Vietnam: 05 cases where the candidate shall be exempted from the foreign language exam

Public employee recruitment registration conditions

Examination or recruitment examination are the two most popular methods when recruiting public employees.

According to Article 22 of the Law on Public Employees 2010 of Vietnam, a person who meets all the following conditions may register for public employee recruitment:

1. Bearing Vietnamese citizenship and residing in Vietnam:

2. Reaching full 18 years of age.

Besides, according to Article 1 of Circular No. 15/2012/TT-BNV of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Vietnam, regarding recruitment in a public service provider in terms of culture, arts, physical training or sports, an applicant whose age is from 15 years of age to under 18 years of age is accepted provided that his/her legal representative gives a written consent.

3. Filing an application for recruitment:

4. Having a clear personal background;

5. Possessing diplomas, training certificates or practice certificates or aptitude and skills relevant to the working position for which he/she applies;

According to Clause 1 Article 2 of Decree No. 161/2018/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, training mode, qualifications, certificates, and public or private training institution are no longer distinguished.

6. Being physically fit for work or tasks;

7. Meeting other conditions required by the working position for which he/she applies and determined by the public non-business unit, which must not be contrary to law.

The following persons may not register for public employee recruitment:

- Having lost civil act capacity or having such capacity restricted;

- Being examined for penal liability; currently serving a criminal sentence or ruling of the court or serving the administrative measure of confinement to a medical treatment establishment, an educational institution or a reformatory.

Thus, in order to be registered for the public service exam, it is mandatory to fully meet the conditions and not be prohibited from registering for the recruitment exam as prescribed by law.

05 cases where the candidate shall be exempted from the foreign language exam

When taking the public employee exam, candidates must take the exams through 2 rounds as prescribed in Decree No. 29/2012/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, including:

- Round 1: Multiple-choice exam on general knowledge, foreign language and informatics;

- Round 2: Professional knowledge exam.

The multiple-choice exam consists of 30 questions with the duration of 30 minutes. This test is done on a computer or on paper with units that do not qualify.

Candidates will take the exam in one of the following languages: English, French, Russian, German, Chinese or another foreign language depending on the industry requirements and professional title.

However, according to Clause 3 Article 2 of Decree No. 161/2018/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government amending Articles 7, 8, 9 of Decree No. 29/2012/NĐ-CP, the following candidates shall be exempted from the foreign language exam (round 1):

- The job position requires expertise in a foreign language;

- A candidate possesses a university’s bachelor or postgraduate degree in foreign language;

- A candidate possesses a university’s bachelor or postgraduate degree issued by a foreign training institution;

- Completion of a training course lectured in foreign language in Vietnam;

- A candidate for a working position in an ethnic minority area is an ethnic or possesses a certificate of proficiency in minority language accredited by a competent authority.

Thus, there are 05 cases where the candidate shall be exempted from the foreign language exam in round 1. However, if foreign language is a specialized subject in round 2, the candidate for recruitment of public employees must still participate in the entrance exam.

Legal bases:

- Law on Public Employees 2010;

- Circular No. 15/2012/TT-BNV;

- Decree No. 161/2018/NĐ-CP;

- Decree No. 29/2012/NĐ-CP.

Ngoc Tai

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