Are you planning to adopt a child in Vietnam but are not sure where to begin? Understanding the procedures for submitting an adoption application in Vietnam is the first important step. This guide will walk you through the essential requirements, legal documents, and process you need to follow to ensure your adoption journey is smooth and compliant with Vietnamese law.
Conditions for adoptive parents in Vietnam
Vietnamese citizens residing abroad or foreigners permanently living outside Vietnam who wish to adopt a Vietnamese child must comply with the laws of their country of residence and meet the following requirements:
Mandatory conditions
- Full civil act capacity.
- At least 20 years older than the adopted child.
- Good health, financial stability, and suitable housing to ensure proper care, upbringing, and education of the adopted child.
- Good moral character.
Cases where adoption is not allowed
- Individuals with restricted parental rights over a minor.
- Individuals undergoing administrative measures at an educational or medical facility.
- Individuals serving a prison sentence.
- Individuals with criminal records for serious offences, including:
- Intentionally infringing upon another person’s life, health, honor, or dignity.
- Abusing or mistreating parents, spouses, children, grandparents, grandchildren, or caregivers.
- Inducing, coercing, or harbouring minors to break the law.
- Buying, selling, swapping, or abducting children without expungement of the conviction.
Conditions for Adoptive Parents in Vietnam
Regulations on international adoption Vietnam
Under Vietnamese law, international adoption is only permitted in specific cases. The main eligible cases include:
- Overseas Vietnamese or foreigners permanently residing in a country that is a member of an international treaty on adoption with Vietnam, adopting Vietnamese children.
- Overseas Vietnamese or foreigners permanently residing abroad may adopt a specific child in the following cases:
+ Stepfather or stepmother of the adoptee.
+ Paternal or maternal uncle, aunt of the adoptee.
+ Having an adopted child who is the sibling of the child to be adopted.
+ Adopting a child with disabilities, HIV/AIDS, or other serious diseases, such as cleft lip/palate, blindness, deafness, limb deformities, missing fingers/toes, HIV infection, heart disease, congenital absence of anus/genitalia, blood disorders, or other critical illnesses requiring urgent or lifelong treatment.
+ Foreigners who have been working or studying in Vietnam for at least one year. - Vietnamese citizens permanently residing in Vietnam adopting foreign children.
- Foreigners permanently residing in Vietnam adopting children in Vietnam.
In addition to the conditions for adoptive parents, the child eligible for adoption by foreigners must meet the Vietnam adoption requirements below:
- Be under 16 years old.
- Persons from 16 to under 18 years old, if falling under one of the following cases: Adopted by a stepfather or stepmother; Adopted by a paternal or maternal uncle or aunt.
- Can be adopted by either a single individual or a married couple.
Regulations on international adoption in Vietnam
Required documents for foreigners’ adoption application in Vietnam
When submitting an international adoption application in Vietnam, you must prepare two identical sets of documents. The specific requirements vary depending on the applicant’s residency status.
Adoption application in Vietnam for applicants residing abroad
The dossier must include:
- A written adoption application.
- A valid passport or ID card.
- Authorization to adopt a child from Vietnam.
- A psychological and family assessment report (or equivalent document issued within the last 12 months).
- A health certificate.
- Proof of income and assets.
- A criminal record check.
- A certificate of marital status.
- Documents proving that the applicant falls under cases of specific (designated) adoption, such as:
- Marriage certificate (if adopting a stepchild)
- Documents proving family relationship (if adopting a niece, nephew, etc.)
- Documents proving the adopted child is a sibling of an existing adopted child
- Medical records confirming the child’s disability, HIV status, or serious illness
- Work/study certificate in Vietnam for at least 1 year (if applicable)
Note: Documents and papers in the dossier of adoptive parents or foreign adoption organizations, which are issued, certified, or authenticated by a competent foreign authority, must be legalized by consular authentication before being used in Vietnam. This requirement is waived if the documents are exempted under an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member, or based on the principle of reciprocity.
Applicants residing in Vietnam
The dossier is simplified but must still include:
- A written adoption application.
- A valid passport, ID card, or other equivalent identification document.
- A criminal record check.
- A certificate of marital status.
- A health certificate issued by a district-level or higher medical authority.
- Documents verifying family background, housing, and financial situation (except for step-parents or relatives adopting a child).
Adoption of a specific child
Adoption of a specific child (for those researching how to adopt a child in Vietnam) requires additional documents as follows:
- A copy of the marriage certificate (for step-parents).
- Documents proving kinship with the child (for relatives).
- Authorization to adopt a child abroad.
- Medical records confirming the child’s specific health condition (if applicable).
- A certificate showing that the prospective adoptive parent, as a foreigner, has studied or worked in Vietnam for at least one year.
Note: Except for the written adoption application, all other documents must be issued by competent authorities in the applicant’s home country.
Required documents for foreigners applying for adoption in Vietnam
Approval authority and place for receiving and processing intercountry adoption applications in Vietnam
Whether the adoption application is submitted online or offline in Vietnam, the Vietnam adoption process timeline is standardized as follows:
- Provincial Department of Justice: Within 20 days from the date of receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Department will review and handle the application.
- Period for birth parents or guardians to change consent: Within 30 days from the initial consent for international adoption, the biological parents or guardians may withdraw or change their decision.
- Provincial people’s committee: Within 15 days from the date of receiving the dossier submitted by the Department of Justice, the Provincial People’s Committee will issue a decision on whether to approve the adoption by foreign parents.
Timeline for submitting and finalizing an adoption application in Vietnam
Do adoption application in Vietnam require translation?
For adoption applications in Vietnam, any document issued, prepared, or certified by a foreign authority must be translated into Vietnamese. The translation must be notarized to authenticate the translator’s signature, in accordance with Vietnamese law.
Additionally, these documents generally need to be legalized through consular procedures to ensure their legal validity in Vietnam. This makes it crucial to work with a trusted certified translation service to avoid delays or rejection of your application.
It is important to note that certain countries, such as Cambodia, Taiwan, Cuba, and Italy, may be exempt from consular legalization or certification for specific types of documents, based on bilateral agreements with Vietnam.
Translation of Adoption Documents in Vietnam
When applying for adoption in Vietnam, especially in intercountry cases, translating and legalizing documents is one of the most crucial steps. Since most papers are issued by foreign authorities, they must go through the following process to be legally valid in Vietnam:
- Translation into Vietnamese: All documents must be translated accurately to ensure consistency.
- Notarization of the translation: The translated copies must be notarized for legal recognition.
- Consular legalization: Documents must be authenticated by both the foreign and Vietnamese competent authorities.
Missing any of these steps or errors in translation can cause serious delays or even lead to rejection of the adoption application. That’s why proper translation is essential to meet Vietnam’s legal requirements.
With FAQTrans, you can count on professional, end-to-end support to ensure your adoption documents are accurate, compliant, and fully recognized in Vietnam.
Do adoption applications in Vietnam require translation?
Submitting an adoption application in Vietnam requires careful preparation and compliance with legal regulations. By understanding the necessary procedures and documents, you can make the adoption process smoother and avoid unnecessary delays. Whether you are a local or foreign adopter, following the correct steps will help ensure your adoption journey is successful and legally recognized.
