Removing obstacles for overseas Vietnamese and naturalized players

Overseas Vietnamese and naturalized players will have more opportunities to play for the Vietnamese national team in the near future, after many bottlenecks have been amended in the Law on Vietnamese Nationality.

With the additions and amendments to the Nationality Law, Kevin Pham Ba (left) will soon have Vietnamese nationality - Photo: NAM DINH FC

On June 24, the National Assembly voted to pass the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality, which will take effect from July 1, 2025. For Vietnamese football, the notable changes are in the matter of Vietnamese nationality (for overseas Vietnamese players) and the conditions for obtaining Vietnamese nationality (for foreign players).

Overseas Vietnamese players will soon have citizenship

According to the old regulations in Article 21 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality, people applying for Vietnamese nationality must submit their application to the Department of Justice of their place of residence. This is the biggest obstacle that has made it difficult for overseas Vietnamese players to apply for Vietnamese nationality.

Specifically, here is the case of goalkeeper Nguyen Filip, who took nearly 10 years to obtain Vietnamese nationality. This Vietnamese-Czech player had his naturalization application returned many times because he had never resided in Vietnam according to regulations. Only when he returned to Vietnam to play for the Hanoi Police Club in June 2023, was Nguyen Filip given the opportunity to naturalize and obtain Vietnamese nationality on December 6, 2023.

Meanwhile, according to the amended and supplemented Article 21, a person applying for Vietnamese nationality must submit an application to the Department of Justice if residing in the country or to the Vietnamese representative agency in the host country if residing abroad.

The second bottleneck of the previous Vietnamese Nationality Law was that applicants for Vietnamese nationality had to have documents proving Vietnamese nationality and had to renounce their foreign nationality. This is also the case that goalkeeper Patrik Le Giang and many other overseas Vietnamese players are facing.

Patrik Le Giang will return to Vietnam to play in 2023 as a stateless overseas Vietnamese player. His father is Vietnamese and his mother is Slovak. Patrik's father no longer has an ID card or birth certificate proving his Vietnamese nationality.

Therefore, Patrik must apply for Vietnamese citizenship this year as a foreigner. However, Patrik wants to keep his Slovakian citizenship, while his residence in Vietnam is less than 5 years as required. The same is the case with Kevin Pham Ba - a right-back currently playing for Nam Dinh Club.

According to the amended and supplemented Article 13, "Vietnamese people residing abroad who have not lost their Vietnamese nationality but do not have documents proving their Vietnamese nationality as prescribed must request the Vietnamese representative agency abroad to have their Vietnamese nationality confirmed."

Therefore, Coach Phung Thanh Phuong (HCMC Club) excitedly said: "The amendments and supplements to the Nationality Law are favorable for overseas Vietnamese players in general and the case of Patrik Le Giang in particular in our team. At that time, the Vietnamese team can use this source of high-quality overseas Vietnamese players."

Striker Nguyen Xuan Son has become a Vietnamese citizen after 5 years of settling down - Photo: HOANG TUNG

Opportunities for foreign players

Article 19, amended and supplemented, also has very favorable provisions for both overseas Vietnamese and foreign players in order to attract high-quality resources. Those who apply for Vietnamese nationality have a biological father or mother or paternal and maternal grandfathers or maternal and paternal grandmothers who are Vietnamese citizens; have special contributions to the cause of building and defending the Vietnamese Fatherland; and are beneficial to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam can be granted Vietnamese nationality without having to meet the following conditions:

Know enough Vietnamese to integrate into the Vietnamese community, have permanent residence in Vietnam, have permanent residence in Vietnam for 5 years or more up to the time of applying for Vietnamese nationality, and have the ability to ensure a living in Vietnam.

At the same time, these cases can also retain foreign nationality if they meet two conditions: having relatives who are Vietnamese citizens and being permitted by the President. These cases must submit their applications to Vietnamese representative agencies abroad if they reside abroad.

Another advantage is that overseas Vietnamese players or foreign players, if they receive Vietnamese nationality, can completely choose a Vietnamese name or use their original name to ensure international integration instead of having to have a Vietnamese name according to the previous Nationality Law.

Specifically, Clause 4, Article 19 and Clause 4, Article 23 are amended and supplemented in the direction that people applying for/returning to Vietnamese nationality while simultaneously applying to retain foreign nationality can choose a name that combines a Vietnamese name and a foreign name to ensure convenience for them when living and working in the countries of which they have nationality.

For overseas Vietnamese players, obtaining citizenship early will help them quickly join the national team if selected by coach Kim Sang Sik. But for foreign players, they still have to comply with FIFA rules if they want to play for the Vietnamese team - residing in Vietnam for 5 consecutive years.

Overseas Vietnamese excited

Pierre Hung - a FIFA player broker in France - was quite excited to hear about the amendments and supplements to the Law on Nationality that Vietnam will soon take effect from July 1. "That is good news for Vietnamese football. Overseas Vietnamese players are and will be looking forward to having the opportunity to play for the Vietnamese national team or play in the V-League," he said.

Pierre Hung was the one who supported and acted as a bridge to help Quang Hai complete the procedures to play at Pau FC. He also supported two Vietnamese-French players to play in the current V-League, Cao Pendant Quang Vinh (Hanoi Police) and Kevin Pham Ba (Nam Dinh).

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NGUYEN KHOI - QUANG THINH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/go-vuong-cho-viet-kieu-va-cau-thu-nhap-tich-20250626115608411.htm