Regulations on foreign adoption in Vietnam at present

Within 07 days from the date a foreigner applies to adopt a Vietnamese child or the foreign adoption office in Vietnam is authorized by the foreigner applying to adopt a Vietnamese child, pays the fee and commits to notify the development of the adopted child, the Department of Justice shall report the results of the examination and propose an opinion on the settlement of the foreigner's application to adopt a Vietnamese child, submit it to the Provincial People's Committee for decision, along with 01 set of the child's dossier and 01 set of the adoptive parent's dossier.

Step 6: Decision to allow foreigners to adopt children

The decision to adopt a Vietnamese child to a foreigner is only made when the adoption procedures have been completed according to the law and the adoptive parent is present in Vietnam to directly adopt the child.

According to the provisions of Article 48, Decree 68/CP, within 07 days, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall sign the Decision to adopt Vietnamese children with the following conditions:

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- Have an explanation from the Department of Justice and attach the child adoption application.

- Considering that allowing Vietnamese children to be adopted by foreigners is the best measure to ensure the best interests of those children and does not fall under the case of refusal to register as prescribed in Article 50 of the Decree.

After signing the Decision on adoption, the Chairman of the People's Committee will return the file to the Department of Justice to organize the adoption handover according to general procedures, organize the registration of adoption in the adoption register and store the file according to the provisions of law.

Step 7: Adoption

Within 07 days from the date the Chairman of the People's Committee signs the Decision to adopt Vietnamese children, the Department of Justice must proceed with the handover of the adopted children to the adoptive parents. The handover ceremony is held at the headquarters of the Department of Justice in the presence of a representative of the Department of Justice. The adopted children, the receiving party is the adoptive parents, the handover party is the representative of the foster care facility or the biological parents, guardian. The handover of the adopted children must be fully recorded in the Minutes of the adoption handover according to the prescribed form, with full signatures of the receiving party, the handover party and the representative of the Department of Justice. According to

According to the provisions of Circular 07/2002, the handover does not accept authorization to hand over and receive adopted children. If for objective reasons (illness, disease, busy work...) the person applying for adoption cannot be present to receive the adopted child, the handover must be postponed. In the case where both husband and wife apply for adoption and one of them cannot be present for objective reasons, they must have a power of attorney for the other person; the power of attorney must be confirmed by the competent authority of that country. In the case where the party applying for adoption is the biological parent of the child, but for objective reasons one of them cannot be present, they must also have a power of attorney for the other person; the power of attorney must be confirmed by the People's Committee of the commune where that person resides. Representatives of foreign adoption offices may attend the handover ceremony as witnesses but are not allowed to receive children as the receiving party.

At the handover ceremony, the representative of the Department of Justice records in the adoption register and hands over the Decision to the parties. The Decision on adoption of Vietnamese children and the Minutes of adoption are made in 04 original copies: 01 copy is given to the adoptive parents; 01 copy is given to the delivering party; 01 copy is kept at the Department of Justice; 01 copy is sent to the International Adoption Agency of the Ministry of Justice.

Generally, after a relatively long period of time (120 days as prescribed by law) in the process of adopting a child, the handover ceremony seems to be the final milestone of this process and in fact, there are many handover ceremonies that are very touching and sincere. Through that, the relationship between adoptive parents and Vietnam in particular is further strengthened, and the solidarity and friendship between the two peoples of Vietnam and the country where the adoptive parents reside is also strengthened.

Step 8: Manage records and monitor the child's development after being adopted by a foreigner.

It can be said that this is a later step for children adopted by foreigners, because after handing over to adoptive parents, the adoption process seems to have ended. However, in terms of State management and the responsibility of adoptive parents to the host country, it continues.

In principle, all adoption applications (including the applications of foreign adoptive parents and the applications of Vietnamese children and other relevant documents) are directly and uniformly managed by the International Adoption Agency of the Ministry of Justice nationwide. The International Adoption Agency is responsible for coordinating with the diplomatic representative agencies and Vietnamese consulates abroad to monitor the development of adopted children until they reach 18 years of age. Therefore, in order to facilitate the International Adoption Agency, within 07 days from the date of handover of the adopted child, the Department of Justice is responsible for sending the International Adoption Agency all the documents prescribed in Clause 6, Article 49, Decree 68/CP, including:

- An original copy of the Decision to adopt a Vietnamese child

- An original copy of the Adoption Handover Minutes

- An original copy of the Commitment Letter to inform about the child's development

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- Other relevant documents, if any, except for documents already in the file

of children and of adoptive parents.

In addition, within the scope of its functions and duties, the Department of Justice is also responsible for assisting the Provincial People's Committee in managing all records of children in the province who have been adopted by foreigners, as well as monitoring the development of children until they turn 18 according to annual reports from adoptive parents.

Thus, through the above analysis, it can be seen that in order to resolve the issue of Vietnamese children being adopted by foreigners, it is necessary to go through at least 8 different steps, with the authority of state agencies in each stage. The total time prescribed by Vietnamese law to resolve this issue is 120 days for cases of applying for a specific child.

In case of not requesting the child's name:

In general, in this case, the process and procedures are similar to the case of requesting a specific child mentioned above, but with the following additional steps:

1. The international adoption agency of the Ministry of Justice sends an official dispatch to the Department of Justice where the adoptive parent wishes to adopt a child, along with a copy of the adoptive parent's application, so that the Department of Justice can introduce the child.

2. After receiving the official dispatch from the Adoption Agency, within 15 days, the Department of Justice shall issue an official dispatch requesting the foster care facility to identify children who meet the conditions and are suitable to the wishes of the adoptive parent for adoption. After selecting the child, the Department of Justice shall issue an official dispatch in response to the International Adoption Agency of the Ministry of Justice.

3. The adoption agency, within 7 days from the date of receipt of the response document from the Department of Justice, must be responsible for issuing an official dispatch to notify the adoptive parent of the results of the child introduction for adoption.

4. Within 30 days from the date of receipt of the notice from the International Adoption Agency, the applicant must respond in writing to the International Adoption Agency regarding whether or not he/she agrees to adopt the child. If the applicant agrees, the International Adoption Agency shall send an official dispatch requesting the Department of Justice to guide the adoption facility in preparing the child's file. In case of disagreement, the Adoption Agency shall also send an official dispatch to the Department of Justice so that the Department can notify the adoption facility.

The settlement process as well as the time limit for adoption are only calculated when receiving a written response agreeing to adopt the child from the adoptive parent.

3.1.3.2. Cases of settling adoption at Vietnamese diplomatic and consular agencies

According to Article 5 of Decree 68/CP, Vietnamese diplomatic and consular agencies will only process applications for foreigners permanently residing in the receiving country to adopt Vietnamese children residing in that country if the children do not currently have permanent residence in the country. In case the Vietnamese children being adopted currently have permanent residence in the country, the authority and procedures

In order, the procedures for handling adoption registration are as presented in section 3.2.3 above.

If it is determined that the application for adoption of a Vietnamese child residing abroad does not fall under the cases of refusal to register as prescribed in Article 50, Decree 68/CP and is a measure to ensure the interests of that child, the head of the Vietnamese diplomatic or consular agency shall sign the decision to allow the adoption of a Vietnamese child. In case of refusal to allow the adoption, the Vietnamese diplomatic or consular agency shall notify the applicant in writing, clearly stating the reason for the refusal.

After completing the adoption, the Vietnamese diplomatic and consular agencies are responsible, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for sending the adoption records to the international adoption agency for general management.

However, when considering the provisions from Article 52 to Article 56 of Decree 68/CP, it can be seen that the process and procedures for settling adoption in this case are much simpler than the case of applying for Vietnamese children currently residing in the country. However, the time limit for settlement is also 120 days from the date the Vietnamese diplomatic and consular agency receives all valid documents.

3.1.3.3. Cases of adoption involving foreign elements in border areas

According to Article 71 of Decree 68/CP, citizens of neighboring countries residing in border areas with Vietnam who wish to adopt Vietnamese children residing in border areas must submit an application according to the prescribed form, including confirmation from the competent authority of that neighboring country that the applicant is eligible to adopt a child. If a husband and wife apply to adopt a child, the application must be signed by both husband and wife.

The application must be accompanied by a document from the child's biological parents agreeing to the child's adoption. In the event that the child's biological father or mother has died or has been declared dead or has lost civil capacity, only the other parent's consent is required. In the event that both the child's biological father and mother have died or have been declared

If the child is deceased or has lost civil capacity, there must be written consent from the child's guardian. In the case of Vietnamese children being adopted from the age of nine or older, there must also be written consent from the child himself.

The above documents are made into 02 sets of documents and submitted to the People's Committee of the commune where the Vietnamese child to be adopted resides in the border area. When submitting the documents, the applicant must present the documents specified in Point a and Point b, Clause 3, Article 69 of this Decree for inspection.

Within 15 days from the date of receiving a complete and valid dossier and fee, the People's Committee at the commune level is responsible for examining the dossier and posting the adoption application for 07 consecutive days at the headquarters of the committee. After examining the dossier and posting the adoption application, the People's Committee at the commune level shall send an official dispatch to the Department of Justice, along with 01 set of dossier for comments.

Within 30 days from the date of receipt of the official dispatch from the Commune People's Committee, the Department of Justice shall review the adoption application and provide a written response to the Commune People's Committee.

Within 07 days from the date of receiving the opinion of the Department of Justice, the People's Committee at the commune level shall decide on the adoption and proceed with the handover of the adopted child as in the case of adoption registration between Vietnamese citizens in the country according to the provisions of law on civil status registration.

Thus, it can be seen that, in this particular case, after the Commune People's Committee carried out the adoption, the entire file was not sent to the International Adoption Agency according to general regulations but was kept locally, and the role of the International Adoption Agency in monitoring, supervising, and managing this matter was not seen. In my opinion, this is also an issue that needs to be reconsidered in the future.

3.1.3.4. Cases of refusal to adopt a child

The above presentations show that the competent State agencies of Vietnam have the right to refuse to register an adoption application but must clearly state the reasons. So in what cases is it allowed to refuse? According to the provisions of Article

50, Decree 68/CP Foreigners applying to adopt Vietnamese children will be refused in the following cases:

Firstly, the adoptive parent does not meet the conditions for adoption according to the laws of the country where he or she resides.

Second, the adoptive parent does not meet the conditions for adoption according to Vietnamese law.

Third, the adopted children do not meet the requirements prescribed by Vietnamese law.

Fourth, there is reason to believe that the adoption is for the purpose of child trafficking, child labor exploitation, child sexual abuse, illegal material gain or other profiteering purposes.

After examining and considering at the International Adoption Agency or examining and verifying at the Department of Justice or the police agency and discovering that a foreigner falls into one of the above cases, upon written request from these agencies, the Provincial People's Committee has the right to refuse to adopt a Vietnamese child and notify the parties in writing.

In case a foreigner applying to adopt a Vietnamese child refuses to adopt the child who has been introduced, the International Adoption Department shall send an official dispatch to the Department of Justice so that the Department can notify the foster care facility to introduce another child.

If the adoptive parent wants to adopt another child, his or her application will only be considered 12 months after the date he or she refuses the child who has been introduced [29].

3.1.4. Legal consequences of adoption

According to the provisions of the Law on Marriage and Family 2000 and other relevant legal documents, adoption, after completing the procedures and being recognized and registered with the competent State agency, will create a legal relationship between adoptive parents and adopted children. That also means that adoptive parents and adopted children have the same rights and obligations as biological parents and biological children. Vietnamese law does not stipulate that adoption of children will legally terminate the relationship between parents.

birth and children are given up for adoption. In addition, according to the Law on Vietnamese Nationality, it is stipulated that: "Vietnamese children adopted by foreigners still retain Vietnamese nationality".

Thus, according to Vietnamese law, children adopted by foreigners will simultaneously maintain two legal relationships with their adoptive parents and their biological parents. This is still a gap in current law.

3.1.5. The role of Vietnamese agencies handling foreign adoptions according to Vietnamese law

3.1.5.1. Central adoption agency (Department of International Adoption, Ministry of Justice)

The model of a central agency that focuses on directing and directly resolving international adoption issues has been established in almost all 55 member countries of the 1993 Hague Convention as well as in some other countries that are not members of this Convention [26, pp. 74-75]. Applying this model, with the goal of joining the Hague Convention as soon as possible, Vietnam has established the Department of International Adoption under the Ministry of Justice (according to Decision 337/2003/QD-BTP). According to the provisions of Decree 68/CP, the Department of International Adoption under the Ministry of Justice has the main functions of:

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Roles and relationships according to legal regulations of Vietnamese State management agencies in the field of adoption with foreign elements

PROVINCIAL PEOPLE'S COMMITTEE

Foster care facility

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION

ADOPTION WITH OVERSEAS ELEMENTS

Police

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MINISTRY OF PUBLIC SECURITY

FOREIGN OFFICE

Coordination relationship