Come back to Malaysia, the smile of a meal...Vietnam Nationality Law Revises Major Revision, Non-Residents Get Citizenship

Jun 27, 2025

Come back to Malaysia, the smile of a meal...Vietnam Nationality Law Revises Major Revision, Non-Residents Get Citizenship
AFP Yonhap News



Come back to Malaysia, the smile of a meal...Vietnam Nationality Law Revises Major Revision, Non-Residents Get Citizenship
EPAYonhap News
"I was surprised by Malaysia's naturalized player skills. exceeded our expectations."

Kim Sang-sik, head coach of the Vietnamese national soccer team, who suffered a 0-4 defeat in the second Group F match of the third qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Malaysia on the 10th, commented that naturalized players made a difference in the game. On the same day, Malaysia made up nine out of 11 naturalized players from Argentina, Spain and Brazil, and all of the scorers were naturalized players including João Perguiredo, Rodrigo Holgado, Ravel Corvain-On, and Dion Cools. It has been 10 years since Vietnam lost to Malaysia. Vietnam fell to second place in the group with one win, one loss and three points in Group F, behind Malaysia, which has been winning two games. In the third qualifying round, only a total of six teams, one of the leading teams in six groups, will make the Asian Cup finals in Saudi Arabia from January to February 2027.

There was a good news for Vietnamese soccer, which had a fire at its feet. On the 24th, the Vietnamese National Assembly passed a bill (Nationality Act) to revise and supplement various provisions. The bill will take effect on July 1. According to the revised bill, citizenship can now be obtained without living in Vietnam and being fluent in Vietnamese. Citizens whose spouses, children, parents, and grandparents own Vietnamese citizenship can apply for naturalization through overseas embassies while maintaining their existing citizenship. Previously, Vietnamese residents and Vietnamese-speaking people could apply for naturalization only through the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam. He was famous for being picky. For this reason, it took nearly a decade for Nguyen Philippe, the current Vietnamese national goalkeeper, to acquire Vietnamese citizenship. It is no longer necessary to use a Vietnamese name such as ' Nguyen'. The barriers to entry have been significantly lowered, which is expected to lead to a naturalization rush.




FC coach Fung Phung Ho Chi Minh said "The revised and supplemented nationality law is in favor of Vietnamese players abroad, especially Patrick Le Jiang, who is a member of our team. Through this, the Vietnamese team was able to utilize excellent overseas Vietnamese players," he said with pleasure. Pierre Hong, a French-born FIFA player broker, told local media that it is good news for Vietnamese soccer. Vietnamese players abroad want the opportunity to play in the Vietnamese national team or the V-League, and they will continue to do so."

Come back to Malaysia, the smile of a meal...Vietnam Nationality Law Revises Major Revision, Non-Residents Get Citizenship
Malaysian national team, nine of which are naturalized players on the roster for the Vietnam match. Source = Sissiagol SNS Capture
The Vietnamese Football Association (VFF) is moving to naturalize on a large scale. Malaysia, which defeated Vietnam with naturalized players who learned soccer in Europe, and Indonesia, which participated in the fourth round of the World Cup for the first time in its history, seem to have changed the idea of Vietnam, which is centered on its own players. Southeast Asian soccer media 'Syagol'VFF listed more than 100 Vietnamese players in Europe after the defeat against Malaysia on the 17th. It included players under the age of 20, who already play in the top European leagues,' the report said. The KFA technical team then listed the list, and manager Kim Sang-sik monitored some players and asked them to join. Is it easy to play in the Vietnamese league first if you want to change your nationality under Vietnamese law?戮?'Things...' he said. But now that the Nationality Act has been amended, it is not necessary to play in the Vietnamese league first.

Coach Kim won the 2024 ASEAN Championship last year thanks to the explosive performance of Brazilian striker Nguyen Suan Thorne (Hafaelthorne), but Thorne has not returned to the national team due to an eight-month long-term injury. The current national team's main naturalized players include Czech goalkeeper Nguyen Philippe and French fullback Cao Quang Bin (Jason Pendant). Vietnam will play two consecutive Asian Cup qualifiers against Nepal in October.






This article was translated by Naver AI translator.