Get marry

http://vietem-ca.com/consular-services/ … -procedure

Very thorough THIGV. I married in Vietnam over 10 years ago and wish i had a list like this. I didn't know what a certificate of impediment was and had never been to a Dr. to ask for an aids test. Things may have changed, but i also had to visit a Dr. in Vietnam for a test of mental capacity (yeah, i know...but i passed) and there was also a test given to me by the lady who was to sign off on my marriage certificate...just a bunch of questions concerning communication with a Vietnamese wife, was i working, how much did i make per year, etc. All in all things went quite well, married in Ho Chi MInh city, honeymoon in Dalat. Back in Canada now and thinking about making the move back to Vietnam. Congratulations stevendiep, don't forget to get all this done within the time limit mentioned.

I have read on this forum that the interview questions have been cut way back and the waiting period too, but, like a lot of things in Vietnam, that may depend on which province you are in.  Generally for a Viet Kieu like Stephen, there will be no questions about communication and the validity of the marriage will be questioned less.

I want to be absolutely clear that I am not referring to Stephen but if I had to bet, I would say that more bogus marriages for money were entered into by VK and Vietnamese than between other westerners and Vietnamese.

As Thigv says, it all comes down to where you get married. When I got married we had a very uninformed official, one weeks paperwork that ended up taking four months. I thought it was because we got married in a small town, but I saw the register book and 30 other foreigners had been there to do the act same thing as me in the last six months,and the girl still couldn't get it right. We ended up doing no medical test, but did a mental check, which is basically a joke, but quite amusing.

So when you get here, go and find out where your wife is registered and then contact the UBND(peoples committee) to ask what their requirements are. Don't expect them to send you a schedule of things that need to be done and where to do them. You will need to extract teeth to get info out of them.

Good luck.

Maybe I'm wrong, but @thigv link to Canadian consulate appears to discuss a marriage taking place in Canada, to a Vietnamese resident of Canada.  That is how I interpret:

"1- Subject:
- Vietnamese residents in Canada
- Canadian citizens"
and
"All the above-mentioned documents need to be authenticated by the Department of Foreign Affairs of Canada before sending to the Embassy of Vietnam to legalize."

If this is the case @stevendiep, then nevermind! I'm done!

If however you are a Canadian national marrying a Vietnamese national, in Vietnam, the information you are seeking is different. You can start with this thread from April:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=573908

In particular, I discussed my marriage (American to a Vietnamese in HCMC) in January 2016 under the 2015 marriage rules. I listed the requirements we had. However, the biggest change in the January 2016 law was that the federal Ministry of Justice was no longer handling marriages. Instead, you apply and follow the procedure at the local communist party committee office (district, or ward, or whatever). I still haven't seen those updated procedures documented online anywhere.

Is there anyone married in 2016 under the new rules who would like to contribute their experience to this thread?!   

I got married in July 2016 and the laws are basically whatever the local UBND decides. If the official that we dealt with actually had a brain we could have done everything in a week. Its not a difficult process, getting correct information was the hardest part.

The link is correct if you wish to authenticate the documents before going to Vietnam.  The link is as it says for either Canadian citizens or Viet citizens residing permanently in Canada.  It is essentially the same as the instructions on the Viet Embassy page from Washington DC.  that I followed.  The difference is how they are authenticated by the Canadian authorities before submitting to the Viet Embassy.  I think here is also a consulate in Vancouver. 

It is interesting that Vietnam moved marriage from Justice to the Party.  One of the reasons that US citizens may not have their social security checks mailed directly to Vietnam is that the country does not have a reliable system for maintaining vital statistics.   Moving marriages from the Dept of Justice to the Party is another means of Party control and a step backward for the country.  I know a Viet citizen must obtain a birth certificate from the Party and I imagine a death certificate would be there too.  This is the problem for the US government.  These would be government functions in almost every other country on earth.  In another twenty or so years when Vietnam develops into a multi party democracy, all these functions will need to move back to government where they belong.

Does anyone know any Canadian getting married in Vietnam this year in 20017?  I'm from Toronto Canada and i've been reading this thread, because I've been so confused on what is posted on the Vietnam Embassy in Canada vs what my wife is telling me from Vietnam.  The post of "gopot" around marriage rule in Vietnam changed in 2016 is what my fiance in Vietnam have found out recently as well, she called around and spoke to like 5 different lawyers in HCMC.  The rule, from the lawyer said to her that Vietnam Embassy in Canada translation of my document is not required, we must do that in Vetnam.  But this rule changed doesn't seem to be mentioned anywhere in the embassy's website, and even when i called them a few days ago, before i knew the rule changes in 2016, they just told i need to send my papers to them to certified and translate.

I really don't want to waste money getting the embassy to certified and translate if it is no longer required, as each document costs 65 USD, and i will have over 7 documents.

Also apparently she has to do go her district to find out the full details, which is District Go Vap.  It's pretty much in the HCMC area, but apparently have their own marriage office, since that district is where my fiance is registered in.

My question is that, should i still get the Canada foreign affairs to certified my document as well?  Or that's is also no longer required?  Anyone know?  If i send all my documents to the Vietnam embassy in Canada, they do offer a service to help get my document to Canada foreign affairs to get certified as well, and that's free.

My document is all done now, and will get a lawyer in Toronto to notarized it, but that seem to maybe no longer applicable as well?  I will do this anyway, since this process is inexpensive and quick.

I'm getting married first week of 2017, and i'm planning to come back to Vietnam a month before the ceremony.  I hope that gives me enough time.

This whole marriage process is Vietnam is extremely frustrating, I now know how everyone feels.  Any advice would be appreciated.