Consider allowing Vietnamese naturalized people to keep their foreign names

On the afternoon of May 29, the National Assembly discussed the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality. Many delegates mentioned the need for more flexible regulations on names and nationality regimes for people naturalized as Vietnamese.

Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh explains the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Nationality. Photo: VIET CHUNG

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Phan Thi My Dung ( Long An ) expressed interest in the regulation "relaxing" the conditions for naturalization.

The deputy commented that the draft law has met the policy of having a "special mechanism on naturalization" to develop and utilize high-quality human resources and talents to meet the requirements of science , technology, innovation and national digital transformation. In particular, the expansion of cases eligible for naturalization and re-naturalization of Vietnamese nationality will be effective along with new policies on land use, home ownership, real estate business, etc. for Vietnamese citizens residing abroad.

Delegate Phan Thi My Dung (Long An). Photo: VIET CHUNG

Delegate Nguyen Lam Thanh (Lang Son) said that the regulation requiring naturalized people to have names in Vietnamese or ethnic minority languages ​​is a bit rigid. He gave the example of the case of soccer player Rafaelson Bezerra Fernandes, who when naturalized had to change his name to Nguyen Xuan Son, which lost the trace of his personal origin. "It is necessary to consider allowing people to keep their foreign names for international integration and convenience in management," he suggested.

Delegate Nguyen Lam Thanh (Lang Son). Photo: VIET CHUNG

Sharing the same opinion, Deputy Nguyen Van Than (Thai Binh) emphasized that this is a personal wish, keeping or changing the name should be the choice of the naturalized person.

The regulation requiring people entering state agencies, including socio-political organizations, to give up their other nationality, was also proposed by Deputy Nguyen Van Than to be reconsidered. According to him, the number of people taking advantage of having dual nationality for bad purposes is "very small", and we have enough means and capacity to prevent it.

Responding to the opinions of the deputies, Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh accepted and clarified many contents. Mr. Nguyen Hai Ninh affirmed: “The Nationality Law throughout still maintains the principle of one nationality. To attract people of Vietnamese origin and highly qualified people to serve the country's development, the draft loosens the conditions and makes naturalization more open. However, some public sectors require stricter conditions, ensuring absolute national sovereignty over nationality.”

Opinion on keeping foreign names when naturalizing: The Minister of Justice believes that this is a reasonable opinion and will be studied and reported to the Government and the National Assembly Standing Committee.

According to the draft, some groups of subjects such as candidates, elected, approved, appointed to positions for a term; people working in state agencies, political and social organizations at the central and local levels; people working in public service units; people working in key organizations; people participating in the armed forces... must have only one nationality, Vietnamese nationality, and must permanently reside in Vietnam.

However, there are flexible regulations: except in cases that are beneficial to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and do not harm national interests, the Government is assigned to provide detailed regulations.

MR. PHUONG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/xem-xet-cho-nguoi-nhap-quoc-tich-viet-nam-giu-nguyen-ten-nuoc-ngoai-post797327.html