A non-Vietnamese citizen, seeking to get married to a Vietnamese national, may submit in person or by mail his/her file of required documents for marriage registration to the Consulate of Viet Nam in New York, for the authentication/legalization of the papers before taking them to Viet Nam for subsequent procedures.

Documents to be authenticated at the Consulate:

I. A Regular Dossier Includes:

1. Application for Marriage Registration in Viet Nam (bilingual form attached): Fill in with your information, attach your photo, then sign your name. Note: Leave blank the column of the other applicant in Viet Nam.

2. Affidavit of Single Status (bilingual form attached)

3. Certificate of No-Marriage Records issued by the State (or County): Vital Statistics Office within the last six months certifying that no marriage license or marriage record of the applicant has been found from his/her mature age of marriage (age of 18 for female and 20 for male) or since his/her divorce up to the present or since his/her spouse’ death up to present.

4. Certificate of Good Mental Health (bilingual form attached)  issued by an authorized medical institution confirming that the applicant has no mental illnesses, or has a mental problem but not to the extent of losing consciousness of his/her own actions.

5. Biographic Information Sheet (bilingual form attached)

6. Photocopy of the photo and signature pages of the Passport (certified that it is true and exact copy from the original)

NOTE: (a) The above-mentioned documents (N# 1,2,4,5 and 6) must be certified by a Notary Public (document N# 3 is regularly issued by the Registrar or Court Clerk) and the signatures of the Notary Public or Registrar or Court Clerk must be subsequently certified by the State Department (or its Office of Authentication) of the Statewhere the applicant lives before they are sent to the Consulate for legalization. The Consulate can certify only the signatures of the State-level Secretary of State.

II. Divorced and Widowed Applicants: In addition to the 6 above-listed documents,

- Divorcees are required to submit the Divorce Decree after it has been certified by a Notary Public or a Court Clerk, and the State-level Secretary of State;

- Widows are to submit a true copy of the Death Certificate of the previous spouse after it has been certified by a Registrar or a Notary Public, and the State-level Secretary of State.

III. Power of Attorney for Submission of Application:

The non-Vietnamese party can, with a power of attorney (bilingual form attached)  entrust his/her fiancé(e) to submit the application package. The power of attorney is required to be authenticated by the Consulate after it has been certified by (1) a Notary Public, and (2) the State-level Secretary of State.

Fees: Fees can be paid in the form of MONEY ORDERS or CASHIER’S CHECKS (Certified Checks) or PERSONAL CHECKS payable to THE CONSULATE OF VIET NAM IN NEW YORK.

For mail back: Please, include a self-addressed postage-paid return envelope. For safety of your documents, please use only one of the following mailing services which provide tracking numbers: Federal Express (FedEx), or USPS Express Mail. If you use FedEx, please make sure that you put your name, address, FedEx account and phone number in both sender’s and recipient’s boxes. Do not use any other mailing services. Applicants applying together may provide one envelope for visas to be returned to the same address.

Processing Time:

- Regular processing requires 10 – 20 working days.

- Rush service requires 3 – 5 working days starting from the date of receipt of the papers.