Vietnamese nationality: regaining or acquiring

The Vietnamese Embassy in Berlin provides separate checklists for acquiring Vietnamese citizenship while living abroad and regaining citizenship previously held. People living in Germany who seek to regain citizenship can submit an application to the Embassy in Berlin or the Vietnamese Consulate General in Frankfurt am Main. 124

Who needs this

• Use the regaining-citizenship application if you previously held Vietnamese citizenship. The checklist requires proof of that previous citizenship. 2
• The acquiring-citizenship checklist is a separate route for applicants abroad who can document one of its listed grounds. These include a parent-child relationship with a Vietnamese citizen, both paternal or both maternal grandparents being Vietnamese citizens, specified honours or exceptional contributions, outstanding talent, or qualifying long-term contributions as an entrepreneur or investor. 1
• Both checklists require confirmation that keeping German citizenship complies with German law. If German law does not provide for such confirmation, the listed alternative is a declaration using form TP/QT-2025-VBCĐ. 12

Step by step

1. Identify whether you are applying to acquire Vietnamese citizenship abroad or to regain citizenship you previously held. Use the corresponding application form: the checklists specify separate forms for applicants aged 18 or over and those under 18. 12
2. Assemble the documents for your route. For a child under 18, include the parents’ agreement on form TP/QT-2025-VBTT; a child aged 15 to under 18 also signs the application with a parent. 12
3. If applying to regain citizenship while living in Germany, submit the file to the Embassy in Berlin or the Consulate General in Frankfurt am Main. Provide a telephone number so the Embassy can contact you if needed. After receiving a file, the Embassy reviews and completes it, including translation and certification of German-language documents, before forwarding it to the authorities in Vietnam. 4

Documents

• For either route, the checklist calls for three application forms with matching photos taken within six months, three personal-history forms TP/QT-2025-BKLL with a photo taken within six months, and a German criminal-record certificate (Führungszeugnis): one original and two copies, issued no more than 90 days earlier. 12
• Acquiring-citizenship applicants need a birth certificate and passport or substitute document, plus documents proving their qualifying ground. Regaining-citizenship applicants need a German passport or identity card and proof of previous Vietnamese citizenship. Both checklists list a guardian’s passport or identity card for applicants under 18. 12
• Both checklists include form TP/QT-2025-VBCK, a commitment not to use foreign citizenship to cause harm. If a child under 18 applies together with a parent, include the child’s birth certificate or another valid document proving the parent-child relationship. If you want the result by post, include a stamped, addressed envelope for registered delivery (Einschreiben Einwurf). 12

Cost and time

• Both checklists list a fee but do not state an amount. For regaining citizenship, if the President of Vietnam approves the application, the Embassy contacts the applicant and sends the decision. 124

City by city

• Berlin: People living in Germany can submit a regaining-citizenship application to the Vietnamese Embassy here. For questions about the procedure, the Embassy gives the phone numbers (030) 53630 108 and (030) 53630 122. 34
• Frankfurt am Main: The Vietnamese Consulate General is the other stated submission location for people living in Germany seeking to regain citizenship. 4