Marriage Registration in Ho Chi Minh City: Ward, Papers, Fee

A marriage between a foreigner and a Vietnamese citizen is registered at the ward People's Committee, since the district level handed its civil-status tasks to the commune level. The city list gives 5 working days from a complete file, or up to 10 if verification is needed. Filing online costs 0 dong; in person the fee is 1,500,000 dong.

By Vincent Nguyen

Since 1 July 2025 the ward registers marriages, not the district.

A marriage between a Vietnamese citizen and a foreigner is registered at the ward People’s Committee (Ủy ban nhân dân phường) where the Vietnamese partner lives. The city list gives 5 working days from a complete file.

Which office registers a foreign-element marriage

The 2014 Civil Status Law still names the district-level committee for these marriages. Decree 120/2025/NĐ-CP moves that power down to the ward.

Ủy ban nhân dân xã, phường, đặc khu thực hiện thẩm quyền đăng ký hộ tịch quy định tại khoản 2 Điều 7, Chương III của Luật Hộ tịch năm 2014

The commune-level People’s Committee, meaning a commune, ward or special zone, exercises the registration powers in clause 2 of Article 7 and in Chapter III of the 2014 Law. Nghị định 120/2025/NĐ-CP, Điều 4

The decree’s annex hands the district committee’s tasks to the commune-level committee. It hands the district Justice Division’s tasks to the commune-level justice and civil-status officials.

The city’s list puts it at ward level too. On 23 February 2026 the city published a decision with a list of 35 amended civil-status procedures. Part I covers procedures within the authority of the commune level.

Item 12 in Part I is marriage registration with a foreign element (Đăng ký kết hôn có yếu tố nước ngoài). The decision took effect on the day it was signed.

Where to file in Ho Chi Minh City

For a ward-level procedure you may file in person or by post at the ward’s public service centre, or at the city Public Service Centre. You can also file online on the national public-service portal or the national ID app.

The city Public Service Centre is at 43 Nguyen Van Ba, Thu Duc. Ho Chi Minh City has 168 commune-level units, so match your address to its current ward.

Which ward

The ward where the Vietnamese partner lives registers the marriage. The foreigner does not need a residence in Vietnam, so a visitor can register. If the foreigner lives in Vietnam and asks to marry here, the ward where either of you lives registers it.

Article 37 of the 2014 Law sets this rule, and Decree 120/2025/NĐ-CP hands the district’s task to the ward.

A person has the right to carry out civil-status procedures at the registration office of the place of residence. Residence follows the residence law.

If you pick a ward that is not your permanent or temporary residence, the committee that receives the request must help you file online to the competent authority.

When the Department of Justice is involved

The provincial Department of Justice is not where a normal marriage file goes, and a visitor marrying a Vietnamese partner who lives in Vietnam does not need it. The decree gives it a role in one case, in its transitional clause.

Where the competent ward cannot be identified, or the person has no residence in Vietnam, the Department receives the request. Within 2 working days it reports to the city People’s Committee chairman, who assigns a suitable ward. The Department then tells you which ward to file with.

The Department of Justice is at 141-143 Pasteur, Xuan Hoa Ward. Its Civil Status and Nationality Division is on 028.38297052, extension 146 or 115.

Steps to register the marriage

1. The foreign partner gets a document proving marital status and a passport copy.
2. Both of you get the medical confirmation.
3. Legalise and translate foreign papers.
4. Fill in the declaration, jointly if you wish.
5. File at the ward service centre or the city centre, or online.
6. Both attend when the marriage is registered.
7. Collect the certificate.

Conditions to marry

To marry, a man and woman must meet these conditions:

• The man is at least 20 and the woman at least 18.
• Both marry voluntarily.
• Neither has lost civil act capacity.
• No prohibited case applies.

The State does not recognise marriage between people of the same sex. Prohibited cases include a sham marriage, child marriage, forced marriage, and marrying someone who is already married.

In a marriage between a Vietnamese citizen and a foreigner, each side follows the law of their own country on conditions to marry. If the marriage is performed at a Vietnamese state body, the foreigner must also meet the conditions in the Law on Marriage and Family.

The foreign partner’s documents

A foreign national must submit a document proving marital status, with a copy of the passport or an equivalent travel document. Both of you submit the declaration form and a medical confirmation.

The medical confirmation is a certificate from a competent Vietnamese or foreign medical body. It confirms that you have no mental illness or other condition that leaves you unable to perceive or control your behaviour.

In Ho Chi Minh City the Psychiatric Hospital at 766 Vo Van Kiet (former District 5) does the check for a marriage with a foreigner. Prices posted in January 2023: VND 400,000 per person with the result the next day, or VND 600,000 for the same day. The foreign partner brings a passport photocopy and the original.

Giấy tờ chứng minh tình trạng hôn nhân của người nước ngoài là giấy do cơ quan có thẩm quyền nước ngoài cấp còn giá trị sử dụng xác nhận hiện tại người đó không có vợ hoặc không có chồng

The foreigner’s proof of marital status is a document issued by the competent foreign authority, still valid, confirming that the person currently has no spouse. Nghị định 123/2015/NĐ-CP, Điều 30 khoản 1

If your country issues no marital-status certificate

Where the foreign country does not issue such a confirmation, a document from the competent foreign authority confirming that you meet that country’s conditions to marry replaces it.

If the document states no expiry

The marital-status document and the medical confirmation are each valid for only 6 months from the date of issue.

If you have no passport to show

You may present an international travel document or a residence card instead of a passport.

The Vietnamese partner’s documents

The Vietnamese partner shows an identity document. The ward looks up the person’s data in the electronic civil-status and national population databases. If the lookup finds nothing, the registry asks for the relevant documents as proof.

A Certificate of Marital Status (Giấy xác nhận tình trạng hôn nhân) is a ward procedure on the city list. It takes 3 working days, or no more than 23 days where verification is needed.

If the Vietnamese partner is divorced

If a foreign authority decided the divorce or annulment and the databases do not show it, the registry directs the citizen to have it entered in the civil-status register first. The list has separate items for entering a divorce or annulment decided abroad.

If the Vietnamese partner is a civil servant or in the armed forces

They must submit a document from their managing agency or unit confirming that marrying a foreign national does not conflict with the sector’s regulations.

If you already married abroad

The list has an item for entering in the register a marriage of a Vietnamese citizen already settled by a foreign authority. It takes 5 working days, or no more than 8 working days where verification is needed.

Filing in person, by post or online

A civil-status file can be filed in person, sent by post, or sent through the online registration system. The two of you may declare jointly on one form.

When a procedure has a deadline, the person receiving the file writes a receipt. If the file is incomplete, they give written guidance listing the extra documents. A file submitted to the wrong office is redirected to the competent one.

A copy in the dossier is one issued from the original register or certified from the original. If you hand in an uncertified copy, show the original for comparison.

Legalising and translating foreign papers

Foreign documents must be consularly legalised to be used in Vietnam, except in the cases in Article 9 of Decree 111/2011/NĐ-CP. A document is exempt when a treaty or reciprocity provides for it, when authorities exchange it directly, or when Vietnamese law exempts it.

A document in a foreign language must be translated into Vietnamese, with the translation notarised or the translator’s signature certified.

Fees

The 1,500,000 dong figure is the city’s schedule in force since 19 June 2026. It covers filing in person or by post, and the ward collects it.

The resolution exempts civil-status registration for people in poor households, the elderly, people with disabilities and people from families with revolutionary merit. Anyone requesting an event outside the exemptions, or a certified extract, pays the civil-status fee.

How long it takes and registration day

The city list gives 5 working days from a complete, valid file for a foreign-element marriage. Where verification is needed, the limit is no more than 10 working days. The 8-day limit applies only to entering a marriage already settled abroad. Re-registering a marriage with a foreign element takes 5 working days, or no more than 25 days where verification is needed.

On registration day

Both of you must be present at the People’s Committee office. The officer asks both of you, and if you marry voluntarily, records the marriage in the register, which both sign. Both of you sign the marriage certificate.

Refusal

Registration is refused if one or both parties break a prohibition or do not meet the conditions of the Law on Marriage and Family. The refusal comes in writing with the reasons.

Collecting the certificate

Within 3 working days of the signing, the certificate is handed to the two parties. If one or both cannot attend, on a written request the handover can be extended by no more than 60 days from the signing date.

If you do not collect the certificate within the 60 days, the signed certificate is cancelled and you must start the registration again. The certificate is valid from the date it is entered in the register and handed to you.

After the wedding: visa, residence card and work permit

After registration, a TT visa is issued to a foreigner who is the spouse of a Vietnamese citizen. A TT visa is valid for no more than 1 year.

A temporary residence card can be issued to a foreigner staying in Vietnam who is eligible for a TT visa. The spouse visa guide covers the route, and the temporary residence card guide covers the card.

A foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen and residing in Vietnam is not subject to a work permit. A marriage must be registered by the competent state authority, and an unregistered marriage has no legal value.

What changes from 1 March 2027

The new Civil Status Law takes effect on 1 March 2027. The current Law 60/2014/QH13 expires on that date.

Hồ sơ đăng ký hộ tịch được tiếp nhận trước ngày Luật này có hiệu lực thi hành mà chưa giải quyết xong thì tiếp tục được giải quyết theo quy định của pháp luật về hộ tịch tại thời điểm tiếp nhận.

A civil-status file received before the law takes effect and not yet finished continues to be handled under the rules in force when it was received. Luật Hộ tịch 2026, Điều 30

Under the new law the ward registers civil-status events regardless of the person’s place of residence. It registers marriages between Vietnamese citizens resident in Vietnam, and between a resident Vietnamese citizen and a foreign national.

The man and the woman must both be present to sign the marriage register and the certificate. The certificate is collected in person at the registration office. A person may file online, by post or in person.

Where the civil-status rules set no processing deadline, a registration must be resolved within 24 hours of a complete, valid file. A person requesting registration pays the civil-status fee under the law on fees and charges. Marriage registration results will be issued as a paper and an electronic copy.

The Government sets the detailed rules for Articles 7 to 10, 14 and 15 to 27. The ward chairperson may delegate signing of civil-status papers except the marriage certificate and papers for registrations with a foreign element. Decree 120/2025/NĐ-CP stops having effect on 1 March 2027, apart from the cases listed in the same clause.

Do not give false information

Giving false information or documents, or making or using forged or another person’s documents to register a civil-status event, is prohibited. A false sworn statement or false witness is prohibited. Offering bribes or promising benefits is prohibited.

Papers issued for a registration that breaks these rules are cancelled. A person who commits a prohibited act may face an administrative penalty or criminal liability.

Checklist before you go

• Foreign partner’s marital-status document and passport copy.
• Medical confirmation from both of you.
• Declaration form, filled in jointly if you wish.
• Foreign papers legalised and translated into Vietnamese.
• Vietnamese partner’s identity document and, if needed, a Certificate of Marital Status.
• Both of you free to attend on registration day.

Read next

• Birth registration for the next family step.
• Spouse visa guide for the TT visa and residence card.
• Register temporary residence for the ward where you live.
• Temporary residence card for the card itself.
• Vietnam visa types for the symbols.

Photos and clips uploaded to Google Maps (Ho Chi Minh City Public Administration Service Centre on Google Maps (opens in a new tab)) by Qui Huynh.

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Not confirmed: Whether an officer adds an interview: the law leaves interviews and checks of the marriage purpose to Government rules. Come together with the full file in case the officer wants to talk to both of you.

General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.

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