Regulations on Vietnamese citizenship
VGP – A child born to parents, one of whom is a Vietnamese citizen at the time of his/her birth and the other is a foreign national, holds the Vietnamese nationality if so agreed in writing by his/her parents at the time of birth registration, according to Article 16 of the Law on Vietnamese nationality.
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Question: If I (Vietnamese American citizen) want to come to Việt Nam to give birth, whether my kid can hold the American nationality or not? When would I return to the US? Which documents will I need for coming to Vietnam and going back to the US?
Answer: Under Article 16, in case a child is born inside the Vietnamese territory but his/her parents fail to reach an agreement on the selection of his/her nationality, the child has the Vietnamese nationality.
If you want your child to have the American nationality, you should study the US law before deciding to give birth in Việt Nam.
Under item 1, Article 4 of Ordinance 24/2000/PL-UBTVQH10, dated April 28, 2000 on entry, exit and residence of foreigners in Việt Nam, foreigners entering or exiting Việt Nam must hold a passport or valid papers (which can be used as a substitute for passport) along with a visa issued by an authorized State agency of Việt Nam, except cases which enjoy visa exemption.
Hence, you must have the above documents if you wish to return to Việt Nam./.
