Birth Registration for a Child with a Foreign Parent in Vietnam (2026)

A child born in Vietnam with a foreign father or mother is registered at the commune-level People’s Committee where the Vietnamese parent lives. The parents must sign a written agreement choosing the child’s nationality; if the child is born in Vietnam and the parents cannot agree, the child is Vietnamese. A personal identification number is issued at registration.

Contents

Documents

Birth registration declaration form.
Birth certificate from the hospital (electronic certificates are accepted).
Written agreement of the parents on the child’s nationality.
Passport and temporary residence card of the foreign parent; marriage certificate if any (foreign documents legalised and translated).

The child’s nationality

Under the amended Law on Vietnamese Nationality (2025), a child with a Vietnamese parent is Vietnamese if the parents choose this at birth registration; a child born in Vietnam whose parents cannot agree is Vietnamese. If the parents choose the foreign nationality, they apply for the child’s passport at that country’s embassy.

Visa and residence for a child with foreign nationality

Once the child has a foreign passport, they need a TT visa or temporary residence card, or a 5-year visa exemption certificate if eligible, to stay legally.

Fee

For cases with a foreign element the fee is set by the provincial People’s Council (for example 75,000 VND in Ho Chi Minh City). Ask the commune office about the amount and any exemptions.

FAQ

The foreign father is not married to the mother. What now?

Birth registration can be combined with acknowledgement of paternity at the commune People’s Committee, with evidence of the father–child relationship.

Can the child have dual nationality?

It depends on the law of the foreign parent’s country. Vietnam records Vietnamese nationality if the parents choose it; for a foreign nationality, the passport is issued by that country’s embassy.