Vietnamese Citizenship by Descent (Jure Sanguinis)

Eligibility depends on your date of birth, your parents' status, and whether you have ever formally given up your rights to Vietnamese nationality.

• Automatic Eligibility at Birth: You are considered a Vietnamese citizen from birth if both of your parents were Vietnamese citizens at the time you were born, regardless of where the birth took place.
• Mixed Nationality Parents: If only one of your parents was a Vietnamese citizen at the time of your birth and the other was a foreign national, you qualify only if your parents signed a written agreement choosing Vietnamese nationality for you at the time of your birth registration. If this agreement was never made, you may need to pursue the "Naturalization" route rather than simple "Confirmation."
• The "Presumed Nationality" Clause: Under Law No. 79/2025/QH15, if you were born to Vietnamese parents and there is no official record of you ever signing a "Renunciation of Nationality" form, the Vietnamese state may still recognize you as a citizen.
• Waivers for Descendants: If you are the child of a Vietnamese citizen but do not meet the "automatic" criteria, you can apply for naturalization. In these cases, the standard requirements of five years of residency and Vietnamese language proficiency are typically waived.
• Nationality by Origin: You generally must prove that your parent held citizenship by origin. However, recent 2026 guidelines are more lenient for descendants of those who left Vietnam during conflict periods and may lack perfect documentation.