The new Law provides for three (3) principles of handling child adoption issues, including:

· Must respect the right of a child to live in his or her original environment of family.

· Must ensure lawful rights and interests of the adopted child and the adopted mother/father, voluntary, equality, sex non-discrimination, not against the law and social ethics.

· Non-resident adopted mother/father shall only be permitted where no alternative family for a child can be found in Vietnam.

Regarding domestic child adoption, one of the new provisions is the adopted mother/father must be twenty (20) years older than the adopted child. The procedures for granting certificate of child adoption shall be performed at the People's Committee of the commune/ward where the adopted child permanently resides. With respect to child adoption with foreign elements (excluding Vietnamese citizens adopting foreign children), overseas Vietnamese residing abroad, foreigners permanently residing in a country being a contracting party to international agreements on child adoption of which Vietnam has acceded to shall be allowed to adopt Vietnamese children. The procedures for granting certificate of child adoption shall be performed at the Department of Justice of the provincial People's Committee where the adopted child permanently resides. The adopted mother/father must pay registration fees for the child adoption.

by Lawyers of Bizconsult Law Firm