AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS TO GOVERNMENT’S DECREE NO. 19/2011/ND-CP DATED MARCH 21, 2011, ELABORATING ON CERTAIN ARTICLES OF THE LAW ON CHILD ADOPTION

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Child Adoption dated June 17, 2010;

Upon the request of the Minister of Justice;

The Government hereby promulgates the Decree on amendments and supplements to the Government’s Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP dated March 21, 2011, elaborating on implementation of certain Articles of the Law on Child Adoption.

1. Clause 1 of Article 2 shall be amended as follows:

“1. For domestic adoption, in case stepfathers or stepmothers allow their wife or husband’s step-children to be their adoptees, or natural aunts, uncles allow their nephews, nieces to be their adoptees, the Commune-level People’s Committees of localities in which adopting persons or adoptees are permanently residing shall be charged with granting the registration for adoption. In case abandoned children who have not yet been sent to the orphanages or childcare centers are adopted, the Commune-level People’s Committees of localities where the report on confirmation of abandoned children’s status are made for registration of adoption; in case children living in orphanages or childcare centers are adopted, the Commune-level People’s Committees of localities where these centers are based shall be charged with granting the registration for adoption.”

2. Clause 1 of Article 3 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“1. Children with disabilities or those having dangerous and fatal diseases may be adopted nominally under provisions laid down in point d of clause 2 of Article 28 in the Law on Child Adoption, including children with cleft lip and cleft palate, children losing vision in one or two eyes; deaf or dumb children; children with limb deformities; children with missing fingers, hands, foot (feet) or toes; children infected with HIV; children with heart diseases; children with imperforate anus or without sexual organs; children with blood diseases; children with other disabilities or fatal diseases, all of whom need acute or lifelong care treatment.”

3. Article 4 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

Grant, reception, management and use of humanitarian aids for the purposes of nurturing, care, parenting and education of children and enhancement of competencies of child caretakers at childcare centers shall be subject to Article 7 in the Law on Child Adoption, legislation on reception, management and use of aids and grants for public and non-public childcare centers, and the following specific regulations:

1. Foreign and domestic organizations and individuals must give humanitarian aids through programs, projects, or non-project assistance or grants to the Child Protection Fund.

2. In case of granting humanitarian assistance, individuals and organizations shall not be entitled to request childcare centers to give children up for adoption; childcare centers shall be prohibited from making commitments to giving children up for adoption by reason of getting humanitarian assistance.

In case individuals and organizations provide cash aids, they must transfer them through accounts held by childcare centers.

3. Upon granting and receiving humanitarian aids, in addition to compliance with provisions laid down in clause 1 and clause 2 of this Article, foreign adoptive parents, adopted children organizations licensed in Vietnam and childcare centers shall assume the following responsibilities:

a) Foreign adoptive parents must inform foreign adopted children organizations of humanitarian aids already provided in Vietnam;

b) Foreign adopted children organizations shall have to send the Child Adoption Department of the Ministry of Justice (hereinafter referred to Child Adoption Department) biannual, annual or on-demand reports on humanitarian aids of adoptive parents and organizations involved;

c) On a biannual and annual basis or upon request, childcare centers shall have to report on the reception, use and management of humanitarian aids under laws and report to the Child Adoption Department on the reception, management and use of humanitarian aids from adoptive parents and foreign adopted children organizations licensed in Vietnam.”

4. Article 6 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

1. In case of abandoned children, orphans whose parents are both dead and helpless children are temporarily nurtured or fostered as prescribed by laws, the commune-level People’s Committees shall, on a monthly basis, examine and assess whether these children need to be adopted. If Vietnamese residents apply for adoption, the commune-level People's Committees shall consider issuing their decisions or give instructions about adoption according to law provisions.

2. In case of admitting abandoned children, orphans whose parents are both dead or helpless children in childcare centers, childcare centers must evaluate whether they need to be adopted. If Vietnamese residents wish to adopt children, they may request childcare centers to give one set of child dossiers to register their adoption.

If there are none of Vietnamese residents applying for adoption, childcare centers shall compile a child dossier, including papers and documents prescribed at point a and b of clause 1 of Article 32 in the Law on Child Adoption, and shall then consult with the supervisory entities. Within 05 working days of receipt of all required dossiers, supervisory entities shall address their opinions to the Department of Justice, enclosing child dossiers, in order to issue the notice of seeking of eligible adopters.

3. Seeking of persons eligible to adopt children shall be subject to the following provisions:

a) Upon receipt of child dossiers as prescribed in clause 2 of this Article, if Vietnamese residents raise their demand for adoption under the provisions of Article 16 in the Law on Child Adoption, the Department of Justice shall have to give each applicant adopter a set of child dossier and introduce him/her to the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where a childcare center is based to seek its decision in accordance with laws;

b) In case where there is none of Vietnamese residents wishing to adopt children referred to clause 1 of Article 3 herein, the Department of Justice shall issue the notice of seeking of adopters. After the duration for seeking eligible adopters in the notice expires as prescribed in point c of clause 2 of Article 15 in the Law on Child Adoption, if there is none of Vietnamese residents wishing to adopt children, the Department of Justice shall send one set of child dossier, including papers and documents referred to in clause 1 of Article 32 in the Law on Child Adoption, to the Child Adoption Department to advertise for eligible adopters in accordance with point d of clause 2 of Article 15 in the Law on Child Adoption.

As regards children referred to in clause 1 of Article 3 herein, the Department of Justice shall confirm whether they are eligible to be adopted and send the Child Adoption Department one set of child dossier, enclosing papers and documents prescribed in point a and b of clause 1 of Article 32 in the Law on Child Adoption and clause 3 of Article 16 herein, in order to seek nominal adopters eligible to foster and take care of adopted children.”

5. Clause 2 and clause 3 of Article 10 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“2. Based on the certificate of adoption, upon the request of the adoptive parents and by consent from adopted children aged 9 or older, civil registration agencies shall have competence in changing the last name, middle name and first name of an adoptee under civil laws and civil status legislation.

3. The supplementation and revision of information about the adoptive parents in certificates of birth of adoptees shall be subject to laws on civil status.”

6. Clause 2 shall be amended and clause 3 shall be added to Article 14 as follows:

“2. In order to adopt children via introduction procedures, the following documents must be submitted:

a) Written document of the Department of Justice, enclosing papers and documents, stating the notice of seeking of foster families for children as per point c of clause 2 of Article 15 in the Law on Child Adoption has already been issued;

b) Written document of the Child Adoption Department confirming that, upon expiration of the duration of such notice as per point d of clause 2 of Article 15 in the Law on Child Adoption, there are none of Vietnamese residents adopt children.

3. At the adoption ceremony, the Department of Justice shall give the adoptive parent one set of child dossier, including papers specified in clause 1 of Article 32 in the Law on Child Adoption and written opinions from the real parents or guardians and opinions from children aged nine years or older on agreeing to allow these children to be adopted; in case children are living in childcare centers, there must be written opinions from the directors about such adoption.”

7. Article 16 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“1. Before confirming that a child is eligible to be adopted abroad as stipulated in clause 2 of Article 33 in the Law on Child Adoption, the Department of Justice shall verify and assess child dossiers and collate them with regulations on eligibility and age of adopted children in case they are adopted nominally, or in case they are adopted through introduction procedures.

In case an abandoned child is adopted abroad, the written document stating verification and clear conclusion of origin of that abandoned child, and confirming his/her real parents are not identified, must be presented.

In case information about the real parents of an abandoned child is verified by the provincial Police and the Department of Justice contacts his/her real parents, the Department of Justice shall proceed to collect opinions from these real parents before confirming that they are eligible to be adopted.

In case where it is impossible to contact the real parents, the Department of Justice shall have to post a notice at its office for a period of 60 days of receipt of verification results and concurrently send a request to the commune-level People’s Committee at the latest residence of the real parents for posting of a notice of placement of such child for adoption at its office. The duration for posting of such notice shall be 60 days from the date on which the commune-level People’s Committee receives the written request from the Department of Justice.

2. The confirmation that a child is eligible to be adopted must strictly conform to the requirements concerning legal child age and persons eligible to adopt nominally and persons eligible to adopt through introduction procedures; the adoption dossier must fully include valid documents.

In case where a child is eligible to be adopted, the Department of Justice must give the written confirmation in particular cases.

3. After confirming that a child is eligible to be adopted abroad, the Department of Justice shall send the Child Adoption Department the written confirmation that the child is eligible to be adopted, the verification document of the provincial Police in case of an abandoned child, the document stating opinions from the real parents or guardians and opinions from the child aged nine years or older on the consent to adoption; in case a child is living in childcare centers, there must be the written document stating opinions from their directors about such adoption.”

8. Clause 3 of Article 20 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“3. Upon carrying out the inspection of results of processing of applications for adoption as prescribed in clause 2 of Article 28 and clause 2 of Article 36 in the Law on Child Adoption, the Child Adoption Department may consult with experts in the psychology, healthcare, family and society sector. If a child is eligible to be adopted abroad, and the decision on approval of adoption of the child is made according to the legally required processes and procedures and meets the best interests of the child, then Child Adoption Department shall send the written notification to the adopter and involved centrally-affiliated agencies for foreign child adoption, enclosing the report on assessing that the child is eligible to be adopted abroad, the written document stating opinions from the real parents or guardian and opinions from the child aged 9 years or older about the consent to such adoption; in case of the child living at childcare centers, it shall be mandatory to consult with Directors of childcare centers on child adoption. In case where a child is not eligible to be adopted, and the decision on adoption of the child is not made according to the prescribed processes and procedures, and does not meet the best interests of that child, then the Child Adoption Department shall have to inform the Department of Justice.”

9. Article 30 shall be amended as follows:

1. If the adoption between Vietnamese citizens or between Vietnamese citizens and foreigners has been handled at foreign competent authorities, such adoption shall be recorded into the adoption register in the following cases:

a) The adoption has been handled according to provisions laid down in international treaties of which Vietnam and the country where the adoption is handled are members;

b) The adoption has been handled under laws of the host country, except in case such adoption is in breach of fundamental principles defined in the Law of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

2. Authority and procedures for recording of handled adoptions in the adoption register at the foreign competent authority shall be subject laws on civil status.

If the adoption is handled as per point a of clause 1 of this Article, in addition to papers prescribed in clause 1 of Article 49 in the Law on Civil Status, the application documentation for such adoption must include the written document certifying that the adoption is carried out in conformity with international treaties by the foreign competent authority.

3. The Child Adoption Department must publish the list of countries having relations with Vietnam in accordance with international treaties on child adoption on the Information Portal of the Ministry of Justice.”

1. Replacing the phrase “recognition of adoptions already registered with foreign competent authorities" by “recording adoptions handled at foreign competent authorities into the adoption register” in clause 2 of Article 1 and Section 6 in the Chapter II.

2. Deleting the phrase “of the head of the adopted children organization prescribed in point e and" in clause 3 of Article 5.

3. Repealing clause 3 of Article 3, Article 11, point dd and e of clause 1 of Article 31.

Ministers, Heads of Ministry-level agencies, Heads of Governmental bodies, Chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-affiliated cities, other organizations and individuals involved shall be responsible for implementing this Decree./.

This Decree shall take effect on April 25, 2019./.