Divorce (two foreigners living in HCMC)

Hello,

Can anybody please direct me on what I need to do if we want to file for a divorce if we are two foreigners who just moved to HCMC? It is mutually agreed on and we have a legalized marriage certificate from elsewhere. Any advice would be appreciated as I can not find anything online that is of much help with this.

Thank you.

You should contact a divorce lawyer here and see if you can get an international divorce or wait till you are back in your home country and lodge it.

First off, to file for a divorce, one or both foreigners must do business or reside long-term in Vietnam.

You said you both just moved to Saigon.  If one of you are not in Vietnam as a long term resident or if you don't have a long term business in Vietnam, the court will not accept your petition for a divorce.

Here's more for you to think about:

Divorce in Vietnam is not a quick process. Pursuant to Article 476 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the time limit for opening a court hearing or conciliation meeting is as follows:

- The conciliation meeting must be held between 6 and 8 months from the date of the court's written notice of accepting the case.

- The court hearing must be held between 9 and 12 months from the date of the court's written notice of accepting the case.

- The court must send a notice of acceptance of the civil matter, said meeting must be held between 6 and 8 months from the date of the court's written notice of accepting the case.

Also, take into account the processing time for the delivery of documents, and the required time for the foreign authority to collect evidences of your marriage.

IOW, it would take a minimum of one year, but often two years, before a divorce case between two foreigners is resolved in Vietnam.

BTW, if you pursue a divorce under the VN law, you must obey VN family law until the divorce is granted.  What that means is until the final verdict is issued, neither of you can live with someone else, or being with someone else in the manner that may be construed as husband and wife.  Adultery is punishable by law -- not that it deters the locals from doing it, but if the act is reported, the violators will be fined between 3M - 5M, or be sent to a non-custodial reform facility for up to 1 year, or a prison term between 3 months and 1 year.

:o

that explains why so many " not real wedding - marriages

.... you come to VN together as a (married) couple, and then immediately decide to get a divorce? weird, but, well, one can speculate about that.

I would suggest, even w/o all CB details, that some other arrangement other than divorce would be far more practical (in fact, if you MUST have a divorce then it is prob much more sensible to go back to whatever country it was, and lodge it there, and then come back). all very odd.

in fact, perversely,  CB might have given some information that might not be helpful to know in future circumstances..

Marriage means nothing in other countries than you married in.
2 options are find a lawyer who can divorce you through an amicable agreement, or hire a lawyer in the country you married/your home country and have it filed.

it really only impacts your taxes and ownership rights the host country cares little to none other than visa stuff

I know it is a late reply, but in law the first thing a judge looks at is jurisdiction. In the case of two foreigners there is no jurisdiction so they have no authority to hear the case. Even in your home country filing would most likely be delayed by the period it takes under their laws to have jurisdiction. Many states in the USA require you live in the jurisdiction for 6 months. Indeed, that is the first paragraph of any court filing. Happy divorcing. Married folks get divorced very fast here! Not sure why.