Marriage Registration in Nha Trang: Ward Office, Documents and Fee for Foreigners (2026)

A foreigner marrying a Vietnamese citizen in Nha Trang registers at a ward People's Committee, the commune-level office, not the district office the 2014 Law still names. Khanh Hoa sets the civil-status fee at 0 VND for procedures done online. The decision takes 5 working days from a complete file, up to 10 if verification is needed.

By Vincent Nguyen

If you are marrying a Vietnamese citizen in Nha Trang, the office to deal with is a ward People’s Committee (Ủy ban nhân dân phường). Decree 120/2025/NĐ-CP gave the commune-level People’s Committee, which covers a commune, ward or special zone, the civil-status registration powers. The decree is effective from 1 July 2025.

The time limit for a marriage with a foreign element is set in the same decree. The 2014 Law on Civil Status has not been rewritten to match, so its text still names the district-level committee.

Steps to register the marriage

1. Check the conditions to marry. Age, free consent and capacity come first. Then rule out the prohibited cases.
2. Collect the foreign partner’s papers. A marital-status document from the competent foreign authority, still valid, showing the person is not married. A passport copy or equivalent. A medical certificate on mental capacity.
3. Collect the Vietnamese partner’s papers. The declaration, which you may fill in jointly. A medical certificate. Any extra paper for a divorce abroad or for a civil servant or armed-forces member.
4. Legalise and translate the foreign papers. Legalisation applies unless an exemption covers the paper. The Vietnamese translation is notarised or has the translator’s signature certified.
5. File at the ward People’s Committee. Use the commune-level office. The decision comes within 5 working days of a complete file, up to 10 if verification is needed.
6. Attend together. Both partners are present when the marriage is registered, and both sign the register and the certificate.

Which office registers the marriage

The decree says that the commune-level People’s Committee exercises the registration powers of the 2014 Law’s district-level chapter.

Ủy ban nhân dân xã, phường, đặc khu thực hiện thẩm quyền đăng ký hộ tịch quy định tại khoản 2 Điều 7, Chương III của Luật Hộ tịch năm 2014

“The commune-level People’s Committee, meaning a commune, ward or special zone, exercises the civil-status registration powers in clause 2 of Article 7 and in Chapter III of the 2014 Law on Civil Status.”

Nghị định 120/2025/NĐ-CP, Điều 4

Article 37 of the 2014 Law ties the registration to where the Vietnamese citizen lives. If the foreigner lives in Vietnam, it ties the registration to where either of you lives. Read “district-level” there as the ward office, because the decree moves those duties down.

The decree’s annex hands the district committee’s tasks to the commune-level committee. It hands the district Justice Division’s tasks to the commune-level justice and civil-status officials.

Choosing and changing the ward

A person has the right to choose to carry out civil-status procedures at the registration office of their place of residence. Residence follows the residence law.

If you pick a ward that is not your permanent or temporary residence, the committee that receives your request must help you file online to the competent authority. Ask the counter staff which ward your file goes to before you hand anything in.

What the provincial Department of Justice does

The provincial Department of Justice (Sở Tư pháp) is not where a normal marriage file goes. The decree gives it a role in one case, in its transitional clause. Where the competent commune-level committee cannot be identified, or the requester has no residence in Vietnam, the Department receives the request.

Within 2 working days of receiving it, the Department reports to the provincial People’s Committee chairman, who assigns a suitable commune-level committee. The Department then tells the person which committee to file with.

Nha Trang’s four wards and your old ward name

Paperwork that still shows an old ward name needs matching to a new one. The 2025 merger resolution created four Nha Trang wards:

• Nha Trang Ward, from Van Thanh, Loc Tho, Vinh Nguyen, Tan Tien and Phuoc Hoa wards.
• Bac Nha Trang Ward, from Vinh Hoa, Vinh Hai, Vinh Phuoc and Vinh Tho wards and Vinh Luong and Vinh Phuong communes.
• Tay Nha Trang Ward, from Ngoc Hiep and Phuong Sai wards and Vinh Ngoc, Vinh Thanh, Vinh Hiep and Vinh Trung communes.
• Nam Nha Trang Ward, from Phuoc Hai, Phuoc Long and Vinh Truong wards and Vinh Thai and Phuoc Dong communes.

The Nha Trang Ward portal gives the ward’s address as 42 Le Thanh Ton Street and the telephone 02583.527.610. Check the address on the day, because other wards publish their own contact details.

Khanh Hoa’s list of procedures usable anywhere in the province

A Khanh Hoa provincial decision of 7 September 2025 published a list of Justice-field procedures that are carried out regardless of administrative boundaries within the province. The Public Administration Service Centre of Bac Nha Trang Ward posted that list for the public.

The notice lists 15 civil-status procedures. Marriage registration is not named in the list. For a marriage, file at the ward where one of you is registered as a resident, and confirm with the service centre first.

Conditions to marry

The man must be at least 20 years old and the woman at least 18. Both must marry voluntarily, and neither can have lost civil act capacity. The State does not recognise marriage between people of the same sex.

Each of you must also meet the marriage conditions of your own country. Because the marriage is registered at a Vietnamese state body, the foreign partner must meet Vietnam’s conditions too.

The marriage must not fall into a prohibited case. The prohibited cases are:

• a sham marriage or a sham divorce
• child marriage, forced marriage, deceit in marrying, or obstructing someone else’s marriage
• marrying or living as spouses where either person is already married
• marrying or living as spouses between direct-line blood relatives, or relatives within three generations
• marrying or living as spouses between an adoptive parent and the adopted child, or a former adoptive parent and the adopted child
• marrying or living as spouses between a father-in-law and daughter-in-law, or a mother-in-law and son-in-law
• marrying or living as spouses between a stepfather and the wife’s child, or a stepmother and the husband’s child, from another relationship

If one or both of you break a prohibition or fail the conditions, registration is refused. The office then notifies both parties in writing with the reasons.

A marriage between foreigners who live permanently in Vietnam, registered at a competent Vietnamese authority, follows the Vietnamese marriage conditions too. Divorced spouses who want to re-establish the marriage must register it again.

A marriage must be registered with the competent state authority. A marriage not registered under that rule has no legal value.

The foreign partner’s documents

Both of you submit the marriage declaration form to the civil-status registration authority. You may fill it in jointly on a single form. Both of you also submit a certificate from a competent Vietnamese or foreign medical body. It must confirm you do not have a mental illness or another condition that leaves you unable to perceive or control your own behaviour.

On top of that, the foreign partner submits a document proving their marital status, and a copy of the passport or an equivalent document. The marital-status document must be issued by the competent foreign authority, still valid, and confirm the person is currently not married.

If your country issues no marital-status certificate

If the foreign country does not issue a marital-status confirmation, a document from its competent authority confirming you meet that country’s conditions to marry replaces it.

If the document states no expiry

If the marital-status document states no expiry date, it and the medical confirmation are each valid only 6 months from the date of issue. Time the medical check and the embassy letter so both are fresh on filing day.

If you have no passport to show

A foreign national with no passport to show can show an international travel document or a residence card instead.

The Vietnamese partner’s documents

The Vietnamese partner signs the same declaration and submits the same kind of medical certificate. Three further cases add papers.

• Divorce or annulment abroad. If the Vietnamese partner divorced or had a marriage annulled by a competent foreign authority, the office looks it up in the electronic civil-status and national population databases. If those databases do not show it recorded, the office directs the partner to have it entered in the civil-status register first.
• Civil servants and armed forces. A civil servant, a public employee, or a person serving in the armed forces submits a document from their managing agency or unit. It must confirm that marrying a foreign national does not conflict with that sector’s regulations.
• Vietnamese citizens living abroad. A Vietnamese citizen residing overseas submits a document proving marital status and a passport copy or equivalent, like the foreign partner.

Copies in the file must be issued from the original register or certified from the original. If you submit an uncertified copy, you must show the original for comparison. Both partners also show an identity document to the registration office.

When a procedure has a processing deadline, the person receiving the file must write a receipt. If the file is incomplete or invalid, they must give written guidance listing the extra documents. If you filed at the wrong office, the staff direct you to the competent one.

Filing in person, by post or online

A civil-status file can be filed in person, sent by post, or sent through the online civil-status registration system. The new Law keeps the same three options once it takes effect on 1 March 2027.

When you request registration, you show an identity document to the registration office. A person may choose to submit or show paper or electronic civil-status papers, or give information on papers already registered. The registry then looks that information up in the electronic civil-status and national population databases.

If the lookup finds nothing, the registry asks you to submit or show the relevant papers as proof.

Legalisation and translation of foreign papers

Foreign documents must be consularly legalised to be used in Vietnam, unless an exemption applies. Decree 111/2011/NĐ-CP, as amended by Decree 196/2025/NĐ-CP, lists the exemptions:

• when a treaty that Vietnam and the other country have both joined, or reciprocity, provides for it
• when the papers are transferred directly or through diplomatic channels between competent authorities of the two countries
• when Vietnamese law exempts them
• when a competent Vietnamese state agency does not require legalisation because it can establish a foreign document’s authenticity itself

Papers in a foreign language must be translated into Vietnamese. The translation must be notarised, or the translator’s signature certified. Ask the ward counter which of your papers it wants legalised, because the fourth exemption leaves that to the receiving agency.

Fee: 0 VND online, in-person rate to confirm

The Khanh Hoa People’s Council resolution of 18 December 2025 sets certain fees at 0 dong when the procedure is carried out through online public services. The civil-status fee (lệ phí hộ tịch) is on that list.

The resolution is in force from 1 January 2026. It replaces the earlier Khanh Hoa resolution of 11 June 2024 and the Ninh Thuan resolution of 28 April 2025 on the same subject.

A person requesting a civil-status event that is not exempted must pay the civil-status fee. The fee is waived for civil-status registration of people from families with revolutionary merit, people in poor households and people with disabilities.

Both partners attend the registration in person. Ask the ward whether it accepts the marriage file through the online service, because that is the route to the 0 VND rate.

How long it takes and what happens on registration day

The time limit for registering a marriage with a foreign element is 5 working days from the day the office receives a complete, valid file. If verification is needed, the limit is extended, but to no more than 10 working days.

The law leaves the interview to the Government. The Law on Civil Status says the Government sets the extra documents and the interview and verification of the purpose of marriage. Decree 123/2015/NĐ-CP adds that, when needed, the Ministry of Justice reports to the Prime Minister to set an additional interview procedure.

On registration day

When you register, both partners must be present at the People’s Committee office. The civil-status officer asks you both, and if you marry voluntarily, records the marriage in the civil-status register, which you both sign. You both sign the marriage certificate.

The certificate carries each partner’s full name, date of birth, ethnicity, nationality, residence and identity-document details. It also carries the registration date, your signatures or fingerprints and the registry’s confirmation.

Collecting the certificate

Within 3 working days of the chairperson signing the certificate, the certificate is handed to you. If one or both of you cannot be present, the handover can be extended on your written request, by no more than 60 days from the signing date.

If you do not collect it within the 60 days, the signed certificate is cancelled and you must start the registration again. The certificate is valid from the date it is entered in the register and handed to you. These times come from the 2015 decree text, which Decree 120/2025/NĐ-CP lists among the provisions the commune level applies.

After the wedding: visa, residence card and work permit

A TT visa is issued to a foreigner who is the spouse of a Vietnamese citizen. TT visas are valid for a maximum of 1 year. A foreigner who falls in the category eligible for a TT visa is among those who can be issued a temporary residence card.

A foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen and residing in Vietnam is not subject to a work permit.

For the immigration office, read Nha Trang Immigration Office. For the card, read Temporary Residence Card in Nha Trang. For the cost, read Vietnam Immigration Fees.

What changes from 1 March 2027

A new Law on Civil Status takes effect on 1 March 2027, and the current law ceases to have effect on that date. Decree 120/2025/NĐ-CP also ceases to have effect on 1 March 2027, apart from the exceptions listed in its own clause.

Until then, the rules above apply. A file received earlier but not yet decided is still handled under the rules in force when it was received. For a marriage, the new text says:

• The commune-level People’s Committee registers marriage for a Vietnamese citizen residing in Vietnam with a foreign national, regardless of where the applicant lives. The current text ties it to the Vietnamese citizen’s residence.
• The committee also registers marriage for a foreign national with permanent residence in Vietnam.
• Both of you must be present to sign the marriage register and certificate, as now. You collect the certificate in person at the registration office.
• You may file online, by post or in person.
• The results of a marriage registration are issued as a paper and an electronic copy.
• Foreign papers must be consularly legalised unless exempt under a treaty or Vietnamese law. Foreign-language papers need a Vietnamese translation with the translator’s signature certified.
• Where the civil-status rules set no deadline, the default is 24 hours from a complete file. The 5 working days above come from the current decree.
• The chairperson may delegate signing of civil-status papers, except the marriage certificate, the birth certificate and papers for registrations with a foreign element.
• The Government sets the detailed rules, including for re-registering a marriage and for marital-status confirmation.
• Fees are paid under the law on fees and charges. Ask the ward what applies after that date.

Do not give false information

Giving false information or documents, or making or using forged documents or another person’s documents to register a civil-status event, is prohibited. Making a false sworn statement, or giving false witness, is prohibited too. Offering bribes, or promising material or moral benefits, to get a registration is also prohibited.

Civil-status papers issued for a registration that breaks these prohibitions have no value and are revoked and cancelled. A person who commits a prohibited act may face an administrative penalty or criminal liability, depending on the nature and seriousness.

Checklist before you go

• Marital-status document from the foreign authority, still valid.
• Medical certificates for both partners, on mental capacity.
• Passport copy for the foreign partner, or a travel document or residence card if there is no passport.
• Legalisation and Vietnamese translation of every foreign paper, unless an exemption applies.
• A divorce or annulment from abroad entered in the register first, if it is not in the databases.
• A letter from the managing agency, if either partner is a civil servant or armed-forces member.
• The original of any paper you submit as an uncertified copy.

Read next

Once you are married, read Temporary residence registration in Nha Trang and Vietnam Immigration Fees. Vietnam Tax Residency matters if you plan to stay long-term.

Expecting a child? See birth registration in Nha Trang. Bringing a pet? See bringing a dog or cat to Vietnam via Cam Ranh.

Photos and clips uploaded to Google Maps (People's Committee of Nha Trang Ward on Google Maps (opens in a new tab), Immigration Management Division, Khanh Hoa Provincial Police on Google Maps (opens in a new tab)) by @Duong Tran, @Tuấn Tử Tế GTO Event (Tuấn Tử Tế), @L C, @Evgenii Lukashevich.

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Not confirmed: The in-person civil-status fee for a marriage with a foreign element at a Khanh Hoa ward was not found on an official page. Ask the ward before you go. Whether a Nha Trang ward accepts a couple who live in another ward is also unclear, because Khanh Hoa's province-wide list does not name marriage.

General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.

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