Death involving foreigners

Legal basis

- Civil Code promulgated on October 18, 1995 (Articles 54, 60-64).
- Decree 83/1998/ND-CP on birth and death registration (Articles 1, 5, 9, 30 and 71).

Competent authorities

The police, the municipal or provincial health authority and the forensic medicine council must cooperate to determine the cause of the death for the municipal or provincial people’s committee or the department of justice in the locality of residence of the dead person to proceed with death declaration.

Coordination agencies

- Customs must complete the exit procedure.
- The international quarantine agency.
- The embassy, consulate-general, diplomatic representative or consular agency must send a letter requesting completion of the death declaration procedure.

Death declaration

The person who makes the death declaration must submit an application for death declaration, the note of the diplomatic representative or consular agency and the notification of death. He/she must show the following papers at the Department of Justice:

- The certificate for permanent or temporary residence in Vietnam of the dead person.
- The declarant’s passport, identity card or other legal papers.

Procedures

- Upon receiving notification of the death, the Department of Foreign Affairs will inform the diplomatic representative or consular agency.
- The diplomatic representative or consular agency will send a note requesting completion of the procedures to determine the cause of the death, the burial or cremation of the dead person in Vietnam or repatriation of his/her corpse or ashes, and death declaration.
- Based on this note, the Department of Foreign Affairs will send letters to relevant agencies (the police, health and quarantine) asking for assistance.
- In case of repatriation of the corpse, the department will issue a pass for the corpse and send letters to customs and quarantine agencies for completion of necessary formalities.

The death declaration procedure for overseas Vietnamese who die in Vietnam is the same.