Currently, divorce procedures involving a foreign spouse still encounter many difficulties and complexities. Therefore, how these difficult and complex issues are resolved will be analyzed by Kim Bang Law in the article below:

I. DIFFICULTIES WHEN DIVORCING A FOREIGN HUSBAND OR WIFE

Divorce involving a foreign national is one of the cases of divorce with foreign elements. When performing divorce procedures with a foreign national, you may encounter a number of difficulties, such as:

When divorcing a foreign national, you must determine which national Court has the jurisdiction to resolve the case. Determine which country’s substantive laws shall apply to resolve issues such as marriage, division of common property, common children, common debts, etc.

For foreign nationals divorcing in Vietnam, it is necessary to carry out consular legalization, translation, and notarization of the divorce judgment/decision, etc., in order for it to be enforceable in the country of their citizenship.

In addition, if you registered your marriage with a foreign national and have not yet performed the marriage registration recording procedures (ghi chú kết hôn) in Vietnam, you must complete the marriage registration recording procedures at a competent authority before divorcing in order to execute the divorce in Vietnam.

The divorce dossier must be presented in the foreign language and translated into Vietnamese in accordance with the provisions of law, and vice versa. In addition, in case the dossier or documents are missing, you must obtain an official extract (trích lục) to supplement and complete the divorce dossier.

Contact Kim Bang Law via Phone/Zalo: 034.540.6523 for assistance in extracting documents to supplement the divorce dossier.

Divorce procedures involving foreign elements will take longer. In case you perform mutual consent divorce procedures, the time ranges from 6 to 8 months. In case one of the parties does not agree to the divorce, the time can last from 9 to 12 months.

In some cases, the foreign national has returned to their home country and lost contact, resulting in an unknown address. The Court will proceed with judicial trust service (ủy thác tư pháp) abroad and the involved parties must bear the cost of such judicial trust service. The time to carry out procedures in these cases may be extended further.

II. DO LAWYERS EXECUTE DIVORCE PROCEDURES INVOLVING FOREIGN ELEMENTS?

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 85 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015: “For divorce, the involved parties are not allowed to authorize another person to participate in the proceedings on their behalf. In case a parent or other next of kin requests the Court to settle a divorce according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 51 of the Law on Marriage and Family, they shall act as the representative.”

Accordingly, a Lawyer cannot represent the client to participate in the legal proceedings of a divorce case. However, a Lawyer can still assist clients with tasks such as:

• Consulting on issues related to the jurisdiction to settle the divorce, and the applicable laws when divorcing a foreign national;
• Consulting on the order and procedures for resolving the divorce;
• Drafting the divorce dossier;
• Acting as an authorized representative to request extracts of marriage certificates, birth certificates, and other documents related to common property, etc., to complete the divorce dossier;
• Acting as an authorized representative to submit and receive divorce dossiers involving foreign nationals at the competent Court;
• Receiving the judgment/decision on divorce involving a foreign national;
• Assisting with the consular legalization of the divorce judgment/decision for the foreign national,…

Contact Kim Bang Law via Phone/Zalo: 034.540.6523 for the fastest consultation on divorce procedures involving foreign elements.

Kim Bang Law provides legal consulting services for divorce involving foreign nationals, including:

• Consulting on the dossier to be prepared and the sequence of procedures to be carried out at the Court;
• Consulting, instructing, and drafting the dossier for clients to carry out the procedures;
• Consulting and acting as an authorized client representative to collect property documents to complete the dossier for case resolution;
• Consulting on the legal rights and obligations of the involved parties when settling a divorce with foreign elements;
• Consulting on the agreement for the division of common property of husband and wife;
• Consulting on statutory provisions regarding child custody rights upon divorce;
• Consulting and instructing on procedures for consular legalization of the divorce judgment/decision;
• Consulting on other relevant legal matters…

Kim Bang Law provides drafting services for divorce petitions involving foreign nationals, including:

• Drafting unilateral divorce petitions, mutual consent divorce petitions;
• Drafting petitions to decline mediation choices according to statutory provisions;
• In cases where documents cannot be provided, Kim Bang Law will assist in drafting a Statement of Facts (Đơn trình bày);
• Drafting petitions to verify residence information in case of missing documents proving the place of residence;
• Drafting self-declaration forms (bản tự khai) when participating in the resolution of the case at Court;
• Drafting petitions for trial in absentia for foreign nationals who do not return to Vietnam;
• Power of attorney for individuals in Vietnam to carry out the submission and receipt of dossiers;
• Drafting other petitions as required by the Court.

Kim Bang Law provides services to support the execution of divorce procedures involving foreign nationals, including:

• Executing mutual consent divorce procedures;
• Executing unilateral divorce procedures;
• Executing fast, full-package divorce procedures involving foreign nationals;
• Supporting the execution of divorce procedures involving foreign nationals in absentia;
• Lawyers assisting in resolving disputes over child custody rights, common property division, common debts, etc.;
• Participating in mediation negotiations regarding the resolution of property division and child custody rights at Court;
• Lawyers protecting the legal rights and interests of clients during the resolution of divorce disputes.

Contact Kim Bang Law via Phone/Zalo: 034.540.6523 for support in executing divorce procedures.

Kim Bang Law provides Lawyer services for divorce in absentia involving foreign elements, including:

• Consulting and drafting dossiers for unilateral divorce or mutual consent divorce in absentia involving foreign elements;
• Consulting on statutory provisions regarding divorce in absentia involving foreign elements;
• Consulting and supporting the collection of dossiers and documents for divorce;
• Unilateral divorce service involving foreign elements in absentia;
• Mutual consent divorce service involving foreign elements in absentia.

Court Fees for Divorce

• The Court fee for a divorce in case of mutual consent divorce or unilateral divorce without dispute is 300,000 VND.
• For unilateral divorce cases with disputes over property, the court fee will be determined based on the value of the property. Specifically:

Property valued at 6,000,000 VND or less; the court fee rate is 300,000 VND.

Property valued from over 6,000,000 VND to 400,000,000 VND, the court fee rate is 5% of the value of the disputed property.

Property valued from over 400,000,000 VND to 800,000,000 VND, the court fee rate is 20,000,000 VND; plus an additional 4% of the value of the disputed property exceeding 400,000,000 VND.

Property valued from over 800,000,000 VND to 2,000,000,000 VND, the court fee rate is 36,000,000 VND; plus 3% of the value of the disputed property exceeding 800,000,000 VND.

Property valued from over 2,000,000,000 VND to 4,000,000,000 VND, the court fee rate is 72,000,000 VND; plus an additional 2% of the value of the disputed property exceeding 2,000,000,000 VND.

Property valued at over 4,000,000,000 VND, the court fee rate is 112,000,000 VND; plus an additional 0.1% of the value of the disputed property exceeding 4,000,000,000 VND.

Kim Bang Law’s Service Fees for Consulting and Supporting Divorce Procedures

• Consulting on issues related to divorce: Free via Phone/Zalo: 034.540.6523
• Providing divorce petition templates: From 150,000 VND.
• Drafting divorce dossiers: From 500,000 VND.
• Translating divorce dossiers according to legal provisions: From 1,000,000 VND.
• Full-package consulting and guidance on divorce procedures: From 5,000,000 VND.
• Mutual consent divorce service involving foreign elements: From 30,000,000 VND.
• Unilateral divorce service involving foreign elements: From 40,000,000 VND.
• Service for resolving disputes in divorce cases: Agreed upon according to each specific case.