Power of Attorney?

THIGV wrote:

My wife and I have two bank accounts in Vietnam.  One is with Citi which we have chosen to keep open and the other is a CD with VIB Bank.  She wants to close out the VIB account during an upcoming visit to Vietnam (while I will sadly be home working  ) but as the account is joint, she is fairly certain that she will need a power of attorney to close the account.  I have no personal problem with this but I am not sure if a US power of attorney is valid in Vietnam. 

Is it simply a matter of getting a certified (red stamp) translation of the document once she arrives in Vietnam or is some other kind of government validation required?  Has anyone had a similar experience?  Thanks in advance.

Wondering if you could have something Certified through a Consulate or the Embassy in the USA?

If all of the funds are pulled out of an account and it sits dormant for some amount of time won't they close it automatically?

SteinNebraska wrote:

If all of the funds are pulled out of an account and it sits dormant for some amount of time won't they close it automatically?

The problem is that they will not let her pull the funds without my being there to sign as well as her.  Apparently it is set up as "both" rather than "either/or."

THIGV wrote:

SteinNebraska wrote:

If all of the funds are pulled out of an account and it sits dormant for some amount of time won't they close it automatically?

The problem is that they will not let her pull the funds without my being there to sign as well as her.  Apparently it is set up as "both" rather than "either/or."

Spoke to my friend at VIB, and yes, you need to be here to close the account

This is VN- and you never know, there may be a way to solve the issue.

colinoscapee wrote:

Spoke to my friend at VIB, and yes, you need to be here to close the account

This is VN- and you never know, there may be a way to solve the issue.

I guess we will try a US Power of Attorney, "officially" translated in Vietnam of course with all the red circular stamps    , and just see how it goes.  At any rate it looks like VIB is still paying over 7% so if we can't withdraw the funds they will simply rotate for another 24 months. 

If all else fails, closing out the CD gives me a reason to go along the next time my wife goes home to visit her mother, rather than staying back and working.   

Why don't you just transferred all the funds in VIB to another account that you would be able to get your hands on the money later. If the account is empty, it's as good as "closed".

For power of attorny, its possible. You will need to sign that power of attorny paper (even the account closing form from VIB) at a notary office to have it notarized. After that, send it to the nearest Vietnamese embassy/consulate to get it legalized. If you're lucky, you will have that piece of paper back within 2 weeks (sometimes 1 month). Then your wife can bring it to Vietnam and have it translated with certify red stamp from local authority.