How to Register a Birth for a Child between Vietnamese and Foreigner in 2022?

  

Birth registration for children with foreign elements shall be carried out at the competent district-level People’s Committees. Cases of birth with foreign elements based on the Law on Civil Status 2014 include children born abroad who have not yet been registered for birth and reside in Vietnam; if the child is born in Vietnam, one parent is a Vietnamese citizen and the other is a foreigner or stateless person; one parent is a Vietnamese citizen residing in the country and the other is a Vietnamese citizen residing abroad; father and mother are Vietnamese citizens residing abroad; whose parents are foreigners or stateless.

The application for birth registration with foreign elements is prescribed by the Law on Civil Status 2014; Decree 123/2015/ND-CP; Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP. Person who requests birth registration with foreign elements will have to submit documents to the People’s Committee; whom will receive the applications and check the validity of the documents in the applications.

In case the child’s parent chooses a foreign citizenship for the child upon birth registration, besides the written consent to such choosing, a confirmation that such choosing conforms to the foreign country’s law from the competent authority of the foreign country is required. If there is no confirmation from the competent foreign authority, the civil registration authority shall register the child’s birth but leave the nationality section in the birth certificate and birth register blank.

The officer in Civil Status will record the birth registration information in the birth registration book and sign in the book with the person that has the request. The Justice Division shall report to the Chairman of the district-level People’s Committee to issue the birth certificate to the person who requests birth registration. In case one of the parents chooses Vietnamese nationality for their child, the officer doing the Civil Status work will update the birth registration information to obtain the personal identification number.

The birth registration for children with foreign elements should be carried out according to the provisions of the Law on Civil Status and related documents. Vietnamese law always creates favorable conditions for couples to make birth certificates for children with foreign elements.

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How Foreigners Could Apply for Residence Permits to Stay in Vietnam from 2022?

   

In the current process of industrialization and international integration, it is common for foreigners to reside and work in Vietnam permanently or temporarily. In order to legally reside in Vietnam, a foreigner must be eligible to be granted a permanent residence card or a temporary residence card in accordance with Vietnam immigration law.

Temporary residence card is a document issued by an immigration management agency or a competent agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to a foreigner who is allowed to reside in Vietnam for a definite time and has a valid temporary residence card visa replacement. Subjects granted temporary residence cards in Vietnam include: (i) Foreigners who are members of diplomatic missions, consular offices, representative offices of international organizations of the United Nations, inter-governmental organizations the government in Vietnam and their spouses, children under 18 years of age, and domestic servants who accompany them for their respective terms; (ii) Foreigners enter with visas with symbols LV1, LV2, LS, DT1, DT2, DT3, NN1, NN2, DH, PV1, LD1, LD2, TT. Depending on each person who is granted a temporary residence card in Vietnam, the duration of the temporary residence card is different.

Foreigners who are eligible to be granted temporary residence cards in Vietnam according to the two subjects mentioned above must be sponsored and applied for residence card in Vietnam by the agencies, organizations, individuals at the Immigration Department or the Immigration Department Police Department of the province, centrally run city where the agency or organization sponsoring is headquartered or where the sponsored party resides.

It is very challenging to apply for the permanent residence card in Vietnam. The permanent residence is issued by the immigration authority to foreigners who are allowed to reside indefinitely in Vietnam and is valid in lieu of a visa. Foreigners who are considered for permanent residence in Vietnam include: (i) Foreigners who have made meritorious, contributions to the cause of construction and defense of the Vietnamese fatherland are awarded medals or titles by the Vietnamese government state honor; (ii) Foreigners who are scientists, experts temporarily residing in Vietnam; (iii) The foreigner is guaranteed by father, mother, wife, husband, child who are Vietnamese citizens who are permanently residing in Vietnam; (iv) Stateless people who have temporarily resided continuously in Vietnam from 2000 or earlier. At the same time, the following conditions must be met: (i) Having a lawful place of residence and a stable income to ensure life in Vietnam; (ii) If a scientist, expert is temporarily residing in Vietnam, must be requested by a Minister, Deputy Minister of a ministerial-level agency, a government-attached agency in charge of state management in that professional field, (iii) If sponsored by father, mother, wife, husband, child who is a Vietnamese citizens who are permanently residing in Vietnam, the duration of temporary residence in Vietnam for a foreigner applying for permanent residence shall be determined as follows: Foreigners who have temporarily resided in Vietnam for 03 consecutive years or more are determined on the basis of the entry verification stamp, the exit verification stamp issued at the border gate with a total temporary stay in Vietnam from 03 years or more in the last 4 years from the date of applying for permanent residence.

To save time and hassles, it is suggested to consult with lawyers in Hanoi, or Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh City on immigration matters.

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How to Invest, Do Business and Reside in Vietnam in 2022?

With economic opening policies, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam is an attractive destination for foreign investors. Accordingly, the number of foreign investors in Vietnam is constantly increasing. In order to create favorable conditions for individual investors with direct capital investment or representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam to live, work, Vietnam has policies, suitable for each type of investor in being granted temporary residence cards in Vietnam.

Investors using visas, temporary residence cards under the investment category sponsored by foreign investment companies and with the temporary residence card symbol DT, are divided into three types of temporary residence cards as follows: (i) DT1 – Issued to foreign investors in Vietnam and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam with a contributed capital of VND 100 billion (USD 4.5 mil) or more or investing in industries, professions eligible for investment incentives, geographical areas with investment incentives decided by the Government; (ii) DT2 – Issued to foreign investors in Vietnam and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam with a contributed capital of between VND 50 billion (USD 2.3 mil) and under VND 100 billion or investing in industries, trades to encourage development investment decided by the Government; (iii) DT3 – Issued to foreign investors in Vietnam and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam with capital contribution from VND 03 billion (USD 136k) to less than VND 50 billion. Temporary residence cards with a specific term for investors and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam are as follows: Temporary residence cards with symbol DT1 have a term of not more than 10 years; Temporary residence card with symbol DT2 is valid for no more than 05 years; Temporary residence card with symbol DT3 is valid for no more than 03 years. In case foreign investors and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam with a contributed capital of less than VND 03 billion, they will not be granted a temporary residence card, instead they will apply for a signed visa DT4 which is valid for no more than 12 months.

The application file for applying for a temporary residence card to a foreign investor must be documents proving the status of the sponsoring agency, organization, individual; documents proving the relationship between the investor and the sponsoring agency, organization or individual; information of the sponsored investor; relevant document information to determine the type of temporary residence card issued to investors; and declarations in accordance with the law.

If foreign investors and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam wishing to stay in Vietnam, they need to apply for a temporary residence card according to the conditions, documents, procedures of Vietnamese law. It is important to consult with immigration law firm in Ho Chi Minh City, or in Hanoi, Da nang for effective solutions.

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How to Close a Business in Vietnam?

  All corporations, companies, partnerships, branch offices, representative offices and other business entities are legal entities in Vietnam which can only be dissolved through formal procedures.

I. What are the major challenges with closing a business in Vietnam?

The main thing to remember throughout the process is that the dissolving company, a branch office or a representative office, one should pay close attention to the involvement of all key stakeholders, i.e. the employees, customers, creditors, business partners and relevant authorities.

The following are key information to gather for thorough analysis

Company size in terms of capital and number of employees?

Enterprise’s business sector?

Tax invoice usage declaration?

Annual profit?

Compliance with tax procedures?

Administrative violations in the field of taxation?

Any outstanding tax?

Tax document filing records?

Other tax matters?

II. What does the dissolution process involve?

Once an analysis has been through, the next procedures mostly deal with reporting and submitting the relevant documents to the various regulatories and tax authorities at each step of the process, terminating contracts, liquidating assets and settling liabilities, and general administrative work such as returning the corporate seal, registration certificates, and having the company’s name removed from the system of the license authorities.

III) How to prepare document to close a business in Vietnam?

1. Documents submitted to the licensing authority in Vietnam:

Liquidation notice of enterprise;

Minutes of the meeting of Management Board / Board of Directors decided on the dissolution of enterprises;

The company’s decision on liquidation;

Report on enterprise asset liquidation;

The list of creditors and the paid debt;

Documents evidencing that enterprise has fulfilled all of its tax;

Confirmation on social insurance for employees after the dissolution decision;

The seal and certificate of seal sample registration.

2. Documents submitted to the tax authority in Vietnam:

Liquidation notice of enterprise;

Minutes of the meeting of Management Board / Board of Directors decided on the dissolution of enterprises;

The company’s decision on dissolution;

Audit reports and tax settlements;

The financial statements for the year to date the decision on dissolution;

The company’s tax liabilities audited by tax authority;

Verification of tax obligations of the enterprise.

Closing a business in Vietnam might be a lengthy process and more complicated than setting up a company in Vietnam. Sometimes, it is important to make a decision to exit and start a new venture. As a law firms in Vietnam, we do assist clients to close the business, exit the investment and deal with pending issues with licensing authorities including department of planning and investment, department of labour, tax bureau and others.

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What Are Advantages Resolving Disputes by Commercial Arbitration?

 Commercial arbitration is a method of settling disputes selected by the parties and conducted in accordance with law. Compared with other method of dispute resolution such as mediation, negotiation, court litigation, dispute resolution by commercial arbitration also has advantages and disadvantages.

In accordance with Vietnamese law and international law, the method of dispute resolution by commercial arbitration also stems from the agreement of the parties on a voluntary basis. However, the difference between these methods is that the settlement of disputes through arbitration will be governed by the Commercial Arbitration Law. The parties are allowed to agree on appropriate arbitration selection, either before or after the dispute arises.

The practice of applying commercial arbitration law in resolving disputes presents some advantages:

Firstly, this is a method of resolving disputes on the principle of confidentiality if the parties do not agree otherwise. This is an advantage that all claimants respect because it limits the disclosure of business secrets, and keeps the credibility of the parties.

Secondly, the decision of the arbitrator is final, binding on the parties and the right to appeal in this case is invalid. The trial at Commercial Arbitration takes place only at one trial level, which the trial at the Court is at two levels. Therefore, it creates a premise for the following advantages.

Thirdly, the settlement of disputes arising through commercial arbitration shows flexibility while shortening the proceedings thereby contributing to saving time and effort of the parties.

Fourthly, the settlement of disputes by arbitration is not territorially limited so the parties may agree to choose any arbitrator to resolve their disputes.

However, the competing parties also need to pay attention that the choice of arbitration method also reveals some disadvantages such as: The enforcement of arbitral awards depends heavily on the willingness of the parties to the dispute. If the party who is serving the judgment does not voluntarily follow the arbitral awards and does not request to cancel the arbitral award after the expiration of the time limit for enforcing the arbitral award, the judgment-executing party may send a written request to the civil judgment enforcement agency for judgment execution.

In addition, one of the disputing parties may submit a request to the Court to cancel the arbitration award when encountering one of these following conditions: (i) There is no arbitration agreement or the arbitration agreement is invalid; (ii) The arbitration council’s composition or procedures of arbitral proceedings does not comply with the parties’ agreement or regulations; (iii) The dispute falls beyond the arbitration council’s jurisdiction: when an arbitral award contains the details falling beyond the arbitration council’s jurisdiction, such details shall be cancelled; (iv) The evidence provided by the parties on which the arbitration council bases to issue the award is counterfeit: an arbitrator receives money, assets or other material benefits from one disputing party, thus affecting the objectivity and impartiality of the award; (v) The award contravenes the fundamental principles of Vietnamese law.

Finally, when the parties choose to resolve their disputes by arbitration method, the costs are relatively higher than in the proceeding of court litigation.

At ANT Lawyers, our trial lawyers with accreditation in national and international arbitration practice could help providing legal advice in disputed matters, and guide the clients throughout the process. The lawyers could also advise the clients on various matters from choice of arbitrator, choice of arbitration rules, ad-hoc or institutional arbitration, place of arbitration, enforcement of arbitral award.

Employees as well as the labor collective and employers should pay attention to selecting the most appropriate and optimal resolution solution when labor disputes occur. It is also suggested to consult with labour lawyers of law firm speacializing in employment matters for efficiency.

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Solutions to Identify Counterfeit Goods and IP Violations from the Experience of Korea

 Currently, counterfeit products and product infringing intellectual property rights happening in Vietnam are very popular and diverse in types. This situation not only affects domestic production and trade but also has a negative impact on close business partners of Vietnam, including Korea. In many cases, the infringed parties have been seeking help from IP lawyers in Vietnam for advice.

With cultural compatibility, Korean products such as fashion, home appliances, cosmetics, and functional foods are very popular and widely consumed in Vietnam. Therefore, with the quick grasp of this trend, the products of Korean enterprises have become the subject of counterfeiting. Besides, with the development of e-commerce channels, these counterfeit products quickly reach consumers, affecting the interests of consumers in Vietnam and Korean enterprises.

Moreover, with technology, forgery is increasingly done in a very sophisticated way from the packaging, share, and the color of the counterfeit products. Therefore, without a method of comparison and inspection, it is difficult for consumers to detect the product as a fake. This causes great damage to Korean enterprises not only the market share, but also the value of reputation and intellectual property rights being violated.

Besides, the Covid-19 pandemic makes people in Vietnam more inclined to buy goods online. This is an opportunity for individuals and organizations that counterfeit products to easily reach out to consumers without being detected and punished.

In addition, although Vietnam has a mechanism to enforce intellectual property rights, these regulations have not been thoroughly applied. Therefore, many individuals and organizations making counterfeit goods and infringing intellectual property still continue to violate without being caught. Meanwhile, consumers still have to pay to use bad quality products.

With the support of Korean businesses, Vietnam authorities will continue to improve their capability in identifying counterfeit goods and goods infringing on intellectual property. Therefore, an exchange between Korean businesses and the General Department of Market Management of Vietnam is necessary in providing methods to detect counterfeit goods and intellectual property violations for Vietnam agencies to exchange support, raise awareness of intellectual property rights protection, and provide information on intellectual property rights for Korean businesses in Vietnam. It is expected that Vietnam intellectual property enforcement agencies improve their efficiency in identifying, preventing, combating and handling counterfeit and infringing goods in Vietnam to protect consumers and company in creating an encouraging investment environment in Vietnam, for Korean investors to enter Vietnam for setting up company, factory and do business in Vietnam.

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Public Consultation on the Investigation of the Application of Anti-circumvention Measures Against a Cane Sugar Products

 The Ministry of Industry and Trade hold a public consultation session on the investigation of the application of anti-circumvention measures against a number of cane sugar products (Case No.AC02. AD13-AS01) on March 09th, 2022 (Hanoi time), in the online platform.

On September 21st, 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued the Decision No.2171/QD-BCT on the investigation of the application of anti-circumvention measures against a number of cane sugar products.

According to the regulation on Law on Foreign trade management, the related parties of the investigated case may send the investigating authority the information and opinions related to the cases in writing. The inspecting authority shall give an opportunity to interested parties for the consultation in case of the written request. Before the final determination of investigation is disclosed, the investigating authority can organize the public consultation in manner that interested parties can present information and opinions related to the case.

The related parties could register to take part in the public consultation and send the questions for the consultation before 17:00 on March 07th, 2022 (Hanoi time).

If Client needs any more information or request for legal advice or potential dispute regarding trade remedies measures including, anti-dumping, countervailing duty and safeguard measures or international trade dispute matters, our competition, anti-dumping, and countervailing duty lawyers of International trade and tax practice at ANT Lawyers, a law firm in Vietnam always follow up anti-dumping cases and its development to update clients on regular basis.

We help clients overcome cultural barriers and achieve their strategic and financial outcomes, while ensuring the best interest rate protection, risk mitigation and regulatory compliance. ANT lawyers have Attorneys in Hanoi, Attorneys in Ho Chi Minh and Attorneys in Danang, will help customers conveniently drafting contracts, Debt Recovery, Set up business, Foreign invest, Real estate ....

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