Do international students of Vietnam on a state budget scholarship have to reimburse the training costs if they do not fulfill their study obligations?

Do international students of Vietnam on a state budget scholarship have to reimburse the training costs if they do not fulfill their study obligations?

Based on Clause 2, Article 6 of Decree 86/2021/ND-CP, the rights and responsibilities of state budget scholarship students are as follows:

Rights and Responsibilities of State Budget Scholarship Students

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2. Responsibilities of State Budget Scholarship Students

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g) Must reimburse training costs as regulated in Article 12 and Article 13 of this Decree if they fail to fulfill their academic obligations or fail to comply with the employment assignment of a competent state agency upon graduation for students specified in point a and point b, Clause 1, Article 3 of this Decree;

h) Comply with the current regulations on officials and public employees and the regulations of the Communist Party (for cases who are officials and public employees and party members);

i) Protect documents and information classified as state secrets as stipulated in the Law on Protection of State Secrets, and internal political information protection;

k) Not exploit learning or any other form to conduct activities propagandizing against the State of Vietnam, affecting diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the partner country.

Thus, international students of Vietnam on a state budget scholarship who fail to fulfill their academic obligations must reimburse training costs.

What are regulations on handling of international students of Vietnam on a state budget scholarship who fail to fulfill their academic obligations?

Based on Clause 2, Article 13 of Decree 86/2021/ND-CP, the recovery of reimbursement costs is as follows:

Recovery of Reimbursement Costs

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2. The recovery of reimbursement costs for students specified in Clause 3 and Clause 4, Article 12 of this Decree shall be conducted as follows:

a) The direct managing agency or the sending agency (for cases without a working agency) issues a decision on the recovery of reimbursement costs and sends this decision to the students subject to reimbursement. The consideration for exemption or reduction of reimbursement costs is decided by the direct managing agency or the sending agency based on the student's dossier and is accountable to the competent authority when required;

b) Within 120 days from the date of receipt of the decision on the recovery of reimbursement costs from the direct managing agency or the sending agency, the student is responsible for fully reimbursing the costs;

c) The reimbursement costs are to be paid to the direct managing agency or the sending agency that funded the scholarship for the student;

d) In the case that a student obligated to reimburse training costs fails to fulfill their reimbursement duty, the direct managing agency or the sending agency has the right to file a lawsuit at the Court according to the provisions of the law.

Thus, international students of Vietnam on a state budget scholarship who fail to fulfill their academic obligations will be subject to lawsuit at the Court according to the provisions of the law.

When shall international students of Vietnam on a state budget scholarship reimburse training costs?

Based on Article 12 of Decree 86/2021/ND-CP, the reimbursement of training costs is as follows:

Reimbursement of Training Costs

1. The reimbursement of training costs for students who are officials and public employees as stipulated in point a and point b, Clause 1, Article 3 of this Decree, is conducted according to the provisions of Decree No. 101/2017/ND-CP dated September 1, 2017, of the Government of Vietnam on training and fostering officials and public employees.

2. The reimbursement of training costs for students who are not officials and public employees as stipulated in point a and point b, Clause 1, Article 3 of this Decree, who fail to comply with the employment assignment of a competent state agency upon graduation, is conducted according to the provisions of Decree No. 143/2013/ND-CP dated October 24, 2013, of the Government of Vietnam on reimbursement of scholarships and training costs.

3. The reimbursement of training costs for students who have a working agency but are not officials and public employees as stipulated in point a and point b, Clause 1, Article 3 of this Decree, who voluntarily drop out, quit their job, or unilaterally terminate their labor contract during the training period, or do not obtain a diploma or graduation certificate issued by the training institution, is conducted by the direct managing agency of the students according to the provisions of Article 13 of this Decree.

4. The reimbursement of training costs for students without a working agency as stipulated in point a and point b, Clause 1, Article 3 of this Decree, who voluntarily drop out or do not obtain a diploma or graduation certificate issued by the training institution, is conducted by the sending agency according to the provisions of Article 13 of this Decree.

5. The reimbursement of training costs for students as stipulated in point c, Clause 1, Article 3 of this Decree, is conducted according to the cooperation regulations between Vietnamese state agencies and the foreign sponsor agency covering the scholarship.

Thus, state budget scholarship students must reimburse training costs when:

- They fail to fulfill their academic obligations.

- They do not comply with the employment assignment of a competent state agency upon graduation.

- They voluntarily drop out, quit their job, or unilaterally terminate their labor contract during the training period, or do not obtain a diploma or graduation certificate issued by the training institution.