Adopted Children Immigrant Visa Unit

Vietnam Adoption Requirements

Note: Information for the following section on Vietnamese regulations and procedures has been summarized from Vietnamese laws and information provided by the Department of International Adoptions, Ministry of Justice, Government of Vietnam, but may not reflect their actual implementation. Additionally, each province may implement these regulations differently or may have additional requirements. Please contact the Department of International Adoptions for the official government interpretation and implementation of these regulations and procedures.

To pursue adoption of a Vietnamese orphan, the parent must submit a comprehensive application to the Department of International Adoptions in Hanoi via an adoption agency. In order to submit this application, the Vietnamese government requires that adoptive parents utilize the services of an adoption agency licensed to do business as an adoption agency in Vietnam. See " Selecting an Adoption Agency." for recommendations on how to research adoption agencies

1. Preparing and Submitting Your Application
The Department for International Adoptions application will require a number of documents for every application. (Please note adoptive parents need a separate set of documents for the U.S. government. See US Pre-Approval of Adoption and Immigrant Visa Stage for more information.)  These documents will need to be translated and, in most cases, authenticated.

The required documents are:

• Adoption Application Form
• Copies of Passports
• Permission from the United Sates to adopt
• Medical Certificates that Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) are in good health, not infected with mental diseases and/or contagious diseases
• Written proof of financial ability to support the child

Please note that two copies of each document must be filed with each application.

Documentation -- Authentication
Adoptive parents must authenticate all non-Vietnamese documents for use in Vietnam. Documents are authenticated in order to verify their contents and validity of the issuing authority.  During this is a process various seals are placed on the document to show that a particular authority has validated the document.
Because Vietnam has not joined the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents ("Hague Legalization Convention"), the process of authenticating documents can be cumbersome, and time-consuming.  The process, known as chain adjudication, requires a series of authorities to attest to the validity your documents.  For details on this process click here

2. Recommendation by the Department of International Adoptions
Once it receives your application, the Department of International Adoption has seven days to review, examine and consider the dossier.  If the dossier is incomplete, the Department of International Adoption shall notify Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) to supplement the dossier.

If the dossier is complete, the Department of International Adoption shall “classify” the dossier and log it.  If a specific child is named in the dossier, the Department of International Adoption shall send an “official letter” to the provincial Department of Justice in the province where the Prospective Adoptive Child resides.  If a child is not named, the Department of International Adoption shall send the “official letter” and Prospective Adoptive Parent(s)’ dossier to the provincial Department of Justice for recommendation of a child.

3. Examination of Documents by the Provincial Department of Justice
Once the provincial Department of Justice receives the Department of International Adoption’s ”official letter” they will review the file and match the Prospective Adoptive Parents with an orphan. They will then complete the child’s dossier and send it to the Department of International Adoption for final review.

4. Review by the Department of International Adoption
The Department of International Adoption has seven days to review the Child’s dossier and any investigative reports.  If approved, the Department will send the “official dispatch” and one copy of the Prospective Adoptive Parent(s)’ dossier to the provincial Department of Justice.

If the Prospective Adoptive Child’s dossier is incomplete or invalid, the Department of International Adoptions will send notification to the provincial Department of Justice to request that the Orphanage/Guardian/Parents supplement the Prospective Adoptive Child’s dossier or for further action.

At this time, the Department of International Adoption may request an additional investigation or a preliminary investigation if no investigation was conducted by the provincial Department of Justice.

5. Notification by the provincial Department of Justice
Within seven days of receipt of the Department of International Adoption’s official dispatch and a copy of Prospective Adoptive Parent(s)’ dossier, the provincial Department of Justice notifies Prospective Adoption Parent(s) that the case has been provisionally approved by the Vietnamese Government.

6. Payment of Fees and Execution of Agreement to Submit Post-Adoption Reports by Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) or the Adoption Service Providers
The Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) or Adoption Service Providers pay fees to the provincial Department of Justice and submit the Prospective Adoptive Parent(s)’ signed commitment to submit post-adoption reports (see more information below). This is done before Prospective Adoptive Parent(s) travel to Vietnam.

7. Report by Provincial Department of Justice
Within seven days of receipt of fees and the prospective adoptive parents’ “commitment to report on the development of the child,” the provincial Department of Justice must make its written recommendation.   The Department of Justice will then submit these documents along with one set of the child’s dossier and one set of the child adoption applicants’ dossier to the provincial-level People’s Committee for decision.