About Madeleine Morris Expertise Regarding Vietnam, I have lived in Ho Chi Minh City for more than four years and have travelled extensively elsewhere in the country. I speak Vietnamese quite well, as well as French and Spanish. I can answer questions on where to stay, what to see and where to go. I can also answer questions about cultural etiquette; both professional and personal. For anyone coming to settle for a while in Vietnam, I can answer questions on most topics concercing settling in, doing business, legal and visa issues, language, where to shop, how to get help, emergencies, etc.
Experience I have lived in Vietnam for six years now (and can't seem to find a way to update the "expertise" part of this profile! I currently teach full time at RMIT Vietnam.
Organizations International Ladies in Vietnam Org
Canadian Vietnamese Business Association
Expert: Madeleine Morris Date: 9/18/2005 Subject: customs of marriage
Question Yes, I am a single man from America, and am going to marry a Ho Chi Minh City girl. I have no family and she can not get married in Church there.
We will be married in church here.
My question:
How do we do the customs of marriage there with no rings and I do not live there?
I can only stay there 5 days and have to come back to work.
Many Thanks,
Daryl
Answer Daryl,
Like anywhere else in the world, if you are both Catholics, you can get married in a church here. But you have to post the bans. (I think it's two weeks before hand).
If one or both of you are not Catholic, then you can't get married in a Catholic church, here, or anywhere else in the world. Unless one or both of you convert to Catholicism. I believe that takes some time.
Buddhism does allow mixed-religion marriages.
So... it really depends on what religion you and your fiance are.
You can, of course, get married in a civil ceremony in Vietnam, just like anywhere else in the world. However, marrying a Vietnamese citizen does not automatically confer you Vietnamese citizenship.
And, the US consulate here can also be very difficult about giving your wife-to-be US citizenship just because you came here for 5 days and married her. You don't automatically confer your US citizenship on her, by simply marrying her.
I'm not at all sure what your question is about rings. You can either buy the rings in the US and bring them with you or buy them here, at any jewellers. There are lots here.
However, exchanging rings has nothing to do with the civil status of a marriage, Christian or Buddhist or otherwise.
I'm sorry not to be more helpful, but I think you should discuss all of this further with your wife-to-be.
