色花堂

聽 聽 Hi everyone, me (American) and my wife ( Vietnamese) want to divorce in VN. Neither of us have kids, assets or properties to dispute over. I reached out to a few lawyers online. I was quoted 4000 dollars on average and they recommended an unilateral divorce.Additional information: I hired a lawyer in the US 2 years ago and still current and has mailed several letters to my wife and because of the Hague convention, I'm not allowed to give her the document directly.At this point, I'm not sure what to do and looking for advice from other members that gone through with the divorce process in Vietnam.聽 聽 聽 聽 -@Randomguy2040

Though I've no direct experience in this sort of matter, I have been witness to divorce proceedings involving VN citizens and foreigners who married in Vietnam. This is what I've observed.

If the intention to divorce is reciprocal, and provided your estranged partner is cooperative, there is no need for a lawyer. The VN court clerks get all nervous and jerky when they find out a foreigner is involved, preferring to shuffle you off to a lawyer, but legal representation is not required by law. You'll no doubt have to be persistent to push this through.

Take a look at one of our "Sticky" threads, titled "Vietnamese Family Law Act".

Click the link in the first post, which will open an English translation of

"VIETNAM MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LAW 2014".

Scroll down to聽

Chapter IV

TERMINATION OF MARRIAGE

There's more in the legislation, further up and down the page. Do a search for "foreign" for additional sections which might affect you.

Welcome to the Vietnam forum. Sorry your first post was with regard to such an unpleasant subject.

Hope everything works out well for you.

@Aidan in HCMC

Thanks for the resource, Aiden. I appreciate it. I hope the other members could pitch in their personal experiences as well

I recognize that the best answer will come from a lawyer - however, wondering if anybody has any anecdotal stories or experience:

Is it better to get divorced in the USA or Vietnam if you were married in the USA and have kids/assets?聽 The question would be - are you more likely to get favorable/equal treatment in one country or another?聽 聽For instance, if you wanted a better chance at lower monthly payments, etc.聽

@Randomguy2040 please let me ask:聽 In which country did you celebrated you marriage? USA, Vietnam, or where?

In case of Vietnam like some other countries, any of the spouses can request the Court to settle the divorce after 12 months separated. But always the Mediation is mandatory (except when a person has disappeared for two consecutive years).....聽 The process could be as fast as 3 months or more depending of the will of the parties. With your passport showing your exits from Vietnam you can demonstrate both of you were separated, if not, you will need some witnesses.

Think about this: You are showing us your wife is not聽 interested in getting divorced, and because of that: you must chose a legal representative聽 and send to him a power of attorney and copies of your entire passport(s) with your migratory movements from Vietnam (everything notarized and stamped by the Embassy of Vietnam in the country you are)聽 in order to in your behalf goes to the Court, complete the dossier with the forms, copy of Marriage Certificate, proof of no children nor assets, witness, proof exwife-support is not needed, etc, etc, to represent聽 you during mediation and audiences (if any) and finally present the Divorce Resolution to the Civil Registry authority at the end.....聽 聽oh man! k-chin k-ching

聽 聽 ..... and because of the Hague convention, I'm not allowed to give her the document directly.
聽 聽
聽 聽 -@Randomguy2040

Sorry man, what does the Hague Convention have to do with this impossibility to give her the documents?

@Randomguy2040

HORRIBLE...they ask somethingh impossible to have and lucky you have nothing tigether you ex wife.

Please if you can informe me what to happen later.

Thanx

I had a friend from Sweden who married a Vietnamese (wife). They tied the knot in Singapore and later moved to Vietnam, but they didn鈥檛 register their marriage there. My friend was initially granted a five-year spousal visa in Vietnam based on their Singapore marriage certificate.

After some years, the couple separated. The wife moved abroad for work, while my friend remained in Vietnam. Later, the wife returned to Vietnam and married a Vietnamese man without going through any legal process to end her previous marriage. She claimed that their marriage in Singapore wasn鈥檛 valid under Vietnamese law.

I鈥檓 not sure if what she said is true, but it sounds strange to me. Have you anyone faced or heard situation like this?

@Contem talk

Your friend is lucky, I pay every month for my very poor wife( more rich tham me)馃ぃI cant have resident card for 5 years, 3 years only!My be your friend work in VN.The wife of your friend get one illegal marriage, VN laws dont alloved to have marriage if you are already married.....laws wish to show you are not married or divorced before give you a permission of marriage.So, if he want can ending the new, not avalable certificate of marriage....I THINK SO.( but we are TAY BALO)馃槨

MISTER. ..sorry for my very bad english language.聽 聽 GOOD LUCK

@Contem talk - I cant have resident card for 5 years, 3 years only! My be your friend work in VN. - @pippo cal貌63

Go back and read his post again. I am virtually certain he is saying that based on the marriage in Singapore, he was able to get the 5-year Visa exemption certificate (VEC) allowing him to stay in Vietnam 6 months at a time.

The Five-Year TRC is a totally different thing and might be available to someone who already has a 3-year TRC, but the application process is a bit more complicated.

AND PLEASE STOP MAKING EXCUSES FOR YOUR BAD ENGLISH.

Use Google translate to translate from your native language to English.

You can get even better results these days by聽 using a free AI program to correct your grammar.

If you show that additional level of respect to the members of The Forum, you will likely get better replies.

***

@ajairon

Good evening.

My wife dont want to devorce: she loose the money.The lawyer ask me 3 years of time, but the Court not allowed my unilateral devorce.

Thank you for your informations

@OceanBeach92107

Good evening.

Yes I make mistake, I ve talk about temporany resident card.. 3 years

I ve聽 VISA 5 years too, but one people of police have make problem at my pass port, so I wait 4 months for a new passport and the Visa is on the old. Vietnamese embassy in my country says, not problem you show 2 passport, the old not expired with VISA 5 years and the new passport......But I dont think so馃槨.....international rules say that, but here 膽么i khi ngay c岷� 膽峄慽 v峄沬 nh峄痭g 膽i峄乽 nh峄� nh岷穞 c农ng l脿 m峄檛 v岷�n 膽峄� l峄沶 ...sit down馃ぃ

@pippo cal貌63

Sorry....I never study english, this expat is interesting for me so I serch to keep some information.If you like, I will go away

@OceanBeach92107

I have 3 TRC Cart.....but my be 5 TRC it is for forings working in VN..if you can to understand my english allowed me to praticr it......If you have a lot of problem, I will use translator....I m old man, older than yuo( I think)

@braymor99

Divorce in VN, if obtained everything ends: no maintenance in the absence of children, no maintenance and no residual succession.

@pippo cal貌63

Thank you. It is in fact for this reason that I ask for a divorce in VN, they have already stolen enough billions from me! The Court, however, still does not accept the request for unilateral divorce, it says that, although I have given it, it does not have a certain address of residence of my wife. I am sure of this in Italy and also in Viet Nam, but I cannot present an authentic certificate of residence, when the latter is intended exclusively for the holder. Moreover, if I ask for a unilateral divorce, it is precisely because my wife deliberately makes herself unavailable! As another participant in this forum asserted, the method of disappearance of a spouse is in common use and in the meantime communication with Vietnamese family members is daily for fraudulent use. I find myself living on the land that I paid for more than 20 years ago, without being a resident, where further money is extorted from me, surrounded by my wife's family, who also have no residence, but who in addition to making my life impossible, use the houses I built as a hotel and my land as their farm. I have an authentic notarial deed, where they declare me absolute master of everything, but evidently it is for let's say internal use and we foreigners are considered: Forex currency to be snatched even illegally. The Court for the Defence of Human Rights could perhaps help us.

@Contem talk

Weird but possible. #1 Of course she appears as a Single in VN, but she should know that a marriage in any country is globally legal and someone could use it against her for fraud or lies to the Authority. #2 she've got a VEC due to the marital status abroad, therefore someone already knows that a marriage exists..... Therefore, there are explosives and matches ready

Good morning and thank you! My wedding was done abroad, but it was also registered in Vietnam! The problem is that, as far as I understand, there is a fraudulent market of women madly in love and soon absent for profit. My wife, having lived with me for 30 years, was perhaps an excellent actress. Or perhaps, a very beautiful woman, 6 years younger than me, she let herself be ensnared and commanded by a family of UNGRATEFUL birds of prey. Obtaining a unilateral divorce, after 10 months of struggle, seems to be impossible. My divorce request is not accepted for irrelevant reasons.

@pippo cal貌63

Oh man, please continue your story, why did the court reject your unilateral divorce request?聽 By the law It can be requested after 12 month separated, it means of all conyugal matters, if you are still sending some money to her, then your conyugal tasks are still in progress.聽 聽#2 I your particular case maybe it is better to get divorced first in the country you got married and the register that divorce in VN

@ajairon

Hi Mister.Se you look at my previous posts, more or less, you will know my story. It is more than 30 years long and impossible to tell. In practice, my wife planned everything in Vietnam, for when we would return to my home country, where women are always right. There, with a group of former Thai whores and a girl who worked at the Grang Hotel in Vung Tao 29 years ago, he mounted a bunch of accusations on me. I went to get a family status, to get yet another temporary residence permit card in Viet Nam and when she saw it she was like a beast. She doesn't like to stay in VN and also coming here, I annoy her brother, who lives freely, in a house of mine, with a large plot of land and with relatives in tow (the nephews then, they bother me enormously and all 2 were born, in my guest room (12 years old who are here for free). In short, my wife with an identity card and 2 passports already prepared ran away from home and sued me. The police, seeing that they had punched and slapped her, took her to the emergency room. At the hospital, half an hour later, he changed his version, he declared that I had given him a frying pan (5 days of convalescence for a slight abrasion, on the second and third finger of his left hand). Four hours later she returned to the police and filed a third version, she had a cut on her finger(In those days he was pitting cherries to make jam) Followed by 2 free lawyers, one perhaps his lover for years, but I don't care, she managed to obtain a separation with charge (it was already 11500 euros for the first hearing), where my wife wanted us to meet the judge in separate venues. I was in VN, because my wife had stolen some Dong from me and I thought she had come here and I didn't show up. Here, the previous lickers, banned me in unison, did not give me the keys and made themselves untraceable, except for the one who eats and drinks for free at my house. (Not on the Red Book, but on a valid notarial deed signed by my wife and brother... I do not want to add the adjective to it. In practice, my wife's lawsuit will not go to the hearing, it will probably be dismissed, or at most they will give me a fine (which I will contest). In the meantime, however, I am passing her food every month, because she has declared herself destitute 馃ぃ ... and they believed him! I, since I thought of it here, I came to VN 100% disabled for years and motor handicapped, to look for it, I think that for a month it has been here, emptying accounts. In the meantime I am living hell, problems everywhere, daily mischief by the rabble who are not even resident here where they lord it over. The police, despite a SERIOUS complaint that I filed, I have never seen them and if I called them, I am sure they would not come (if you do the 65 per hour, after the end signal of the limit of 60馃ぃ you immediately see 7 trieu馃槨. To get to the point, in my country, to ask for a unilateral divorce it takes 10 years... and I will believe first. In the last 11 years, Covid that has blocked me, aside, I have spent 3/4 of my life in VN and therefore I have all the rights to divorce here. As far as I know, 12 months are not necessary: my wife has abandoned, servant of the notorious family, an elderly chronically ill (last beast lung cancer) for futile and certainly thieving reasons..... I hope, and it is very easy, that the Court will be able to assume it.聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽N.B A participant in this forum, in 4 words perfectly described what Vietnamese marriages/divorces are subject to.......????? 馃槶

From all the broken sentences, I painted a picture of an elderly man with disability, came to VN 30 yrs ago.聽 Then the monetary/mental abuse started but my question is why did you wait that long to start anything.聽 If it was any person with typical common sense, it would have been done and over with, unless there was some kinds of dependent personality disorder.

@yng68bld聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽

First and foremost, a psychiatrist of your esteemed and much feared "supreme culture" could have spared themselves the trouble of reading my elaborate Dantesque post. Secondly, I must ask:"What oracle led you to believe I鈥檝e been waiting until today?". I鈥檝e been entrenched in this battle for far longer than you realize though perhaps you鈥檝e failed to grasp even the slightest truth about V.N.聽

This is a place where a foreigner鈥檚 value is reduced to the Forex they bring in. Even if one were in a hurry, the system would strip them of urgency ex officio. You see, the so-called bipolar invalid you so hastily judged understands V.N. better than you ever could: it鈥檚 a realm where delusions of operating by personal whims belong solely to those like Tay Bal贸.聽

-

...perhaps you鈥檝e failed to grasp even the slightest truth about V.N. This is a place where a foreigner鈥檚 value is reduced to the Forex they bring in. Even if one were in a hurry, the system would strip them of urgency ex officio. You see, the so-called bipolar invalid you so hastily judged understands V.N. better than you ever could: it鈥檚 a realm where delusions of operating by personal whims belong solely to those like Tay Bal贸. - - @pippo cal貌63

You really should not assume that you know more about Vietnam than member yng68bld .

In fact, I'd be quite willing to bet that you don't.

Safe to assume you meant "T芒y Ba L么" ?

And to think that I had come to see if anyone knew a good lawyer. 馃ぃ No! Absolutely" The man of supreme knowledge who attributes me as incapable and mentally handicapped is certainly more Vietnamese than me: he is a buzzurro like some of them. 馃憤

And to think that I had come to see if anyone knew a good lawyer. 馃ぃ No!

You asked about a lawyer less than 2 weeks ago, yet you've been a member of expat.com since 2022.

Marital issues/problems aren't spontaneous. They evolve over time, hence member yng68bld's question as to why you waited so long is valid.

Absolutely" The man of supreme knowledge who attributes me as incapable and mentally handicapped is certainly more Vietnamese than me...

Nobody "attributes" (sic) you as being incapable or mentally handicapped, though you did say of your wife and her family that "...they killed me mentally and financially".

What member yng68bld聽 stated was, "If it was any person with typical common sense, it would have been done and over with, unless there was some kinds of dependent personality disorder."

No insults nor aspersions were directed at you.

: he is a buzzurro like some of them. 馃憤 - @pippo cal貌63

You've contributed to expat.com ~40 posts since becoming a member just over 3 years ago.

24 of those 40 posts were posted in the last 13 days, the majority of which were concerning your marital issues. That in itself suggests that you might very well be in need of more than just a lawyer.

@pippo cal貌63

Not to be an a!@hole, but you've been trying to hijack many posts just so you can sing the Blues. Obviously you do not have a good view when it comes to women. Judging on your own words they are nothing but a commodity for you. The racism in your posts is also so clear that even Stevie Wonder can see it. I apologise if you do not enjoy my answer and I truly wish that you'll find some kind of solution. But believe me, this ain't it.

And to think that I had come to see if anyone knew a good lawyer. - @pippo cal貌63

I absolutely know a great Vietnamese lawyer.

I also know that, based on your misogynistic ranting about women in your native country (Italy?) and casual depiction of women as wh*res, along with your one-sided POV, my attorney would never speak to me if I recommended her to you.

Maybe you think you came to the forum looking for a lawyer, but from what you've said, it's clear to me that you came here to express your feelings more than you were inspired to seek legal help.

@pippo cal貌63
Not to be an a!@hole, but you've been trying to hijack many posts just so you can sing the Blues. Obviously you do not have a good view when it comes to women. Judging on your own words they are nothing but a commodity for you. The racism in your posts is also so clear that even Stevie Wonder can see it. I apologise if you do not enjoy my answer and I truly wish that you'll find some kind of solution. But believe me, this ain't it. - @mouraliferes83

猬嗭笍猬嗭笍猬嗭笍馃启猬嗭笍猬嗭笍猬嗭笍

馃憗锔忊赌嶐煑�锔�

THIS!

I don't know what to say anymore.聽 Asking a simple question and got poop shoved down your throat.聽 I was never giving this guy a diagnosis but was more of a聽 concern.聽 When I used to work at the Los Angeles VA mental health unit as an RN, I saw plenty of elderly vets returned from Thailand and the Philippines with similar stories like this one.聽 Most were never resolved and the guys ended up in a nursing home or dead with all the $ still going to the wives.聽 The kicker was that most of them said they would do it again if given a second chance.

I don't know what to say anymore. Asking a simple question and got poop shoved down your throat. I was never giving this guy a diagnosis but was more of a concern. When I used to work at the Los Angeles VA mental health unit as an RN, I saw plenty of elderly vets returned from Thailand and the Philippines with similar stories like this one. Most were never resolved and the guys ended up in a nursing home or dead with all the $ still going to the wives. The kicker was that most of them said they would do it again if given a second chance. - @yng68bld

I figured your insights came from a similar background as mine.

馃枪

馃檹

@OceanBeach92107

Yup, our lives are kind of having similar backgrounds in training.聽 I did my 91A/B then the 91C @ Sam Houston in 87.聽 Post Army, I went to RN school with the GI Bill then started work @West LA VA hospital.

@OceanBeach92107 Yup, our lives are kind of having similar backgrounds in training. I did my 91A/B then the 91C @ Sam Houston in 87. Post Army, I went to RN school with the GI Bill then started work @West LA VA hospital. - @yng68bld

Thanks very much for sharing your very meaningful career path 馃檹

I was already an SP4 when I returned from VN and started 91B school at FSH in late 72.

Then to the old 91C school at Fitzsimons AMC in Aurora, CO 73-74 where the first patients I had as a student on the orthopedic ward were some of the POWs who had just returned from H脿 N峄檌.

Ran a TMC at Ft Lewis as SP5 (part-time job as a paramedic) and then four years at a MEDDAC in Deutschland, 77-81, in ICU & as SP6 wardmaster on the surgical ward. Challenged CA boards for LVN in 83 and worked 2 years as a psych MTA for the CDC. Challenged RN boards in 85 and worked registries in SOCAL for 4 years before moving to Nashville. Retrained as a Neuromuscular Massage Therapist in 1996. I retired from everything in 2005 after burning out from my job as an RN with the CDC and spending 13 days in a VA Psych Ward in San Berdoo (not the last time I saw the inside of one of those places) and being diagnosed with PTSD. thankfully there was a lot of therapy available at the VA and very helpful benefits after I was rated 100%, but only after I made the decision to get sober was I truly able to start having a good life again. thanks to all that, my wife has a husband who truly respects her and would never ever talk about her in public or even as an anonymous person on an internet forum in the same manner as has been displayed previously by another contributor in this thread. Cheers 馃檹