Restoration of Vietnamese citizenship

I have renounced Vietnamese citizenship to apply for naturalization in a foreign country. Unfortunately, my application is rejected. So, may I get Vietnamese citizenship restored and what procedures do I have to carry out for Vietnamese citizenship restoration?

According to the Law on Vietnamese Citizenship, a person who has renounced Vietnamese citizenship for acquisition of a foreign citizenship but failed to obtain permission to acquire such foreign citizenship may get his/her Vietnamese citizenship restored if applying for restoration thereof.

In order to be approved for restoration of Vietnamese citizenship, you have to carry out the following steps:

Step 1: Preparation of a dossier

A dossier of application for restoration of Vietnamese citizenship must comprise:

- An application for restoration of Vietnamese citizenship;

- A copy of the applicant’s birth certificate, passport or another valid substitute paper;

- The applicant’s curriculum vitae;

- The applicant’s criminal record, issued by a Vietnamese authority for the period the applicant resided in Vietnam, and a criminal record, issued by a foreign authority for the period the applicant resides in a foreign country. Such a criminal record must be issued within 90 days before the date of dossier submission;

- Papers proving that the applicant is a former Vietnamese national (paper proving that the applicant has been permitted by the Vietnamese President to renounce his/her Vietnamese citizenship or deprived of Vietnamese citizenship; or paper issued or certified by a Vietnamese competent agency or organization indicating Vietnamese citizenship or paper that can be used to prove Vietnamese citizenship of the applicant in the past);

A person who applies for restoration of Vietnamese citizenship for the reason that he/she has renounced Vietnamese citizenship in order to acquire foreign citizenship but is not permitted to be naturalized in that foreign country must have a paper issued by a foreign authority certifying the reason for failure to acquire foreign citizenship. In case the applicant fails to acquire foreign citizenship because of his/her fault, there must be a letter of guarantee of his/her mother or father, spouse, child or natural sibling who is a Vietnamese citizen currently residing in Vietnam, enclosed with applicant’s commitment to willingly returning to reside in Vietnam.

Step 2: Dossier submission

A person who wishes to be naturalized in Vietnam has to directly submit his/her dossier to the dossier-receiving and result-notifying unit of the provincial-level Justice Department of the locality where he/she resides. The unit will receive the dossier and issue a dossier receipt in case the dossier is valid and sufficient. In case the dossier is invalid or incomplete, the receiving official will notify the applicant in writing thereof for dossier supplementation and completion.

Step 3: Dossier verification by provincial-level Justice Department

Within five working days after the receipt of a complete and valid dossier, the provincial-level Justice Department will send to the provincial-level Public Security Department a request for verification of the applicant’s identity.

Within 30 days after receiving a request from the provincial-level Justice Department, the provincial-level Public Security Department will conduct verification and send verification results to the provincial-level Justice Department. During this period, the provincial-level Justice Department will examine papers in the dossier of application for Vietnamese citizenship.

Within 10 working days after receiving verification results, the provincial-level Justice Department will complete the dossier for submission to the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee.

Within 10 working days after receiving a request from the provincial-level Justice Department, the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee will consider, make conclusion and send his/her proposal to the Ministry of Justice.

Step 4: Receipt of dossier for processing by the Ministry of Justice and President Office

Within 20 working days after receiving the proposal from the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee, the Ministry of Justice will re-examine the dossier, if finding that all conditions for naturalization in Vietnam are met, the Ministry of Justice will report the case to the Prime Minister for submission to the President for consideration and decision.

The President will consider and make decision within 30 working days after receiving the Prime Minister’s proposal.

In case the dossier is ineligible for naturalization in Vietnam or the applicant is not permitted to be naturalized in Vietnam by the President, the Ministry of Justice will have to notify in writing such to the provincial-level Justice Department for notifying the application thereof.

Step 5: Notification of results

Within 10 days after receiving the President’s decision permitting the naturalization in Vietnam, the Ministry of Justice will send a copy of the decision to the applicant, enclosed with an excerpt of the list of persons entitled to restoration of Vietnamese citizenship.

The Ministry will then monitor, manage and make statistics of citizenship-related matters already settled.

Step 6: The applicant comes to the provincial-level Justice Department’s dossier-receiving and result-notifying unit to receive processing results

- First appointment: The applicant will be notified of the  provincial-level People’s Committee chairperson’s consideration, conclusion and sending of the dossier to the Ministry of Justice.

- Second appointment: The applicant is notified of permission or ineligibility for naturalization in Vietnam, or of the President’s refusal of naturalization in Vietnam.

 (Source:VLLF)