A foreign court judgment has no automatic legal effect in Vietnam: to enforce it against assets here, you must ask a Vietnamese court to recognise it and allow its enforcement, and the court will generally do so only if a treaty between Vietnam and the country of judgment provides for recognition or the principle of reciprocity applies. Even then, the court can refuse on grounds such as improper notice to the defendant, Vietnamese exclusive jurisdiction or conflict with the basic principles of Vietnamese law. Once recognised, the judgment is enforced like a Vietnamese one.
Recognition is not a retrial: the Vietnamese court does not decide the dispute again. But it is a real procedure with real hurdles, and outcomes have varied. This guide explains the legal basis, the petition and its documents, the grounds for refusal, what the court does and does not review, and how enforcement follows. It also explains why, for many foreign creditors, arbitration or a fresh claim in Vietnam may be the better route. The detailed rules, including the court competent to hear petitions after the 2025 reform, should be confirmed with a licensed Vietnamese lawyer.
Treaty or reciprocity: the basis for recognition
Under the Civil Procedure Code, Vietnamese courts consider recognising foreign civil judgments in two situations. The first is where Vietnam and the country whose court issued the judgment are parties to an international treaty that provides for recognition and enforcement, typically a bilateral agreement on judicial assistance in civil matters. Vietnam has concluded such agreements with a limited number of countries, and each sets its own conditions and procedures.
The second is reciprocity. Where no treaty applies, Vietnamese law allows recognition on the basis of reciprocity, meaning, broadly, that Vietnam extends recognition to judgments of a country that would recognise Vietnamese judgments. How reciprocity is established in practice has not always been predictable, and the evidence a court expects can vary. A petitioner relying on reciprocity should be prepared to show how the foreign country treats Vietnamese judgments.
This differs from foreign arbitral awards, which benefit from the New York Convention of 1958, to which Vietnam is a party. Recognition of foreign arbitral awards follows its own track and is generally more predictable than recognition of foreign court judgments, which is one reason arbitration clauses are popular in contracts with Vietnamese parties. Arbitration is covered in detail in the section of this site on arbitration and mediation.
Certain decisions are subject to special rules, for example judgments on family matters such as divorce, where a simplified approach may apply if no one seeks enforcement in Vietnam. Commercial money judgments follow the general procedure described here.
Filing a petition for recognition and enforcement
The petition is made by the judgment creditor or its lawful representative. The usual steps are:
- Check the time limit. The petition must be filed within a set period after the foreign judgment takes legal effect, generally three years under the Code, with possible extension for valid reasons. Confirm the current limit early.
- Decide the route. Depending on the treaty, the petition is sent to the Ministry of Justice, which forwards it to the court, or filed directly with the competent Vietnamese court.
- Prepare the petition in Vietnamese, stating the parties, the judgment to be recognised, what you ask the court to recognise and enforce, and the defendant's address or location of assets in Vietnam.
- Attach an original or certified copy of the foreign judgment, documents confirming that it has taken legal effect and has not expired for enforcement in the country of origin, and documents proving the defendant was properly summoned if the judgment was given in their absence.
- Have every foreign document legalised, unless a treaty or reciprocity exempts it, and translated into Vietnamese with a certified translation.
- Pay the applicable fee advance and respond to any request from the court to supplement the file.
- Attend the session at which the court considers the petition, normally with your lawyer, and be ready to answer questions on service and finality.
The court considering the petition decides by a decision rather than a full judgment. That decision can be appealed by the parties and protested by the procuracy within short time limits.
Grounds on which recognition can be refused
The Code lists situations in which a foreign judgment will not be recognised. In plain terms, the main ones are:
- The judgment has not yet taken legal effect under the law of the country where it was given.
- The defendant, or the person against whom enforcement is sought, was not properly summoned and therefore could not exercise their right to defend, where the judgment was given in their absence.
- The case falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of Vietnamese courts, such as a dispute over rights to immovable property in Vietnam.
- A Vietnamese court has already issued an effective judgment on the same matter, or a Vietnamese court had accepted the same case before the foreign court did.
- A judgment of a third country on the same matter has already been recognised in Vietnam.
- The time limit for enforcement has expired under the law of the country of judgment or under Vietnamese law.
- Recognition would be contrary to the basic principles of Vietnamese law.
The last ground is broad and can be the subject of debate. Preparing a clear explanation of how the foreign proceedings respected the defendant's rights and how the outcome fits with Vietnamese legal principles helps the court reach a confident decision.
What the court reviews, and what it does not
The Vietnamese court does not retry the dispute. It does not re-examine whether the foreign court weighed the evidence correctly or applied the law well. Its review is limited to whether the conditions for recognition are met and whether any refusal ground applies. In that sense, recognition is narrower and quicker than a full lawsuit.
In practice, however, the court looks closely at a few points. The first is service: if the defendant did not appear in the foreign proceedings, the court will want convincing proof that they were properly summoned, in a way recognised by the applicable treaty or law. Weak proof of service is one of the most common reasons petitions fail.
The second is finality: the court needs evidence that the judgment is final and enforceable in its country of origin, not subject to a pending appeal. A certificate or official confirmation from the foreign court is usually the best evidence.
The third is consistency with Vietnamese legal principles. Awards of damages or remedies unfamiliar to Vietnamese law can attract scrutiny under this heading. Where a judgment contains such elements, a careful explanation and, if possible, a request focused on the core money award may help.
Throughout, the quality of translation matters. A foreign judgment translated poorly into Vietnamese can confuse the court on exactly the points it must decide.
After recognition: enforcement in Vietnam
Recognition turns the judgment into an enforceable title. Once the court's decision recognising the foreign judgment takes effect, the judgment is enforced in the same way as a Vietnamese judgment, through the civil judgment enforcement system.
You must request enforcement. The judgment creditor files a request for enforcement with the competent civil judgment enforcement agency within the applicable time limit, attaching the recognition decision and the judgment.
Enforcement depends on assets. Enforcement officers can verify the debtor's assets, freeze accounts, seize and auction property and deduct income, following the enforcement rules. Without identifiable assets in Vietnam, recognition achieves little, so investigate assets before you start.
The debtor can still resist. The debtor may challenge enforcement measures through complaints, and disputes over the ownership of particular assets can lead to separate proceedings. Allow for this in your timeline.
Costs continue. Enforcement involves fees and costs, many of which ultimately fall on the debtor, but the creditor may need to advance some of them. Keep these in your budget, together with the cost of an asset search and of any local counsel who follows the enforcement file on your behalf, since enforcement officers act on requests and documents rather than chasing a foreign creditor's interests unprompted.
Alternatives to recognition worth considering
Because recognition of foreign court judgments in Vietnam depends on treaty or reciprocity and can be uncertain, many foreign creditors look for alternatives. The first is arbitration. If your contract includes an arbitration clause, an award from an arbitral tribunal, whether seated in Vietnam or in another New York Convention country, generally offers a clearer path to enforcement here than a foreign court judgment. For future contracts, this is often the strongest argument for arbitration.
The second is a fresh claim in Vietnam. Where Vietnamese courts have jurisdiction, for example because the defendant is based in Vietnam or the contract was performed here, a creditor may choose to sue directly in Vietnam rather than first obtaining a foreign judgment. The foreign judgment, if one exists, may still be useful as evidence, although it does not bind the Vietnamese court on the merits in that case.
The third is enforcement elsewhere. If the debtor has assets in a country that readily recognises judgments from the country where you obtained yours, enforcing there may be faster than going through Vietnamese recognition.
Which route is best depends on where the assets are, the contract clauses, the country of the judgment and the time limits. That analysis should be done before you spend money on any of them.
When you need a Vietnamese lawyer
Recognition of a foreign judgment is specialised work that sits between two legal systems. You will usually need a licensed Vietnamese lawyer to prepare and argue the petition and a lawyer in the country of judgment to obtain the certificates of finality and evidence of service the Vietnamese court will expect. The two should coordinate from the start.
Seek advice before the foreign case ends if you can. Decisions made in the foreign proceedings, such as how the Vietnamese defendant is served and how the judgment is worded, affect whether it can later be recognised in Vietnam. Ask your foreign counsel to keep Vietnamese recognition in mind, and ask your Vietnamese lawyer whether a treaty applies or how reciprocity can be shown.
Ask, too, for a candid assessment of the alternatives: arbitration, a fresh Vietnamese claim, or enforcement in another country. A short consultation at the right time can redirect a recovery effort before it becomes expensive. For a general orientation before engaging counsel, you can ask a lawyer on AI Co Van to explain how recognition works in principle.
Frequently asked questions
Is a foreign court judgment automatically valid in Vietnam?
No. A foreign judgment must be recognised by a Vietnamese court before it can be enforced here. The court generally considers recognition where a treaty between Vietnam and the country of judgment provides for it, or on the basis of reciprocity, and it can refuse on specific grounds.
What is the time limit for seeking recognition?
The Civil Procedure Code sets a time limit counted from when the foreign judgment takes legal effect, generally three years, with possible extension for valid reasons. Confirm the current limit and how it applies to your judgment with a licensed lawyer as early as possible.
Will the Vietnamese court reopen the merits of the case?
No. The court checks whether the conditions for recognition are met and whether any refusal ground applies, such as improper service or exclusive Vietnamese jurisdiction. It does not decide again whether the foreign court weighed the evidence or applied the law correctly.
Is it easier to enforce an arbitral award than a court judgment?
Generally yes. Vietnam is a member of the New York Convention, which provides a clearer framework for recognising foreign arbitral awards than the treaty or reciprocity basis for court judgments. Recognition of awards still has its own conditions and refusal grounds.
What documents do I need for a recognition petition?
Typically the petition in Vietnamese, an original or certified copy of the foreign judgment, proof that it has taken legal effect, proof that the defendant was properly summoned if absent, and legalised documents with certified Vietnamese translations. Treaties may add or modify requirements.
What happens after the court recognises the judgment?
Once the recognition decision takes effect, you request enforcement from the civil judgment enforcement agency, which can verify, freeze and sell the debtor's assets under the enforcement rules. Success depends on the debtor having identifiable assets in Vietnam.