LEGALISATION
Documents issued by authorities of the Swiss Confederation need to be authenticated by the State Chancery of the Canton (Chancellerie d'Etat du canton) or the Chancery of Swiss Confederation (Chancellerie Fédérale) before being legalized by the Embassy of Vietnam.
For documents issued by foreign countries, you need to get them legalized at the Embassy of the country where the documents are issued first, then you can submit the documents in person or by registered post to Vietnam Embassy for legalization so that they can be used in Viet Nam.
GUIDELINES ON PROCEDURES FOR ACQUIRING VIETNAMESE CITIZENSHIP ABROAD
I. CONDITIONS FOR ACQUIRING VIETNAMESE CITIZENSHIP
Foreign nationals and stateless persons residing abroad who submit an
application to acquire Vietnamese citizenship may be granted Vietnamese
citizenship if they meet the following conditions:
a) Have full civil act capacity in accordance with Vietnamese law,
except for minors applying to acquire Vietnamese citizenship together
with their father or mother, or minors whose father or mother is a
Vietnamese citizen;
b) Comply with the Constitution and laws of Vietnam; respect the culture, traditions, customs, and practices of the Vietnamese people;
c) Have a biological father or mother, or a paternal grandfather and grandmother, or a maternal grandfather and grandmother who are Vietnamese citizens; or have made special contributions to the cause of building and defending the Vietnamese Fatherland; or it is beneficial to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; or be a minor applying to acquire Vietnamese citizenship together with their father or mother. In cases where the applicant previously held Vietnamese citizenship but lost it, they shall follow the procedures for re-acquiring Vietnamese citizenship as guided below. Persons applying to acquire Vietnamese citizenship must have a name in Vietnamese or in another ethnic language of Vietnam. In cases where the applicant concurrently requests to retain foreign nationality, they may choose a combined name consisting of a Vietnamese name and a foreign name. The name chosen by the applicant shall be clearly stated in the Decision on granting Vietnamese citizenship. A person applying to acquire Vietnamese citizenship shall not be granted Vietnamese citizenship if doing so would be detrimental to the national interests of Vietnam. A person applying to acquire Vietnamese citizenship may retain foreign nationality if they meet the following conditions and are permitted by the President:
a) The retention of foreign nationality is in accordance with the laws of that country;
b) The foreign nationality is not used to cause harm to the lawful rights and interests of agencies, organizations, or individuals; or to infringe upon the national security, national interests, public order, or social safety of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
II. REQUIREMENTS FOR DOCUMENTS IN THE DOSSIER
a) Documents issued by competent authorities of a foreign country must be legalized consularly, except in cases exempted from consular legalization in accordance with Vietnamese law or international treaties to which Vietnam is a party. Currently, Vietnam and Germany do not have an agreement on exemption from legalization; therefore, German documents must be legalized consularly.
b) Documents in a foreign language must be translated into Vietnamese; the translation must have the translator’s signature certified in accordance with Vietnamese law.
c) Copies of documents must be certified in accordance with the law or the originals must be presented for comparison. Applications, Declarations, and Curriculum Vitae forms must have signatures certified in accordance with the law.
d) The following acts are strictly prohibited: Using forged documents, or documents that have been altered or erased to distort the content; making untruthful declarations, or committing fraudulent acts to carry out procedures for nationality matters; Using documents that are no longer valid to prove Vietnamese citizenship as proof of currently holding Vietnamese citizenship; Abusing assigned authority to issue documents on Vietnamese citizenship, documents proving Vietnamese citizenship, or other documents stating Vietnamese citizenship contrary to the law; making unfounded or untruthful confirmations regarding persons applying to re-acquire Vietnamese citizenship; Taking advantage of acquiring Vietnamese citizenship and requesting to retain foreign nationality when re-acquiring Vietnamese citizenship to infringe upon the national security, national interests, public order, or social safety of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; or to cause harm to the lawful rights and interests of agencies, organizations, or Vietnamese citizens.
III. DOSSIER FOR APPLICATION TO ACQUIRE VIETNAMESE CITIZENSHIP The dossier shall be prepared in 03 identical sets. Each set includes the following documents: 01 Application form for acquisition of Vietnamese citizenship: a) Use Form No. TP/QT-2025-ĐXNQT.1 for persons aged 18 or above;
b) Use Form No. TP/QT-2025-ĐXNQT.2 for persons under 18 years old. A photo taken within the last 06 months must be affixed to the corresponding box on the form; the same photo must be used for all 03 sets of the dossier. For persons under 18 years old (Form No. TP/QT-2025-ĐXNQT.2), there must be a written agreement using Form No. TP/QT-2025-VBTT from both parents regarding the application to re-acquire Vietnamese citizenship for their child. In cases where the father or mother has died, lost civil act capacity, or has restricted civil act capacity, the written agreement shall be replaced by documents proving that the father or mother has died, lost, or has restricted civil act capacity.For persons aged from 15 to under 18, the child must also sign the application together with the father/mother. The application must be signed in original (Originalunterschrift); photocopied signatures are not accepted. 01 copy of Birth Certificate, Passport, or other valid substitute document (document containing information on full name, date, month, year of birth, with a photo of the person and the seal of the competent authority, or a laissez-passer, or a document valid for international travel). For persons under 18 years old, a copy of the guardian’s passport or identity card must also be submitted. 01 Curriculum Vitae using Form No. TP/QT-2025-BKLL, with a photo taken within the last 06 months affixed. The Curriculum Vitae must be signed in original (Originalunterschrift); photocopied signatures are not accepted. 01 document proving information on judicial records (Führungszeugnis) issued by the competent foreign authority (Bundesamt für Justiz) in accordance with the laws of that country, for the period during which the applicant resided abroad. The document proving information on judicial records must be issued no more than 90 days prior to the date of dossier submission. Documents proving eligibility for one of the cases for acquiring Vietnamese citizenship while residing abroad:
a) 01 copy of Birth Certificate or other valid document proving the father, mother, or child relationship in cases where the biological father, mother, or child is a Vietnamese citizen; or
b) 01 copy of a valid document proving that the paternal grandfather and grandmother or maternal grandfather and grandmother are Vietnamese citizens; or
c) Orders, Medals, or other noble titles of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, or the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; or confirmation by a competent Vietnamese authority regarding special contributions to the cause of building and defending the Vietnamese Fatherland, based on dossiers, opinions of relevant agencies and organizations, and provisions of specialized laws;
d) Documents proving that the acquisition of Vietnamese citizenship is beneficial to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Persons with outstanding talents in the fields of science, technology, innovation, digital transformation, economy, law, culture, society, arts, sports, healthcare, education, or other fields, who have been certified for their talent by a ministry-level state management agency, or have received international awards, orders, or medals, and there is a basis to show that they will make positive, long-term contributions to the development of the above-mentioned fields in Vietnam; Entrepreneurs and investors who are individuals with business and investment activities in Vietnam that have been certified by the relevant ministry-level state management agency as making positive, long-term contributions to the development of Vietnam; Persons applying to acquire Vietnamese citizenship while concurrently requesting to retain foreign nationality must submit the following documents:
a) Documents issued by the competent authority of the foreign country regarding the retention of foreign nationality in accordance with the laws of that country. In cases where the foreign country's laws do not provide for the issuance of such documents, the applicant must submit a sworn statement using Form No. TP/QT-2025-VBCĐ stating that the competent authority of the foreign country does not issue such documents and that requesting to retain foreign nationality upon acquiring Vietnamese citizenship is in accordance with the laws of that foreign country;
b) A commitment letter using Form No. TP/QT-2025-VBCK pledging not to use foreign nationality to cause harm to the lawful rights and interests of agencies, organizations, or individuals; or to infringe upon the national security, national interests, public order, or social safety of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. In cases where an applicant for Vietnamese citizenship concurrently requests to retain foreign nationality but does not fully meet the conditions stipulated in Clause 6, Article 19 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality, they must renounce their foreign nationality. 01 copy of the Birth Certificate of minor children applying for Vietnamese citizenship together with their parents, or other valid documents proving the father-child or mother-child relationship.01 envelope with postage stamp affixed for registered mail with proof of delivery (Einschreiben Einwurf) and with the address written, if wishing to receive the result by mail.
IV. FEES AND PROCEDURES When submitting the application, the applicant for Vietnamese citizenship shall pay Fee No. 1, which includes: fees for certification of translations, legalization of documents issued by the German side, and translation fees for documents prepared in German to meet the dossier requirements stipulated in Article 2 of Decree No. 191/2025/ND-CP dated July 1, 2025 of the Government. Based on the review of the dossier, the processing officer will contact and notify the applicant. Applicants may also complete procedures for signature certification and copy certification at a German notary public; and hire a sworn translator (beeidigte Übersetzer) to translate German-language documents in the dossier into Vietnamese. Thereafter, the dossier must be submitted to the regional court (Landgericht) for certification of the signature of the notary public/sworn translator, if they are not on the list of collaborators, and then sent to the Embassy to complete legalization procedures. Upon receiving notification of eligibility to be granted Vietnamese citizenship, the applicant shall pay Fee No. 2, which includes the citizenship acquisition fee and a confirmation from the competent foreign authority regarding renunciation of foreign nationality, if not permitted by the President to retain foreign nationality.
V.
Applicants for Vietnamese citizenship must provide an accurate address
and contact phone number, preferably a mobile number, so that the
processing department can contact them when necessary. If there are any
changes to the address or phone number during the application period,
the applicant must notify the Embassy.
The dossier includes:
- Request Letter
- Original documents
- Copies of original documents
- A self-addressed registered return envelope (if by mail)
- The fee in cash or by bank transfer
Bank account of the Embassy :
The Embassy of Vietnam
UBS AG, Postfach, CH-3000 Bern 94
Account number: 235-568116.01M
IBAN: CH57 0023 5235 5681 1601M
Number of client: 235-568116
BIC UBSWCHZH80A
Address :
Konsularabteilung
Botschaft von Vietnam
Schlösslistrasse 26
CH-3008 Bern
Tel.
031 388 78 73 (English); 031 388 78 72 (French), 031 388 78 75
(Vietnamese)
Fax. 031 388 78 79
Email :
vietsuisse@bluewin.ch