A Vietnamese woman planning to register her child’s birth recently raised a question familiar to many in cross-border relationships: if the parents are not legally married, can the father’s name be included in the birth certificate?

In a letter to Tuoi Tre (Youth) Newspaper, she explained that her boyfriend is an Israeli citizen and they are not legally married.

She wanted to ensure the child's legal rights were protected and to find out if the father could be listed on the birth certificate, either immediately or at a later date.

Legal barriers for foreign fathers

According to lawyer Vo Dan Mach from the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, Vietnamese law safeguards a child’s rights from birth.

Relevant laws pertaining to these rights include Clause 1, Article 30 of the 2015 Civil Code, which states that birth registration is a right guaranteed to every child, regardless of their parents’ marital status, and Article 15 of the 2014 Law on Civil Status, which legally obligates parents to complete registration within 60 days of birth.

But when the father is a foreign national, the process can become more complicated.

According to Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP, a birth registration application must include a completed form, a birth certificate, identification documents, and, if applicable, a marriage certificate. Without the latter, authorities cannot automatically record the foreign father’s name.

According to Clause 2, Article 15 of Decree No. 123, if paternity has not been legally acknowledged, government officials default to the mother’s information for determining the child’s nationality, ethnicity, and place of origin, while the section for the father remains blank.

Two options for recognition

Vietnamese law offers two ways to ensure a father’s name appears on the birth certificate.

The first option is for the father to acknowledge paternity at the time of birth registration under provisions granted by Clause 1, Article 25 of the Law on Civil Status.

Article 15 of Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP supplements Clause 1, Article 25 of the Law on Civil Status by requiring additional documentation, including a declaration of parentage and evidence proving the biological relationship.

If the father is a foreign national, officials also require documentation confirming the child’s legal residence in Vietnam.

The second option is to amend the birth certificate later. But before the father’s information can be added, he must formally establish legal paternity through a separate process.

Vietnam has increasingly codified legal pathways for children born to unmarried parents, particularly in cases where one parent is a foreign national.

For parents like the Vietnamese woman and her Israeli partner, the law ensures that the child can receive legal recognition, whether at birth or through later amendments.

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