Currently, with the development of international civil exchanges, residents in different countries not only stop at buying and selling, exchanging goods, etc., but can also marry each other and it forms the marriage relationship with the foreigner. However, the marriage relationship with a foreigner is considered a complex social relationship, especially in divorce. So about the matter “Form for divorce with foreigners under Vietnam law” Let’s find out with LSX in the article below.
Legal grounds
- Law on Marriage and Family 2014
- Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam 2019
- Civil Procedure Code 2015
What is a divorce from a foreigner?
Divorce concept
Pursuant to Clause 14, Article 3 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 stipulates: “Divorce is the termination of the husband and wife relationship according to a legally effective judgment or decision of the Court.”
Marriage and family relations with foreign elements
Pursuant to Clause 25, Article 3 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family: “Marriage and family relations involving foreign elements are marriage and family relations in which at least one party is a foreigner, overseas Vietnamese; marriage and family relations between the parties involved are Vietnamese citizens, but the grounds for establishing, changing or terminating such relationship according to foreign laws, arising abroad or property related to the relationship that system is abroad.”
In particular, according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law on entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam in 2019, “Foreigner is a person who carries papers determining the nationality of the country.” foreigners and stateless persons entering, exiting, transiting or residing in Vietnam.”
Divorce is also a part of marriage and family relationships. Therefore, it can be understood that a divorce with foreign elements is the termination of the husband and wife relationship according to a judgment or decision of a Court in which at least one party is a foreigner or a Vietnamese residing in a foreign country; or between the divorcing parties who are Vietnamese citizens but the grounds for the divorce are under foreign law or related assets in foreign countries.
Divorce with a foreigner can be understood as the termination of the husband-wife relationship according to a court judgment or decision in which one spouse has foreign nationality and the stateless person enters or exits, transit or reside in Vietnam.
Therefore, a divorce with a foreigner belongs to the case of divorce with foreign elements.
Form for divorce with foreigners under Vietnam law
Agencies competent to settle divorces with foreigners
Jurisdiction of Vietnamese Courts
– According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 127 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, “Divorces between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners, between foreigners and each other permanently residing in Vietnam shall be settled at the competent agencies of Vietnam according to the provisions of this Law”.
– According to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 123 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, “The competence to settle marriage and family cases involving foreign elements at the Court shall comply with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code”.
– According to the provisions of Articles 28 and 29 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015, the Court has the authority to settle divorce cases.
General jurisdiction: According to the provisions of Point d, Clause 1, Article 469 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the Vietnamese courts have general jurisdiction to settle divorce cases involving foreign elements in which the plaintiff or defendant is Vietnamese citizens or foreign involved parties residing, doing business and living long-term in Vietnam.
Jurisdiction of the Court by level:
Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 123 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, “The competence to settle marriage and family cases involving foreign elements at the Court shall comply with the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code.”
Accordingly, the Civil Procedure Code 2015 stipulates the competence to settle divorces involving foreign elements at the Court as follows:
– According to Clause 3, Article 35 and Article 37 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the jurisdiction to settle divorces involving foreign elements belongs to the People’s Courts of the province.
– In the special case specified in Clause 4, Article 35 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the district-level People’s Court of the place where the Vietnamese citizen resides is competent to settle divorces, disputes about rights and obligations of husband and wife, parents and children between Vietnamese citizens residing in border areas and citizens of neighboring countries residing in border areas with Vietnam.
Jurisdiction of the Court by territory:
– In case of consent to divorce: The court of the place where the spouse resides or works has the authority to handle requests for recognition of consent for divorce, agreement on child rearing, and property division upon divorce according to the provisions of Point a of this Clause. h Clause 2 Article 39 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code.
– In case of unilateral divorce: According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 39 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, in case the parties have a written agreement on the Court to settle, the jurisdiction belongs to the Court according to the provisions of the Law on Civil Procedure, if the two parties do not reach an agreement, the Court where the defendant resides or works has jurisdiction to settle. For the case where the defendant does not have a place of residence or work in Vietnam, the plaintiff may request the Court of the place where he/she resides or works to settle it according to the provisions of Point c, Clause 1, Article 40 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015. In case the plaintiff does not know the defendant’s place of residence or work, the plaintiff may request the Court of the place where the defendant resides and works to finally settle it according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 40 of the Code. Civil litigation 2015.
Dossiers and procedures for divorce with foreigners
Divorce file with a foreigner
To make a divorce with a foreigner, you need to prepare the following divorce documents:
– Petition for divorce (for unilateral divorce) or Application for recognition of consent to divorce signed by both husband and wife (in case of consensual divorce).
– The original of the marriage registration certificate (the paper must be intact, not erased or torn); in case the original marriage certificate is lost, a copy certified by a competent state agency must be submitted.
– Identity card, Citizen ID card or Passport of the spouse.
– Family registration.
– Birth certificates of children (if they have children).
Documents proving ownership of common assets or liabilities.
– Documents proving that one party is abroad (if any).
Procedures for divorce with foreigners
Consent to divorce
Step 1: Submit your application
Husband and wife prepare all documents and submit them to the competent court.
Step 2: Receive and process the application form
After receiving the petition, the Court will consider and handle the following cases on a case-by-case basis:
– Return of petition: The court has the right to return the petition to the applicant for the cases specified in Clause 1, Article 364 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015.
– Request for modification and supplementation of documents: In case the petition does not contain sufficient information as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 362 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the judge shall request the requester to amend, supplement within 07 days from the date of receipt of the request. Procedures for amending and supplementing the petition shall comply with the provisions of Clause 1, Article 193 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015.
– Acceptance of petition: When the dossier is complete and the petitioner has paid the fee, the Court shall accept the case.
Step 3: Prepare to consider the application form
– During the time limit for preparing to consider the petition, before conducting conciliation for husband and wife reunification, when deeming it necessary, the judge may consult with the state management agency in charge of family affairs, the state management agency in charge of family affairs, the state management agency in charge of family affairs, the state management agency in charge of family affairs, the state management agency in charge of the family affairs, the state management agency in charge of the family affairs. State management of children regarding family circumstances, causes of conflicts and aspirations of spouses and children related to the case.
The judge must conduct conciliation to reunite the husband and wife; explain the rights and obligations between husband and wife, between father, mother and children, between other family members, about alimony and other issues related to marriage and family as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article. Article 397 Civil Procedure Code 2015.
According to Point a, Clause 2, Article 476 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the conciliation meeting must be opened at the earliest 6 months and 8 months at the latest from the date of issuing the written notice of acceptance of the case. The date of reopening the conciliation meeting (if any) shall be fixed within 01 month from the date of opening the conciliation meeting;
– In case after conciliation, the husband and wife reunite, the judge shall issue a decision to suspend the settlement of their request.
Step 4: First-instance meeting
In case the conciliation and reunification is unsuccessful, the judge shall open a meeting and issue a decision to recognize the consent of the parties to the divorce and the agreement of the involved parties as prescribed in Article 212 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code when full meet the following conditions:
– Both parties really voluntarily divorce;
– The two parties have reached an agreement on the division or non-division of the common property, the care, upbringing, care and education of the children;
The agreement must ensure the legitimate interests of the wife and children.
The decision to recognize the consent of the divorce takes effect immediately and will not be appealed or protested against according to appellate procedures.
In case the conciliation and reunification is unsuccessful and the involved parties cannot reach an agreement on the division of property, the custody, rearing, care and education of the children, the Court shall suspend the settlement of civil matters regarding the recognition of consent divorce, child custody agreement, property division upon divorce and case handling for settlement. The court is not required to notify the acceptance of the case, nor to reassign the judge to handle the case. The settlement of the case shall be carried out according to general procedures prescribed by the Civil Procedure Code.
Divorce unilaterally
Step 1: Submit your application
The petitioner for a unilateral divorce must prepare a dossier and submit it to a competent court.
Step 2: Receive and process the petition
After receiving the petition, the Court will consider and, depending on the case, return the application; request amendments and supplements; handling petitions.
Step 3: Prepare for trial
During this period, the Court will hold meetings to examine the handover, access and disclosure of evidence and conciliation.
+ If the conciliation is successful: The court makes a record of successful conciliation and after 07 days, if the involved parties do not change their opinions, the court shall issue a decision to recognize the consent of the divorce and this decision shall take effect immediately and not appealed or protested against according to appellate procedures.
+ In case the conciliation fails but the case does not fall into the cases of suspension or temporary suspension, the judge shall issue a decision to bring the case to trial.
Step 4: First instance court hearing
At this stage, the Court will conduct a first-instance trial and issue a divorce judgment.
Accordingly, the Court will settle for divorce if there are grounds that the husband or wife commits domestic violence or seriously violates the rights and obligations of the husband and wife, causing the marriage to fall into a serious state, life together cannot last, the purpose of marriage is not achieved.
Step 5: Appeal, protest and appellate trial
The divorce judgment of the Court can be appealed for re-settlement according to the appellate procedure.
According to the provisions of Article 479 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the time limit for appealing against a court’s judgment or decision on trial of a civil case involving foreign elements is prescribed as follows:
– The involved parties present in Vietnam have the right to appeal against the court’s judgment or decision within 15 days for appealing against the judgment of the first-instance court.
– Involved parties residing overseas are not present at the court hearing, the time limit for appealing against the court’s judgment or decision is 01 month from the date on which the judgment or decision is approved.
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Frequently asked questions
According to the provisions of Clause 4, Article 85 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, on representatives: “For divorce, the involved parties may not authorize another person to participate in the proceedings on their behalf”. Therefore, in order for the Court to have jurisdiction over the divorce, the spouses must be present at the Court at least once in the case of a consent divorce.
According to the provisions of Clauses 2 and 3, Article 127 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, on divorce involving foreign elements:
In case one party is a Vietnamese citizen who does not permanently reside in Vietnam at the time of requesting a divorce, the divorce shall be settled according to the law of the country where the husband and wife reside together; if they do not have a common place of permanent residence, the settlement shall be in accordance with Vietnamese law.
– The settlement of property being immovable property in a foreign country upon divorce shall comply with the laws of the country where such immovable property is located.
The development of the market economy has led to many changes in social relationships, including divorce. Divorce with a foreigner is a relatively complicated matter, with possible conflicts of law in the divorce settlement process. Therefore, understanding the provisions of the law related to divorce procedures with foreigners will help the spouses save time, effort and achieve their goal.
Petition/complaint;
Marriage registration certificate;
ID card and household registration;
Birth certificates of children;
Other documents and evidences proving common property such as: LURC (red book); Vehicle registration; Saving…
Conclusion: So the above is Form for divorce with foreigners under Vietnam law. Hopefully with this article can help you in life, please always follow and read our good articles on the website: lsxlawfirm.com
