Residence Law of Vietnam 2020 – Law No. 68/2020/QH14

RESIDENCE LAW

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

The National Assembly hereby promulgates the Residence Law.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Law provides for exercise of the right of Vietnamese citizens to reside in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam freely; registration and management of residence; rights, obligations and responsibilities of citizens, regulatory bodies and organizations concerning registration and management of residence.

Article 2. Definitions

For the purposes of this Law, the terms below shall be construed as follows:

1. “lawful place of residence” means a dwelling over which a citizen has the right to ownership or right to use, including houses, watercrafts, other vehicles or other dwellings as per the law.

2. “residence” refers to a citizen’s state of living at a location in a commune-level administrative unit or a district-level administrative unit where there is no commune-level administrative unit (hereinafter collectively referred to as “commune-level administrative unit”).

3. “residence database” means a specialized database comprising information on residence of citizens digitalized, stored and managed by the information infrastructure, and connected and shared with the national population database and other databases as prescribed by law.

4. “residence registration authority” (hereinafter referred to as “registration authority”) means a residence authority directly processing residence registration of citizens, including commune police and police of districts where there is no commune-level administrative unit.

5. “residence registration” refers to permanent residence registration, temporary residence registration, temporary absence declaration, stay notification and information declaration, and revision of information on residence.

6. “stay” means a citizen’s state of living at a location save their permanent or temporary residence for less than 30 days.

7. “temporary absence” means a citizen’s absence from their place of residence for a definite amount of time.

8. “place of permanent residence” (hereinafter referred to as “permanent residence”) refers to a place of secure and long-term residence of a citizen that is registered as their permanent residence;

9. “place of temporary residence” (hereinafter referred to as “temporary residence”) refers to a place of short-term residence of a citizen save their place of permanent residence that is registered as their temporary residence.

10. “current place of residence” (hereinafter referred to as “current residence”) means the place of permanent or temporary residence where a citizen lives on a regular basis; if the citizen has no place of permanent or temporary residence, the place where they are living shall be their current place of residence.

Article 3. Residence and residence management rules

1. Residence and residence management shall adhere to the Constitution and the law.

2. Residence and residence management shall ensure the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, the interests of the State, the community and the society; right to freedom of residence and other basic rights of citizens, and state responsibility for socio – economic development, national defense and security protection and preservation of public order and social safety in a harmonious manner.

3. Residence registration procedures must be simple, convenient, timely, accurate and transparent; residence management must be strict and effective.

4. Information on residence shall be updated to the national population database and residence database as prescribed by law; at a point in time, a citizen shall have only one permanent residence and may have one temporary residence.

5. All violations against regulations of laws on residence registration and management must be detected and handled in a prompt and serious manner as per the law.

Article 4. Exercise of right to freedom of residence of citizens

1. Citizens shall exercise their right to freedom of residence in accordance with this Law and other relevant provisions of law.

2. Exercise of the right to freedom of residence of citizens will be restricted for the following cases:

a) Persons banned from leaving their place of residence or temporarily detained by presiding officers or presiding authorities; convicts yet to receive the sentence enforcement decision or having received the sentence enforcement decision but out on bail or granted suspension of sentence enforcement; convicts undergoing probation; persons serving a custodial sentence, imposed a residence ban, under mandatory supervision or serving a community sentence; and persons on parole;

b) Persons currently subject to compulsory education in their communes or serving a sentence in a correctional institution or rehabilitation center; persons to serve a sentence in a correctional institution or rehabilitation center but granted suspension of sentence enforcement; and persons under supervision during consideration of admission to a correctional institution or rehabilitation center;

c) Persons placed under medical quarantine as they pose the risk of spreading an infectious disease to the community;

d) Locations and areas placed under medical quarantine for prevention and control of an infectious disease as per the decision of the competent authority or person; localities declaring state of emergency as per the law; locations forbidden from new permanent residence registration, new temporary residence registration and household division according to regulations of this Law;

dd) Other cases per the law.

3. Exercise of the right to freedom of residence of citizens shall be restricted only as prescribed by law. Content and duration of such restriction shall conform to effective judgments and decisions of the Court, decisions of other competent authorities or relevant regulations of law.

Article 5. Assurance of right to freedom of residence of citizens and residence management

1. The State shall provide consistent policies and measures to ensure the right to freedom of residence of citizens.

2. The State shall ensure budget, facilities, workforce and investment in advanced technology for residence registration and management.

Article 6. International cooperation in residence management

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam shall promote international cooperation in residence management in compliance with Vietnamese law and international law; and apply conventions related to residence management to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory.

Article 7. Prohibited acts

1. Obstruct a citizen from exercising their right to freedom of residence.

2. Misuse information on permanent or temporary residence to restrict a citizen’s legitimate rights and interests.

3. Give, broker or receive a bribe for residence registration or management.

4. Fail to receive or postpone receipt of residence registration documents or information or other acts of harassment; fail to process or process a valid application for residence registration in a belated manner; annul permanent or temporary residence registration against regulations of law.

5. Collect, manage or use residence registration charges against regulations of law.

6. Impose a deadline, procedure, document or form against regulations of law or falsify information or a document on residence.

7. Deliberately issue or refuse to issue a document on residence against regulations of law.

8. Misuse the right to freedom of residence to violate state interests or legitimate rights and interests of an organization or individual.

9. Forge a document or data on residence; use a forged document or data on residence; provide inaccurate information or document on residence; make a false declaration or forge a document for permanent or temporary residence registration; buy, sell, hire, lease, borrow, lend, destroy, pawn or receive a document on residence as collateral.

10. Organize, incite, entice, persuade, aid and abet or force another person to commit a violation against regulations on residence.

11. Process an application for permanent or temporary residence registration when clearly knowing the applicant does not reside in the place in question.

12. Let another person register one’s place of residence as their permanent or temporary residence out of selfish interest or when they does not actually reside in such place.

13. Access, use, destroy, obstruct or disrupt operation of or change, delete, distribute or provide information in the residence database illegally.

Chapter II

RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS CONCERNING RESIDENCE OF CITIZENS

Article 8. Rights of residence of citizens

1. Choose and decide their places of residence and register residence in accordance with this Law and other relevant provisions of law.

2. Have personal information and information on their households in the residence database protected, excluding the cases where provision of such information is required as per the law.

3. Use information on their residence in the national population database, and have residence information verified by registration authorities across the country regardless of their places of residence when requesting.

4. Have information on their residence in the residence database updated by registration authorities upon change or when requesting.

5. Be provided with information and documents related to the exercise of their right to freedom of residence when requesting.

6. Have their right to freedom of residence protected by competent authorities.

7. Make a denunciation of and file a complaint or lawsuit against violations against regulations on residence as prescribed by law.

Article 9. Obligations concerning residence of citizens

1. Register their residence in accordance with this Law and other relevant provisions of law.

2. Provide sufficient and accurate information and documents on their residence for the competent authority and individual in a timely manner and take responsibility for the information and documents provided.

3. Pay residence registration charges as prescribed by laws on fees and charges.

Article 10. Rights and obligations concerning residence of household heads and household members

1. Persons living together in a lawful place of residence and related by blood (paternal grandparents, maternal grandparents, parents, spouse, children and biological siblings, nieces, nephews and grandchildren) may register that place as their permanent or temporary residence as one household.

2. A person besides the cases mentioned in Clause 1 herein, if eligible to register the same lawful place of residence as their permanent or temporary residence according to regulations of this Law, may register that place as their permanent or temporary residence with the previously mentioned household.

3. Multiple households may register one lawful place of residence as their permanent or temporary residence.

4. The head of a household shall be a person with full legal capacity selected by all household members; for households without a person with full legal capacity, the household head shall be the person selected by all household members; if the household members fail to agree on a household head, the Court shall select the household head from the household members.

If a household has only one member, that member shall be the household head.

5. Rights and obligations of household heads concern enabling their household members to comply with regulations on residence registration and management and other regulations in this Law as well as giving instructions on such compliance; and notifying the registration authority if any household member is among the cases mentioned in Clause 1 Article 24 and Clause 1 Article 29 of this Law.

6. Rights and obligations of household members concern selecting the household head and fully complying with regulations on residence registration and management.

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