined as follows:
Provisions on the jurisdiction of courts by territory in the Civil Procedure Code 2015, Clause 1 Article 39
The petitioner, in certain instances, has the legal right to choose a court to settle disputes pertaining to marriage and family, as follows:
- If the defendant’s place of legal residence, work, or head office is unknown, the plaintiff may request the court, where the defendant previously resided, currently works, or has his head office located, or where the defendant possesses property to settle, to resolve the dispute.
- If the defendant does not have a place of residence, work, or head office in Vietnam or is not involved in any alimony dispute, the petitioner may request the Court where he/she resides, works, or is headquartered, to settle dispute.
Divorce from foreign spouses in Vietnam – Procedures
Divorce from foreign spouses in Vietnam – Procedures
Dossier preparation:
The parties need to completely prepare the following documents, including:
|
STT |
Resource Name |
Amount |
Note |
|
1 |
Application for divorce or application for recognition of consensual divorce |
01 |
Application form provided by the Court |
|
2 |
Certificate of marriage registration |
01 |
Original (for lost original marriage registration certificates, a competent state agency certified copy must be submitted) |
|
3 |
Household registration book of the couple |
01 |
Certified copy |
|
4 |
ID/ passport of the couple |
01 |
Certified copy |
|
5 |
Child’s birth certificate |
01 |
Certified copy (if there are children) |
|
6 |
Documents and other evidence to prove common property |
01 |
Certificates of land use rights, ownership of the house and other land – attached assets (Red Book), vehicle registration, etc. |
Procedures for Record of Divorce in case of overseas marriage registration
If the divorcers register their marriage under foreign law and want to get a divorce in Vietnam, they must comply with the following:
Jurisdiction: the Department of Justice of the place in which the Vietnamese citizen’s permanent residence is registered or the diplomatic mission that recorded the marriage of their citizen residing in the receiving country.
Dossier: 1 (one) set, including the following documents:
Required documents in Procedure for Divorce involving foreign spouses
Settlement Duration: 5 days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossiers and fees. The duration may be extended by no more than 5 business days upon verification being required,.
Whenever either of the involved parties fail to make a court appearance during the process of a divorce settlement, , the court will proceed with the trial of the case when:
Cases where Courts shall proceed with the hearings in the absence of involved parties
When either party is, or both parties are abroad, the court will entrust the judiciary to the overseas Vietnamese consular office and/or overseas courts to conduct civil proceedings abroad.
The processing time of requests for divorce involving foreign spouses:
The processing time of requests for divorce involving foreign spouses
Expenses for divorce with foreign elements:
Expenses for divorce with foreign elements
If he wife is pregnant or has a child under 12 months of age, the husband does not have the legal right to request a unilateral divorce.
If the couple were married in Vietnam and one spouse has exited Vietnam to emigrate to another country (address unknown), there must be local authority certification that one of the parties has exited.
Regulations on the property of husband and wife
Regulations on the property of husband and wife
Division of property upon divorce
According to the provisions of Civil Code 2015, joint ownership of husband and wife is divisible joint property; husband and wife create and develop joint properties together; have equal rights in the possession, use, and disposal of joint properties. Joint properties of husband and wife are divisible by agreement or by the decision of the Court.
In the event the husband and wife have previously agreed – mutually – on the division of common property during their marriage or established an agreement on the matrimonial regime prior to marriage, the actual legal validity of these agreements must be reviewed prior to application for property settlement of the husband and the wife upon divorce.
Invalidation of the the husband and wife’s agreements will occur in the following situations:
Invalid Agreements between husband and wife under the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, Article 42 and Article 50
Whenever an agreement is non-existent or incomplete, the joint property is to be divided in half (50/50) after taking into consideration the following elements:
Considerations in Division of Marital Property
The husband and wife’s joint property will be divided “in kind”, and if it cannot be divided in kind, it will be divided according to its value; the party who receives the property in kind with a value greater than his/her share must pay the other party the difference.
Child custody after divorce
Post divorce, parents are obliged to look after, care for, raise, and educate their minor children and/or adult children who lack legal capacity or have no working capacity and no property to feed themselves. Care and nurturing are adjusted according to two dynamics:
02 Matters regarding Child Custody after divorce
Child support obligations of parents towards their children post divorce
Post divorce, the non-custodial parent or the custodial parent that neglects their childcare obligations despite living with their child has the obligation to support the child in the following cases:
Cases where child support obligations are involved
Determination of Child Support Obligations
Above are the legal issues related to divorce involving foreigners that CNC has summarized to provide clients and potential clients with the most comprehensive view on this matter. Obviously, the procedure for divorce involving foreigners is not simple, parties need to carefully consider to ensure the best interests of their children and themselves.
Further support
We are honored to receive any requests from Clients for support regarding divorce to ensure that the process is smooth and swift, thereby ensuring the best interests of relevant parties.
To make requests, please contact us via the information provided below
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Tra | Associate
T: (+84-28) 6276 9900
Ms. Kim Ngoc Anh | Associate
T: (+84-28) 6276 9900
CNC| A Boutique Property Law Firm
Room SAV.1 – 3.03 Floor 3, The Sun Avenue
28 Mai Chi Tho, An Phu Ward, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
T: (+84-28) 6276 9900| F: (+84-28) 2220 0913
cnccounsel.com | contact@cnccounsel.com
Disclaimers:
This article is prepared or used for the purpose of giving clients introductions or updates on issues and/or developments of legal perspective in Vietnam.
