Does Vietnam allow dual citizenship? (2026)

Does Vietnam allow dual citizenship?

Not as a rule. Vietnamese nationality law is built on the principle of a single nationality, and for decades naturalising or reacquiring Vietnamese citizenship meant giving up your foreign one, save for rare Presidential exceptions. A reform passed by the National Assembly on 24 June 2025 (Law No. 79/2025/QH15), in force from 1 July 2025, widened those exceptions — but dual nationality is still the exception, granted case by case, not the default.

What the 2025 reform changed

The amendment lets certain applicants retain their foreign nationality when they naturalise as, or restore, Vietnamese nationality — provided it complies with foreign law and does not harm Vietnam's interests. The eligible groups are people with a Vietnamese spouse, child, parent or grandparent; people who have made meritorious contributions to Vietnam or whose naturalisation benefits the country; and minors naturalising with a Vietnamese parent. It also removed the old category limits on who may reacquire lost nationality, so any former Vietnamese national can now apply to have their case reviewed.

The catch to watch

Retaining a foreign passport is not automatic — it requires the written approval of the President of Vietnam in each case. There is no dual-citizenship 'right' you can simply claim, and no citizenship- or golden-visa-by-investment route into Vietnamese nationality. The reform is recent, so implementing decrees and agency guidance are still catching up; the law itself gives ministries up to two years to align related rules on the rights and duties of dual nationals.

How dual citizenship arises

By naturalisation or restoration under the 2025 exceptions above, with Presidential approval to keep the foreign nationality. Family ties to a Vietnamese spouse, child, parent or grandparent are the most common qualifying basis, and such applicants may also be exempted from the usual language, five-year residence and financial-self-sufficiency requirements.

At a glance

Where it fits in a borderless plan

Because a Vietnamese passport is hard to obtain and taxes worldwide income once you're resident, most people engage with Vietnam through tax residency rather than citizenship. A second nationality is one flag of several — pair it with a low-tax tax residency and a self-custody plan for your Bitcoin. New to this? See which countries allow dual citizenship, or claim one through ancestry.