DIRECTIVE

ON ENHANCING THE STATE MANAGEMENT OVER MARRIAGE AND FAMILY RELATIONS INVOLVING FOREIGN ELEMENTS

On July 10, 2002, the Government issued Decree No. 68/2002/ND-CP detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Marriage and Family Law on marriage and family relations involving foreign elements. After more than two years' implementation of the Decree, the establishment of marriage and family relations between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners has seen many positive changes as compared with the past, which suited the context of expanding ties between Vietnam and foreign countries.

However, marriages between Vietnamese women and foreigners still see some problems as follows:

In some provinces or centrally-run cities, many cases of marriage between Vietnamese women and foreigners, especially Taiwanese, have been conducted hastily, ignoring the principle of voluntary and progressive marriage; or Vietnamese women have illegally crossed borders to live like husbands and wives with citizens of neighboring countries without making marriage registrations.

Marriage intermediation activities for self-seeking purposes by some organizations and individuals have occurred in various disguised and sophisticated forms, thus causing social disorder. In many cases, marriages through brokerage have damaged the honor and dignity of Vietnamese women, seriously disrupted the nation's fine traditions and customs, and badly affected the national reputation.

Most Vietnamese women, before going abroad to live with their husbands, had not been adequately advised to acquire necessary knowledge about laws, languages, traditions and customs of host countries, and have, therefore, met with numerous difficulties in integrating themselves into community and stabilizing their life in foreign countries.

The above-said situation is attributable to many reasons, including poor State management over marriage and family relations involving foreign elements and instrict and untimely handling of violations and negative acts in this domain.

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1. The ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the Government-attached agencies and the People's Committees of all levels should be aware that the situation of marriages between Vietnamese women and foreigners constitutes an issue related to many aspects of the economic, cultural and social life, as well as social security and order and external relations. Within the ambit of their respective functions and tasks, the said agencies should enhance the performance of their function of State management over marriage and family relations involving foreign elements, closely and effectively coordinate with concerned agencies and localities in taking measures to prevent and promptly handle violating organizations and individuals, put an end to the illegal marriage brokerage, make healthy the marriage and family relations involving foreign elements, and ensure the observance of the principle of voluntary and progressive marriage, thus contributing to building happy and stable families, observing and preserving the fine traditions and customs of the Vietnamese nation, and contributing to protecting the reputation of the Vietnamese nation and the Vietnamese State in international relations.

2. The Ministry of Justice has the responsibilities:

a) To enhance the guidance, direction, examination and inspection of localities in the work of accepting and handling dossiers for registration of marriages between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners; and promptly redress deviations and negative phenomena in this work. To direct provincial/municipal Justice Services in seriously observing regulations on non-acceptance of marriage registration dossiers filed through third parties; to promulgate regulations on verification and interviewing of involved parties in case of suspicion or complaint or denunciation about sham marriages, or taking advantage of marriages for women trafficking or marriages for other self-seeking purposes, or in cases where they deem it necessary to further clarify personal identifications of involved parties or papers in marriage registration dossiers, thus contributing to precluding cases where marriage fails to comply with the principle of voluntary and progressive marriage.

b) To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the concerned agencies in formulating a mechanism of information on the current life of Vietnamese citizens who have married foreigners and are living in foreign countries; expeditiously studying and proposing the negotiation and conclusion of agreements with concerned countries to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Vietnamese citizens, who have married foreigners and are living in foreign countries, in terms of nationality, residence, marriage and family, property, etc., in accordance with Vietnamese law, laws of host countries, international laws and practices.

c) To direct the registration of births and resolution of problems related to civil status of children of Vietnamese women and foreigners when they, together with their mothers, return to reside in Vietnam.

d) To organize the compilation of documents for propagation and dissemination of law provisions on marriage and family relations involving foreign elements, documents providing guidance and consultations on nationality and civil status of Vietnam and foreign countries so as to help the marital parties correctly understand and implement provisions of law.

e) To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Central Committee of Vietnam Women Union, the Central Committee of Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the Central Committee of Vietnam Peasants' Association in directing the dissemination and popularization of law provisions on marriage and family relations involving foreign elements, thus contributing to creating a substantial improvement in people's awareness about this domain.

f) To raise the capability of the contingent of full-time officials in charge of nationality work, and ensure necessary conditions for promptly settling applications for relinquishment of Vietnamese nationality by Vietnamese citizens who wish to marry foreigners.

3. The Ministry of Public Security has the responsibilities:

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From now till the end of the second quarter of 2005, to direct the police offices in some key provinces and centrally-run cities in launching intensive campaigns to scrutinize and eliminate rendezvous places where Vietnamese women who wish to marry foreigners are recommended to foreigners; to watch for, detect and promptly handle cases of illegal marriage brokerage.

4. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the responsibilities:

a) To direct foreign-based Vietnamese representations in firmly grasping all aspects of life of the community of Vietnamese women married to foreigners and currently living in foreign countries; to coordinate with the concerned agencies and organizations of host countries in guiding these women in setting up appropriate organizations or societies to help themselves integrate into the communities where they live, and maintain their regular contacts with their home country and families.

b) To continue directing and guiding the foreign-based Vietnamese representations in intensifying the application of measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Vietnamese women in foreign countries in marriage and family relations in compliance with laws of host countries and international agreements which Vietnam has signed or acceded to; to promptly take measures to protect and assist these women when they fall into miserable plights.

5. The Ministry of Planning and Investment has the responsibilities:

To direct localities in conducting the inspection, detection and handling of enterprises which violate the provisions on prohibition of provision of brokerage services of marriage involving foreign elements of the Government's Decree No. 125/2004/ND-CP dated May 19, 2004 amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No.03/2000/ND-CP dated February 3, 2000 guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Enterprise Law.

6. The Ministry of Culture and Information has the responsibilities:

To direct press information on the situation of Vietnamese women who have married foreigners, especially Taiwanese and South Koreans, in order to ensure accurate, objective and comprehensive information, and to avoid the publication of one-way information; and at the same time, to further promote the role of the mass media in fighting negative acts and promptly detecting violations in the registration of marriages between Vietnamese women and foreigners.

7. The People's Committees of the provinces or centrally-run cities have the responsibilities:

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marriage brokerage activities, thus putting an end to the situation of marriages violating the principle of voluntary and progressive marriage, fine traditions and customs of the Vietnamese nation. The presidents of provincial-level People's Committees must bear responsibility for the occurrence of illegal marriage brokerage activities in their respective localities.

b) The People's Committees of the border provinces shall have to direct concerned agencies in their localities in enhancing the control in border areas and stepping up the management of population in order to prevent and put an end to the situation that Vietnamese citizens illegally cross borders to live with citizens of neighboring countries as spouses without marriage registrations; step up the propagation about and making of marriage registrations in border communes according to the provisions of the Government's Decree No. 68/2002/ND-CP dated July 10, 2002 detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Marriage and Family Law on marriage and family relations involving foreign elements.

c) To rearrange the contingent of officials personally engaged in the work of registration of marriages between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners, thereby to arrange fully capable and professionally qualified officials for this work; to promptly detect and stringently handle officials who commit negative acts in the registration of marriages between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners.

d) To elaborate and direct the implementation of the plans to step up propagation, dissemination and education of laws and fine cultural traditions of the Vietnamese nation in marriage and family to each village or hamlet.

e) To support the provincial-level Women Union chapters in establishing marriage assistance centers under the Government's Decree No. 68/2002/ND-CP dated July 10, 2002 detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Marriage and Family Law on marriage and family relations involving foreign elements.

8. The Central Committee of Vietnam Women Union is requested to:

a) Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Population, Family and Children Committee in guiding the organization and operation of the marriage assistance centers and supporting them to efficiently operate, thus contributing to guaranteeing that marriages between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners are compliant with law and healthy.

b) Direct and guide the provincial-level Women Union chapters in establishing marriage assistance centers in the provinces or centrally-run cities under the Government's Decree No. 68/2002/ND-CP dated July 10, 2002 detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Marriage and Family Law on marriage and family relations involving foreign elements. In the immediate future, direction should focus on the establishment and putting into operation of marriage assistance centers in some provinces where Vietnamese women wishing to marry foreigners are in large numbers.

9. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the Government-attached agencies and the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces or centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Directive.

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FOR THE PRIME MINISTER
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER




Pham Gia Khiem