Vietnam Population

1. Reported Stateless Persons

Viet Nam reported a population of 26,811 stateless persons to UNHCR in 2022 , a significant decrease from the 35,890 reported in 2021. Groups affected by statelessness in Viet Nam include ethnic Hmong, female marriage migrants who have returned to Viet Nam after the breakdown of marriages, and persons of Cambodian heritage who fled to Viet Nam during the Khmer Rouge regime.

The H’mon and Montagnard ethnic and religious minority communities experience significant discrimination in Viet Nam, including harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention by authorities. These communities also experience refusal of civil registration and documentation such as birth registration and have at times resorted to avoiding authorities due to fear of repercussions taken by authorities against them.

2. Persons at Risk of Statelessness

Former Cambodian refugees and Vietnamese women have historically experienced statelessness as a result of renouncing prior nationality without acquiring an alternative nationality. Article 23 of the 2008 Law on Nationality allows those who had renounced Vietnamese citizenship to gain another citizenship are now able to reacquire Vietnamese citizenship, which has resolved the status of many women. There is limited information on the extent to which statelessness may still be affecting this population today.

3. Undetermined Nationalities

The nationality status of children of returned marriage migrants who themselves have lost their Vietnamese nationality remain uncertain. While many of these children have the right to the nationality of their fathers (usually South Korean or Chinese/Taiwanese) under their country of birth’s jus sanguinis provisions, many returned to Viet Nam (following relationship breakdowns) prior to gaining household registration or any documentary proof of their citizenship status.

Reported stateless persons to the UNHCR
Country 2019 (year start) 2020 (year end) 2021 (year end) 2022 (year end)
Viet Nam 30,581 32,890 35,475 26,811

Source: UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement from 2019-2022.