English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

CEDAW and the Law:
192
The Law on Vietnamese Nationality (No. 07/1998/QH10 of May 20, 1998) (Law on Nationality) states
that marriage, divorce or annulment of an unlawful marriage between a Vietnamese and a foreigner will
not alter the Vietnamese nationality of the Vietnamese party as well as their minor children. 388 Loss of
nationality by the husband or wife does not alter the nationality of the other spouse. 389 Additionally, foreign
and stateless persons can be granted Vietnamese nationality if they are spouses, offspring or parents
of Vietnamese citizens. 390 Persons who have lost their Vietnamese nationality can apply for restoration
if their spouses, offspring or parents are Vietnamese. 391 Therefore, the law makes no distinction as
to the sex of the spouse, offspring or parent.
Under Vietnamese laws, the mother can transmit nationality to her child; for example:
In relation to children, a child born to parents, one of whom is Vietnamese and the other is
a foreigner, will hold Vietnamese nationality if so agreed in writing by the parents at the time
of the registration of their child’s birth; 392
Where one parent is Vietnamese and the other is stateless, or if the mother is Vietnamese
and the father is unknown, the child will hold Vietnamese nationality whether or not born
within Vietnamese territory; 393
In relation to adopted children, the nationality of adopted children will be determined according
to their natural parents’ nationality. In cases where their natural parents belong to
two different nationalities, a child’s nationality will be determined by the nationality of the
natural father or mother according to the common practices or agreement between the natural
father or mother. Where the natural parents of adopted children cannot be identified,
an adopted child’s nationality will be determined according to the adoptive parents nationality;
if the adoptive parents belong to two different nationalities, the adopted child’s nationality
will be determined according to the nationality of the adoptive father or adoptive mother
according to the common practices or agreement between the adoptive father and mother.
394 One note is that, although the term ‘common practices’ appear to be neutral, there
must be a clear safeguard in the law that it is not patriarchal and does not discriminate against
the adoptive mother’s right to transmit her nationality to her adopted child. In this case, instead
of relying on common practice, a better option would be to allow both adoptive parents
to transmit their nationality to the child without prejudice to the child’s choice on reaching
the age of majority.
In cases where there is a change in the nationality of parents due to the granting, relinquishment
or restoration of Vietnamese nationality, the nationality of minor children will be decided on
the basis of written consent from their parents. 395 If the children are aged 15 years and older, their
agreement will be sought in writing. 396
Recommendation: It is suggested that, in relation to an adopted child’s nationality,
where both parents have different nationalities, they can both transmit their nationality to
the child without prejudice to the child’s choice upon reaching the age of majority.
388
Law on Nationality, Article 9
389
Ibid., Article 10
390
Ibid., Article 20
391
Ibid., Article 21
392
Ibid., Article 17(2)
393
Ibid., Article 17(1)
394
Decree on Marriage and Family Law, Article 22
395
Law on Nationality, Article 28(2)
396
Ibid., Article 28(3)
Review of key legal documents and compliance with CEDAW