Unilateral divorce procedures in Vietnam

When the conflict in the life of a couple becomes serious and the common life cannot last, leading to the failure of marriage purpose, the parties have the right to request the Court to consider divorce. If both husband and wife do not agree to divorce, they will follow the unilateral divorce procedure (divorce at the request of one party).

1. Regulations on unilateral divorce

Article 56 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 provides for unilateral divorce as follows:

"1. When a spouse requests a divorce but the conciliation at the Court is unsuccessful, the Court shall grant the divorce if there are grounds for the fact that the spouse has committed domestic violence or seriously violated the rights and obligations of the spouse and make the marriage fall into a serious state, living together cannot be prolonged and the purpose of marriage is not achieved.

2. In case the spouse of the person who was declared missing by the Court requests a divorce, the Court will grant the divorce.

3. In case there is a request for divorce as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 51 of this Law, the court will grant the divorce if there are grounds for the fact that the husband or wife commits acts of domestic violence, causing serious impacts to the life, health and spirit of the other person."

Thus, after the unsuccessful conciliation and reunification of the Court, based on the provisions of the above Law, the Court will settle the unilateral divorce request according to the grounds specified in Clause 1, Article 56 of the Law on Marriage and Family Law 2014. Below, our Law Firm will provide preliminary guidance on unilateral divorce procedures in Vietnam for your convenience.

>>> Read more: Steps to carry out the unilateral divorce procedure

Unilateral divorce procedures in Vietnam

2. Issues the Court will consider in the unilateral divorce case

There are 03 legal issues to be resolved in a divorce case:

• Spousal realtionship: the problem of ending the marriage relationship;
• Property relations: division of common assets, common debts; Can common property and common debt be mutually agreed upon by the two parties? Or should the Court decide? If the Court decides, what is the court fee?
• Common child relationship: who will directly raise the common child? How is the alimony? What about child visitation rights?

In a divorce case, in addition to the termination of the husband and wife realtionship, the issue of property relations and common child relations is almost always disputed, sometimes very difficult and complicated. Usually, both parties want a larger share of the property, or the wife often wants custody of the children. The Court will consider and decide based on the evidence of the parties arguments and legal evidence.

3. Application file for unilateral divorce in Vietnam

• Application for divorce;
• Marriage registration certificate (original or certified copy);
• Department of household registration, ID card of the spouses (certified copy);
• Birth certificate of the child (certified copy - if applicable);
• Other documents and shreds of evidencing common property such as Certificate of land use right (red book); Vehicle registration; Passbook;... (certified copy)

>>> Read more: Child custody disputes with people living abroad