Socialist Republic of Vietnam

LEGALIZATION OF DOCUMENTS FOR MARRIAGE REGISTRATION IN VIETNAM
 

A non-Vietnamese citizen, seeking to get married to a Vietnamese national, may submit in person or by mail his/her file of required documents for marriage registration to the Embassy of Vietnam in Washington, DC, for the authentication/legalization of the papers before taking them to Vietnam for subsequent procedures.

Documents to be authenticated at the Embassy:
I. A Regular Dossier Includes:

1. Application for Marriage Registration in Vietnam , your photo, provide your information, sign your name. Leave blank the column of the other applicant in Vietnam.
2. Affidavit of Single Status
3. Certificate of No-marriage Records issued by the State (or County) Vital Statistics Office within the last six months certifying that no marriage license or marriage record of the applicant has been found from his/her mature age of marriage (age of 18 for female or 20 for male) or since his/her divorce up to now or since his/her spouse’ death up to now.
4. Certificate of Good Mental Health issued by an authorized medical organization confirming that the applicant has no mental illnesses, or has a mental problem but not to the extent of losing consciousness of his/her own actions.
5. Biographic Information Sheet
6. Photocopy of the photo and signature pages of the Passport ( certified that it is true and exact copy from the original)

7. Power of Attorney
NOTE: (a) The above-mentioned documents (No 1,2,4,5,6) must be certified by a Notary Public (the document No.3 is regularly issued by the Registrar or Court Clerk) and the signatures of the Notary Public or Registraror Court Clerk must be subsequently certified by the State Department (or its Office of Authentication) of the State where the applicant lives before they are sent to the Embassy for legalization. The Embassy can certify only the signatures of the State-level Secretary of State.

II. Divorced and Widowed Applicants: In addition to the 6 above-listed documents,

- Divorcees are required to submit the Divorce Decree after it has been certified by a Notary Public or a Court Clerk, and the State-level Secretary of State.
- Widows are to submit a true copy of the Death Certificate of the previous spouse after it has been certified by a Registrar or a Notary Public, and the State-level Secretary of State.

III. Power of Attorney for Submission of Application:

The foreign party can, with a power of attorney entrust his/her fiance(e) to submit the application package. The power of attorney is required to be authenticated by the Embassy after it has been certified by (1) a Notary Public, and (2) the State-level Secretary of State (attached list).
Fees: Please pay by Money Orders or Cashier’s Checks (Certified Checks) payable to the “Embassy of Vietnam”.
Mail back: A self-addressed postage-paid return envelope. For the safety of your documents, please use only one of the following mailing services which provide tracking numbers: Federal Express (FedEx), or USPS Express Mail. If you use FedEx, please make sure that you put your name, address, FedEx account and phone number in both sender’s and recipient’s boxes. Please do not use other mailing services. Applicants applying together may provide one envelope for visas to be returned to the same address.
Processing Time:
• Regular processing requires 5 – 7 working days.
• Rush service requires 2 – 3 working days after the date of receipt of the papers.