Vietnamese Mother in Vietnam and British Father - English baby Name?

nick4946 wrote:

Yes.

I am English and have a daughter with a Vietnamese girl. My daughter has two passports, a British one with a full British name and a Vietnamese one with a combination of a Vietnamese name and part British (my surname). She has travelled with me to many countries outside of Vietnam and has never had a problem. She leaves on her Vietnamese passport, enters other countries with her British one and returns to Vietnam by using her British one to leave, say England, and enters Vietnam with her Vietnamese one.

Sounds a bit complicated but it was quite easy to do with a lawyer's help. My advice is to get your child a British one as soon as possible as you never know what the future holds. A British passport is ticket to most places in the world.

If you require any help contact me. 0918 397604 or nick4946@gmail.com

Thank you for the offer, I will contact you just in case.

However ... for anybody looking for info ...

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As I said. A few years ago it was possible. That is why so many have mixed names here. Some of my students have mixed names also. But they are all above 5 yars old.

Now it is not. Not since 2015 or 2017 (not clear exactly when).

If I hear from anybody with a baby who is offically VN with a foreign name, great.

Otherwise, if you want to be a VN citizen (no matter what age) you must have a VN name.

nick4946 wrote:

She has travelled with me to many countries outside of Vietnam and has never had a problem. She leaves on her Vietnamese passport, enters other countries with her British one and returns to Vietnam by using her British one to leave, say England, and enters Vietnam with her Vietnamese one.

What name do you use on her airline tickets?

The UK one.

She has a notification on her British passport saying that she holds a Vietnamese passport as well.

nick4946 wrote:

She has a notification on her British passport saying that she holds a Vietnamese passport as well.

That explains a lot.   

US dual passport holders do not have the same notification in their passport books.  Without such notice, boarding a plane going to Vietnam without a visa would be impossible due to controls by the airline, not immigration.  As a practical matter, they don't want to take you there if you have to come right back.  At the same time the name on the Vietnamese passport would not match the ticket and she could only board with some type of notarized statement that both people were one and the same.  Apparently the UK explicitly recognizes dual citizenship and that seems to effectively resolve part of the problem of two names.  As SongwriterUK's son will be a dual VN/UK citizen, as your daughter is, the same conditions should apply.

My wife & I are in a similar situation and wanted our son to have EN & VN forenames.  Some friends of ours achieved it but that was a few years ago.  When our lad was born, 18 months ago, we were told that the law had changed and now it is possible only to register Vietnamese names.  So he has official VN forenames and an EN family nickname: we didn't want that either but it seems to be the best we can do now.

Incidentally, I haven't seen them since January because I was abroad when VN closed its borders to keep out the virus and haven't been able to get back since.  Hoping that will change soon - does anybody have any news about that?

I think it's doable to have a double name (one UK on the UK passport and a VN name on the VN passport). Meaning 2 certificate of births, from 2 countries.


Somebody on the french forum did it in 2019, and the key was: to not put a name on the certificate of birth from the doctor. (let it empty)

He did request the french nationality first at his embassy, and they gave him back the certificate of birth. He then went to ask the VN nationality with the mum on the same day.
Legally speaking, I think the child must be first VN, before requesting another nationality, but the french embassy was slow and VN didn't already know that the child had the french nationality. He did everything from Vietnam.


Topic: (use google translate or ask for translation if need): https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=855191 post #14
Hope it helps 
(I didn't read all the previous posts, sorry in advance if it was already answered  )

AlexFromBelgium wrote:

Legally speaking, I think the child must be first VN, before requesting another nationality, but the french embassy was slow and VN didn't already know that the child had the french nationality. He did everything from Vietnam.

Legally speaking, the child can have any nationality the parents wish him to have and still have his birth certificate issued by a Vietnamese hospital. 

If he's going to have a foreign nationality, the name on the birth certificate can be in the language of that country (as long as Roman alphabets are used). 

After receiving the acknowledgement of nationality from the Consulate, the parents can apply for him to be Vietnamese as second nationality at any time.  The name will be amended on birth certificate or naturalization document to show Vietnamese first and middle name plus foreign last name.

That's what the law said and that's what I relayed at least twice in previous posts, but for some reason, nobody wanted to look at that option.

AlmostDunRoamin wrote:

My wife & I are in a similar situation and wanted our son to have EN & VN forenames.  Some friends of ours achieved it but that was a few years ago.  When our lad was born, 18 months ago, we were told that the law had changed and now it is possible only to register Vietnamese names.

That is correct as of today. The family name will be foreign (if you want) but Vietnamese first and middle names.

I have never had a problem leaving or entering Vietnam with my daughter. I show both passports on leaving or entering Vietnam from abroad. Her passports were issued about 12 years ago.

nick4946 wrote:

I have never had a problem leaving or entering Vietnam with my daughter. I show both passports on leaving or entering Vietnam from abroad. Her passports were issued about 12 years ago.

Yes, it was a good gig. Was her first name foreign?

Pity so many things changed since 2017.

SongwriterUK wrote:

Yes, it was a good gig. Was her first name foreign?

Pity so many things changed since 2017.

Did you read his prior posts?  Allow me to quote from post #40 here: 

nick4946 wrote:

My daughter has two passports, a British one with a full British name and a Vietnamese one with a combination of a Vietnamese name and part British (my surname).

As I read this her UK passport has at least given name and family name English and presumably an English  middle name.  On her VN passport, her family name is Western (as it is her father's) and her other two names t are Vietnamese.

I am sorry if I seem critical, but it seems you are so emotionally wrapped up in this problem that you are loosing track of facts.

Her first name on her Vietnamese birth certificate was a full Vietnamese name. I then obtained a British birth certificate with a full English name and was granted a UK passport in that name. When I applied for a Vietnamese passport in her British name it was refused and I had to have one in her full original Vietnamese name with my surname inserted in the middle. It was a bit stressful at the time but now it seems a good thing to have done.

On her UK passport there is a notification in it that she also holds a Vietnamese passport in a different name.

nick4946 wrote:

On her UK passport there is a notification in it that she also holds a Vietnamese passport in a different name.

There must be a distinction here between UK and US law.  My understanding is that the US used to explicitly disallow dual citizenship.  I am not sure what the exact legal status is now but the de facto policy seems to be to simply look the other way.  Her UK passport notification is probably an indication that the UK explicitly approves of dual citizenship.  That notification certainly must make her passing between and through Heathrow and Tan Son Nhat a lot easier than it would be otherwise.

You may well be right. Either way it works, long may it continue.

nick4946 wrote:

You may well be right. Either way it works, long may it continue.

To whom did you make that comment?  Please click on 'Quote' under the post which you wish to send a reply, otherwise no one would understand your response.

THIGV wrote:

nick4946 wrote:

On her UK passport there is a notification in it that she also holds a Vietnamese passport in a different name.

There must be a distinction here between UK and US law.  My understanding is that the US used to explicitly disallow dual citizenship.  I am not sure what the exact legal status is now but the de facto policy seems to be to simply look the other way.  Her UK passport notification is probably an indication that the UK explicitly approves of dual citizenship.  That notification certainly must make her passing between and through Heathrow and Tan Son Nhat a lot easier than it would be otherwise.

Our daughter was born ten months ago in HCMC, my wife is Vietnamese, we live in HCMC where I have a 3  year TRC. We were married in 2005. Our daughter has both English and Vietnamese names on her birth certificate. So she is named Jenny Txxx Axxx followed by my wifes fathers name (surname) and my surname. That seems to have covered all the necessary angles. As far as Vietnam is concerned. As her birth was registered in Vietnam she is a Vietnamese citizen. As she is my daughter she is entitled to a UK passport. However I will need to research the process of getting our daughter a UK passport carefully as the UK Embassy and Consulate are very unhelpful and inefficient. This was amply demonstrated when getting my documents stamped at the UK consulate in HCMC prior to getting married when we were confronted by a local woman employee at the consulate,  who spoke virtually no English and a Brit official who refused to meet us face to face, but stayed upstairs somewhere and relayed ill advised comments to us via the local woman employee. The process of dealing with the consulate should have taken 15 minutes but took over three hours with my wife having to translate back and forth. It was very apparent that the "official upstairs" didn't know UK law and was deliberately being as unhelpful as he could. In summation, make sure that you can quote the law accurately and that your paperwork is in order.

eodmatt wrote:

Our daughter was born ten months ago in HCMC, my wife is Vietnamese, we live in HCMC where I have a 3  year TRC. We were married in 2005. Our daughter has both English and Vietnamese names on her birth certificate. So she is named Jenny Txxx Axxx followed by my wifes fathers name (surname) and my surname.

Congratulations, Matt, and a belated welcome to the word, Jenny.

And thank you for the most recent update on the matter of baby's names which has been going on for years without ever reaching an unanimous agreement.  Perhaps your experience will make SongwriterUK rethinking his adamant belief/opinion/knowing way.

eodmatt wrote:

Our daughter was born ten months ago in HCMC, my wife is Vietnamese, we live in HCMC where I have a 3  year TRC. We were married in 2005. Our daughter has both English and Vietnamese names on her birth certificate. So she is named Jenny Txxx Axxx followed by my wifes fathers name (surname) and my surname. That seems to have covered all the necessary angles. As far as Vietnam is concerned. As her birth was registered in Vietnam she is a Vietnamese citizen. As she is my daughter she is entitled to a UK passport. However I will need to research the process of getting our daughter a UK passport carefully as the UK Embassy and Consulate are very unhelpful and inefficient. This was amply demonstrated when getting my documents stamped at the UK consulate in HCMC prior to getting married when we were confronted by a local woman employee at the consulate,  who spoke virtually no English and a Brit official who refused to meet us face to face, but stayed upstairs somewhere and relayed ill advised comments to us via the local woman employee. The process of dealing with the consulate should have taken 15 minutes but took over three hours with my wife having to translate back and forth. It was very apparent that the "official upstairs" didn't know UK law and was deliberately being as unhelpful as he could. In summation, make sure that you can quote the law accurately and that your paperwork is in order.

I must say, when I did my marriage and passport paperwork at the Australian consulate they were very good. I have heard from my mates that the UK consulate is as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike. Seems you have had the same experience.

Thanks Ciambella and Hi from a cold, very cold Kabul! I haven't seen my daughter since last March due to this awful Covid thing. In fact I am sure that she thinks her father is an iphone as we see each other daily on Viber. She is starting to walk now so I have missed a huge chunk of her developing from a wobble headed tiny thing into a little person. All of our neighbours call her "mini Matt". And on the subject if neighbours I can say that I am  overwhelmed by the amount of support and help my wife has had from our neighbours since Jenny was born. Truly remarkable! And a funny story to finish off with. I was with my wife at the My Duc hospital when Jenny was born - its a very good hospital by the way. As soon as Jenny was born and had been washed, a nurse brought her ot to meet me. The nurse asked me if I wanted a paternity test done. At that very moment, Jenny opened her eyes and looked at me - at any rate she looked in my direction and I saw that she had green eyes (mine are hazel). I said, no need for a paternity test, as I have never seen a green eyed Vietnamese person.

It isn't just the UK consulate and embassy in Vn, they are the same the world over. Here in Kabul they are dire. Last year I tried to contact the military attache at the embassy (being veterans I and my oppo here wanted to attend the remembrance day service). No response. We tried again through a third party and received the brusque response "what do they want?" A few years ago I was working in Taiwan where we didnt have an embassy but a trade mission, similar crap. When I was working as an EU consultant in Cambodia, we were invited to the French and German embassies to brief them on what we were doing. Silence from the Brit embassy! I don't bother to register with the Brit embassies any more whenever I work in foreign countries. By contrast getting a TRC in Vietnam was well organised, efficient and relatively painless.

I'm sad and embarassed to write that my experience of British officialdom abroad is also mostly unsatisfactory.  In Latvia 10 years ago I got the impression that they cared only about where their next G&T was coming from.  In HCMC four years ago, when preparing the documents I needed to marry my wonderful Vietnamese wife, the consulate was helpful and efficient, but that was before it reduced the range of services offerred.  The way in which our public servants abandoned their posts and fled a number of countries as soon as Covid appeared was nothing less then craven.  Shame on you, FCO, who do you think pays your salaries?

That said, I am grateful for https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/vietnam - just wish it didn't still say   "Vietnam has suspended visa waivers, issuing of visas and the entry into Vietnam for all foreign nationals, except for a small number of diplomats on official business and certain high-skilled workers" - my son must by now also think that dad lives in a mobile phone, because I haven't seen him or his mother for > 1 yr - hope this changes soon but as far as I can see there's no sign of that yet.