STEP by STEP GUIDE for FULL BIRTH CERTIFICATE for UNMARRIED PARENTS

STEP by STEP GUIDE to obtain  LONG FORM BIRTH CERTIFICATE with FATHER'S NAME for UNMARRIED PARENTS

Contrary to popular belief it is possible and relatively easy to obtain the long form birth certificate with the father's name even
if the parents are not married. I've just completed the journey and below are the steps that had to be taken.


Step 1

DO NOT LISTEN
to partner's relatives or friends or any locals etc, regardless of their job, if they tell you the father's name cannot be on the certificate because you are not married

Step 2

DNA Test  (or ADN as it is called in Vietnam)

Address for the test in Saigon

Blood Transfusion and Hematology Center.
118 Hung Vuong street, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Required for test:

1 baby
Passports (or I.D) of both parents (originals, not copies), and both parents
Hospital issued birth certificate (original, not copy)
$450 which includes the cost of a Certified English translation

Results in about 10 Days

Step 3

Document Certification

Take 2 Passports (or one Passport and one I.D if your partner doesn't have the former)
The Hospital issued birth certificate
The DNA Test Result
Partner's Family Book

To:
The Peoples Committee.

The HCMC branch is at
47 Le Duan Street, the same street as the British Consular. The British Consular is at number 25 so it's just down the road and The People's Committee is also written in big English letters too so it's easy to find.
You may of course use The Peoples Committee in the main provincial town where your baby was born.

What you will receive:

1) Certified copies of all the above documents (ask for several of each - you will need them).
2) A Certified Letter (which you have asked for) stating that you have given your baby Vietnamese Nationality (ask for several copies)
3) A bill for under $5  for all the above

For the Nationality Letter (Number 2 above) you will need two Vietnamese witnesses, you don't have to know them but they must have I.D.

How long will take it take?

Expect to make a day of it but you will leave at the end of the day with these very important documents and go home for a long lunch so it's not too bad

Note For British Nationals
If you choose Vietnamese nationality for your child, they can still have a British passport (if they are entitled to one) but if you choose British Nationality they will need a visa to stay here just like a tourist as the Vietnamese side do not recognize dual-nationality.

Step 4

To: The Department of Justice

Take the Certified copies and Originals of:

2 Passports (or 1 passport and one I.D)
The Hospital issued birth certificate
The DNA test result
Partner's Family Book
Letter giving Baby Vietnamese Nationality

What will happen

1) They will keep a Certified copy of each and return all Originals.
2) You will have to sign a declaration that you are the Father and accept Paternal Responsibility.
3) You will have to sign a paper to say that you will never change the baby's name.
4) You will pay $50 for The Paternal Responsibility Paper
5) You will wait 45 days for the Paternal Responsibility Paper


Step 5


After 45 days

To: The Department of Justice

Take the Certified copies and Originals of:

2 Passports (or 1 passport and one I.D)
The Hospital issued birth certificate
The DNA test result
Partner's Family Book
Letter giving Baby Vietnamese Nationality

What will happen

1) You will collect the Parental Responsibility Paper


Step 6


To: The Peoples Committee

Take the Certified copies and Originals of:

2 Passports (or 1 passport and one I.D)
The Hospital issued birth certificate
The DNA test result
Partner's Family Book
Letter giving Baby Vietnamese Nationality
And
The Parental Responsibility paper

What will happen

You will receive a Certified Copy of the Parental Responsibility Paper (and the return of all your original documents)
You will pay $2 to $3

Step 7

To: The Department of Justice

Take the Certified copies and Originals of:

2 Passports (or 1 passport and one I.D)
The Hospital issued birth certificate
The DNA test result
Partner's Family Book
Letter giving Baby Vietnamese Nationality
The Parental Responsibility Paper

What will happen

You will give them the Certified Copy of The Parental Responsibility Paper
You will ask for the Long Form Birth Certificate to be issued


Step 8

After 4 days

To: The Department of Justice

Take all Original Documents

2 Passports (or 1 passport and one I.D)
The Hospital issued birth certificate
The DNA test result
Partner's Family Book
Letter giving Baby Vietnamese Nationality

What will happen

1) You will collect the Long Form Birth Certificate
2) You will pay nothing for the Long Form Birth Certificate but  50,000 VND ($2.50) for 10 Certified copies of the Long Form Birth certificate (for use for Schools etc)
3) You will sign a great sigh of relief that you actually managed to do it.



So there we are, and it's all based on personal recent experience. I've just got my Long form birth certificate for my beautiful little boy, and
it became so easy when I stopped listening to people telling me it was impossible as I am not married.
It's not as bad as it seems, Steps 5,6 & 7 were all in the same day.
Also, not every single documents was asked for in the last stages but I highly recommend that you take them all with you as we often had to open our folder and show several of the items listed.
Now this is based on using 2 different Peoples Committee, one in Ho Chi Minh, the other in Tay Ninh where we using the Department of Justice, so it seems departments and locations allow some flexibility but I assume, though  I could be wrong, that the Department of Justice where the child was born should be used for obtaining the certificate.
Also, there may be cheaper places to obtain the DNA test. We used the first we came across so I can't say if this was the best price or not.
Also I must add that on all occasions staff were very helpful and there really were no problems at all, there was a procedure to follow and as long as that was accepted and we handed in the correct papers all ran very smoothly.
Anyway, I hope this is of help to someone who is planning to begin the journey. Your journey may be a little different but I think the core of it will be the same.

Thanks for reading.