DIVORCE INVOLVING FOREIGN ELEMENTS, HOW ARE PROPERTY HANDLED?

Legal basis

– Law on Marriage and Family 2014

– Civil Procedure Code 2015

– Resolution 326/2016/UBTVQH14

Nowadays, the trend of marrying a foreigner becomes more and more popular, and the number of divorce cases are increasingly high. So, what documents need to be prepared and what are the procedures for solving this case according to Vietnamese law?

What is a divorce involving foreign elements?

According to the provisions of Article 127 of the 2014 Marriage and Family Law, divorce with foreign elements includes the following cases:

– Divorce between a Vietnamese citizen and a foreigner or between two foreigners permanently residing in Vietnam shall be settled at a competent Vietnamese agency.

– In case a partner being a Vietnamese citizen does not permanently reside in Vietnam at the time of request for divorce and they do not have a place of permanent co-residence, the Vietnamese law shall apply to resolve this case.

– The settlement of a divorced couple’s real estates in a foreign country must comply with the law of the country where such immovables are located.

Property division in a divorce involving foreign elements

Article 59 of Law on Marriage and Family 2014 stipulates the principles for resolving the property of husband and wife upon divorce:

– If the husband and wife’s property regime is according to law, the property will be divided according to the agreement of the parties; If no agreement can be reached, it shall be settled at the request of a spouse or both.

– If the husband and wife’s property regime is according to an agreement, the property settlement upon divorce will apply according to that agreement.

– The common property of husband and wife is divided into two, but taking into account the following factors:

+ Circumstances of family, husband and wife;

+ Each spouse’s contributions to the creation, maintenance and development of common property. The housework done in the family by a spouse shall be regarded as income-generating labor;

+ Protecting the legitimate interests of each spouse in their production, business and career activities to create conditions for them to continue working to generate incomes;

+ Each spouse’s faults in violating the spousal rights and obligations.

– The common property of husband and wife shall be divided in kind, if impossible to be divided in kind, common property shall be divided based on its value. The partner who receives the property in kind with a value bigger than the portion he/she is entitled to receive shall pay the value difference to the other.