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I鈥檓 a Canadian citizen living in Nha Trang, married to a Vietnamese/Canadian citizen. I need to legalize my certified marriage certificate (issued by the Ontario Registrar General, not yet authenticated) for my Visa Exemption Certificate (VEC) renewal. The next step is legalization through the Department of External Relations in Ho Chi Minh City.I鈥檝e emailed banbientap@mofahcm.gov.vn and my wife has called +84 28 3822 4224 and +84 28 3829 8589 multiple times, but we鈥檝e had no response or the calls don鈥檛 connect. I want to confirm if I can mail the document (authenticated certificate, passport copies, return envelope) to their office at 184 bis Pasteur Street, District 1, HCMC, and verify the process, fees, and whether a certified translation is needed.Has anyone successfully legalized a foreign marriage certificate with this office? Can you share reliable contact details, experiences with mailing documents, or recommend a visa agency in Nha Trang or HCMC to assist? Any advice is appreciated, as this is time-sensitive for my VEC renewal.Thanks,Brett - @Sugarcrisp

Yes, I legalized our wedding certificate there for use to be notarized by my consulate general, so that when I return to the United States I have both the Vietnam federal government certification along with the consulate general foreign affairs officer's notarization that the government document is genuine in Vietnam.

You must go there and appear in person, just as you would if you were going to a notary.

You may not believe me and you may decide to keep looking for the answer you want, but I'm absolutely 100% sure that you must appear in person for this type of government notarization.

Don't wait until late in the day because even though they close at 4:00 they will stop allowing numbers to be taken at 3:00 p.m. . Probably better to go early in the morning.

To confirm that this is the right information you can have your Vietnamese wife go to:

The Khanh Hoa Chamber of Foreign Affairs

(Ph貌ng Ngo岷�i v峄� - UBND t峄塶h Kh谩nh H貌a)

42 Nguy峄卬 Th峄� Minh Khai

L峄檆 Th峄�, Nha Trang

Kh谩nh H貌a 650000

It would be a great surprise if they told you that they could do it instead of you needing to go to HCMC or Hanoi, but even then, you聽 need to appear in person.

Good luck!

(edited)

@OceanBeach92107

Thank you for this reply. I will heed your advise.

@OceanBeach92107
Thank you for this reply. I will heed your advise. - @Sugarcrisp

Are you sure that you don't need to have your certified copy from Canada notarized by the Canadian embassy or consulate first?

@OceanBeach92107

I'm a bit confused by the terminology. I ordered a Certified Copy of Marriage Registration from Canada but struggled to contact the Department of External Relations about legalization. The Canadian Consulate had me send a photo of my marriage license to confirm it was ready. They said: "Your document can be certified as a true copy at the Consulate, then legalized and translated into Vietnamese at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ho Chi Minh City for use in Vietnam." Oddly, they never mentioned "notarized." The document is now with them, and I should get it back in a few days. Still unclear why a Certified Copy needs further certification鈥攎aybe it'll be double-certified or notarized for good measure! 馃槀

Next, I'll head to HCMC to get it legalized/translated and submit all paperwork for my Visa Exemption renewal. From my research, legalization can only be done in HCMC or Hanoi.

@Sugarcrisp

Yes, this sounds absolutely correct:

"Your document can be certified as a true copy at the Consulate, then legalized and translated into Vietnamese at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ho Chi Minh City for use in Vietnam."

I hadn't been aware that the Canadian foreign service provides such a high level of service; actually certifying the authenticity of your document 馃ぉ馃憤

SIDE NOTE: The US Embassy & Consulate previously allowed US citizens to present documents from the United States along with a personal sworn statement of authenticity, which the foreign service officer then notarized (the citizen's statement; not the documents).

That notarization by The US foreign service officer was sufficient for the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to accept the document for translation and legalization and legal use within Vietnam.

Unfortunately now (for any US citizens reading this) that's no longer possible, and all such documents have to be certified by the US State Department in the United States before being submitted to the Vietnam MoFA, either here in Vietnam or through a Vietnam embassy or consulate in the United States.聽

You are probably correct that the legalization and translation required for use within Vietnam can only be done in HCMC or Hanoi, but it wouldn't hurt to double check with that local office I mentioned.

It's definitely an office of Vietnam's MoFA, though they likely only deal with specific business related to your provincial area (Kh谩nh H貌a).

However, it seems worth asking them if they could act as the forwarding agent (your original question)

They wouldn't need to do the legalization or the translation, but they could possibly accept your documents and certify any signature that's necessary to obtain from you.

Coffee money might expedite the process.

Then they could (one would think) forward your documents to HCMC or Hanoi through official government mail channels.

If it's your wife who is hesitating to check with them first, you probably need to encourage her to overcome her reluctance.

If I were in your situation I would probably have my wife's father or the local party committee person come with me and my wife to and see if they are able and willing to accept your dossier and forward it through official channels.

I apologize for not thinking of that slim possibility in my original answer.

Good luck! 馃檹

@OceanBeach92107

Thanks for all the information that you have provided. I will end up going to HCMC this time as I will have multiple items that I need to do while I'm there. One trip to complete them all is OK. The idea of using my wife's father is definitely a good idea. However, my wife and her family all immigrated to Canada/USA back in the late 80's. Here parents have long past. No family currently residing in Vietnam. I will follow your guidance on delivering my certified marriage certificate to the Department of External Relations as I trust that you are correct about dropping the paperwork off in person. When they are finished, I will then be able to deliver my paperwork in person for my Visa Exemption renewal.

@OceanBeach92107
Thanks for all the information that you have provided. I will end up going to HCMC this time as I will have multiple items that I need to do while I'm there. One trip to complete them all is OK. The idea of using my wife's father is definitely a good idea. However, my wife and her family all immigrated to Canada/USA back in the late 80's. Here parents have long past. No family currently residing in Vietnam. I will follow your guidance on delivering my certified marriage certificate to the Department of External Relations as I trust that you are correct about dropping the paperwork off in person. When they are finished, I will then be able to deliver my paperwork in person for my Visa Exemption renewal. - @Sugarcrisp

They will offer you the option of coming back to pick up the completed dossier (text/email alert when completed) OR, having them mail it to you.

@OceanBeach92107

One of the things I was trying to confirm with the Department of聽 External Relations is what documentation I will need in addition to the marriage certificate. From what I could find online, it suggested photocopies of our passports. Can you confirm?

@Sugarcrisp

Yes, a copy of the entire book, black and white, and notarized in Vietnamese notary.

One question, if you are living in Vietnam, is it not more convenient a TRC TT rather than a VEC?聽 聽Anyway, in both cases your Marriage needs to be recorded first. In Nha Trang? Yes, once you have your Canadian Certificate already stamped by the MOFA and if your wife is registered in that province

@Sugarcrisp
Yes, a copy of the entire book, black and white, and notarized in Vietnamese notary.
One question, if you are living in Vietnam, is it not more convenient a TRC TT rather than a VEC? Anyway, in both cases your Marriage needs to be recorded first. In Nha Trang? Yes, once you have your Canadian Certificate already stamped by the MOFA and if your wife is registered in that province - @ajairon

Your answer is so聽 wrong it's hard to know where to start.

You are confusing the process required for getting married with the process for certifying the marriage that's already happened.

No, he doesn't need to register his Canadian marriage in Nha Trang in order to obtain a Visa Exemption Certificate renewal.

The local police might request a copy of the marriage certificate in the future, but that would be a local requirement unrelated to the issuing of the VEC.

No, he cannot get a Temporary Resident Card when living here with his Vi峄噒 Ki峄乽 wife.

His passport will be dealt with when he submits his application for the VEC renewal to Immigration (which is NOT what he is doing during this visit to MoFA).

He won't be required to have any copy of his passport notarized before he submits it to immigration, because they will also be taking his passport as part of the process. It will of course be returned to him along with his new VEC.

The local immigration authority will likely only need a copy of his passport info page, not translated or notarized, to be submitted with his passport, just as he would at an embassy of Vietnam:

When he does submit his application to Immigration (later) the MAXIMUM requirements for documentation will be the same as they are as if he were applying through an embassy or consulate of Vietnam in Canada or the USA or any other foreign country:

Following documents are required to submit:

(1)聽 One completed application form.

(2) Two recent passport photographs (size 4脳6, with white background, direct look, without sunglasses or headwear)

(3) Applicant鈥檚 US passport (at least 1 year of validity) and a copy (page showing personal detail).

(4) Original and a copy of one of the following papers proving applicant is spouse or child of Vietnamese citizens or overseas Vietnamese namely birth certificate or marriage certificate and Vietnamese passport/birth certificate/ID of the applicant鈥檚 spouse or parents.

(5) Original and a copy of a document proving Vietnamese citizenship or citizen of the applicant's spouse or parent(s).

HOWEVER, because he is doing a renewal and not an original application they may not require everything on that list. It seems he has already been told by Immigration what he needs for the actual VEC renewal.

HAVING SAID ALL THAT, if he wants to get a copy of his passport info page translated and notarized at MoFA, it wouldn't hurt to do so, but he will have to leave his passport at MoFA while they do that.

@ajairon

My wife no longer has Family in Vietnam and isn't listed on any family book. Because of this, she hasn't been able to get her citizenship. That means I can't get a TRC (it would be nice).

@OceanBeach92107
One of the things I was trying to confirm with the Department of External Relations is what documentation I will need in addition to the marriage certificate. From what I could find online, it suggested photocopies of our passports. Can you confirm? - @Sugarcrisp

So we are clear, MoFA (the ministry of foreign affairs) is only involved because your documents from outside of Vietnam need to be certified/notarized/whateverised for use at IMMIGRATION.

They don't have anything to do with approving your VEC so they are not a source of information for the requirements.

Any questions about what's required for your VEC dossier should be directed to your immigration office where you plan to submit the application.

(please also see my previous reply to another poster above)

@OceanBeach92107

As with your previous posts, you clearly understand what you are speaking about. However, I believe my previous question must not have been clear on what I was trying to ask. I was hoping to confirm if there are other documents (e.g., passports) that I will need when legalizing the marriage certificate.

As for the visa exemption renewal, I've done this before while in Canada, so the process isn't completely new. The part that is new this time is that I'm doing it while in Vietnam. I never had to worry about the marriage certificate previously. The funny thing is, I didn't know until now that the marriage document that we have previously used was "Record of Solemnization of Marriage". We had never previously ordered a copy of our marriage certificate. This never caused any issues with getting the VEC. I wasn't willing to try using the same document here as the results of not getting the renewal in time would be a true pain.

@OceanBeach92107
As with your previous posts, you clearly understand what you are speaking about. However, I believe my previous question must not have been clear on what I was trying to ask. I was hoping to confirm if there are other documents (e.g., passports) that I will need when legalizing the marriage certificate.

As for the visa exemption renewal, I've done this before while in Canada, so the process isn't completely new. The part that is new this time is that I'm doing it while in Vietnam. I never had to worry about the marriage certificate previously. The funny thing is, I didn't know until now that the marriage document that we have previously used was "Record of Solemnization of Marriage". We had never previously ordered a copy of our marriage certificate. This never caused any issues with getting the VEC. I wasn't willing to try using the same document here as the results of not getting the renewal in time would be a true pain. - @Sugarcrisp

I apologize but I am going to have to leave my advice as given so far. I know what makes sense to me based upon my own experience with MoFA, but I can just see some bureaucrat there insisting that a copy of your passport (and maybe your wife's identification) also needs to be attached to the marriage certificate in order for them to issue you a translated and certified dossier to take with you to your application for VEC.

In fact, it's probably a good idea to very carefully read that list from the Vietnam Embassy in the USA and bring along any of those other documents that are mentioned.

I've had other friends renew a VEC here and I'm pretty sure they didn't have to resubmit all of the original documents that they did for their original VEC, but I just can't be sure about that.

and I will restate the problem that you are dealing with two different agencies, so it's unlikely that you are going to reach anyone at MoFA who is going to tell you exactly what you need to do there in order to meet the requirements of Immigration.

So please consider working backwards on this:

Contact the immigration authority where you are going to be submitting your application for VEC renewal. Make sure you know exactly what they are going to want to receive in your dossier in addition to your marriage certificate duly certified and translated.

whatever they tell you they want you to submit, you should consider bringing those things with you to MoFA for any necessary translation and certification.

but that should only apply to documents generated outside of Vietnam..

any documents required for your VEC that have originated in Vietnam do not require action by MoFA.

I apologize that I can't be anymore informative than that