THE GOVERNMENT

DECREES:

Article 1.- Governing scope

This Decree details and guides the implementation of Clause 2 of Article 8, Article 12 and Clause 1 of Article 20 of the Residence Law, regarding the responsibilities of agencies, organizations and individuals in detecting and preventing the abuse of regulations on household registration to limit citizens' lawful rights and interests; citizens' residence places; time limits for permanent residence registration; conditions for permanent residence registration in centrally run cities.

Article 2.- Subjects of application

This Decree applies to Vietnamese agencies, organizations, households and citizens, and overseas Vietnamese who still hold the Vietnamese nationality and return to live in Vietnam.

Article 3.- Acts of abusing regulations on household registration to limit citizens' lawful rights and interests

1. Under the Residence Law, the regulations on household registration cover the following contents:

a/ Permanent residence registration and management;

b/ Temporary residence registration and management;

c/ Stay notification;

d/ Absence declaration.

2. Prohibited acts of abusing the regulations on household registration to limit citizens' lawful rights and interests include:

a/ Promulgating legal documents or other documents concerning the regulations on household registration, thus limiting citizens' lawful rights and interests;

b/ Promulgating legal documents or other documents concerning the regulations on household registration in contravention of the Residence Law and its guiding documents;

c/ Promulgating regulations to limit citizens' rights to freedom of residence ultra vires or in violation of the order and procedures prescribed by law;

d/ Using regulations on household registration as conditions to limit citizens' lawful rights and interests in contravention of legal provisions;

e/ Deliberately settling or declining to settle citizens' requests for household registration in contravention of legal provisions on residence, thus limiting citizens' lawful rights and interests.

3. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies and People's Committees at all levels have the responsibilities:

a/ To examine and scrutinize all legal documents and other documents in their respective management domains regarding the regulations on household registration in order to amend, annul or propose competent bodies to amend, annul contents contrary to the Residence Law and its guiding documents, which limit citizens' lawful rights and interests;

b/ When promulgating legal documents or other documents according to their competence concerning the regulations on household registration, to ensure their compliance with the Residence Law and its guiding documents; not to limit citizens' lawful rights and interests;

c/ To direct, inspect and supervise agencies, organizations and individuals under their respective management in the implementation of the Residence Law and its guiding documents. To promptly detect and strictly handle agencies, organizations and individuals under their respective management for acts of abusing the regulations on household registration to limit citizens' lawful rights and interests.

4. Citizens have the rights to detect, promptly notify competent bodies of, and assist the latter in preventing and handling, acts of abusing the regulations on household registration to limit citizens' lawful rights and interests.

Article 4.- Citizens' residence places

1. A citizen's residence place is his/her lawful domicile, where he/she regularly lives. Citizens' residence places are their places of permanent or temporary residence.

Lawful domiciles may be those under citizens' ownership or use rights or be leased, lent or let for free-of-charge stay by agencies, organizations or individuals in accordance with law.

2. Where a citizen's residence place is unidentifiable under the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article, his/her residence place is the place where he/she is living, which is certified by the commune/ward/township police.

3. Lawful domiciles include:

a/ Dwelling houses;

b/ Ships, boats or other craft, which are used for lodging and daily-life activities of households or individuals;

c/ Buildings other than those specified at Points a and b of this Clause, which are used for lodging and daily-life activities of households, individuals.

4. Permanent residence registration is not made upon citizens' movement to new domiciles in one of the following cases:

a/ Their domiciles lie within locations or areas where construction is forbidden or where the boundary markers for protection of technical infrastructures, classified historical or cultural relics are infringed upon;

b/ Their domiciles being dwelling houses which totally lie on illegally occupied land;

c/ Their domiciles lie on the land which competent state bodies have issued decisions to recover or domiciles being dwelling houses with disputes over or complaints about ownership or use rights to their parts or wholes being not yet settled under provisions of law (except for cases where persons being paternal or maternal grandparents, parents, wives, husbands and offspring come and live with one another);

d/ Their domiciles are distrained or confiscated for execution of judgments, or are compulsorily purchased under decisions of competent state bodies;

e/ Their domiciles being dwelling houses which must be demolished or dismantled under decisions already issued by competent state bodies.

Article 5.- Papers proving lawful domiciles

1. Papers proving lawful domiciles for permanent residence registration are one of the following papers:

a/ Papers showing that citizens' lawful domiciles are under their ownership, including one of the following papers:

- Papers certifying the ownership rights to dwelling houses or papers on ownership rights to dwelling houses, issued by competent bodies in different periods;

- Papers on residential-land use rights under the provisions of land law (with dwelling houses on that land);

- Construction permits under the provisions of construction law (for cases requiring such permits);

- Contracts on purchase and sale of state-owned houses or papers on liquidation of state-owned houses;

- Contracts on house purchase or papers proving the hand-over of dwelling houses and acceptance of dwelling houses of enterprises which have the function of dealing in dwelling houses and invest in the construction thereof for sale;

- Papers on purchase, sale, donation, exchange, inheritance of dwelling houses, which are notarized or authenticated by People's Committees of communes, wards or townships (below referred to as commune-level People's Committees for short);

- Papers on donation of gratitude houses, charity houses, solidarity houses, on grant of dwelling houses or residential land to individuals or households relocated under the State's plans or to other subjects;

- Papers of courts or competent state administrative bodies permitting the ownership of dwelling houses, which have already taken legal effect;

- Papers certified by commune-level People's Committees on dwelling houses, residential land free from disputes over the ownership rights to dwelling houses, the rights to use residential land, if one of the above-listed papers is unavailable;

- Papers proving the registration of ships, boats or other craft under their ownership and addresses of the original wharves of the craft used for lodging. If the registration papers are unavailable, there must be the certification by commune-level People's Committees that the ships, boats or other craft used for lodging belong to their ownership or certification of the sale and purchase, donation, exchange, inheritance of the ships, boats or other craft as well as their original wharves.

b/ Papers proving the lease, lending or letting for free-of-charge stay of lawful domiciles are contracts, commitments to lease, lend or let for free-of-charge stay dwelling houses or other buildings of agencies, organizations or individuals (in case of contracts or commitments to lease, lend, let for free-of-charge stay the personal houses, the notarization or authentication by commune-level People's Committees is required);

c/ Papers of agencies, organizations, religious establishments on citizens' domiciles which fall under the cases specified at Point c and d, Clause 1, Article 26 of the Residence Law;

d/ Papers of agencies or organizations signed and sealed by their heads, proving the allocation and use of dwelling houses, the transfer of dwelling houses, the possession of dwelling houses built on land assigned by agencies or organizations for construction of dwelling houses (for dwelling houses and land under the management of those agencies or organizations) or certifying by commune-level People's Committees that such dwelling houses are free from disputes over ownership or use rights.

2. Papers proving lawful domiciles for temporary residence registration are one of the following papers:

a/ One of the papers specified in Clause 1 of this Article;

b/ Citizens' written commitment that their domiciles belong to their use rights and are free from disputes over the use rights, if one of the papers specified at Point a of this Clause is not available.

3. Where legal documents on dwelling houses are amended, the Minister of Public Security will guide in detail other papers proving the lawful domiciles for registration of permanent residence or temporary residence in accordance with those legal documents.

Article 6.- Time limits for permanent residence registration

1. Within 24 months after their movement to new lawful domiciles, the persons who change their lawful domiciles or household representatives shall carry out procedures to register their permanent residence at new lodging places.

2. Within 60 days after getting the consent of the household registration book owners, the persons permitted by the former to have their names entered in such household registration books or their household representatives shall carry out procedures for permanent residence registration.

3. Within 60 days after a child is registered for a birth certificate, his/her father, mother or household representative, nurturer or caretaker shall carry out procedures for registration of such child's permanent residence.

Article 7.- Conditions for temporary residents to register their permanent residence in centrally run cities

1. The following cases are considered temporary residence for one consecutive year or more in centrally run cities:

a/ Continuous temporary residence at a place in a centrally run city for one year or more;

b/ Continuous temporary residence at different places in a centrally run city for one year or more at all those places.

2. The temporary residence duration is calculated from the date citizens register their temporary residence to the date they file dossiers for permanent residence registration.

3. Papers proving the temporary residence duration are one of the following papers:

a/ Papers on temporary residence for a give period or certification of the temporary residence duration before July 1, 2007, by the commune/ward/township police;

b/ Temporary residence books or certification of the temporary residence registration duration by the commune/ward/township police (for cases of temporary residence registration without the grant of temporary residence books).

Article 8.- Complaints, denunciations and handling of violations

1. Those who violate legal provisions on residence shall, depending on the nature and severity of their violations, be disciplined, administratively sanctioned or examined for penal liability; if causing damage, they shall pay compensations therefor in accordance with law.

2. Organizations and individuals may complain about or denounce acts of violating the law on residence. Complaints and denunciations and the settlement thereof comply with the provisions of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations.

Article 9.- Implementation effect

This Decree takes effect 15 days after its publication in "CONG BAO."

To annul Decree No. 51/CP of May 10, 1997, on household registration and management, and Decree No. 108/2005/ND-CP of August 19, 2005, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 51/CP of May 10, 1997, on household registration and management.

Article 10.- Implementation responsibilities

1. The Minister of Public Security shall urge, inspect and guide the implementation of this Decree.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, and presidents of provincial/municipal People's Committees shall implement this Decree.