Luật số 79/2025/QH15 của Quốc hội: Luật sửa đổi, bổ sung một số điều của Luật Quốc tịch Việt Nam.
Law No. 79/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly: Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality.
Disclaimers:
We are not Vietnamese registered lawyers and not active in Vietnam. We specialise in Dutch law (amongst others) and this publication is with reference to Dutch-Vietnamese dual nationality, or any other relevant combination.
The text below is copied from Vietnamese government publication and in the process there could have been some errors. The translation was made electronically and could also have errors. This information is for your reference only and can not be used in any official/formal way, and should only be used for further references and research.
Below the English translation and Vietnamese law text. This law is effective 01 July 2025.
You can read more clearly what this means on our Vietnamese Nationality Law info page.
English Translation:
Law No. 79/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly:
Law
Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality.
Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which has been
amended and supplemented by a number of articles under Resolution No. 203/2025/QH15;
The National Assembly promulgates the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality No. 24/2008/QH2, which has been amended and supplemented by a number of articles under Law no. 56/2014/QH13.
Article 1. Amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality
- Amend and supplement Clause 4 and add Clauses 5, 6, 7 and 8 after Clause 4, Article 5 as follows:
“4. Within the territory of Vietnam, the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
only recognizes Vietnamese nationality for Vietnamese citizens who also have foreign nationality in relations with competent authorities of Vietnam, except in cases where international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member have other provisions. The rights and obligations of Vietnamese citizens who also have foreign nationality residing abroad are implemented in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws.
5. Candidates, elected, approved, appointed, designated to hold positions and titles for a term in agencies of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the State, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, socio-political organizations at the central and local levels; people working in key organizations; people participating in the armed forces of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam must have only one nationality, Vietnamese nationality, and must permanently reside in Vietnam.
6. Civil servants and public employees not specified in Clause 5 of this Article must have only one nationality, Vietnamese nationality, except in cases where it is beneficial to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, does not harm the national interests of Vietnam, and must reside permanently in Vietnam. The Government shall specify this clause in detail.
7. In cases where other laws promulgated before the effective date of this Law have provisions on nationality different from those in Clauses 5 and 6 of this Article, the provisions of this Law shall apply; in cases where other laws promulgated after the effective date of this Law have provisions on nationality different from those in Clauses 5 and 6 of this Article The content of implementation or non-implementation of this provision must be specifically determined, and the content of implementation must comply with the provisions of that other law.
8. Administrative decisions of competent state agencies of Vietnam relating to Vietnamese nationality according to the provisions of this Law shall not be subject to complaints or lawsuits. - Amend and supplement a number of clauses of Article 11 as follows:
a) Amend and supplement clause 2 as follows:
“2. Identity card; Citizen identification card; identification card; electronic identification;”;
b) Amend and supplement Clause 4 and add Clause 5 after Clause 4 as follows:
“4. Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality; Decision on restoring Vietnamese nationality; Decision on recognizing the adoption of foreign children; Decision on allowing foreigners to adopt Vietnamese children;
5. Other documents prescribed by the Government.”. - Amend and supplement Clause 2 and add Clause 3 after Clause 2, Article 13
as follows:
“2. Vietnamese people residing abroad who have not lost Vietnamese nationality according to the provisions of Vietnamese law before the effective date of this Law still retain Vietnamese nationality.
Vietnamese people residing abroad who have not lost Vietnamese nationality but do not have documents proving Vietnamese nationality according to the provisions of Article 11 of this Law shall request the Vietnamese representative agency abroad to be confirmed of their Vietnamese nationality.
3. The Government shall prescribe the order and procedures for confirming Vietnamese nationality.”. - Amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 16 as follows:
“2. Children born to one parent who is a Vietnamese citizen and the other is a foreign citizen shall have Vietnamese nationality, if the parents agree to choose Vietnamese nationality for their child when carrying out birth registration procedures at a competent Vietnamese agency according to the Government’s guidance. In case a child is born in the territory of Vietnam and the parents cannot agree to choose nationality for the child, the child shall have Vietnamese nationality.”. - Amend and supplement Article 19 as follows:
“Article 19. Conditions for naturalisation in Vietnam
1. Foreign citizens and stateless persons who apply for naturalization in Vietnam
may be naturalized in Vietnam if they meet all of the following conditions:
a) Have full civil act capacity according to the provisions of Vietnamese law, except in the case of a minor applying for Vietnamese nationality under his/her father or mother, or a minor whose father or mother is a Vietnamese citizen;
b) Comply with the Constitution and laws of Vietnam; respect the culture, traditions, customs and practices of the Vietnamese people;
c) Know Vietnamese sufficiently to integrate into the Vietnamese community;
d) Currently residing in Vietnam;
đ) Have resided in Vietnam for 05 years or more up to the time of application for Vietnamese nationality;
e) Have the ability to ensure a living in Vietnam.
2. A person applying for Vietnamese nationality whose spouse or biological child is a Vietnamese citizen may be granted Vietnamese nationality without having to meet the conditions specified in Points c, đ and e, Clause 1 of this Article.
3. A person applying for Vietnamese nationality who falls into one of the following cases may be granted Vietnamese nationality without having to satisfy the conditions specified in Points c, d, đ and e, Clause 1 of this Article:
a) Having a biological father or mother or paternal grandfather and grandmother or maternal grandfather and grandmother who are Vietnamese citizens;
b) Having made special contributions to the cause of building and defending the Vietnamese Fatherland;
c) Being beneficial to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;
d) Being a minor applying for Vietnamese nationality under the father or mother.
4. A person applying for Vietnamese nationality must have a name in Vietnamese or in another ethnic language of Vietnam. In case a person applying for Vietnamese nationality also applies to retain a foreign nationality, he/she may choose a name combining a Vietnamese name and a foreign name. The name is chosen by the person applying for Vietnamese nationality and is clearly stated in the Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality.
5. A person applying for Vietnamese nationality shall not be granted Vietnamese nationality if doing so would harm the national interests of Vietnam.
6. A person applying for Vietnamese nationality as prescribed in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article may retain a foreign nationality if he/she meets the following conditions and is permitted by the President.
a) Retaining a foreign nationality is in accordance with the laws of that country;
b) Not using a foreign nationality to harm the legitimate rights and interests of agencies, organizations, individuals, or to infringe upon the security, national interests, social order and safety of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
7. The Government shall detail this Article.”. - Amend and supplement a number of points and clauses of Article 20 as follows:
a) Amend and supplement point d, clause 1 as follows:
“d) Documents proving judicial record information issued by a competent authority of a foreign country in accordance with the laws of that country for the period the applicant for Vietnamese nationality resides abroad. Documents proving judicial record information are issued no more than 90 days before the date of application submission;”;
b) Amend and supplement clause 2 as follows:
“2. Those who are exempted from certain conditions for naturalization in Vietnam as prescribed in Clauses 2 and 3, Article 19 of this Law shall be exempted from the documents corresponding to the conditions for exemption.”. - Amend and supplement a number of clauses of Article 21 as follows:
a) Amend and supplement clauses 1 and 2; add clause 2a after clause 2 as follows:
“1. Applicants for Vietnamese nationality shall submit their application to the Department of Justice if residing In the country, to the Vietnamese representative agency in the host country if residing abroad. In case the application does not have all the documents prescribed in Clause 1 Article 20 of this Law or is invalid, the receiving agency shall immediately notify the applicant for Vietnamese nationality to supplement and complete the application.
2. Within 5 working days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossier, the Department of Justice shall send a written request to the provincial police agency to verify the identity of the person applying for Vietnamese nationality.
Within 30 days from the date of receipt of the request from the Department of Justice, the provincial police agency shall be responsible for verifying and sending the results to the Department of Justice. During this period, the Department of Justice shall examine the documents in the dossier for application for Vietnamese nationality.
Within 5 working days from the date of receipt of the verification results, the Department of Justice shall be responsible for completing the dossier and submitting it to the Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee.
Within 5 working days from the date of receipt of the request from the Department of Justice, the Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee shall be responsible for reviewing, concluding and proposing opinions to the Ministry of Justice.
2a. Within 20 days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossier, the Vietnamese representative agency abroad shall be responsible for examining the documents in the application for Vietnamese nationality and transferring the dossier together with its proposal for Vietnamese nationality to the Ministry of Justice; and at the same time, sending information to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for coordination in performing the function of state management of nationality.
The Ministry of Public Security shall be responsible for verifying the identity of the person applying for Vietnamese nationality at the request of the Ministry of Justice.”;
b) Amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:
“3. Within 20 days from the date of receiving the proposal of the Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee or receiving the verification results from the Ministry of Public Security for the dossier sent by the Vietnamese representative agency abroad, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for re-examining the dossier, if it is deemed eligible for Vietnamese nationality it shall send a written notice to the applicant for Vietnamese nationality to carry out the procedures for renunciation of foreign nationality, except in cases where the applicant for Vietnamese nationality requests to retain foreign nationality or is a stateless person.
Within 10 working days from the date of receiving the paper for renunciation of foreign nationality of the applicant for Vietnamese nationality, the Minister of Justice reports to the Prime Minister to submit to the President for consideration and decision.
In cases where the applicant for Vietnamese nationality requests to retain foreign nationality, or the applicant for Vietnamese nationality is a stateless person, Within 20 days from the date of receiving the proposal of the Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee or receiving the verification results from the Ministry of Public Security for the dossier sent by the Vietnamese representative agency abroad, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for re-examining the dossier. If it is found that the applicant for Vietnamese nationality is eligible for Vietnamese nationality, it shall report to the Prime Minister to submit to the President for consideration and decision.”. - Amend and supplement the name of the Article and a number of clauses of Article 23 as follows:
a) Amend and supplement the name of the Article as follows:
“Article 23. Conditions for regaining Vietnamese nationality”;
b) Amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:
“1. A person who has lost Vietnamese nationality as prescribed in Article 26 of this Law and has an application to regain Vietnamese nationality shall be considered for regaining Vietnamese nationality.”;
c) Amend and supplement clauses 4, 5 and 6 as follows:
“4. A person applying to regain Vietnamese nationality must take back his/her previous Vietnamese name. In case a person applying to regain Vietnamese nationality also applies to retain foreign nationality, he/she may choose a name combining the Vietnamese name and the foreign name. This name must be clearly stated in the Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality.
5. A person applying to regain Vietnamese nationality may retain his/her foreign nationality if he/she meets the following conditions and is permitted by the President:
a) Retaining foreign nationality is in accordance with the laws of that country;
b) Not using foreign nationality to harm the legitimate rights and interests of agencies, organizations and individuals, or to harm the security, national interests social order and safety of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
6. The Government shall detail this Article.”. - Amend, supplement and abolish a number of points of Clause 1, Article 24 as follows:
a) Amend and supplement point d as follows:
“d) Documents proving judicial record information issued by competent foreign authorities in accordance with the laws of that country for the period of the person applying for re-returning to Vietnamese nationality residing abroad. Documents proving judicial record information issued no more than 90 days before the date of application submission;”;
b) Abolish point e. - Amend and supplement Clauses 3 and 4 of Article 25 as follows:
“3. Within 20 days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossier, the Vietnamese representative agency abroad shall be responsible for examining the documents in the dossier for the application for regaining Vietnamese nationality and transferring the dossier with its proposal for the regaining Vietnamese nationality to the Ministry of Justice; at the same time, send information to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for coordination in performing the function of state management of nationality.
The Ministry of Public Security shall be responsible for verifying the identity of the person applying for regaining Vietnamese nationality at the request of the Ministry of Justice.
4. Within 20 days from the date of receipt of the written proposal of the Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee or from the date of receipt of the verification results from the Ministry of Public Security for the dossier sent by the Vietnamese representative agency abroad, the Ministry of Justice shall be responsible for re-examining the dossier, if it is found that the person applying for regaining Vietnamese nationality has If the person who requests to regain Vietnamese nationality meets the conditions for reestablishing Vietnamese nationality, a written notice shall be sent to that person to carry out procedures for renunciation of foreign nationality, except in cases where the person requesting to regain Vietnamese nationality requests to retain foreign nationality or is a stateless person.
Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of the certificate of renunciation of foreign nationality of the person requesting to regain Vietnamese nationality, the Minister of Justice shall report to the Prime Minister to submit to the President for consideration and decision.
In cases where the person requesting to regain Vietnamese nationality requests to retain foreign nationality, or the person requesting to regain Vietnamese nationality is a stateless person, within 15 days from the date of receipt of the proposal document of the Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee or from the date of receipt of the verification results from the Ministry of Public Security for the dossier sent by the Vietnamese representative agency abroad, the Ministry of Justice shall be responsible for re-examining the dossier, if it is deemed that the person requesting to regain Vietnamese nationality is eligible to regain Vietnamese nationality regain Vietnamese nationality, report to the Prime Minister to submit to the President for consideration and decision.”. - Add clause 2a after clause 2, Article 26 as follows:
“2a. Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality, Decision on returning to Vietnamese nationality is revoked.”. - Amend, supplement and abolish a number of points and clauses of Article 28 as follows:
a) Amend and supplement point e, clause 1 as follows:
“e) Certificate of no tax debt issued by the tax authority where the person applying for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality resides;”;
b) Abolish point d, clause 1;
c) Amend and supplement clause 2 as follows:
“2. In case a Vietnamese citizen does not permanently reside in the country, he is not required to submit the documents specified in points e and g, clause 1 of this Article.”. - Amend and supplement Clauses 4 and 5 of Article 29 as follows:
“4. Within 20 days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossier, the Vietnamese representative agency abroad shall be responsible for examining the documents in the application for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality and transferring the dossier together with the proposal for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality to the Ministry of Justice; at the same time, send information to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for coordination in performing the function of state management of nationality.
The Ministry of Public Security shall be responsible for verifying the personal information of the person requesting renunciation of Vietnamese nationality at the request of the Ministry of Justice. For cases exempted from verification under the provisions of this Law, the Ministry of Justice shall request the Ministry of Public Security to verify if necessary.
5. Within 20 days from the date of receipt of the written proposal of the Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, the Vietnamese representative agency abroad or from the date of receipt of the verification results from the Ministry of Public Security for cases must verify their identity, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for re-examining the records, if it is found that the person applying for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality is eligible to renounce Vietnamese nationality, it shall report to the Prime Minister to submit to the President for consideration and decision.”. - Amend and supplement the name of Section 4 of this Chapter as follows:
“Section 4
CANCELLATION OF THE DECISION ON ATTRIBUTION OF VIETNAMESE NATIONALITY, DECISION ON RESTORING VIETNAMESE NATIONALITY”. - Amend and supplement Article 33 and Article 34 as follows:
“Article 33. Grounds for annulment of Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality, Decision on restoring Vietnamese nationality
1. A person who has obtained Vietnamese nationality or returned to Vietnamese nationality in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 and Article 23 of this Law, residing inside or outside the territory of Vietnam, shall have his/her Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality or the Decision on restoring Vietnamese nationality annulled when committing one of the following acts:
a) Intentionally making false declarations or commitments, forging documents when applying for Vietnamese nationality or returning to Vietnamese nationality;
b) Taking advantage of obtaining or returning Vietnamese nationality; taking advantage of retaining foreign nationality when obtaining or returning Vietnamese nationality to harm the legitimate rights and interests of agencies, organizations, individuals, infringing on security, national interests, social order and safety of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
2. The cancellation of the Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality or the Decision on returning Vietnamese nationality of a wife or husband does not change the Vietnamese nationality of the other person.
Article 34. Procedures for annulling the Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality
1. Within 15 days from the date of discovery or receipt of a petition or letter denouncing the acts specified in Clause I, Article 33 of this Law, the provincial-level People’s Committee and the Vietnamese representative agency abroad shall be responsible for verifying and, if there is sufficient basis, preparing a dossier to propose the President to annul the Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality or the Decision on restoring Vietnamese nationality of the person committing such acts.
The court that has tried the defendant for the acts specified in Clause 1, Article 33 of this Law shall prepare a dossier to propose the President to annul the Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality or the Decision on restoring Vietnamese nationality of the person committing such acts.
2. The Government shall specify the documents in the dossier to propose annulment of the Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality or the Decision on restoring Vietnamese nationality.
The dossier of petitions on the annulment of the Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality, the Decision on restoring Vietnamese nationality shall be sent to the Ministry of Justice.
Within 15 days from the date of receipt of the petition dossier from the provincial level People’s Committee, the Vietnamese representative agency abroad or the Court, the Ministry of Justice shall be responsible for examining the dossier of petitions on the annulment of the Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality, the Decision on restoring Vietnamese nationality and reporting to the Prime Minister for submission to the President for consideration and decision.
Within 20 days from the date of receipt of the Prime Minister’s Government’s proposal, the President shall consider and decide.”. - Amend and supplement Clause 1 and add Clause la after Clause 1, Article 35 as follows:
“1. When there is a change in nationality due to the parents’ re-acquisition or re-acquisition of Vietnamese nationality, the nationality of the minor children living with the parents will also be changed according to their nationality.
1a. When there is a change in nationality due to the parents’ renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, the nationality of the minor children living with the parents will also be changed according to their nationality, unless the parents have any other request.”. - Amend and supplement Article 36 as follows:
“Article 36. Nationality of minors when parents are deprived of Vietnamese nationality or have their Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality revoked, Decision on restoring Vietnamese nationality revoked
When parents or one of the two is deprived of Vietnamese nationality or has their Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality revoked, the nationality of the minor remains unchanged.”. - Amend and supplement Article 38 as follows:
“Article 38. Duties and powers of the President regarding nationality
1. Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality, restoring Vietnamese nationality, relinquishing Vietnamese nationality, revoking the Decision on granting Vietnamese nationality, deciding on restoring Vietnamese nationality.
2. Decision on negotiating and signing international treaties on nationality in accordance with the provisions of this Law and the Law on International Treaties.”. - Amend and supplement Clause 2 and add Clause 7 after Clause 6, Article 39 as follows:
a) Amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:
“2. Negotiate and sign international treaties or submit to the President for decision on the negotiation and signing of international treaties on nationality in accordance with the provisions of this Law and the Law on International Treaties.”;
b) Add Clause 7 after Clause 6 as follows:
“7. Based on socio-economic conditions, needs and implementation capabilities in each period, the Government shall prescribe regulations on the implementation of handling nationality files on the electronic environment. - Amend and supplement Clause 4 and Clause 5, Article 40 as follows:
“4. The Committee for Naturalization of Vietnamese Nationalities is responsible for considering and proposing opinions on cases of application for Vietnamese nationality, application for restoration of Vietnamese nationality, application for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, revocation of Vietnamese nationality and revocation of Decisions on granting Vietnamese nationality, Decisions on restoring Vietnamese nationality according to the provisions of this Law; annually, compiling statistics on cases resolved on Vietnamese nationality to report to the Ministry of Justice.
5. Vietnamese representative agencies abroad are responsible for considering and proposing opinions on cases of application for Vietnamese nationality, application for restoration of Vietnamese nationality, application for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, revocation of Vietnamese nationality and revocation of Decisions on granting Vietnamese nationality, Decisions on restoring Vietnamese nationality; annually, compiling statistics on cases resolved on Vietnamese nationality to report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice.”. - Amend and supplement Article 41 as follows:
“Article 41. Notification and posting of results of handling nationality matters
The Ministry of Justice is responsible for sending the results of handling nationality matters to the provincial People’s Committee or the Vietnamese representative agency abroad to notify the requester and post them on the electronic information page of the Ministry of Justice.”.
Article 2. Implementation provisions
1. This Law takes effect from July 1, 2025.
2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies and relevant agencies shall review; amend and supplement
according to their competence or propose competent agencies to amend and supplement
legal documents with contents related to the rights and obligations of
Vietnamese citizens who also have foreign nationality (if any) within
02 years from the effective date of this Law.
Article 3. Transitional provisions
Applications for naturalization in Vietnam, restoration of Vietnamese nationality, and renunciation of Vietnamese nationality received before the effective date of this Law shall be processed in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
This Law was passed by the 15th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 9th Session, on 24 June 2025.