DECREE

AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF THE DECREES ON CIVIL STATUS, MARRIAGE AND FAMILY AND CERTIFICATION

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the June 3, 2008 Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents;

In implementation of the Government's Resolution No. 52/NQ-CP of December 10, 2010, on simplification of administrative procedures under the Ministry of Justice's management; and Resolution No. 50/NQ-CP of December 10, 2010, on simplification of administrative procedures under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' management;

At the proposal of the Minister of Justice,

DECREES:

Article 1. To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Government's Decree No. 158/2005/ND-CP of December 27, 2005, on civil status registration and management

1. To amend and supplement Article 9 as follows:

quot;Article 9. Personal papers to be produced upon civil status registration

Upon civil status registration, if civil status judicial officers of communes, wards or district townships (below referred to as civil status

judicial officers) or judicial officers of Justice Divisions of rural districts, urban districts, towns or provincial cities (below referred to as judicial officers of Justice Divisions) or civil status officers of provincial-level Justice Departments do not know clearly about the personal identities or places of residence of the persons concerned, they may request the latter to produce the following papers for examination:

1. Identity cards or passports of the civil status registrants for their identification;

2. Household registration books or temporary residence registration papers (for Vietnamese residents); permanent residence cards or temporary residence cards or certificates (for foreign residents) as grounds to determine the civil status registration authority under this Decree.

3. For a civil status registration dossier sent by post, the papers specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article must be certified copies. If the dossier is submitted directly, these papers may be either certified copies or copies enclosed with the originals for comparison.*'

2. To add below Article 9 the following Article 9.a on the time limit for settlement of civil status registration and civil status registration dossiers:

quot;Article 9.a. Time limit for settlement of civil status registration and civil status registration dossiers

1. For civil status events for which this Decree provides a settlement time limit, the time limit is counted in working days.

Civil status events for which this Decree does not provide a settlement time limit must be settled in the same day. If a dossier is received later than 15 hours of a day, its settlement shall be notified on the subsequent working day.

2. Papers to be submitted and produced for civil status events under this Decree shall be made in 1 dossier set.quot;

3. To amend and supplement Article 10 as follows:

quot;Article 10. Authorization

A person who requests for civil status registration (except marriage registration, guardianship registration, registration for recognition of father, mother or child) or applies for civil status papers but cannot personally go to the civil status registration office may authorize another person to do so. Authorization shall be made in writing and notarized or lawfully certified.

If the authorized person is the grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, child, spouse or sibling of the authorizing person, the letter of authorization is not required but the paper proving such relation.quot;

4. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 15 as follows:

quot;1. A birth registration applicant shall submit a birth declaration or certification (made according to a set form) and produce the marriage certificate of the parents of the child (if the parents have registered their marriage).

Written birth certifications shall be granted by medical establishments where children are born. If a child is born outside a medical establishment, the written birth certification may be replaced with a witness' written certification. If there is no witness, the birth registration applicant shall make a written commitment that the birth is real.

If a civil status judicial officer clearly knows about the marriage of a child's parents, the marriage certificate is not necessarily produced.quot;

5. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 18 as follows:

quot;2. Within 3 days after fully receiving valid papers, if seeing that a man and a woman fully meet the marriage conditions under the Law on Marriage and Family, the commune-level People's Committee shall grant a marriage certificate to the couple.

When verification is required, the above-said lime limit may be extended for 5 days at most.quot;

6. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 30 as follows:

quot;1. A person appointed to be the guardian shall submit a declaration (made according to a set form) and the guardian appointment paper made by the guardian appointer. If many persons appoint a guardian, they shall all sign the guardian appointment paper.quot;

7. To amend Clause 3, Article 31 as follows:

quot;3. Within 2 days after fully receiving valid papers, if seeing that the request for guardianship termination complies with law and is dispute-free, the civil status judicial officer shall fill in the decision recognizing the guardianship termination and concurrently note the guardianship termination in the guardianship registration book. The commune-level People's Committee chairperson shall sign and grant the original guardianship termination recognition decision to the guardianship termination requester. Duplicates of a guardianship termination recognition decision may be granted at the request of involved parties.

When verification is required, the above mentioned lime limit may be extended for 2 days at most.quot;

8. To amend and supplement Article 32 as follows:

quot;Article 32. Conditions for registration of father, mother or child recognition

1. The recognition of father, mother or child under this Section shall be effected if the persons recognizing and recognized as father, mother or child are alive at the time of registration for recognition and such recognition is free from disputes between persons with rights and interests related to the recognition.

2. An adult child or the guardian of a minor child or of an adult child who has lost his/her civil act capacity may carry out procedures for father or mother recognition under this Section in case the father or mother has died, provided such recognition is voluntary and free from disputes between persons with rights and interests related to the recognition.quot;

9. To amend Clause 2, Article 34 as follows:

quot;2. Within 3 days after fully receiving valid papers, if seeing that the recognition of father, mother or child is true and dispute-free, the commune-level People's Committee shall register such recognition.

When verification is required, the above mentioned time limit may be extended for 5 days at most.quot;

10. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2, Article 38 as follows:

quot; 1. A person who requests civil status change or correction, ethnicity re-determination, gender re-assignment or civil status supplementation shall submit a declaration (made according to a set form) and produce the original birth certificate of the person in need of civil status change or correction, ethnicity re-determinashy;tion, gender re-assignment or civil status supplementation, and related papers as grounds for such change or correction, re-determination, re-assignment or supplementation.

For gender re-assignment, the medical certificate of a medical establishment licensed for medical intervention for gender reshy;assignment under the Government's Decree No. 88/2008/ND-CP of August 5, 2008, on gender re-assignment, is required.

Civil status change or correction, ethnicity re-determination, gender re-assignment or civil status supplementation for a minor or a person losing his/her civil act capacity may be made at the request of his/her father, mother or guardian.

For change of the family name or given name of a person aged full 9 years or older or ethnicity re-determination for a minor aged full 15 years or older, the consent of this person must be indicated in the written declaration. For ethnicity re-determination of a person aged under 15 years, a written agreement of that person's parents on such re-determination is required.

An applicant for civil status change or correction, ethnicity re-determination, gender re-assignment or civil status supplementation or modification may submit a dossier directly or by post. For submission by post, the required papers of the dossier must be certified copies. For direct submission, these papers may be either copies enclosed with the originals for comparison or certified copies. Particularly for civil status change or correction, ethnicity re-determination, gender re-assignment or civil status supplementation or modification for a non-resident Vietnamese citizen; or civil status correction, gender re-assignment or civil status supplementation or modification for a foreigner whose birth was previously registered at a competent Vietnamese authority, the dossier must be submitted directly at the provincial-level Justice Department which is competent to settle civil status events mentioned above.

2. Within 3 days after fully receiving valid papers, if the civil status change or correction, ethnicity re-determination or gender reshy;assignment satisfies the law-prescribed conditions, a civil status judicial officer or judicial officer of a Justice Division shall record such in the birth registration book and the decision on civil status change or correction, ethnicity re-determination or gender reshy;assignment. The chairperson of the commune-or district-level People's Committee shall sign and grant the original decision on civil status change or correction, ethnicity re-determination or gender re-assignment to the person concerned. Duplicates of this decision may be granted at the request of the person concerned.

When verification is required, the above mentioned time limit may be extended for 5 days at most.

Contents of and grounds for civil status change or correction, ethnicity re-determination or gender re-assignment shall be written in the column of notes on later changes of the birth registration book and on the back of the original birth certificate.quot;

11. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 39 as follows:

quot;2. A requester for civil status modification shall submit a declaration (made according to a set form) and produce the birth certificate For modification of contents not related to the birth certificate, he/she shall produce other papers as grounds for such modification.

Civil status modification shall be made immediately after receipt of complete and valid papers. The notes column of the civil status registration book and the back of the original civil status paper must clearly indicate modified contents; the grounds for modification; the full name and signature of the modification recorder; and the date of modification. The civil status judicial officer shall append a seal on the modified section.quot;

12. To amend Clause 2, Article 45 as follows:

quot;2. After fully receiving valid papers, a civil status judicial officer shall record such in the corresponding registration book and in the original birth or death certificate. The commune-level People's Committee chairperson shall sign and grant the original birth or death certificate to the registrant.

When verification is required, the time limit for verification must not exceed 5 days.quot;

13. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2, Article 48 as follows:

quot; 1. An applicant for re-registration of birth, death or marriage or shall submit a declaration (made according to a set form) and produce a lawfully granted duplicate of the civil status paper (if any). In case this duplicate is unavailable, the applicant shall make commitment that civil status registration had been made but the civil status book was no longer kept and shall take responsibility for his/ her commitment.

2. After fully receiving valid papers, a civil status judicial officer shall record information in the corresponding civil status book and the original birth, death or marriage certificate. The commune-level People's Committee chair person shall sign and grant the original civil status paper to the applicant. Old civil status papers related to the re-registered civil status event (if any) shall be withdrawn and filed.

When verification is required, the above mentioned time limit may be extended for 3 days at most.quot;

14. To amend Clause 2, Article 50 as follows:

quot;2. Within 3 days after fully receiving valid papers, a civil status officer of the provincial-

level Justice Department shall record information in the birth registration book and the original birth certificate. The provincial-level Justice Department director shall sign and grant the original birth certificate to the birth declarant. Duplicates of a birth certificate may be granted at the request of the birth declarant.

When verification is required, the above mentioned lime limit may be extended for 3 days at most.quot;

15. To amend Clauses 1 and 2, Article 52 as follows:

quot;1. A death declarant shall submit a declaration (made according to a set form) and the death notice or its substituting paper under Article 22 of this Decree.

2. After fully receiving valid papers, a civil status officer of the provincial-level Justice Department shall record information in the death registration book and the original death certificate. The provincial-level Justice Department director shall sign and grant the original death certificate to the death declarant. Duplicates of a death certificate may be granted at the request of the death declarant.

When verification is required, the time limit may be extended for 3 days at most.quot;

16. To amend and supplement Article 56 as follows:

quot;Article 56. Civil status book-recording procedures

1. A requester for recording in the civil status book shall produce the original or duplicate of the civil status paper to be recorded. Particularly for the recording for recognition of a Vietnamese citizen's marriage which has been registered with a foreign authority, a declaration (made according to a set form) is required.

A requester for recording in the civil status book (other than recognition of marriage, parent or child) may submit the dossier directly or by post. For submission by post, the papers in the dossier must be cerlified copies. For direct submission, these papers may be either certified copies or copies enclosed with the originals for comparison.

2. After fully receiving valid papers, a civil status officer of the provincial-level Justice Department shall record the information in the civil status book under Article 57 of this Decree. When verification is required, the time limit may be extended for 3 days at most. Particularly for the recording for recognition of a Vietnamese citizen's marriage which has been registered with a foreign authority, the time limit for settlement is 5 days and may be extended for another 5 days at most in case verification is required.quot;

17. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2, Article 59 as follows:

quot;1. An applicant for re-registration of birth, death or marriage shall submit a declaration (made according to a set form) and produce the lawfully granted duplicate of the civil status paper (if any). If such duplicate is unavailable, the applicant shall make a written commitment that registration had been made but the civil status book was no longer kept and shall take responsibility for such commitment. For re-registration of marriage or death, the written commitment must contain certifications by two witnesses who clearly know about the previous registration and the commune-level People's Committee's certification of the signatures of the witnesses.

2. Within 3 days after fully receiving valid papers, a civil status officer of the provincial-level Justice Department shall record the civil status event in the corresponding civil status registration book and the original birth, death or marriage certificate. The provincial-level Justice Department director shall sign and grant the original civil status paper to the person concerned. Old civil status papers related to the re-registered civil status event (if any) shall be withdrawn and filed.

When verification is required, the above mentioned time limit may be extended for 3 days at most.quot;

18. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2, Article 63 as follows:

quot;1. A requester for re-grant of the original birth certificate shall submit a declaration (made according to a set form) and the old original birth certificate (if any).

A requester for re-grant of the original birth certificate may submit the dossier directly or by post. For submission by post, the papers in the dossier must be certified copies. For direct submission, these papers may be either certified copies or copies enclosed with the originals for comparison.

2. After fully receiving valid papers, a judicial officer of the district-level Justice Division or civil status officer of the provincial-level Justice Department shall, based on the currently filed birth registration book, record information in the original birth certificate. The district-level People's Committee chairperson or provincial-level Justice Department director shall sign and grant the new original birth certificate to the person concerned, and withdraw the old one (if any).

When verification is required, the lime limit may be extended for 3 days at most.quot;

19. To amend and supplement Article 64 as follows:

quot;Article 64. Grant of duplicates of civil status papers and re-grant of original birth certificates to foreigners or overseas Vietnamese

This Chapter's provisions on grant of civil status paper duplicates based on civil status books and re-grant of original birth certificates also apply to foreigners and overseas Vietnamese who previously made civil status registration in Vietnam.

Competent to, grant civil status paper duplicates based on civil status books in this case arc provincial-level Justice Departments, district- or commune-level People's Committees which keep civil status registration books. Competent to re-grant original birth certificates are provincial-level Justice Departments which keep birth registration books. When birth registration books are kept at district- or commune-level People's Committees, provincial-level Justice Departments may request the concerned district- or commune-level People's Committees to provide information relating to birth declaration for recording in the original birth certificates.quot;

20. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 67 as follows:

quot;1. An applicant for a marital status certificate shall submit a declaration (made according to a set form).

When such applicant is a divorcee or his/ her spouse has died, he/she shall produce an extract of the legally effective court judgment or decision on the divorce or copy of the death certificate. This provision also applies to the certification of marital status in marriage declarations under Clause 1, Article 18 of this Decree.

After fully receiving valid papers, the commune-level People's Committee chairperson or consular officer shall sign and grant a marital status certificate (made according to a set form) to the person concerned.

When verification is required, the time limit for verification must not exceed 3 days.quot;

Article 2. To amend and supplement Article 8 of the Government's Decree No. 32/2002/ND-CP of March 27, 2002, on the application of the Law on Marriage and Family to ethnic minority groups

quot;Article 8. Marriage registration

The commune-level People's Committee of the locality in which the man or woman resides shall register the marriage.

A marriage shall be registered at the office of the commune-level People's Committee or the residential group of the street, village or hamlet in which the man or woman resides.

When registering their marriage, a couple shall make a dossier which comprises a marriage declaration and certified copies of their identity cards or residence registration books or birth certificates. In case of submitting uncertified copies, they shall produce the originals for comparison.

After receiving a marriage declaration, the commune-level People's Committee shall examine it and, if seeing that the involved parties meet the marriage conditions under this Decree, register the marriage in the same working day. If a dossier is received later than 15 hours of a day, the registration shall be made on the subsequent working day. When verifishy;cation is required, the time limit for registration may be extended for 5 working days at most.

After the man and woman sign their marriage certificate and the marriage registration book, the commune-level People's Committee chairperson shall sign the marriage certificate and grant the wife and husband each the original marriage certificate at the office of the commune-level People's Committee or the place of residence.quot;

Article 3. To annul Point b, Clause 1, Article 1, and Article 7 of the Government's Decree No. 77/2001/ND-CP of October 22, 2001, detailing marriage registration under the National Assembly's Resolution No. 35/2000/ QH10 on the enforcement of the Law on Marriage and Family.

Article 4. To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Government's Decree No. 79/2007/ND-CP of May 18,2007, on grant of duplicates from original books, certification of copies from originals and certification of signatures

1. To amend Clause 2, Article 9 as follows:

quot;2. An applicant for a duplicate from the original book shall produce his/her identity card, passport or another personal paper for examination by the dossier recipient.

An applicant who is a person mentioned in Clause 2 or 3, Article 8 of this Decree shall additionally produce the paper proving that he/ she has the right to request the grant of a duplicate from the original book.

If sending a dossier of request for grant of a duplicate from the original book by post, the applicant shall send all the papers specified in this Clause (originals or certified copies).quot;

2. To add the following Clause 4 to Article 10:

quot;4. When unable to find the original book or the original book contains no information on the applicant for a duplicate, the agency keeping the original book shall issue a written reply.quot;

3. To amend Point a, Clause 1, Article 17 as follows:

quot;a/ Identity card, passport or another personal paper for examination by the dossier recipient.quot;

Article 5. Implementation provisions This Decree takes effect on April 1, 2012.

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People's Committees and related organizations and persons shall implement this Decree.