“Looking at them confidently wearing dresses and high heels, I just wish if only I had a pair of healthy, abled legs so I could also confidently walk around, wearing my favorite dresses and high heels”, L used to have such thoughts when she was younger. But life doesn’t take away everything from anyone, she was made up for with a loving husband and a beautiful child.
L was born with a physical disability. To make up for her disadvantages, L’s parents always encouraged her to study and develop herself. As she understood her capability, after graduating from high school, L decided to move to Ho Chi Minh city to work in a company exporting leather shoes. With a pretty face, she was greeted with warm affection from many men there. Among them, H was the one she was most fond of. As they connected with each other and had both families’ approval, the two quickly thought of marriage after 2 years of getting to know each other. However, due to the prolonged situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, they couldn’t return to their hometown to officially register their marriage and have a wedding ceremony as planned. With the agreement from both families, they moved in together and decided to wait until the pandemic settled down a bit before going back to register and hold a wedding.
After a few months, L became pregnant and the couple was overwhelmed with happiness. For the birth of their child to go smoothly in terms of preparation for legal papers (such as registration of birth and household, school enrolment…), the couple decided not to hold a wedding party yet, instead, the two families would gather to discuss, then the young couple would register their marriage. But in the unexpected prolonged extension of the Covid-19 pandemic, they weren’t able to return to their hometown and apply for a marriage certificate, because of social distancing requirements. Towards the end of the quarantine, L was also in the last stage of her pregnancy, the doctor advised them not to travel far, so as to avoid affecting the child. H assured his wife: “You are in the last months of your pregnancy and you need rest and stability so the baby would be safe. I fear traveling far would be hard for both you and the baby. Although the Covid-19 situation is now under control, there is still a possibility of infection. The doctor has also advised us not to go. We’ll just get married later!”
On her due date, L gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. When the baby was more than 03 months old, the couple decided to register for marriage and apply for their son’s birth certificate. The marriage registration went smoothly, but the birth registration for the baby met some difficulties with paperwork.
When a civil registry officer asked for a DNA test to prove the paternity between H and the baby, the couple was confused as to why it was needed. At this time, the officer explained to them that because the baby was born when the parents hadn’t registered for marriage, it was necessary to provide documents proving the child to be of both the parents before the birth registration could be granted. In this case, they had to both register birth for the child and prove the paternity connection. Facing such an issue for the first time, L and H were extremely anxious: “What if we couldn’t adequately provide the required papers for our child’s birth registration? Where could we find the hospital to do this test now? Will doing a DNA test be costly?...”, they got increasingly more worried. It was because ever since childbirth, besides the birth certificate from the hospital, the couple didn’t have any other documents, there weren’t many photos with both of them, only a few for the memories. Fortunately, the civil registry officer understood the couple’s situation and instructed them on how to carry out the procedure in the absence of paternity evidence (DNA test certificate). Accordingly, H and L only needed to make a written affidavit about the connection among the father, the mother and the child. Simultaneously, they needed at least two other people to testify about this connection, in order to be able to register the birth of the child. Additionally, the commune’s civil registry officer also didn’t forget to explain clearly and in detail to the couple about the responsibilities and legal consequences of false affidavit of the paternity connection between the father and the child.
With the enthusiastic guidance and support from the civil registry officer, H and L have better understood the regulations and got relatives and H’s parents to testify the connection between the couple and the baby. Therefore, the process of birth registration and paternity test became somewhat easier and quicker for them than other cases. Upon receiving their child’s birth certificate, L and her husband were overjoyed. Life after marriage and child birth for L and H was always happy and full of laughter. Everyday, H gets up early for the market while L prepares the meals for 3 family members. L also actively helps out her husband with household chores and makes favorable conditions for H to go to work. As for any plans for the near future, the couple hopes that the pandemic would end soon so they can hold a wedding ceremony as well as stabilize their work and life.
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Clause 1, Article 88 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, stipulates that:
“Article 88. Identification of parents
1. A child who is born or conceived by the wife during the marriage period is the common child of the husband and wife.
…
A child who is born before the date of marriage registration and recognized by his/her parents is the common child of the husband and wife.”
Article 14, Clause 1, Article 15 of Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP guiding the Law on Civil Status, and Decree 123/2015/ND-CP guiding the Law on Civil Status, stipulates that:
“Article 14. Proof of parent-child relationship
Proof of parent-child relationship according to regulations in Clause 1 Article 25 and Clause 1 Article 44 of the Law on Civil Status includes one of the following documents:
1. A written statement from a medical agency, an assessment agency or other authoritative agencies or organizations, either domestic or abroad, confirming the paternity and maternity relations.
2. In case there is no proof of the parent-child relationship per regulations in Clause 1 herein, the parent and child shall draw up a confirmation of their parent-child relationship according to regulations in Article 5 herein with at least 2 witnesses of their parent-child relationship.
Article 15. Birth registration in combination with parent-child relationship recognition
1. If a birth registration is combined with parent-child relationship recognition, the People’s Committee of the commune where the mother or father lives shall handle the application.”
