A dramatic rise in the number of foreigners getting married with Vietnamese has been recently increasing. I am also among those and on second thoughts, I truly wish to share my all experience to get all documents to live in Vietnam legally. It cannot be denied that the procedure seems to be complicated for those who are newbies in Vietnam; my wife had been spending a lot of time finding the support surrounding such as relatives and friends. But frankly speaking, actually I myself found the support from a trusted service company, Vietnamvisa.org.vn is the best, they have a thorough knowledge and gave me sound advice for all steps I did follow; then step by step, I got the legit documents I wanted.
In this post, I also share all the steps “How to get marriage registration – TRC – birth certificate in Vietnam?“, I’m sure you will feel grateful for what you’ve got through.
Applying visa
Before having made a big decision to live in Vietnam, I spent a little time finding out about this place; I just know only 1 person who I love; that’s it; then I went to Vietnam without preparing a Vietnamese visa. It is so lucky that as a Korean, I am exempted to stay in Vietnam for 15 days without a visa, it means that I can stay in Vietnam for 15 days. However, 15 days is too short for me to arrange all the documents, so I asked Vietnamvisa.org.vn for support to get my visa extended. They help me to extend my visa for 3 months; it is so perfect for my schedule.
If you do not belong to any exemption list, I think applying for a tourist visa on arrival is the simplest way; just by providing your information online then making payment; waiting for 2-3 working days, you can get the pre-approval letter of 1 month at minimum or 3 month at maximum.
Applying marriage certificate
My 1st step was completed; then I moved to the 2nd step to apply for the marriage certificate. In this step, you have to ask the support from your Embassy or your country to provide the Proof of marital status in which must be shown your single or divorced status and it has been issued no earlier than six months before the date when the marriage documents are submitted
Then at the ward committee and department of justice, you and your spouse have to submit the documents as follows:
- A completed marriage application form in Vietnam;
- Proof of marital status;
- Certified copy of personal identity for Vietnamese citizens;
- Certified copy of household registration certificates or resident registration for Vietnamese citizens;
- Passport or resident card – foreigners and Vietnamese citizens residing abroad;
- Temporary/Permanent resident card – foreigners residing in Vietnam.
It takes around 20-25 working days to complete this procedure and now you and your spouse have been engaged and then you can continue to the next procedure to get TRC.
Applying TRC
With this step, it helps you to stay in Vietnam long term and legally. For me, I once again asked Vietnamvisa.org.vn to support me since their relationship with the Vietnam Immigration Department is pretty good and as my expectation, all guidelines of Vietnamvisa.org.vn I did follow are clear and simple and I finally got the 3 year Temporary Residence Card promptly. Here is the list of documents I did prepare, you can follow to save your precious time.
- Passport;
- The marriage certificate;
- Form NA8,NA7 issued by Vietnam Police Department or Ward Committee;
- Declaration of temporary residence;
- 02 passport photo with the size of 2×3 cm.
For processing time, it just takes around 5-7 working days; it is so quick and then you can get the TRC for 3 years.
Applying the birth certificate & new passport for your new baby born
I am happy to announce that my beloved baby was born in Vietnam and I think that my experience of how to register her birth is important for those who share the same wonderful moment. The local provincial or municipal Justice Service is the place you have to go to register. The dossiers are including:
- Birth certificate application form: All information about the parents and baby are asked to fill in;
- Parents’ marriage certificate (if applicable);
- Original birth certificate issued by the medical centre or hospital where the baby was born;
- Applicant’s ID or passport/ TRC;
- Family population book (for Vietnamese citizens) and temporary resident card (for foreigners residing in Vietnam).
Once you get the birth certificate, do not forget to apply for a passport for your newborn. Here are documents applied at almost embassies:
- A copy of birth certificate;
- A of parents’ passports (ID page and US visa page);
- Certificate of marriage;
- The agreement on the selection of nationality for your newborn;
- Application form for a new passport;
- 02 passport photo.
Applying for exit visa (if your family is about to leave Vietnam)
If your family has a long-term plan of living in Vietnam, you have to apply for a 3-year TRC and follow the above instruction; just replacing the marriage certificate with a birth certificate to get a TRC for your child. In my case, because of a sudden plan of coming back to Korea, I need to apply for an exit visa for my baby. Once again, I asked Vietnamvisa.org.vn to support and they did not let my expectations down. All clear and professional advice is given and here are documents:
- Baby’s passport;
- A copy of the birth certificate;
- Form NA5 signed by the parent who is Vietnamese and stamped by Ward Committee or Police;
- A flight booking.
Then after a few working days, the newborn’s passport with a Vietnamese visa stamp is already there.
Here are all the steps I did to get the legit documents, I hope this information is helpful if you face the same situation.