Replacement Marriage Certificate

[JRF 117]

Hello

We received two copies of our marriage certificate - one was sent to NVC and the other was lost. My wife wants to have another copy to take to the interview. She has been told that she will need it for comparison purposes by embassy staff. Not sure whether that is true or not but assuming it is (I can't change her mind...so no sense in trying) can anyone tell me the procedures for obtaining a replacement copy in Saigon? Will I need to sign or will they simply create a duplicate version without signatures?

Thanks!

[lasko12 9]

where did you get the marriage certificate in US or Vietnam ?

[JRF 117]

where did you get the marriage certificate in US or Vietnam ?

We were married in Vietnam. The certificate was issued at the Department of Justice in HCM.

[T&T&T 31]

My wife is Vietnamese, I just asked her if you can get a copy at the Department of Justice. Her opinion is that you must have a copy of your marriage certificate before they will make you more copies. I find this difficult to believe but this is Vietnam and I am not surprised anymore. We ordered ten copies when we picked up our original certificate. She suggested you offer some money and it might be possible.

[zcactbp 0]

You can get it from the Dept of Justice in HCMC - it's much quicker to get if you know the marriage register number, book number and date of your marriage certificate. As T&T&T indicates, it's best to have a photocopy of the certificate that you submit with the forms....

Rough overview of the process:

1) Turn up to the Dept of Justice, there should be a inquiry desk near the entrance, ask the official staffing that for the right forms, s/he will direct you to elsewhere in the building to get the right forms,

2) go & get the forms (you'll need to pay for the forms),

3) come back, talk to the official again so that you get the right ticket and wait.

4) Fill in the forms while you wait, submit the forms & pay when called.

If I recall correctly, it took approx 2 weeks to get the official copies (the Dept of Justice folks will tell you when to pick them up) but you're not done yet....

5) turn up, get a ticket, queue, pick up the copies

6) and then go back to take another ticket to submit forms to be translated/notarized.

7) Actually pay & submit the copies to be translated/notarized.

8) Finally pick up the notarized/translated copies.

It usually takes 3-5 days to get the documents translated and no, they don't make it easy as in a "1-shot" process to actually get the official documents AND translated/notarized in one go (even though the window for submission of documents to be translated is 2 windows down....)

I suggest your wife does this as if they ask for ID, her Vietnamese ID card number will match what's on the marriage certificate (at the very least, the address will match if she's renewed her ID card recently). I tried to do this on my own and ran into the problem that my passport number (and citizenship) changed - they wouldn't release the documents to me.....

Given the process, I would strongly suggest getting multiple copies done at the same time. We got 8 total - 4 translated/notarized with the rest being the official copies only. You'll probably need some more notarized/translated copies in the future e.g. for removal of conditions, naturalization etc and it will be a real pain to get when you're both in the US....

You won't actually need to be there to sign the official copies so she can do this herself - the official copy will have "Da ky" for the signatures (signed) - and the translated/notarized copy will make this obvious with name (signed)

Edited September 16, 2013 by zcactbp

[JRF 117]

You can get it from the Dept of Justice in HCMC - it's much quicker to get if you know the marriage register number, book number and date of your marriage certificate. As T&T&T indicates, it's best to have a photocopy of the certificate that you submit with the forms....

Rough overview of the process:

1) Turn up to the Dept of Justice, there should be a inquiry desk near the entrance, ask the official staffing that for the right forms, s/he will direct you to elsewhere in the building to get the right forms,

2) go & get the forms (you'll need to pay for the forms),

3) come back, talk to the official again so that you get the right ticket and wait.

4) Fill in the forms while you wait, submit the forms & pay when called.

If I recall correctly, it took approx 2 weeks to get the official copies (the Dept of Justice folks will tell you when to pick them up) but you're not done yet....

5) turn up, get a ticket, queue, pick up the copies

6) and then go back to take another ticket to submit forms to be translated/notarized.

7) Actually pay & submit the copies to be translated/notarized.

8) Finally pick up the notarized/translated copies.

It usually takes 3-5 days to get the documents translated and no, they don't make it easy as in a "1-shot" process to actually get the official documents AND translated/notarized in one go (even though the window for submission of documents to be translated is 2 windows down....)

I suggest your wife does this as if they ask for ID, her Vietnamese ID card number will match what's on the marriage certificate (at the very least, the address will match if she's renewed her ID card recently). I tried to do this on my own and ran into the problem that my passport number (and citizenship) changed - they wouldn't release the documents to me.....

Given the process, I would strongly suggest getting multiple copies done at the same time. We got 8 total - 4 translated/notarized with the rest being the official copies only. You'll probably need some more notarized/translated copies in the future e.g. for removal of conditions, naturalization etc and it will be a real pain to get when you're both in the US....

You won't actually need to be there to sign the official copies so she can do this herself - the official copy will have "Da ky" for the signatures (signed) - and the translated/notarized copy will make this obvious with name (signed)

Thank you very much for the detailed response!