Recognition & Enforcement of Foreign Divorce Judgments in Vietnam

As international integration accelerates, cross-border marriages and family relationships are becoming more common, leading to increased disputes and legal claims. A key issue is how Vietnam recognizes and enforces foreign court judgments and decisions. This process protects the legitimate rights of Vietnamese citizens while demonstrating respect for international judicial cooperation and affirming Vietnam’s legal standing in the global community.

Judgment No. 25/2025/QĐ-HNGĐ, issued June 30, 2025, by the People’s Court of Phu Tho Province, provides a clear example. The case involves recognizing and enforcing a divorce settlement from the New Taipei City Court, Taiwan, between a Vietnamese citizen and a Taiwanese citizen. This decision resolves the parties’ personal rights and obligations while raising important legal questions about procedural rules, the principle of reciprocity, and conditions for recognizing foreign judgments in Vietnam. This article analyzes the legal basis, recognition conditions, procedures, practical significance, and lessons learned from this judgment, and offers recommendations to improve the law and its application.

Summary of the Judgment
Judgment No. 25/2025/QĐ-HNGĐ concerns a request to recognize and enforce a conciliation extract dated January 16, 2024, from the New Taipei City Court, Taiwan. The parties—Ms. Bui Thi T (Vietnamese citizen) and Mr. Tseng Kun Wei (Taiwanese citizen)—agreed to divorce in Taiwan and settled matters concerning their child, Ms. Tang Chi H (born 2014). Under the agreement, Mr. Wei has direct custody, Ms. T pays child support of NT$2,500 monthly until the child turns 18, both parents share tuition fees equally, and they agreed on visitation schedules. Neither party requested property division or joint debt settlement, and each bore their own litigation costs.

Although the judgment and settlement were issued in Taiwan, Ms. T petitioned the People’s Court of Phu Tho Province to recognize and enforce it in Vietnam. Mr. Wei was duly summoned but did not appear. The trial panel determined that the foreign judgment did not violate fundamental principles of Vietnamese law, protected the parties’ rights and interests, and complied with the law. The Court accepted the request and recognized and enforced the mediation excerpt from the New Taipei City Court.

The Court ordered Ms. Bui Thi T to pay VND 3,000,000 in civil case fees, having already deposited VND 300,000. The parties may appeal within 15 days of being properly served.

This judgment demonstrates that recognizing foreign court judgments on marriage and family matters in Vietnam protects Vietnamese citizens’ legitimate rights in cross-border marriages while affirming the principle of respecting international judicial decisions—provided the judgment does not violate fundamental principles of Vietnamese law.

Key Points from the Case
Judgment No. 25/2025/QĐ-HNGĐ has several notable features regarding both the process and its practical value for resolving family disputes with foreign elements in Vietnam.

The dossier requesting recognition was fully prepared and complied with regulations on necessary components: original or certified copy of the mediation record, confirmation of legal validity, information on valid service, and required translations. This demonstrates that mastering and correctly implementing procedural requirements is key to having Vietnamese courts accept and approve cases.

Consular legalization and certified translation of foreign documents often cause cases to be rejected. In this case, however, the parties completed all procedures in accordance with current law, demonstrating thorough preparation and understanding of the relevant legal system.

The case involved no dispute over property or child custody—only termination of marriage. The Phu Tho Provincial Court determined that the New Taipei City Court’s reconciliation decision concerned family relations, not property. Therefore, recognizing the foreign judgment primarily served to register the divorce and recognize its legal effect in Vietnam.

The principle of “reciprocity” applied in this case because no bilateral or multilateral international treaty between Vietnam and Taiwan directly regulates recognition of judgments on marriage and family matters. The court considered the legal reality and precedent of Taiwan recognizing similar Vietnamese judgments, thereby meeting the conditions of the “reciprocity” principle under Vietnamese civil procedure law.

Domestic and International Legal Basis and the Principle of Reciprocity
Domestic legal basis: The primary source is the 2015 Civil Procedure Code (CPC 2015), particularly Articles 423 to 444, along with implementing guidelines from the Supreme People’s Court, the Judicial Council, relevant resolutions, and inter-sectoral policies. The 2014 Law on Marriage and Family also includes provisions on recognizing and annotating judgments and decisions from foreign courts or authorities related to marriage and family.

International legal basis: The legal basis comes from bilateral or multilateral treaties (if any) between Vietnam and the country whose court or authority issued the judgment or decision. When such treaties do not exist, recognition is based on the principle of “reciprocity,” ensuring mutual benefits between Vietnam and the relevant country. This commonly applies when handling Taiwanese court decisions in Vietnam, as Vietnam and Taiwan have not signed a mutual legal assistance treaty in civil matters.

The principle of “reciprocity” may be applied in substance or form. In substantive cases, the Court considers whether the two countries actually recognize and enforce each other’s judgments in family matters. If Taiwan has recognized Vietnamese divorce judgments in practice, Vietnamese courts may use this as legal basis for accepting the case.

Conditions for Recognizing Foreign Court Judgments and Decisions on Divorce
For a foreign court’s judgment or decision on marriage and family matters to be recognized in Vietnam, the application must meet all of the following conditions:

• The judgment or decision is legally effective and within the time limit for recognition (three years from the date of effectiveness);
• A valid application form exists;
• The person subject to enforcement (usually an individual) currently resides or works in Vietnam, or the agency subject to enforcement (if any) has its headquarters in Vietnam; or the assets related to enforcement are located in Vietnam at the time of the request;
• The judgment or decision does not fall under any case specified by Vietnamese law as not subject to recognition and enforcement (the judgment is not yet effective, the defendant was not duly summoned, the case falls under exclusive jurisdiction of a Vietnamese court, the statute of limitations has expired, it violates fundamental principles of Vietnamese law, etc.);
• It falls within the scope of recognition of an international treaty or applies the principle of reciprocity between Vietnam and the foreign country.
• For judgments and decisions on family matters (e.g., divorce mediation records, determination of parentage, annulment of illegal marriages) not involving property or child support obligations, if the parties do not request enforcement and no petition to refuse recognition exists, the judgment or decision is automatically recognized in Vietnam.

Procedure for Recognizing and Enforcing Foreign Divorce Judgments
According to the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the procedure for recognizing foreign judgments or decisions follows these basic steps:

Step 1: Prepare the dossier and submit the petition to the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice or directly to the competent court.

Step 2: The Ministry of Justice reviews the dossier and transfers it to the competent local court within five days if the dossier is complete and valid.

Step 3: The local court accepts the case and notifies the applicant within five days, requesting additional documents if any are missing or incorrect.

Step 4: The court prepares to review the request for recognition within four months from the date of acceptance; it may request additional clarification of documents or further verification.

Step 5: After the preparation period expires, the court holds a hearing on the request within one month and issues a decision to recognize and enforce—or not recognize—the judgment or decision of the foreign court.

Step 6: Within 15 days from the date of the decision, the court sends it to the parties, the Ministry of Justice, and the People’s Procuracy at the same level. The parties may appeal to the appellate court if they disagree with the decision.

Required documents for recognition include:

• Application for recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and decisions (according to the prescribed form);
• Original or certified copy of the foreign court’s judgment or decision;
• Confirmation document from the foreign court or authority regarding legal validity, remaining enforcement period, and need for enforcement in Vietnam (not required if clearly stated in the judgment or decision);
• Document confirming valid service and valid summons in cases of trial in absentia;
• Vietnamese translation, notarized or certified as valid.
• All documents issued by foreign countries must be consular legalized, translated into Vietnamese, and duly certified.

Practical Significance
Ensuring the legal rights and interests of the parties
Recognizing and enforcing foreign court judgments and divorce agreements in Vietnam helps parties fully exercise their personal and civil rights and obligations arising from those decisions. Examples include clearly determining marital status, establishing the basis for creating or terminating related legal relationships such as inheritance rights, immigration, administrative document issuance, civil registration, and other rights under the Law on Marriage and Family, the Law on Civil Registration, and the Law on Vietnamese Nationality.

It also resolves the risk of “double jeopardy” for the same case—divorce proceedings in a foreign court not recognized in Vietnam can lead to complications when registering procedures in Vietnam. Without recognition, parties may file a lawsuit requesting retrial of the same case in Vietnam.

Meeting the requirements of international integration and encouraging judicial cooperation
Cases with foreign elements involving Vietnamese citizens or legal entities resolved in foreign courts are increasing due to cross-border trade, migration, and marriage. Recognizing foreign judgments aligns with international integration while facilitating foreign and Vietnamese citizens in marriage, trade, investment, and migration. Recognition decisions also affirm sovereignty while demonstrating Vietnam’s openness, cooperation, and legal goodwill toward the international community and relevant countries.

Saving resources and unifying legal judgments
Without recognizing foreign judgments and decisions, parties must spend significant time and money re-litigating cases in Vietnamese courts—even though the substance and nature of the case have already been resolved abroad. Recognition saves social resources, improves management efficiency, and reduces the burden on the domestic judicial system.

Practical Considerations
Preparing valid documents and materials
As case No. 25/2025/QĐ-HNGĐ shows, document preparation must be thorough, ensuring compliance with regulations on form and content, consular legalization, translation, and certification. Any deficiency at any stage may result in the case being returned for further documentation, prolonging the process or failing to achieve the desired legal outcome.

Proactively verify recognition conditions and the “reciprocity” principle
Applicants (or legal representatives) should proactively verify and provide documents showing that foreign courts have recognized similar Vietnamese judgments in corresponding cases, or confirm that foreign case law or precedents allow for recognizing Vietnamese judgments. This facilitates the review process and avoids rejection on grounds of “no reciprocity.”

Do not request recognition if the case qualifies for automatic recognition
The 2015 Civil Procedure Code and its guiding documents establish two scenarios: (i) Recognition upon request through proceedings; (ii) Automatic recognition if the decision concerns family relations, involves no property dispute, no one requests non-recognition, and there is no request for enforcement in Vietnam. For these cases, parties should complete appropriate civil registration procedures instead of filing a petition with the court, saving time and costs.

Complete amendments and supplements promptly as required by the court
During document preparation and submission, if the court requests amendments or supplements, complete them promptly to avoid missing deadlines, which could result in the application being returned or the resolution process being suspended.

Comply with the statute of limitations
The time limit for requesting recognition of a foreign judgment is three years from the date it takes legal effect. Filing the application after this deadline may result in rejection, except in cases of force majeure or objective obstacles that are fully proven.

Seek legal knowledge or professional services when necessary
For complex cases, parties should use reputable legal services or lawyers knowledgeable about recognizing and enforcing foreign judgments to provide comprehensive advice and support, minimizing procedural risks.

Conclusion
Recognizing and enforcing foreign court judgments and decisions on marriage and family matters in Vietnam is an important legal mechanism that ensures consistency in resolving cross-border marriage relationships. This procedure protects Vietnamese citizens’ legitimate rights and interests while affirming the principle of respecting international judicial decisions and promoting legal cooperation between Vietnam and other countries and territories.

From a practical perspective, recognizing foreign judgments limits duplicate trials, saves time and costs for parties, and enhances judicial system efficiency. This also demonstrates Vietnam’s international legal integration, reflecting goodwill for cooperation and mutual respect in the judicial field.

Professional Divorce Consulting and Dispute Resolution Services
Harley Miller Law Firm specializes in providing consulting, document preparation, and dispute resolution services related to divorce. We help clients protect their legal rights while minimizing conflicts and legal risks. With an experienced team of lawyers in the field of marriage and family law, we are committed to delivering comprehensive solutions in compliance with Vietnamese law and international practices.

Our Services Include:

• Divorce procedure consulting: Guidance on choosing the appropriate form of divorce (mutual consent or unilateral), preparing documents, and filing with the Court.
• Drafting and reviewing documents: Ensuring clarity, legality, and accuracy to avoid errors and shorten the settlement process.
• Resolving disputes over assets and child custody: Representing clients in negotiations, mediation, or litigation to safeguard their legitimate rights.
• Consulting on financial obligations and alimony: Offering fair and practical solutions in accordance with the law.
• Post-divorce support: Advising on issues such as changes in child custody, adjustments to alimony, or additional asset division.
• Contact us today for free divorce form templates, detailed procedure guidance, and effective solutions for resolving marital disputes.

Email: miller@hmlf.vn
Web: hmlf.vn
Hotline: 0937215585
Address: 14th Floor, HM Town Building, 412 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, Ho Chi Minh City