MARRIAGE ANNOTATION IN VIETNAM

1. Legal basis

- Law on Marriage and Family No. 52/2014/QH13 dated June 19, 2014;

- Law on Civil Status No. 60/2014/QH13 dated November 20, 2014;

- Decree 123/2015/ND-CP dated November 15, 2015 detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Civil Status;

- Decree 07/2025/ND-CP dated January 9, 2025 amending and supplementing certain provisions of decrees in the field of civil status, nationality, and authentication;

- Decree 18/2026/ND-CP dated January 14, 2026 amending and supplementing certain decrees to reduce and simplify administrative procedures and business conditions under the management scope of the Ministry of Justice.

2. What is a marriage annotation

Currently, Vietnamese law does not provide a specific definition of a marriage annotation. However, it can be understood as follows:

A marriage annotation is an administrative procedure to record in the Civil Status Register the marriage of Vietnamese citizens that has been performed at a competent authority abroad.

After a Vietnamese citizen registers a marriage with a competent authority abroad, they are required to carry out the marriage annotation procedure. This is an important legal step for the Vietnamese state to officially recognize a marriage established overseas, enabling citizens to exercise their legal rights and obligations, as well as those of their spouse, in Vietnam.

3. Purpose of Marriage Annotation

Marriage annotation is not merely an administrative procedure but also serves as a “protective shield” for legal rights in Vietnam, providing practical legal benefits. Some specific purposes include:

(i) Legalizing the marriage in Vietnam: This is the most important purpose. Even if a foreign marriage certificate exists, legally within Vietnam, a citizen is still considered single if this procedure is not completed. Marriage annotation “activates” the status of “Married” in the National Population Database.

(ii) Protecting property and inheritance rights: When engaging in transactions such as buying, selling, or gifting real estate, or applying for bank loans, marriage annotation clarifies the joint property of the spouses. This prevents potential disputes and ensures the legal inheritance rights of the spouse in accordance with Vietnamese law.

(iii) Providing a legal basis for registering the birth of children: For children to be recognized as legitimate, with full names of the parents on the birth certificate, and to be eligible for Vietnamese nationality (if desired), parents must have completed the marriage annotation as a prerequisite.

(iv) Exercising residency and sponsorship rights: This procedure serves as a basis for a spouse (if a foreigner) to apply for a Permanent Residence Card, Temporary Residence Card, or visa exemption, allowing them to live in Vietnam legally and long-term with their family.

(v) Ensuring the monogamous marriage regime: Updating information in the Civil Status Register allows the State to manage marriages strictly, preventing a person from marrying abroad and then marrying someone else in Vietnam, which would violate the principle of voluntary and progressive marriage.

(vi) Handling legal contingencies: In the unfortunate event of divorce or the death of a spouse, Vietnamese authorities can only process related procedures if the marriage has been officially recorded in the State management system.

4. Conditions for Performing Marriage Annotation in Vietnam

According to Article 34 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP, Vietnamese citizens can perform the procedure of marriage annotation in the Vietnamese Civil Status Register when meeting one of the following two conditions:

(i) The marriage between Vietnamese citizens or between a Vietnamese citizen and a foreigner, conducted at a competent authority abroad, can be recorded in the Civil Status Register if, at the time of the marriage, the parties met all marriage conditions and did not violate prohibitions under the Law on Marriage and Family of Vietnam.

(ii) If, at the time of registration with the foreign competent authority, the marriage did not meet all conditions but did not violate any prohibitions under the Law on Marriage and Family, and at the time of requesting the annotation in the Civil Status Register the consequences have been remedied, or the marriage annotation is intended to protect the rights of Vietnamese citizens and children, the marriage can still be recorded in the Civil Status Register.

In detail:

• Marriage conditions for male and female citizens are regulated in Article 8 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family as follows:

- Males must be at least 20 years old; females must be at least 18 years old;

- The marriage must be voluntarily decided by both parties;

- The parties must not have lost legal capacity;

- The marriage must not fall under any prohibited cases as prescribed in points a, b, c, and d, Clause 2, Article 5 of this Law.

• Prohibited cases of marriage under Clause 2, Article 5 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family are as follows:

- Sham marriages;

- Child marriages, forced marriages, fraudulent marriages, obstructed marriages;

- A person already having a spouse marrying or cohabiting as a spouse with another person, or a person without a spouse marrying or cohabiting as a spouse with someone already married;

- Marriage or cohabitation between direct blood relatives, between people related within three generations, between adoptive parents and adopted children, between former adoptive parents and adopted children, between a father-in-law and daughter-in-law, mother-in-law and son-in-law, stepfather and stepchild of the wife, stepmother and stepchild of the husband;

- Exploiting marriage for human trafficking, labor exploitation, sexual abuse, or other acts for profiteering purposes.

5. Marriage Annotation Procedure under Vietnamese Law

5.1. Marriage Annotation Dossier:

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 35 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP, the marriage annotation dossier is submitted by one of the spouses to the competent authority and includes the following documents:

(i) A completed application form according to the prescribed template;

(ii) A copy of the marriage certificate issued by the competent authority of the foreign country;

(iii) In addition to the above documents, if the dossier is submitted via the postal system, copies of identity documents of both spouses as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 2 of this Decree must also be included (e.g., passport, citizen identity card, citizen card, personal identification certificate, or other documents with photo and personal information issued by a competent authority, still valid);

If the Vietnamese citizen has divorced or annulled the marriage at a foreign competent authority, a certified extract showing that the divorce or annulment has been recorded in the Civil Status Register must be submitted, as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 37 of this Decree.

5.2. Procedure:

Step 1: Prepare the marriage annotation dossier;

Step 2: One of the spouses submits the dossier to the competent authority;

Step 3: Check and process the marriage annotation dossier.

The time limit for recording the marriage in the Civil Status Register is 5 working days from the date the Justice Department receives the dossier. In cases requiring verification, the time limit shall not exceed 10 working days.

+ If the request for recording the marriage in the Civil Status Register meets the conditions prescribed by law, the Head of the Justice Department will record it in the register and report to the Chairman of the District People’s Committee to issue an official extract of the civil status to the applicant.

+ If the request falls under any of the cases for refusal, the Head of the Justice Department will report to the Chairman of the District People’s Committee to reject the recording of the marriage.

5.3. Authority for Marriage Annotation:

According to Clause 1, Article 48 of the 2015 Law on Civil Status, the People’s Committee of the district where the Vietnamese citizen resides is responsible for recording in the Civil Status Register the marriage that has been registered with a competent foreign authority.

6. Cases of Refusal to Record Marriage Annotation

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 36 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP, a request to record a marriage in the Civil Status Register (marriage annotation) will be refused in any of the following cases:

(i) The marriage violates prohibitions under the Law on Marriage and Family;

(ii) A Vietnamese citizen marries a foreigner at a foreign diplomatic mission or consular office in Vietnam.

Marriage annotation in Vietnam is an essential step that connects the legal purpose with the administrative process. Understanding the purpose of the annotation helps individuals protect their rights while complying with legal regulations. At the same time, mastering the procedure ensures that the dossier is processed quickly, accurately, and smoothly, thereby providing a solid foundation for civil transactions, administrative procedures, and international matters related to marriage. Thus, marriage annotation is not only an administrative procedure but also an important legal tool to manage personal status information and safeguard the rights of all individuals.

 

The information contained in this article is general and intended only to provide information on legal regulations. DB Legal will not be responsible for any use or application of this information for any business purpose. For in-depth advice on specific cases, please contact us.

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