On the morning of May 17, Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh presented the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Vietnamese nationality.
According to the Minister, the draft law focuses on two major policies.
The 1-line policy of loosening conditions related to Vietnamese naturalization aims to create favorable conditions for cases of biological father, biological mother, grandfather, grandfather and grandmother who are Vietnamese citizens; foreign investors, scientists, experts... to be naturalized as Vietnamese citizens.
The two-pronged policy loosens conditions related to the return of Vietnamese nationality to facilitate cases that have lost their Vietnamese nationality to return to Vietnamese nationality.
Accordingly, amending and supplementing regulations in the direction that for minors applying for Vietnamese citizenship under their father or mother, minors whose father or mother is a Vietnamese citizen do not need to meet the condition of "having full civil act capacity".
The draft law removes the provisions on cases of returning to Vietnamese nationality in Clause 1, Article 23 of the Law on Vietnamese nationality.
Accordingly, all cases that have lost their Vietnamese nationality and have applied to return to Vietnamese nationality can be considered for return to Vietnamese nationality.
Amend and supplement Clause 5, Article 23 in the direction that an application for return to Vietnamese nationality can hold foreign nationality if meeting 2 conditions similar to those in the case of being naturalized as a Vietnamese citizen and simultaneously holding foreign nationality and being permitted by the President.
The draft law adds the condition "must be a person with only one nationality, Vietnamese nationality and must reside permanently in Vietnam" when participating in elected bodies, agencies of the political system, participating in armed forces, and cryptography to ensure political security issues and national interests.
Reviewing this content, Chairman of the Law and Justice Committee Hoang Thanh Tung basically agreed to add the regulation "must have one nationality, Vietnamese nationality" for:
- Candidates elected, approved, appointed to positions and titles according to their terms.
- People recruited and appointed to ranks, positions, and titles in state agencies, political organizations, and socio-political organizations at the central and local levels.
- People recruited according to job positions, working in public service units.
- People working in key organizations, people participating in the armed forces of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Chairman Hoang Thanh Tung said that the principle provision in the draft law in the direction of not requiring a nationalhood of Vietnam in cases that are beneficial to the State of Vietnam, not harmful to the national interests of Vietnam and assigning the Government to provide detailed regulations is appropriate.
There are opinions suggesting to carefully consider this regulation, in special cases, it should only be considered and applied to subjects recruited and appointed to ranks, positions, and titles in state agencies, socio-political organizations at the central and local levels; people recruited according to job positions, working at public service units that need to attract and create conditions for recruiting talent.
