Level of Japanese Language Proficiency Required for International Tour Guide License Eligibility?

Section 2, Article 59 of the Tourism Law 2017 stipulates the conditions for obtaining an international tour guide card, which includes:

- The conditions specified at points a, b, and c, Clause 1 of this Article;

- Graduation from college or higher in the field of tour guiding; in case of graduation from college or higher in another major, a certificate in international tour guiding skills is required;

- Proficient in the foreign language registered for practice.

With regard to the regulation on foreign language proficiency, Article 13 of Circular 06/2017/TT-BVHTTDL, amended by Clause 10, Article 1 of Circular 13/2019/TT-BVHTTDL, provides as follows:

A person proficient in a foreign language specified at point c, Clause 2, Article 59 of the Tourism Law is someone who meets one of the following standards:

a) Holds a college degree or higher in a foreign language major;

b) Holds a college degree or higher from a training program conducted in a foreign language;

c) Holds a college degree or higher from a foreign country in the official language of the host country. In case the training is conducted in a language other than the official language of the host country, additional documentation proving the language used for training is required;

d) Holds a foreign language certificate level 4 or higher according to the Vietnamese 6-level Foreign Language Proficiency Framework or holds a foreign language certificate meeting the requirements specified in Appendix I of this Circular, and still valid, issued by a competent organization or agency.

According to Appendix I of this Circular:

Thus, a JLPT 5-level certification of N2 or higher is sufficient to qualify for an international tour guide card (for those registering Japanese as their practice language).

Respectfully!