The Ministry of Justice has proposed amendments to the Law on Vietnamese Nationality that would relax regulations for individuals seeking to acquire or regain Vietnamese citizenship, including provisions allowing dual nationality in certain cases.

On April 9, the Ministry released the draft law amending and supplementing several articles of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality.

The proposed revisions respond to growing interest among overseas Vietnamese in reclaiming Vietnamese nationality while retaining their foreign citizenship.

According to the Ministry, there are approximately 6 million Vietnamese living abroad in over 130 countries and territories. As of March 2025, 229,336 individuals have formally renounced their Vietnamese citizenship.

Recent changes in the nationality laws of countries such as the Czech Republic and Germany - now allowing dual citizenship - have led to a rising number of requests from former Vietnamese nationals wishing to regain Vietnamese citizenship without giving up their current nationality.

Each year, during the “Homeland Spring” program, overseas Vietnamese representatives consistently express this desire to Party and State leaders, requesting the ability to hold both Vietnamese and foreign nationalities.

The Ministry noted that existing legal provisions do not adequately support overseas Vietnamese in reclaiming citizenship while maintaining foreign nationality, nor do they sufficiently encourage the return of high-quality human resources critical to Vietnam’s development.

The proposed amendments aim to institutionalize Party policies concerning overseas Vietnamese, improve legal mechanisms, and create favorable conditions for investment, business, scientific development, innovation, and digital transformation - especially by overseas Vietnamese returning to contribute to the country’s progress.

Key proposals for easing nationality regulations

The draft law proposes amendments to 17 out of 44 articles, including changes to the conditions for restoring Vietnamese nationality.

Under the new provisions, any former Vietnamese citizen who applies to regain citizenship may be considered, regardless of circumstances.

The article title is also updated to reflect this shift, renamed “Conditions for restoring Vietnamese nationality.”

A major change involves revising Clause 5, Article 23 to remove the requirement that applicants renounce their foreign nationality before being allowed to regain Vietnamese citizenship. Instead, in special cases, individuals may retain their foreign nationality.

The Government would be authorized to specify which applicants may regain Vietnamese nationality and still keep their foreign citizenship, provided they meet two key conditions:

First, retaining the foreign nationality must be permissible under the laws of the respective foreign country.

Second, they must not use their foreign citizenship in ways that infringe upon the rights and lawful interests of Vietnamese organizations and individuals, or that threaten national security, public order, or social safety in Vietnam.

To address concerns arising from dual nationality, the draft law adds a new provision: Vietnamese citizens who also hold a foreign nationality must renounce the latter and be permanent residents in Vietnam if they wish to run for office, work in state agencies or political organizations, or serve in the armed forces.

In cases where other laws differ, the provisions of this law will prevail.

As of March 2025, the President of Vietnam has approved the restoration of Vietnamese nationality for 311 individuals, of whom 20 were allowed to retain foreign citizenship. Additionally, 7,014 individuals were granted Vietnamese nationality, with 60 permitted to hold both Vietnamese and foreign citizenships.

T. Nhung