Application for dual Citizenship for Overseas Vietnamese

Currently, overseas Vietnamese are more and more inclined to return to their home country for long-term residence, not only for visiting relatives, but also for investing in business, establishing a company, buying real estate, living stably in Vietnam. These activities contribute a lot to the socio-economic development of Vietnam. So, how is Vietnamese laws stipulating the registration procedures of permanent residence and Vietnamese citizenship for overseas Vietnamese?

I. Regulation of Vietnamese laws about the registration of permanent residence and Vietnamese citizenship for overseas Vietnamese

According to the provisions of the current Nationality Law, a person of Vietnamese origin wishing to return or naturalize Vietnamese citizenship is not required to give up foreign citizenship. This creates favorable conditions for Vietnamese people who have settled and naturalized foreign nationalities but wish to return or naturalize Vietnamese citizenship.

Therefore, the procedure registration of permanent residence and Vietnamese citizenship for overseas Vietnamese, also known as the procedure of dual citizenship registration, allows overseas Vietnamese to retain their foreign citizenship, at the same time to be recognized as Vietnamese citizens and enjoy all rights as Vietnamese citizens.

II. Benefit of having dual nationals Vietnam and a foreign country

The benefit of dual nationals is to enjoy all the economic, political benefits and social welfare of both countries in which they are citizens. Specifically, they will be able to live, work, study, get health care, establish and own the company, own and trade real estate, guarantee relatives, have the right to stand for election , vote…

In particular, dual nationals will be more convenient in immigration because they do not need to apply for a visa or permanent residence card.

For example, when you hold US and Vietnamese citizenship, if you enter or exit the US, you can use the US passport, if you enter or exit Vietnam, you can use the Vietnamese passport. However, when checking-in by airlines, you need to present both passports to prove no visa required for the destination country such as the US or Vietnam.

Owning dual citizenship of Vietnam and a foreign country also brings the benefit of not having to apply for visa to travel between ASEAN countries such as Singapore, Laos, Myanmar, ect…

III. Conditions of registration for permanent residence and Vietnamese citizenship

Overseas Vietnamese may register for permanent residence and Vietnamese citizenship when they satisfy the following conditions:

  1. Having papers proving Vietnamese citizenship or retaining Vietnamese citizenship as prescribed (Vietnam Passport, Identity Card, Birth Certificate,…)
  2. Having a legal residence in Vietnam, including owning house or renting, borrowing house from someone else or guaranteed by a relative.

IV. Performance of the registration of permanent residence and Vietnamese citizenship

Overseas Vietnamese perform the registration of permanent residence and Vietnamese citizenship in three steps as follows:

Step 1: Overseas Vietnamese prepare a set of documents for permanent residence registration in Vietnam according to regulations, including:

  1. An application for permanent residence in Vietnam
  2. Authenticated copy of foreign passport or international travel document or permanent residence document issued by foreign country
  3. Authenticated copy or photocopy with an original for comparison of papers proving Vietnamese citizenship
  4. Authenticated copy of papers proving legal residence in Vietnam

Step 2: Overseas Vietnamese apply the documents at the Immigration Department of the Provincial Public Security or Immigration Department.

Step 3: After receiving the settlement result of the agreement for the overseas Vietnamese to return to Vietnam for permanent residence from the Immigration Department, overseas Vietnamese shall carry out the procedures for permanent residence registration, local household registration, and apply for Vietnamese ID card and passport.

Through the above procedures, the final result is that overseas Vietnamese will be able to permanently reside in Vietnam as Vietnamese citizens while also retaining their foreign citizenship.

V. Notes about the registration procedures for permanent residence and Vietnamese citizenship

The most common difficulty for overseas Vietnamese is insufficient documents to prove Vietnamese citizenship. Therefore, the applicant needs to carry out the procedures to extract documents at the competent authority such as a birth certificate, permanent residence book before immigration. The longer overseas Vietnamese immigrated, the longer it will take to extract these documents.

The documents extract can also be difficult when the identity information of overseas Vietnamese changes. For example, some people who naturalize a foreign country may get a new name in a foreign language and do not have documents to prove the relationship with the old name, it will be difficult to extract documents and perform the application for dual citizenship because these papers are under the old name.

In addition, in the process of implementing the procedure, the state authorities may request to explain some information related to the identity of the applicant for permanent residence.

The actual processing time of the Immigration Department for the permanent residence registration in Vietnam of overseas Vietnamese is quite long, from 4-6 months. Therefore, the applicant must regularly monitor the application processing status to provide timely additional documents if requested by the Immigration Department.

The above are the basic provisions related to the registration procedure of permanent residence and Vietnamese citizenship for overseas Vietnamese. Owning dual citizenship of Vietnam and a foreign country really brings overseas Vietnamese many benefits. If you need assistance in implementing procedures of permanent residence registration and Vietnamese citizenship registration or have questions about this matter, you can contact CIS Law Firm by phone number (+84.028 ) 39118581 for free consultation.

LEGAL DEPARTMENT – CIS LAW FIRM

109 Hoang Sa, Da Kao Ward, District 1, HCMC
Phone: 028 3911 8581 – 0938 548 101
Email: info@cis.vn