Relaxing conditions for naturalization and regaining Vietnamese nationality

Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh, authorized by the Prime Minister, presented the Report - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

In case of losing Vietnamese nationality, it is possible to be considered for regaining Vietnamese nationality.

On May 17, the Government submitted to the National Assembly a draft law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality. Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh said the draft law focuses on two major policies.

Firstly, the conditions related to naturalization of Vietnamese nationality are relaxed to facilitate cases where the biological father or mother, paternal and maternal grandparents are Vietnamese citizens; foreign investors, scientists , experts... are naturalized as Vietnamese citizens.

The second is to relax the conditions related to the return of Vietnamese nationality to create conditions for those who have lost Vietnamese nationality to return to Vietnamese nationality.

Faced with new requirements of the country's development practices, in order to better meet the legitimate aspirations of overseas Vietnamese to acquire or regain Vietnamese nationality, and at the same time continue to attract, facilitate and encourage overseas Vietnamese, including leading experts and scientists in various fields, to "return to visit their homeland, invest in production and business, and contribute to the cause of building and defending the Vietnamese Fatherland", it is necessary to amend and supplement a number of provisions of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality.

Regarding the revised and completed contents, the draft stipulates that minors applying for Vietnamese nationality under their father or mother, and minors whose father or mother is a Vietnamese citizen do not need to meet the condition of "having full civil act capacity"...

The draft also stipulates that people applying for Vietnamese nationality who have relatives who are Vietnamese citizens can retain their foreign nationality if they meet the conditions and are permitted by the President.

Some contents have also been amended and supplemented to create favorable conditions for foreign investors, scientists, experts... to obtain Vietnamese nationality in order to attract high-quality resources.

Accordingly, people with special contributions to the cause of building and defending the Vietnamese Fatherland or who are beneficial to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam when applying for Vietnamese nationality are exempted from the conditions specified in points c, d, dd, e, Clause 1, Article 19.

At the same time, these cases are allowed to retain foreign nationality if they meet two conditions similar to the case of having relatives who are Vietnamese citizens and are permitted by the President.

The draft also removes the provisions on cases of re-acquiring Vietnamese nationality in Clause 1, Article 23 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality. Accordingly, all cases of losing Vietnamese nationality and applying to regain Vietnamese nationality can be considered for re-acquiring Vietnamese nationality.

Provisions for exceptions

The review agency agreed with the provisions of the draft to promptly institutionalize the requirements in the Party's documents and instructions, creating more favorable and encouraging conditions for those who have lost Vietnamese nationality to regain Vietnamese nationality, contributing to limiting the statelessness of Vietnamese people abroad, while at the same time being suitable to changes in the practical situation, ensuring the stability and longevity of the law.

In addition, there are opinions that this is a content related to the return of Vietnamese nationality of Vietnamese people living abroad, so, to ensure clarity and immediate implementation, it is recommended to specifically stipulate the conditions for "possibility" of returning to Vietnamese nationality in the Law.

In addition, the draft adds provisions on the relationship between the State and citizens in some cases in Clause 5, Article 5 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality. The draft Law adds the condition of “having only one nationality, Vietnamese nationality, and having permanent residence in Vietnam” when Vietnamese citizens who also have foreign nationality participate in elected bodies, political system agencies, participate in the armed forces, cryptography... to ensure political security and national interests.

Examining the regulations on the relationship between the State and citizens, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Law and Justice Hoang Thanh Tung said that the examining agency basically agreed with the provision on exceptional cases. The principled provision in the draft law in the direction of not requiring a nationality of Vietnamese nationality in cases that are beneficial to the State of Vietnam, do not harm the national interests of Vietnam and assign the Government to specify details is appropriate, ensuring clarity, transparency, flexibility, meeting the requirements of practice, requirements on foreign affairs, national sovereignty in each period, and thoroughly implementing the requirement of innovation in legislative thinking.

However, there are also opinions suggesting more careful consideration of the provision of exceptions for all subjects listed above; special cases should only be considered and applied to subjects recruited, appointed to ranks, positions, and titles in state agencies, political and social organizations at the central and local levels; people recruited according to job positions, working at public service units that need to attract and create conditions for recruiting talents.

Phuong Lien

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/noi-long-dieu-kien-nhap-quoc-tich-va-tro-lai-quoc-tich-viet-nam-102250517100944031.htm